As the story develops, the narrator changes from referring to Kelada by name to using the

term “Levantine”. When Britain took over part of the Levant at the end of the First World War,

some in the new government used the term “Levantine” as an insult to local people of mixed

Arab and European blood. This suggests that the narrator’s prejudice against Mr Kelada is an

example ofracism, which is supported by the fact that he also refers to Kelada’s “orientalsmile”

and possible birth in Alexandria or Beirut.

A suggestion I have seen on another website is that Maugham could actually be describing

religious prejudice. At the time the story was written, the word Levant was apparently a code

word used to refer to people who were Jewish. Kelada’s great pride, forceful personality, and

description as being “dark-skinned, with a fleshy, hooked nose” all fit with what may have been

the then popular stereotype of a successful Jewish businessman.

The climax of the story develops from an argument over pearls, and Kelada’s claim that the

newly developed cultured pearl industry would not reduce the value of those produced

naturally. In this he is correct as nowadays natural pearls are very rare and very valuable.

However, the cultured pearl industry has grown to be much larger than the natural pearl

industry, and over 99% of the pearls sold around the world today are of the cultured variety.

“Mr Know-All” is a narrative written in the first person. This allows the reader to see the point

of view (including opinions, thoughts, and feelings) only of the narrator, and no other

characters. A very important part of reading a story like this is trying to understand the

narrator’s position in relation to the story being told as quickly as is possible. In Mr Know-All,

the whole meaning will be lost if the reader fails to see the narrator’s prejudice about Mr

Kelada’s ethnic origins from the very beginning of the story.The story takes place in international waters on an ocean going liner sailing from San Fracisco, U.S.A to Yokohama, Japan on the Pacific ocean. As the war had just ended, it was difficult to get accomodations. Therefore, the narrator had to share a cabin with a total stranger, but he expected him to be one of his own countrymen. Instead, he was deeply shocked to realize it was a chatty Levantine of oriental origin, Mr. Max Kelada, who was not British, but a native of one of the British colonies (he did have a British passport). Although his origin isn't stated precisely, his name suggests Spanish, Portugese, Syrian or even Jewish origin. The narrator mentions Mr. Kelada's "hooked nose", which might imply an antisemitic remark against Jews.The narrator was prepared to dislike Mr. Kelada even before he saw him. When he first entered the cabin, he saw Mr. Kelada's luggage and toilet things that had already been unpacked. The man's name and the sight of his things aroused a strong repulsion in him since he was prejudiced against all non- Britons, feeling superior to them. The irony of the story lies in the fact that the list of Mr. Kelada's "negative" traits presented in the beginning of the story shows an orderly, neat and tidy gentleman.When the narrator met Mr. Kelada, his hatred got even stronger. He abhorred the cultural differences between Kelada and himself. He both detested and despised Mr. Kelada's gestures. Therefore, the description of Kelada is negative and biased. The narrator's prejudice is based on several cultural differences between him and Mr. Kelada:a) A total stranger should address a gentleman with "Mr." and be formal.b) A gentleman shouldn't be pushy.c) A gentleman should be modest.d) A gentleman should keep quiet during meals.e) A gentleman shouldn't be too chatty and argumentative.f) A gentleman shouldn't show off and boast about his super knowledge.g) A gentleman shouldn't be too dogmatic.Mr. Kelada was a person that seemed to know everything and was involved in everything, not sensing that he was disliked by everybody. He was very chatty and talked as if he had been superior to everybody else. The passengers mocked him and called him Mr. Know - All even to his face.There was another dogmatic person on the ship - Mr. Ramsay who was an American Consular Serviceman stationed in Kobe, Japan. He was on his way to Kobe after having picked up his pretty little wife, who had stayed on her own in New York for a whole year. She looked very modest. Her clothes were simple although they achieved an effect of quiet distinction. She looked perfect and was adorable.One evening, the conversation drifted to the subject of pearls. As Mrs. Ramsay was wearing a string of

pearls, Mr. Kelada announced that it certainly was a genuine one which had probably cost many thousands of dollars. He was ready to bet a hundred dollars on it. Mr. Ramsay, on the other hand, that his wife had bought it for 18 dollars in a department store. When Mr. Know - All took out a magnifying glass from his pocket, he noticed a desperat appeal in Mrs. Ramsay's eyes. He then realized that Mrs. Ramsay got the pearls from her lover.Since Mr. Kelada didn't . want to destroy Mrs. Ramsay's marriage, he ruined his reputation instead - he told everybody that he was wrong and that the string was an excellent imitation. He gave Mr. Ramsay a hundred dollars.The story spread all over the ship and everybody mocked Mr. Kelada. Later, while the narrator and Mr. Know - All were in their cabin, an envelope was pushed under the door. It contained a hundred dollar bill from Mrs. Ramsay. It was then that the narrator learned to value the dark - skinned Levantine. He was amazed at Mr. Kelada's generosity.This story shows that first impressions are often misleading and that appearances are sometimes deceptive. 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.The moral of the story is that we must not judge a book by its cover. Rather than judging a person by his looks, color or origin we should observe his behaviour and reactions in difficult situations.

