Mr.

Know All Basic Understanding

Mr. Know All by W. Somerset Maugham is a short story of simple facts, but with a
deeper meaning below the surface. In fact, the story is a fantastic story about prejudice,
racism and how what appears to be true, at times is just an illusion.

Basic terms and concepts:

Prejudice unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature,

regarding a racial, religious, or national group.

Racism the belief that some people are superior and others are inferior based on
racial, religious or national group.

Stereotype a widely held, but fixed and oversimplified image or idea, of a particular
type of person. (examples: Iranians are stingy; Moroccans have bad tempers)

Setting and its significance:

The story takes place after World War I on a boat traveling from San Francisco in the
United States to Yokohama in Japan.

The story takes place in international waters. This is significant for two
reasons:

By taking place in international waters, and not in a given country, the writer is
saying that prejudice is an international problem, and not a problem of any given
place.
The writer is saying that prejudice and racism are human traits and not the traits
of any given culture.
The ship becomes the symbol of the world with people who are prejudiced and
even racists. Although the characters are far from their native societies, they still
bring with them their racial and cultural prejudices and stereotypes.

Time The story takes place shortly after World War I. It is mentioned for two
reasons:

It justifies the accidental meeting in the same cabin of the narrator and Mr.
Kelada. The passenger traffic on the ocean-liners was heavy, so the narrator had
to agree to share a cabin with a person he didnt know at the beginning, and
disliked just because of his name.
 It gives us a possible reason for the narrators unjustified antagonism towards Mr.
Kelada. Usually, during periods of war, feelings of prejudice and dislike for
foreigners grow stronger.

Part One:

In part one, we are introduced to our narrator (the person who tells the story). We are
led to believe that our narrator, who is English, considers himself to be a gentleman. He
considers his breeding to be superior to non-white English citizens from the colonies
held by England during this period in history.

From the beginning of the story, we are told that our narrator was a highly prejudiced
man who was willing to dislike Max Kelada, his cabin-mate on the boat, even before he
met him.

There are several symbols that represent the authors attitude towards prejudice:

The closed portholes these represent the close-mindedness of the narrator

towards people from other societies. While the narrator is willing to believe that
closed portholes (close-mindedness) are the fault of his cabin-mate, he is in fact
to be blamed for this. People who are prejudice tend to blame the targets of the
prejudiced feelings, while failing to look at their inner-darkness (the closed
portholes posed a problem at night).
The cabin On a boat people live in confined quarters () . The small
living area represents the closed (small) mindedness that our narrator has when
it comes to people of different backgrounds than his.
The labels on the suitcase While the labels on Mr. Keladas suitcases tell us
that our main character travels a lot, the labels also represent the labels ()
that prejudiced people place on other people for no good reason.
The suitcases These represent the baggage that people who seek to
acclimate ( )into another culture carry with them. This baggage includes
attitudes, behaviors and traditions that must be discarded to become accepted
into closed-minded societies that demand uniformity ().
The large trunk, the toilet goods of Monsieur Coty, Maxs ebony brushes
with monograms These are all items that belong to Mr. Kelada. They seem to
point to a cultured man with proper economic standing () . However,
our narrator uses them to justify his prejudiced feelings regarding Mr. Kelada. We
can understand that the writer is making a very important point: No matter what
the target of racial aggression ( ) does, the aggressor ( )will
always look to find fault in the victim.
 A lack of a name for the narrator We are not given a name for the narrator.
The author is telling us that the name of the narrator is not important because we
all are the narrator, with closed mindedness about those who are different from
us.

Once the narrator voices ( )his dislike for Mr. Kelada, he leaves the cabin
to play solitaire on the boat and is approached by Mr. Kelada. When Mr. Keleda
introduces himself to the narrator, Mr. Kelada is described as having, a row of
flashing teeth. White teeth should be a sign of good hygiene (), but our
narrator uses them to make Mr. Kelada have a sinister ) )look. Again, the
racist is quick to grab hold of any attribute of the targeted ( )population to
justify his attitude, even if the interpretation ( )the attribute ( )is presented
in a twisted manner () .

When Mr. Kelada tells the narrator that he is an English citizen, the narrator is
quite surprised. While he must accept the fact that Mr. Kelada is a British citizen by
law, because he has a passport, he does not accept him as a true Englishman being
worthy of being called a gentleman, and certainly not as someone equal to himself.

In fact, Mr. Kelada is a Levantine. A Levantine is someone who comes from

Levant, the former name for the geographical area of the eastern Mediterranean that
is now occupied by Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. Mr. Kaleda is presented with all the
typical stereotypes of a person from the Middle East. He is portrayed as an informal,
loud, dogmatic and pushy person who cannot help but interfere in the lives of other
people.

Yet, our narrator does not openly treat Mr. Kelada as different, although he
appears to slightly show his surprise that Mr. Kelada is indeed a British citizen. What
our author is telling us is that not all racists and bigots ( )actively participate in
acts of open racism. They carefully conceal ( )their feelings (perhaps
because they know that such attitudes are not socially acceptable despite being
common- ), but this does not mean they are any less racist.

