Reading “Mr. Know-all”: A Post-colonial Perspective Mr. Know-all is a short story written by the English author W. Somerset Maugham(1874-1965), who is most famed for his novel Of Human Bondage. Besides, he also earns his reputation for his plays, and short stories. It is said that he has been the highest paid writer around the world in the 1930s. He is rich in traveling experience, which indeed does great favor to his world-renowned travel stories. This story, Mr. Know-all, is one of these masterpieces.
This story takes place on a ship from San Francisco to Yokohama in the interwar years, that is to say, this story is set in special time --in the years between World War I and World War II. The major character is Mr Kelada and the tide characters are Mr & Mrs Ramsay and the narrator himself. On the ship from San Francisco to Yokohama, the narrator has to share a cabin with Mr Kelada. The narrator does not like him because he is not a native English. Besides, Mr Kelada always keeps talking, intending to show that he knows much more than any other people on the ship,which leaves the narrator the impression of loquacity and vanity. He is a good mixer and has known everyone on the ship within only three days. Due to his loquacity, he is named “Mr Know-all”, which is taken by him as a complement. Mr Ramsay is the only person who debates with
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Mr Kelada. They bet with Mrs Ramsay’s pearl chain. Mr Kelada deals with pearl business and he is expert in pearl, so Mr Kelada insists Mrs Ramsay’s pearl chain is precious and bets with Mr Ramsay a hundred dollars while Mr Ramsay declares it a cultured one costing only 18 dollars. Mr Kelada closely examines the pearl chain. But when he is about to announce his victory he catches a sight of Mrs Ramsay’s paly face. At last Mr Kelada changes his mind and admits he is wrong, with the risk of damaging his reputation and losing one hundred dollars. However the next day, he receives a letter enclosed a hundred-dollar note. The narrator understands that Mr Kelada makes a white lie and at that moment he dose not entirely dislike Mr Kelada.
Mr Know-all is typical post-colonial literature. Post-colonial literature is a body of literary writing that responds to the intellectual discourse of European colonization in the Asia, Africa, Middle East, the Pacific, and other post-colonial areas throughout the globe. Post-colonial literature addresses the problems and consequences of the de-colonization of a country and of a nation, especially the political and cultural independence of formerly subjugated colonial peoples; and it also is a literary critique of and about post-colonial literature, the undertones of which carry, communicate, and justify racialism and colonialism.[1]The contemporary forms of post-colonial literature present literary and
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intellectual critiques of the post-colonial discourse, by endeavourring to assimilate post-colonialism and its literary expressions.
As a result, race has been an important theme in the post-colonial literature. Racism, under which race-related issues are mostly discussed, involves the belief in racial differences, which acts as a justification for non-equal treatment, or discrimination, of members of that race. The term racism is commonly used negatively and usually is associated with race-based prejudice, dislike, discrimination, or oppression. Sociologist David Wellman defines racism as a “culturally sanctioned belief”[2]; sociologists Noël A. Cazenave and Darlene Alvarez Maddern define racism as “...a highly organized system of race-based group privilege that operates at every level of society and is held together by a sophisticated ideology of color/race supremacy.”[3]Such ideology of supremacy can be typically reflected in post-colonial theory and literature, whose overlapping themes include the initial encounter with the colonizer, the disruption of indigenous culture, the concept of “othering”, colonial oppression, white supremacy, and so on.
Mr Know-all is a good representation of post-colonial themes and can be better interpreted by understanding the mentality behind the colonist ideology. This ideology divides people of the onetime commonwealth countries and their descendants into colonizers—the “self” and the colonized—the “other”, and develops such mentality
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into white supremacy, discriminating against all other ethnicities.
The mentality of prejudice and discrimination can even be clearly seen at the very beginning paragraphs. The first sentence of the narrator is that “ I was prepared to dislike Max Kelada before I knew him.” Why the narrator has such a strong emotion to Mr Kelada even before knowing him? On the one hand, the narrator does not want to share a cabin with a stranger during the 14-day tour from San Francisco to Yokohama; on the other hand, as a more intense and immanent reason, the narrator has a superiority feeling. It can be proved through the following words: “ It was bad enough to share a cabin for fourteen days with anyone (I was going from San Francisco to Yokohama), but I should have looked upon it with less dismay if my fellow passenger’s name had been Smith or Brown.” However, to the narrator’s disappointment, his fellow passenger’s name is not a typical English name, but something like “Kelada”. Further more, basing on Mr Kelada’s baggages, his labels on the suitcases, his big wardrobe trunk, his unpacked toilet things, and some other decent private staff, the narrator makes a guess that Mr Kelada is a patron of the excellent Monsieur Coty. The narrator emphasized that he did not at all like Mr Kelada. Even the narrator knows that Mr Kelada may be of decent social status, he prefers to do some recreational activity himself. He is apparently not willing to make friends with this “Kelada” guy.
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Then Mr Kelada comes to the stage. He introduces himself so warmly and shows his amity while the narrator responses him with only few words. When Mr Kelada says “ I was jolly glad when I heard you were English. I’m all for us English sticking together when we’re abroad, if understand what I mean”, intending to find a sense of belonging, the narrator just blinks and replies “Are you English?”. From the intuitive response, it can be deduced that the narrator dose not believe Mr Kelada an English at all. In his mind, an real English should be typical English with typical English name and typical English appearance. Obviously, Mr Kelada is not a typical English. “To prove it, Mr Kelada took out of his pocket a passport and airily waved in under my nose.” However, the narrator dose not regard Mr Kelada as a real English even Mr Kelada is with a passport, instead, in the narrator’s mind, he feels pretty sure that a closer inspection of that British passport will have betrayed the fact that Mr Kelada is born under a bluer sky than is generally seen in England. That is to say, the narrator obviously feels superior to Mr Kelada and Mr Kelada is just some unimportant guy from some not-heard colony. The colonies attach themselves to England and to some extent, Mr Kelada dose not deserve the British passport. In the narrator’s mind, he is reluctant to admit that Mr Kelada is English as he politically.