Hots: Explaining Patterns

1.       Why do the other passengers on the ship call Mr. Kelada "Mr. Know-All"?What has he done to deserve this name? Do you think his name is meant as a compliment? Why or why not?_____________________________________________________________________________

2.       Why do you think that Mr. Kelada behaves this way?_____________________________________________________________________________

3.       How does the narrator typically react to Mr. Kelada's attempts to be friendly? Give at least two examples._____________________________________________________________________________

4.       Why do you think that the narrator behaves this way?_____________________________________________________________________________

Hots: Uncovering Motives

1.       Why did Ramsay challenge Mr. Kelada to a bet about his wife's pearls?What did he hope to achieve?____________________________________________________________________________

 

2.       Mr. Kelada was about to announce that the pearls were real. What madehim change his mind and say "I was mistaken?" Do you think it was easy to

him to do this?_____________________________________________________________________________

 3.       What motivated Mrs. Ramsay to leave a hundred dollar bill under Mr.

Kelada's cabin door?_____________________________________________________________________________

Hots: Inferring

1.       What can we understand about the narrator by the way he judges Mr. Kelada at the beginning of the story?______________________________________________________________________________

2.       Mrs. Ramsay did not want Mr. Kelada to examine her necklace. She said, "I can't undo it." What can we infer about the woman from her behavior? What secret was Mrs. Ramsay hiding?_______________________________________________________________________________

3.       What can we infer about the narrator when he says at the end of the story "At that moment, I did not entirely dislike Mr. Kelada"?_______________________________________________________________________________

Explaining Patterns.doc(25.5kb)

This assignment is a literary appreciation of a short story named ‘Mr.

Know-All’. It consists of six chapters altogether. To the readers’

amusement, the writer creates the story with touches of humour as

well as moral lessons. This story is an attempt to show one character’s

inner conflict or conflict with another person usually having one

themantic focus. Above all, the author presents the story effectively to

make his spectators realize that one cannot get to know a person in a

short time, not from first impressions. Only after a while, will he come

to know about others.

posted by MAY THET HNIN | 9:54 PM | 0 comments

I. Introduction

The short story, ‘Mr. Know-All’, is a fine delineation of character. His

character sketches are so vivid that his characters and their

appearance and actions can be found to interest the readers a great

deal. The story takes place on a liner that is on its way from San

Francisco to Yokohama. It is the time just after World War II.

Americans, Englishmen and a Middle Easterner who is trying to get

accepted as an Englishman are involved in this story. The theme of

the story is that the writer’s first impressions of Mr. Max Kelada as an

annoying character changes later on when he is willing to give up his

reputation as an expert on pearls to save a lady’s dignity and her

marriage.

posted by MAY THET HNIN | 9:53 PM | 0 comments

II. A Synopsis of the Story

A short story is a fictional work depicting one character’s inner

conflict or conflict with others usually having one themantic focus.

Shorts stories go back to the origins of human speech and some were

written by the Egyptians as long ago as 2000 B.C.

The story, ‘Mr. Know-All’ was written by Mr. William Somerset

Maugham who was born on January 25th, 1874 in Paris where his

father was a solicitor in the British Embassy. This story seems

practically all skin and bones; that is, it contains little decoration. The

writer meets a man named Mr. Max Kelada who was travelling like

him on an ocean liner from San Francisco to Yokohama. The writer

has made up his mind to hate him even before he meets him and on

meeting him personally his hatred for him grows. Max Kelada was a

good mixer and in three days knew everyone on board. ‘He ran

everything. He managed the sweep conducted the auctions, collected

money for prizes at the sports such as quoits and golf matches,

organized concerts, and arranged the fancy-dress balls. He was

everywhere and he was certainly the best hated man in the ship.

Everyone called him Mr. Know-All to his face. But he took it as a

compliment.’