Our author goes even a step further in establishing ( )the racist hypocrisy
( )of the narrator. When Mr. Kelada offers our narrator an alcoholic beverage
(which was illegal in this era ( )in the United States, and on ships leaving US
ports), the narrator quickly accepts and takes advantage of Mr. Keladas stock of
alcohol. This is symbolic of the hypocrisy of racists who pretend to be friendly to
those who suffer from prejudice and bigotry (), but indeed share the same
feelings as those who detest ( )them. In fact, they are even willing to use the
resources ( )of those they consider inferior ( )when it suits their personal
interests.
But our author ( )is not without criticism of Mr. Kelada. Mr. Kelada, despite
being a well-travelled ( ) man, and apparently cultured (), ignores the
cultural norms ( ) of the narrator and acts in a manner that brings ill
feelings upon himself () :

He talks too much.

He acts with ill manners when he doesnt use the term Mister to address the
narrator as is expected between two total strangers.
He interferes( )in the narrators solitaire card game.
He reserves ( )a seat for the narrator in the dining hall without
permission.

It appears that Mr. Kelada does not have evil intentions () . But in his
desire to gain acceptance, he oversteps the accepted social boundaries
() . The writer is indeed warning those who suffer from
prejudice and racism not to overstep ( )socially acceptable boundaries if they
seek ( )to be accepted. He is also telling minorities ( )that they must
adapt to the acceptable social codes ( ) of the dominate population
( ) if they seek ( )to have a chance of being truly accepted.

Part Two:

In part two of the story, we learn that Mr. Kelada took upon himself to arrange
all the social affairs of the cruise. While Mr. Kelada appears to think that his efforts
are appreciated, the narrator is quick to point out that: He was certainly the best
hated man on the ship.

The passengers called him Mr. Know All to his face. While this is clearly an
insult (), Mr. Kelada takes it as a compliment. He earned the nickname because
he would argue any point, even the smallest of points, until he had won the
argument. Undoubtedly, many of Mr. Know Alls victories ( )came as a result
of his ability to wear-down ( )his partner in debate ().

It appears that Mr. Keladas annoying habits are not motivated by ill-will
() , but by cultural codes which are unacceptable to our narrator who is a
snobbish English gentleman (another stereotype). Yet, it is these mannerisms which
prevent Mr. Kelada from assimilating fully ( ...) into English culture and
being accepted as a true Englishman.

Our author is making an important point about the difficulties of foreigners in

becoming part of their newly adopted cultures. The only way Mr. Kelada will be
able to become accepted as a true Englishman, is if he deserts ( )the ways of his
native culture and becomes someone who is really isnt a heavy price that
requires him to give up ( ) his cultural identity () .

Our narrator tells us that while being around Mr. Kaleda was an unpleasant
experience during the course of the day, it was the meal times that were the worst
because the diners were a captive audience ( ) and could not just get up and
leave the table for this would be poor manners.

Despite being a clear annoyance, it is obvious that Mr. Kelada has gained a
place of respectable status on the ship. This we can see from the fact that he
arranges for himself to sit at the table of the ships doctor. The ships doctor, in the
era in which the story was written, played a key social and professional role on the
ship. The high status of sitting at the doctors table is reinforced ( )by the fact
that another cruise-goer who joins the doctors table is an American diplomat, Mr.
Ramsey.

Mr. Ramsey is quite annoyed at Mr. Keladas attitude that he is right about
everything and picks arguments with Mr. Kelada. While we are not told so outright,
( )it appears that Mr. Ramseys problem with Mr. Know Alls attitude and self-
confidence is connected to his ethnic background. While Mr. Ramsey, has a certain
social status as a member of the American Counselor Service, he is certainly not rich
and has a quite neglected appearance, and is a heavy man who dresses poorly.

This is in sharp contrast to the description of Mr. Kaleda who is well groomed
() .Their physical contrast is an expression of their contrasting mental and
cultural attitudes.

We are also introduced to Mrs. Ramsey. Mrs. Ramsey is described as a simple

person with a modest ( )personality and appearance. Her modest demeanor (
)is what makes her stand out. (It shown in her like a flower on a coat.).
But we are soon to learn that appearances can be deceiving ().

Mrs. Ramsey is also described as a very pretty little thing. Her physical
incompatibility ( ) with her husband might represent their differences,
which cause problems with their marriage.

Part Three:

This part of the story contains ( )the climax ( )of the story. Mr. Ramsey
decides to start an argument with Mr. Kaleda just for the fun of it. The argument
centered on whether the development of artificial peals ( ) would have a
negative impact ( ) on the price of the real pearls. This argument was
very heated, even more than past ones and Mr. Know All lost his temper
() .

Mr. Kaleda reveals ( )for the first time the nature of his business and tells
his captive audience at the table that he is travelling to Kobe, Japan to investigate
the cultured (artificial) pearl business.

Mr. Kaleda looks at Mrs. Ramsey, who is wearing a beautiful string of pearls (
) , and tells her that her necklace will maintain its value ( ) despite
the influx ( )of cultured pearls in the marketplace. In essence, he is saying that
Mrs. Ramseys pearls are real.

