Story “Mr. Know All”

It helped me understand the personalities of the narrator and Max Kelada according to the background information. The narrator was originally from Britain. Max Kelada probably came from one of the countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Egypt. The British Empire considered the citizens who lived in British colonies as inferior citizens. The attitude that the British used towards the citizens of the British colonies seems like the approach of the narrator, he didn’t respect Max Kelada, judged him and he was too cold towards Max Kelada. The narrator related to Max Kelada as a “second-class citizen”, he judged him by his appearance and not by his character. Max Kelada, who is a citizen of the British colonies, interferes in other people’s lives. He is dogmatic and thinks that he knows everything better than anybody else, he is certain that you are as glad to see him as he is glad to see you.

He argues a lot and always has something to say, runs everything, conducts the auction, collects money for prizes at the sports, organizes the concerts and arranges a ball. All these annoy the passengers and the narrator, but Mr.Kelada doesn’t want to annoy them, he has good intentions, he’s interested in being friendly with the passengers and the narrator and he helps them. He does all those things to prove that although he comes from a British colony, he isn’t a second class citizen. After all, someone who is inferior can’t be so smart and friendly as he is. Somerset Maugham was an early nineteenth century British writer. His works often reflected the widespread prejudiced and racist views held by the British colonists, prevalent during the period in which he wrote.” Make a connection between the quote and the poem. Support your answer with information from the story. Part #1: Explain what the quote means.

The quote tells us that during the time in which the short story “Mr. Know-All” was written literature tended to reflect the widespread prejudiced and racist views present in British society (more specifically by the British colonists).

Part #2: Connect the poem to the quote through the use of sufficient examples. In the story, we are first introduced to the narrator who was a traditional British man. We also read about Mr. Kelada, who although a British citizen was likely born in one of the British colonies. We then read about how the narrator did not like Mr. Kelada nor want to share a room with him because of his ethnic name, his dark skin, his non-British mannerisms and the fact that he was likely born in a “bluer sky” than that above Britain. Part #3: Explain the connection and state what it has helped you understand. The above quote helps me understand that Somerset Maugham likely based the behavior and views of the narrator on the prevailing attitudes held by the British population during that period. The views of the narrator could have been that of any British citizen living in Britain or one of the British colonies at that time. Final Answer

The quote tells us that during the time in which the short story “Mr. Know-All” was written literature tended to reflect the widespread prejudiced and racist views present in British society (more specifically by the British colonists). In the story, we are first introduced to the narrator who was a traditional British man. We also read about Mr. Kelada, who although a British citizen was likely born in one of the British colonies. We then read about how the narrator did not like Mr. Kelada nor want to share a room with him because of his ethnic name, his dark skin, his non-British mannerisms and the fact that he was likely born in a “bluer sky” than that above Britain. The above quote helps me understand that Somerset Maugham likely based the behavior and views of the narrator on the prevailing attitudes held by the British population during that period. The views of the narrator could have been that of any British citizen living in Britain or one of the British colonies at that time.