NGUYỄN HOÀI NAM – 10240L Mr. Know - All

REFLECTIONMr. William Somerset Maugham was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was one of the most popular writers in his era (1930s). He wrote many short stories, including “Mr. Know-all”. This is a good story which shows that first impressions are often misleading and that appearances are sometimes deceptive. Remember that you can't get to know a person in a short time period and not from the first impression, but need a longer period of time.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator have to share a cabin in an ocean liner with a stranger while he is on his way from San Francisco, U.S.A. to Yokohama, Japan on the Pacific ocean. Anh he expected that person is from his country, but then, when he finds out the name “Max Kelada”, he extremely disappointed. Mr Kelada is not a a real British, he has a British passport and he is a citizen from one of the British colonies. When the narrator get into his cabin, he quickly see Mr. Kelada’s luggage is below and the toilet things are already unpacked. The narrator doesn’t like the way it looks.

When the narrator meets Mr. Kelada, his hatred gets even stronger. He both loathes and despises Mr. Kelada's gestures. Therefore, the description of Kelada is negative. The narrator's prejudice is based on several cultural differences which he detests such as Mr Kelada doesn’t address the narrator – which is a gentleman – with “Mr.” or Mr. Kelada should keeps silent while having a meal. Later, the narrator shows readers more evidences about Mr. Kelada’s attitude like he is too argumentative and opinionated, and the way he shows off about his super knowledge. Mr. Kelada is a person that seemed to know everything and is involved in everything, so he is disliked by everybody. He is very chatty and talk as if he had been superior to everybody else. The passengers make fun of him and call him Mr. Know - All even to his face.

Next, the narrator mentions Mr. Ramsay who are working in the American Consular Service which is stationed at Kobe. He‘s on his way to go back to Japan after a journey to America to take his wife with him. Mrs. Ramsey is a nice woman, as the narrator describes. She has spent her life for one year alone in New York. One evening, while everybody is having a dinner, the conversation drifted to the subject of pearls. As Mrs. Ramsay is wearing a string of pearls, Mr. Kelada announces that it certainly is a genuine one. He is ready to bet a hundred dollars on it. Mr. Ramsay, on the other hand, utters that his wife had bought it for 18 dollars in a department store. When Mr. Know - All takes out a magnifying glass from his pocket, he notices a desperate appeal in Mrs. Ramsay's eyes. And then he tells everybody that he’s wrong and that the string is an excellent imitation. He gives Mr. Ramsay a hundred dollars. The story spreads all over the ship and everybody mocks Mr. Kelada. Later, while the narrator and Mr. Know - All are in their cabin, an envelope is pushed under the door. It contains a hundred dollar bill from Mrs. Ramsay. It’s then the narrator is amazed at Mr. Kelada's kindness.

1

NGUYỄN HOÀI NAM – 10240L Mr. Know - All

The climax of the story is at the time Mr. Know – All ‘s about to state the value of the pearl string, but then he sees Mrs. Ramsay’s face. At this time the narrator thinks that there is something wrong too, but he doesn’t know what is it. We all know the string is belonged to Mrs. Ramsay’s lover. And Mr. Kelada ruins his reputation instead of completely spoiling the family of Mrs Ramsey.

Mr. Kelada who is described as a disgusting person who shows off all the time and knows everything better than others, is in reality a sensitive, brave gentleman who wouldn't hurt others. On the other hand, Mrs. Ramsay, whose modesty and good qualities no one questions, has been unfaithful to her husband.

In general, the moral in this story is that never judge a book by its cover, we should observe the behaviour and reactions of a stranger in difficult situations.

2