Since the narrator has no chance to change Mr Kelada’s nationality, he has to stay away from Mr Kelada to keep his sense of superiority. But
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the hospitable Mr Kelada will never give him chance to escape. He even invites the narrator a drink although prohibition of alcoholic drink is in force. The narrator dose not care the drink at all but Mr Kelada’s oriental smile. The smile is so special and different from the native English’s. It can be seen here that in the narrator’s mind, Mr Kelada’s oriental smile again shows his racial status. A smile is just a smile, why a smile can be judged as oriental? Clearly we can find that the narrator must have some sense of superiority to the natives of the colonies.
Anyway, the narrator is an English gentleman and he never shows his discrimination in public. When Mr. Kelada keeps talking from here to there, the narrator can not help thinking: “The Union Jack is an impressive piece of drapery, but when it is flourished by a gentleman from Alexandria or Beirut, I cannot but feel that it loses somewhat in dignity”. From this sentence, it can easily concluded that the narrator has always holding prejudice against Mr Kelada, and those “Mr Keladas” from colonies such as Alexandria or Beirut. This is an inveterate prejudice, which is inborn in the British backbone, in all aspects from politic to daily things. The narrator says again: “ I did not like Mr Kelada” with no hesitation.
Things come more horrible when Mr Kelada interrupts the narrator cards playing. To the narrator, there is nothing more exasperating when he playing patience than be told where to put the card he has turned up
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before he has had a chance to look for himself. As a result, the narrator emphasizes: “I did not like Mr Kelada”. It is no wonder that Mr Kelada’s behaviour is annoying, but the prejudice and discrimination against Mr Kelada must straighten the narrator’s aversion to Mr Kelada.
When the narrator hears the news that Mr Kelada has taken a seat for him, he is not happy at all. Through getting along with Mr Kelada for 3 days, the narrator presents a clearer image of Mr Kelada to the readers. Mr Kelada is a good mixer and he knows everyone on board. He runs everything. He is everywhere and always. The people on board give him a nickname -- Mr Know-all, which Mr Kelada takes it as a complement. What’s more, Mr Kelada is a loquacious and argumentative man that he will not drop a subject, however unimportant, till has brought others to his way of thinking.
No one on board tries to persuade Mr Kelada except Mr Ramasy. Mr Ramsay is in the American Consular Service, and Mrs Ramsay, who has been spending a year at home alone, is an elegant lady.
One evening at dinner the conversation by chance drifts to the subject of pearl. Mr Kelada, as usual, shows aris of erudition. He tells others he deals with pearl business. He is expert in pearl. Mr Ramsay do not know much in the pearl field, but he can not resist the opportunity to
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have a fling at the Levantine -- Mr Kelada, resulting in a every hearted argumentation.
To get an absolute victory and show all the presenters his profession, Mr Kelada decides to bet Mr Ramsay on his wife’s pearl chain. Mr Kelada think the pearl chain is precious and of great value while Mr Ramsay insist that the pearl chain is bought by 18 dollars and with no value. To prove its value, Mr Kelada takes a magnifying glass and closely examined it. After that, Mr Kelada is sure of the pearl chain’s value and a smile of triumph spreads on his face. However he suddenly catches sight of Mrs Ramsay’s paly face. He at once understands that something secret happens to Mrs Ramsay because Mr Ramsay can not afford such a precious pearl chain. At last Mr Kelada makes great efforts and say: “ I was mistaken”.Mr Ramsay wins and he get the one hundred dollars.
The next day Mr Kelada gets a letter witch is enclosed with a hundred-dollar note. The narrator is sure that the pearl chain is real and precious. At that moment, the narrator dose not entirely dislike Mr Kelada.
From the climax of this short story, we can clear see that Mr Kelada is a man deserving respect. Mr Ramsay is not ill-paid and can not buy his wife such a precious pearl chain. Mr Kelada comes to realize that there is
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something secret happens to Mrs Ramsay, may be the precious pearl chain is bought by Mrs Ramsay’s lover. To keep Mrs Ramsay’s secret and save Mr & Mrs Ramsay’s marriage, Mr Kelada admit he is mistaken and the pearl chain is cultured. And he loses his one hundred dollars. Mr Kelada is a person who cares so much in his reputation and dignity, however, he still tells a white lie in the cost of losing face and one hundred dollars. He is not a man who is eager to win at any cost although he tends to show off his erudition. To some extent, Mr Kelada sacrifices himself for Mr & Mrs Ramsay. Although he is not a native English, and sometimes he has a oriental smile, he is a guy of beautiful moral characters.
Words Cited
1.Hart, Jonathan; Goldie, Terrie,1993, Post-colonial theory , University of Toronto Press, P155.
2. Wellman, David T. ,1993, “Portraits of White Racism”, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. pp. x.
3. Cazenave, Noël A. & Darlene Alvarez,1999, “Defending the White Race:White Male Faculty Opposition to a White Racism Course” ,Race and Society 2. pp. 25–50.
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