One day he met a man named Mr. Ramsay who was dogmatic and

bitterly resented Mr. Kelada’s cocksureness. ‘The discussions between

them were acrimonious and interminable. Mr. Ramsay was in the

American Consular Service and stationed at Kobe. He was a great

heavy fellow with loose fat under a tight, skin that swelled out of his

ready-made clothes.’ He and his wife were on their way back to Kobe.

He was to resume his post there. His wife had been spending a year in

New York. Mrs. Ramsay was a very pretty little thing with pleasant

manners and a sense of humor. She was always dressed very simply,

but she knew how to wear her clothes and achieved an effect of quiet

distinction.

One evening at dinner, Mr. Kelada quarrelled with Mr. Ramsay about

the cultured pearls made by the Japanese. In five minutes, they were

in the middle of a heated argument. Finally, Mr. Kelada pointed to a

chain that Mrs. Ramsay wore and said that the chain would be worth

a lot. But Mr. Ramsay replied that the chain was bought by his wife at

a department store and cost only eighteen dollars. With regard to this,

they bet hundred dollars. Mr. Kelada took the chain and closely

examined it with a magnifying glass. He was about to say that they

were real pearls. At that moment, he changed his decision because he

caught sight of Mrs. Ramsay’s face which was pale and white and her

eyes were wide and appealing and showed great desperation and

panic. Suddenly he stopped with his mouth open. And then he

admitted he was mistaken. He quietly gave a hundred-dollar note to

Mr. Ramasy. The story was told all over the ship. He had to put up

with a good deal of jokes — Mr. Know-All had been caught out. On the

other hand, Mrs. Ramsay retired to her state-room with a headache.

Next morning, Mr. Kelada received a letter with a hundred-dollar note

in it. He opened it and then he took out of the envelope, not a letter,

but a hundred-dollar note. And he said that if he had pretty little wife,

he shouldn’t let her spend a year in New York while he stayed at

Kobe.

This story shows a person how he too often passes judgmental on

others, but later when he pauses and takes a closer look, he may find

that the others are truly greater in character than he is.

posted by MAY THET HNIN | 9:52 PM | 2 comments

III. The Characters in the Story

A character is presumably an imagined person who inhabits a story —

although that simple definition may admit to a few exceptions. Most

writers of the literary story attempt to create characters who strike

the readers, not as stereo types: stock characters who are often

known by some outstanding trait or traits, but as unique individuals.

In addition, the plot and the character of a story are interrelated.

Actually, like the ends of a seesaw, the two are one substance; there

can be no movement at one end without movement at the other. A

writer may present his characters either directly or indirectly. In

direct presentation, he tells the readers straight out, by exposition or

analysis, what a character is like, or has someone else in the story tell

them what he is like. In indirect presentation, a writer shows the

readers the character in action. As the Christian scripture goes,

human life began when God breathed life into a handful of dust and

created Adam. Fictional life begins when a writer breathes life into his

characters and convinces the readers of their reality.

In the short story, ‘Mr. Know-All’, the writer mainly presents four

characters: a man who is an expert on pearls, another man who works

for the American Consulate in Kobe, a woman and the writer himself.

III.1. The Author

In the story, the author, William Somerset Maugham, himself took

part as a character. When the narrator is cast as a participant in the

events of the story, he is a dramatized character who says ‘I’. But the

author, William Somerset Maugham, is in the role of an observer, a

minor character standing a little to one side, watching the story

unfold that mainly concerns someone else.

III.2. Max Kelada

Max Kelada was the protagonist in the story. He was short and stout,

had a hooked nose and very large-lustrous and liquid eyes. He was

very talkative, argumentative and a jack-of-all-trades. To the readers’

surprise, he has an optimistic view of life and seems to like everybody

and he is full of knowledge about the things in life.

III.3. Mr. Ramsay

Mr. Ramsay was in the American Consular Service. He was a great

heavy fellow from the Middle West with loose fat under a tight skin,

and he swelled out of his ready-made clothes.

III.4. Mrs. Ramsay

Mrs. Ramsay was a very pretty little thing, with pleasant manners and

a sense of humour. Being the wife of a poorly paid man, she always

dressed very simply. But she knew fully how to wear her clothes so.

