Stereotype and Narrator
Mr. Know-All
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Literary analysis
THE STORY
Mr. Know- All is a story with a moral lesson. The subject is simple. A rich Britishmerchant of Oriental origin, called Mr. Kelada, meets a group of Westerners on a shipsailing across the Pacific Ocean. His cabin-mate, a British citizen who is the namelessnarrator of the story, dislikes Mr. Kelada even before he sees him. However, at theend of the story Mr. Kelada, the Levantine jeweller, proves to be a real gentlemanwhen he sacrifices his own pride and reputation to save an American lady’s marriage.As a result, he earns the respect of the narrator.
THE SETTING
Time
– a short time after World War I. It is mentioned for two reasons. First, 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 acabin with a person he disliked. Second, it may give us a possible reason for thenarrator’s unjustified antagonism towards Mr. Kelada. Usually, during periods of war,feelings of prejudice and dislike for foreigners grow stronger.
Place
– it takes place on a ship in
INTERNATIONAL WATERS
– a neutral place.The journey for the USA to Japan takes 14 days.The ship becomes the symbol of the world with people who are prejudiced and evenracists.
THE PLOT
The story consists of two plots: the main plot and the sub-plot .1.The main plot deals with the conflicting relationship betweenthe narrator and Mr. Kelada.2.The sub-plot deals with the relationship between Mr. Keladaand Mr. Ramsay. They discuss real pearls (nature-made) and cultured pearls (man-made), then they bet whether Mrs. Ramsay's necklace ismade of real pearls or an imitation.The two plots are connected . The sub-plot serves to bring the complications of themain plot to its climax and solution. That is, after the narrator discovers that Mr.Kelada is in fact a gentleman (despite his vulgar manners) he changes his opinionabout him.
THE
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Literary analysis
THE STORY
Mr. Know- All is a story with a moral lesson. The subject is simple. A rich Britishmerchant of Oriental origin, called Mr. Kelada, meets a group of Westerners on a shipsailing across the Pacific Ocean. His cabin-mate, a British citizen who is the namelessnarrator of the story, dislikes Mr. Kelada even before he sees him. However, at theend of the story Mr. Kelada, the Levantine jeweller, proves to be a real gentlemanwhen he sacrifices his own pride and reputation to save an American lady’s marriage.As a result, he earns the respect of the narrator.
THE SETTING
Time
– a short time after World War I. It is mentioned for two reasons. First, 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 acabin with a person he disliked. Second, it may give us a possible reason for thenarrator’s unjustified antagonism towards Mr. Kelada. Usually, during periods of war,feelings of prejudice and dislike for foreigners grow stronger.
Place
– it takes place on a ship in
INTERNATIONAL WATERS
– a neutral place.The journey for the USA to Japan takes 14 days.The ship becomes the symbol of the world with people who are prejudiced and evenracists.
THE PLOT
The story consists of two plots: the main plot and the sub-plot .1.The main plot deals with the conflicting relationship betweenthe narrator and Mr. Kelada.2.The sub-plot deals with the relationship between Mr. Keladaand Mr. Ramsay. They discuss real pearls (nature-made) and cultured pearls (man-made), then they bet whether Mrs. Ramsay's necklace ismade of real pearls or an imitation.The two plots are connected . The sub-plot serves to bring the complications of themain plot to its climax and solution. That is, after the narrator discovers that Mr.Kelada is in fact a gentleman (despite his vulgar manners) he changes his opinionabout him.
THE