However, Mr. Ramsey quickly asks Mr. Know All how much the pearls cost. Mr.
Kelada estimates their price at between 15,000 to 30,000 dollars. Mr. Ramsey
quickly says that the pearls are artificial and cost 18 dollars. Mr.Kelada is shocked
and tells Mr. Ramsey that the pearls are real.

Mr. Ramsey quickly takes the opportunity to make a few extra dollars and offers a
$100 wager to Mr. Kelada regarding the authenticity of Mrs. Ramseys pearls.
Despite the fact that Mr. Kelada has an obvious conflict of interest, Mr. Ramsey
agrees to let Mr. Kelada judge the authenticity of the pearls. Again, despite having an
obvious negative opinion of Mr. Kelada, a member of the better race is willing to
make use of the inferior races abilities (this time, his expertise - ).

However, Mrs. Ramsey tries to convince her husband to call off ( )the bet. She
claims it is not fair to bet on something that is known absolutely. When she realizes
that this is not going to prevent the bet, she pretends to be unable to take off the
pearls so that Mr. Kelada can examine their authenticity. Despite the fact that it is
obvious to all that Mrs. Ramsey is uncomfortable with the bet, Mr. Ramsey is
persistent and takes the string of pearls off of his wife and hands them to Mr. Kaleda.

Just when Mr. Kelada is about to announce that the pearls are real, he catches sight
of Mrs. Ramseys face which has turned pale. He decides to announce to the people
at the table that he was wrong and that the pearls are fake. The irony of this is that
Mr. Kelada who apparently ( )lacks sensitivity ( )to other people, is
sensitive to Mrs. Ramsey more than her husband is.

But it is the price that Mr. Kaleda is willing to pay that is most surprising. Mr. Kaleda
takes pride in being correct all the time and he allowed himself to be caught being
wrong even though he was correct about the pearls. Add to this that he was willing to
lose a $100 bet (a considerable amount of money at the time the story was
written), and the sacrifice ( )that Mr. Know All has made becomes all too clear.
The story spreads ( )all over the ship and Mr. Kaleda becomes the subject
ridicule () . The next morning, an envelope with a $100 note is
placed under the door of the cabin in which our narrator and Mr. Kaleda live. At this
point, it becomes obvious ( )to our narrator that Mr. Know All was correct about
the pearls being authentic. Apparently, Mrs. Ramsey received the pearls from a
secret lover in New York while her husband had been in Kobe during the previous
year. It was at that moment that our narrator is able to connect to the human quality
of compassion ( )that Mr. Kaleda possesses, and his dislike of Mr. Know All
decreases ().

The author is making a very important point. He is saying that if we look beyond
( ...) race, ethnicity ( )and cultural issues, and look at human qualities, we
will be able to like those who are even quite different from us.

Who returned the money?

It is assumed ( ) that Mrs. Ramsey returned the envelope with the $100
bill in order to make up for causing Mr. Kaleda to look bad. Also, despite her faults,
she is not willing to keep money that does not belong to her.

The Pearls:

One major point that must be addressed ( ) is the importance of the

pearls. First of all, in Christian culture, pearls are associated with purity as in the
pearly gates of Heaven. Mrs. Ramsey, the owner of the pearls, is described as
having godly attributes such as modesty. However, we soon realize that she only
seems to have wonderful traits ( )and is indeed an adulterer (). Adultery is
considered in Christian society a grave sin () . The holy figure of Mrs.
Ramsey is revealed ( )to be a sinner ( )of the worst type.

The pearls themselves appear to be fake, and such are perceived by the ships
passengers; but in fact, they are real. This is quite the opposite of Mrs. Ramsey in
that the pearls seem to have no value, but in reality are very valuable.

Mr. Know All is portrayed as not being correct about the pearls; and thus (), is a
fake Mr. Know All at least in the eyes of the ships passengers. However, he is
indeed correct and is a real Mr. Know All.

The author is putting forward a very important message: Looks can be deceiving. (
) .He is warning us against judging people according
to stereotypes and preconceived prejudices () . Maugham urges us to
have open minds and to be willing to change our minds about our preconceived
notions, just as our narrator does regarding Mr. Know All at the end of the story.
This story exhibits ( )the fact that first impressions ( ) can be
misleading ( )and that first appearances are often wrong.

THE NARRATION - point of view

The story is told in the first person the narrator sees everything and is a part of the
plot. However, just like our other characters, the narrator goes through several
stages of development.

In the first episode, where he meets with Mr. Kelada, the narrator is more active,
and involved. He observes ( )comments ( )and judges Mr. Kelada as he
sees him through his own eyes. Since he is influenced by his prejudiced British
society, his judgments are subjective ().

In the second episode, involving the necklace examination, the narrator is less
involved. He is like a cameraman who takes photos and writes down what he hears
objectively. After the chain examination is over, the narrator becomes subjective
again.

In the last episode, the narrator discovers Mr. Keladas true character. As a result,
he undergoes a change ( ) he realizes that people should not be judged
by their looks, but by their actions and character.