There was an air of quiet distinction about her. She was very modest

and timid. She is the main reason why the writer changes his attitude

towards Mr. Kelada.

posted by MAY THET HNIN | 9:49 PM | 0 comments

IV. Some Elements in the Story

IV.1. Plot

A structure of events arising out of a conflict may be called the plot of

the story. The story, ‘Mr. Know-All’, written by William Somerset

Maugham, lays emphasis on the main character, Max Kelada. The

story takes place on a ship going from San Francisco to Yokohama. At

the beginning of the story, the writer hated Max Kelada who he

thought was boastful, talkative, argumentative and familiar. Max

Kelada believed tremendously that he knew and understood

everything and a thing he did not know might not be worth knowing.

He was thus given the nick-name of ‘Mr. Know-All’. Mr. Know-All and

Mr. Ramsay bet hundred dollars to find out whether the pearl chain of

Mrs. Ramsay was real or not. Max Kelada knew everything that he

ought to know about pearls as he was in the pearl business. But he

was willing to sacrifice his reputation to save Mrs. Ramsay’s dignity.

Mr. Ramsay believed that his wife’s chain was an imitation. In fact,

the pearls were real. However, Mr. Know-All admitted that the pearls

were very good imitations and that he had made a mistake. The writer

also knew the truth. The writer showed great dislike for Mr. Know-All

at the beginning of the story. At last, Mr. Kelada’s selflessness in

saving a lady from shame and a broken marriage caused the writer to

admit that the writer did not entirely dislike Mr. Kelada and he finally

changes his opinion about Mr. Max Kelada.

IV.2. Character

There are four characters in this short story: Max Kelada, Mr. Ramsay

and his wife Mrs. Ramsay and the writer himself. At the beginning of

the story, the sentence, ‘I should have looked upon it with less dismay

if my fellow passenger’s name had been Smith or Brown’, shows that

the writer was prejudiced. He was also too ready to criticize others in

the sentence, ‘there were too many labels on the suitcase, and the

wardrobe trunk was too big. He had unpacked his toilet things, and I

observed that he was a patron of the excellent Monsieur Coty; for I

saw on the washing stand his scent, his hair-wash, and his brilliantine,

Mr. Kelada’s brushes, ebony with his monogram in gold, would have

been all the better for a scrub’. He always felt superior to Mr. Kelada.

The sentence, ‘I do not wish to put on airs, but I cannot help feeling

that it is seemly in a total stranger to put Mister before my name

when he addresses me shows the writer was snobbish and thought he

was superior to Max Kelada.

However, Mr. Kelada was a sympathetic and generous and he was

very reticent when the occasion demanded that he keep quiet. He was

really a true gentleman who was willing to risk his reputation to save

a lady’s marriage.

IV.3. Theme

The theme of the story is vividly presented in the later part of the

story. Just as Mr. Kelada was going to declare that the pearls were

real he saw Mrs. Ramsay’s face so pale, and he was in a difficult

position. But he decided to admit he was mistaken. This part conveys

to the readers the fact that one cannot get to know a person in a short

time and at first sight.

IV.4. Setting

It has been said in the story that the war had just finished and the

passenger traffic in the ocean going liners was heavy. Accommodation

was very hard to get and you had to put up with whatever the agents

chose to offer you. By taking this statement as a reference, if can be

seen that the story took place just after World War II and when the

ships were crowded and conditions for travelling not too good. The

writer was taking a trip from San Francisco to Yokohama and he

makes the acquaintance of Mr. Know-All on the ship.

posted by MAY THET HNIN | 9:46 PM | 0 comments

V. An Evaluation of The Story

When the reader evaluates a story, he considers it and places a value

on it. This story takes place just after the war on a liner that is on its

way from San Francisco to Yokohama. Some stories fail from

sentimentality, a defect in a work whose writer seems to feel

tremendous emotion and implies that the reader too should feel it, but

does not provide him with enough reason to share such feelings. This

effect can be seen in the story when Mr. Kelada was going to say that

the chain was real and Mrs. Ramsay’s face got white as if she were

about to faint.

From the very first line of the story, it is obvious that the narrator

does not like the man, Max Kelada, that can be proved by the

following quotation, ‘When I was told the name of my companion my

heart sank. It suggested closed port-holes and the night air rigidly

excluded.’ It can also be seen that the narrator of the story thinks

highly of the English and is unhappy his cabin-mate is a foreigner. In

the light of this statement, we can conclude that the writer is very

race-conscious and likes only his countrymen. The narrator refuses to

accept Mr. Max Kelada as an Englishman although he insists he is.

‘He spoke with a fluency in which there was nothing English’. From

this, it can be surmised that he may be an Easterner with a British

passport. The expressions, ‘I’m all for us English sticking together’

and ‘British to the backbone’ show that he is quite oblivious to the

fact that his claims to being a British national only lead to ridicule. To

show this, the author says, ‘I could not walk round the deck without

his joining me’, ‘It was impossible to snub him’; ‘It never occurred to

him that he was not wanted.’

