Page 29 - Point 5 Literature Program Option 1 Teachers Guide (2) (1)

MR. KNOW ALL
w. Somerset maugham

Student’s Coursebook, page 27

HOTS taught: Generating possibilities
HOTS spiraled: Inferring
Literary Terms taught: Setting, Stereotype, Foreshadowing, Climax, Theme

Background Information

Biography
w. Somerset maugham (1874–1965) was an Englishman who is best remembered as a master
of the short story. He was a prolific writer who traveled a great deal and enjoyed financial
success. He often chose remote settings for his narratives and was known for his strikingly
realistic style. His training as a doctor helped him to write vivid physical portrayals of his
characters. There are also many biographical details to be found in his work. maugham wrote
Mr. Know All in london after world war I.

Cultural issues and relevant vocabulary
th
• In the early part of the 20 century, before flying was common, people traveled from country
to country by ship. The ocean-liners (line 2) – סונאיקוא תוצוח תויניא – were huge
ships with several decks (line 65) – םינופיס . People slept in small rooms called cabins
(line 6) with one or more beds called berths (line 4). These cabins often had round windows
called portholes (line 5).
• During the period between 1920 and 1933, the US government forbade the sale of any
alcoholic drinks. This period was known as Prohibition (line 34). Since in this story the ship
was sailing from San Francisco, it was “bone-dry” (line 35), i.e., no alcohol was sold on the
ship. although the sale of alcohol was illegal, it was possible to buy it on the black market,
as mr. kelada obviously had.
• The bet made in Part III of the story is whether Mrs. Ramsay’s chain was made of real

(natural) pearls or imitation (cultured – תברותמ ) pearls. Pearls form naturally inside
certain freshwater and seawater shellfish such as oysters and mussels. They were very rare
and so they were very valuable. around 1916, a few years before the setting of this story, the
Japanese adopted a technique of ‘helping’ the shellfish to make the pearls and these became
known as ‘cultured’ pearls. They were, of course, less valuable than the natural ones, but
only real experts in the field could tell the difference just by looking at them.

• The narrator is obviously British (probably English) as he says he would prefer a cabin
companion (line 4) – רדחל רבח – with a name like Smith or Brown. Typical
characteristics of British gentlemen at that time were that they dressed in quiet colors, they
did not talk very much and did not use gestures (line 30) – םיידי תועונת – when
they did. That is why the narrator uses so many words and expressions to describe how
much and how Mr. Kelada speaks – to show that he did not know how to behave ‘properly’.
For example:

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