As the reader gets to know Mr. Max Kelada he finds out that Mr. Max

Kelada is boastful because as soon as he meets the storyteller he

offers him a drink, and tells him that he can get everything. ‘If you’ve

got any friends on board, you tell them you’ve got a pal who’s got all

the liquor in the world’. Mr. Max Kelada is also very talkative and

familiar and he addresses the writer without using ‘Mr.’ before the

narrator’s name. Perhaps he did not do it not because he was

impolite, but because he wanted the storyteller to feel comfortable.

posted by MAY THET HNIN | 9:43 PM | 0 comments

VI. Devices Used by the Writer to Arouse the Reader’s Interest

VI.1. Style of Writing

The art of the short story employs the techniques of point of view,

style, plot and structure and a wide range of devices that stimulate

emotional, imaginative and intellectual responses in the reader. The

writer’s choice and control of these techniques determines the

reader’s overall experience. In general, style refers to the individual

traits or characteristics of a piece of writing; to a writer’s particular

way of managing words that the reader comes to recognize as

habitual or customary. The author creates the story from the first

person point of view.

A reader who has no background knowledge or is not a truly

dedicated reader would not understand words like ‘Monsieur Coty’,

which is the name of a cosmetics producer. The writer employed the

sentence, ‘Asked me if he was right in thinking my name was so-and-

so’ as he did not want to divulge his name. And the writer made use of

the expression, ‘British to the backbone’, instead of ‘pure British’.

What is more, Maugham played on the contrast using the two words,

‘flower’ and ‘coat’ side by side in the sentence, ‘It shone in her like a

flower on a coat’. The word ‘a flower’ is used to describe Mrs.

Ramsay’s modesty and ‘a coat’ is for ‘the other women’. The sentence,

‘Chain you’re wearing will never be worth a cent less than it is now’ is

a clever way of saying that its value will never diminish.

VI.2. Racial Discrimination and Prejudices

In the short story, ‘Mr. Know-All’, the author seems to have racial

discrimination and prejudices. First of all, the author prejudges his

cabin-mate, because of his name Mr. Kelada. The narrator decides

that he will not like Mr. Kelada, but that he would have liked him

more, if he had been ‘English’. The narrator’s heart sank upon hearing

that name because he associated the name with peculiar habits of

Easterners and subsequently referred to him as a Levantine. Mr.

Kelada however insists, unaware of the narrator’s antagonism, that he

is English. However, the writer ignores him and uses the term

Levantine to refer to him. The writer also imagines that his cabin-

mate would close all the port-holes and thus make it impossible for

him to sleep comfortably.

Mr. Kelada is described as being short and sturdy, with a hooked nose

and liquid eyes. He also had a dark skin and long black hair that was

sleek and curly. It is obvious that Mr. Kelada was merely a Middle

Easterner attempting to pass off as an Englishman. The narrator

states that ‘He spoke with a fluency in which there was nothing

English’ and ‘That his British passport would have betrayed the fact

that Mr. Kelada was born under a bluer sky than is generally seen in

England’. Mr. Kelada had a dark skin; it did not mean that he was not

born in England. His parents would have come to live in England and

he could have indeed been born there. Although Mr. Kelada may be a

British, the narrator looked down upon him and he did not want to

accept him as an Englishman. From the above expressions, it can be

deduced that the writer is prejudiced.

VI.3. Usage of Words and Expressions

By reading the story, ‘Mr. Know-All’, readers can notice the way the

writer uses words and expressions effectively. The very first is ‘heart

sank’ which was used when the author heard the name of his cabin-

mate. In addition, idiomatic expressions, as well as the colloquialisms

and slang also contribute to this short story’s interest. The writer

employs the idiomatic expression, ‘put on airs’, to explain his feelings

when Mr. Kelada called him by his first name instead of using Mr. The

sentence, ‘Having been on a flying visit to New York to fetch his wife’,

contributes both the idiomatic expression, ‘a flying visit’ to refer to ‘a

short visit’, and the descriptive word, ‘fetch’ to visualize the action ‘go

and get’ in the reader’s state of mind. He also referred to the English

flag as the ‘Union Jack’, a friend is spoken of as ‘a pal’ and

‘cocksureness’ to ‘being too confident’. Thus, the author arouses the

readers’ interest both by its aesthetic and linguistic appeal.

VI.4. Humour

Being the hero of the story, Mr. Max Kelada, was a good mixer he

knew each and everyone on the ship even within three days. Apart

from that he managed everything such as the sweeps, the auctions,

collecting money for prizes at the sports getting up quoits and golf

matches, organizing the concert, and arranging the fancy-dress ball.

He was everywhere and in everything held on board the ship. That’s

why, everyone on the ship nick-named him ‘Mr. Know-All’. It was

created merely to provoke the reader’s laughter and enjoyment and

get innocent pleasure from teasing a man who never got angry or

perturbed.

VI.5. Episode which Arouses Reader’s Curiosity

In the story, Mr. Kelada made a bet with Mr. Ramsay whether Mrs.

Ramsay’s chain was real or not. Mr. Kelada examined the chain with a

magnifying glass. The author illustrated the action of Mr. Kelada by

the sentence, ‘A smile of triumph spread over his smooth and swarthy

face’. This leads the readers to the complication of the story. It is the

climax of the story when Mr. Kelada was about to declare that the

pearls were real. The reader is held in suspense — will Mr. Max

Kelada tell the truth to save his reputation as an expert on pearls and

an astute and trustworthy businessman or will be large-hearted

enough to sacrifice his reputation to save a woman from the

consequences that would follow his revelation of the truth. He

gallantly chooses to save the lady and admits he is mistaken. This is a

high price he has to pay as it involves his trade.

Mr. Kelada looms large as a generous and sympathetic person while

the writer in the story and Mr. Ramsay are reduced to being petty,

selfish characters, insensitive to the feelings of others. He may be a

very talkative person but concerning the lady he is reticent and does

not talk about her behaviour or say anything that may belittle her.

posted by MAY THET HNIN | 9:37 PM | 1 comments

VII. Conclusion

The story revolves on the idea that one cannot make judgements on a

person based on first impressions or prejudice or lies. The longer one

knows a person the clearer become his character and his inner mind.

Therefore, the essence of this story is that no one is to be totally

disliked however evil he seems to be. Mr. Know-All appears to be an

annoying character but in the end, the narrator’s opinions about Mr.

Know-All changes because Mr. Know-All saved Mrs. Ramsay by saying

that the pearls were artificial. As the saying goes, a word is very

important. Depending on a word, a person’s life may be changed

either for success or failure. As Mr. Know-All did not speak the truth

concerning the pearls, he was able to save Mrs. Ramsay’s reputation

and her marriage. The writer makes the readers see that a person like

Mr. Kelada is to be judged by his actions in a critical situation that

involves loss of reputation to himself. All the other factors his

mannerisms, his annoying behaviour can be forgotten in the light of

his benevolence and understanding for others.

“Mr. Know All” is a story written by Somerset Maugham immediately after the First World War. He widely traveled across the globe particularly in the Far East. He worked in British secret service so most of his work is based on people he met and experiences which he accumulated during these travels. Due to the very nature of his job in the secret service, he became habitual to observing the nature and habits of people. 

Mr. Know All is also a story of such experience which revolves around a person named Mr. Kelda whom he meets during his travel to “Yakohama” by ship. In the story the author dislikes Mr. Kelda because he is Black and the most disturbing and interfering element on board. Mr. Kelda is given the title Mr. Know All because of his talkative nature. The narrator does not like Mr. Kelda but in the end he comes to know the reality and is impressed by his decency and changes his views about Blacks, in general.

The story teller shows how we often tend to be judgmental towards others yet later when we take a closer look, we may find that they are truly greater in character than we are. In the first half of the story the narrator’s racist views are manifested in his dislike for Mr. Kelda and his search for a name with Smith or Brown as his fellow passenger as he scans the passenger list – an unabashed show of British superiority, their trade mark suspicion towards people of foreign origin, their condemnation of Blacks as savage, uncivilized, uncouth and their colonial mindset. Likewise Mr. Kelda is treated as a social outcast on board. The writer epitomizes the “White” mindset, as he is predisposed to dislike Mr. Kelda without knowing him well. This story also deals with prejudice and hasty judgment. However, the progress of the story sees a transformation in the narrator when he criticizes racial prejudices and snobbish attitude of the British as his own perception changes with the turn of events. The ship here, where the narrator meets Mr. Kelda, symbolizes a slice of society where different types of people live for an extended period of time and get a chance to come close to each other, which compels the writer to

change his opinion in the long run, about Mr. Kelda and acknowledge the virtuosity of a Black man.