Mr. Know All – Basic Understanding
“Mr. Know All” by W. Somerset Maugham is a short story of simple facts, but with a
deeper meaning below the surface. In fact, the story is a fantastic story about prejudice,
racism and how what appears to be true, at times is just an illusion.
Basic terms and concepts:
Prejudice – unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature,
regarding a racial, religious, or national group.
Racism – the belief that some people are superior and others are inferior based on
racial, religious or national group.
Stereotype – a widely held, but fixed and oversimplified image or idea, of a particular
type of person. (examples: Iranians are stingy; Moroccans have bad tempers)
Setting and its significance:
The story takes place after World War I on a boat traveling from San Francisco in the
United States to Yokohama in Japan.
The story takes place in “international waters.” This is significant for two
reasons:
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
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By taking place in international waters, and not in a given country, the writer is
saying that prejudice is an international problem, and not a problem of any given
place.
The writer is saying that prejudice and racism are human traits and not the traits
of any given culture.
The ship becomes the symbol of the world with people who are prejudiced and
even racists. Although the characters are far from their native societies, they still
bring with them their racial and cultural prejudices and stereotypes.
Time – The story takes place shortly after World War I. It is mentioned for two
reasons:

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 a cabin with a person he didn’t know at the beginning, and
disliked just because of his name.

It gives us a possible reason for the narrator’s unjustified antagonism towards Mr.
Kelada. Usually, during periods of war, feelings of prejudice and dislike for
foreigners grow stronger.
Part One:
In part one, we are introduced to our narrator (the person who tells the story). We are
led to believe that our narrator, who is English, considers himself to be a gentleman. He
considers his “breeding” to be superior to non-white English citizens from the colonies
held by England during this period in history.
From the beginning of the story, we are told that our narrator was a highly prejudiced
man who was willing to dislike Max Kelada, his cabin-mate on the boat, even before he
met him.
There are several symbols that represent the author’s attitude towards prejudice:





The closed portholes – these represent the close-mindedness of the narrator
towards people from other societies. While the narrator is willing to believe that
closed portholes (close-mindedness) are the fault of his cabin-mate, he is in fact
to be blamed for this. People who are prejudice tend to blame the targets of the
prejudiced feelings, while failing to look at their inner-darkness (the closed
portholes posed a problem at night).
The cabin – On a boat people live in confined quarters (‫)מגורים צפופים‬. The small
living area represents the closed (small) mindedness that our narrator has when
it comes to people of different backgrounds than his.
The labels on the suitcase – While the labels on Mr. Kelada’s suitcases tell us
that our main character travels a lot, the labels also represent the labels (‫)תוויות‬
that prejudiced people place on other people for no good reason.
The suitcases – These represent “the baggage” that people who seek to
acclimate (‫ )להסתגל‬into another culture carry with them. This baggage includes
attitudes, behaviors and traditions that must be discarded to become accepted
into closed-minded societies that demand uniformity (‫)אחידות‬.
The large trunk, the toilet goods of Monsieur Coty, Max’s ebony brushes
with monograms – These are all items that belong to Mr. Kelada. They seem to
point to a cultured man with proper economic standing (‫)מעמד כלכלי‬. However,
our narrator uses them to justify his prejudiced feelings regarding Mr. Kelada. We
can understand that the writer is making a very important point: No matter what
the target of racial aggression (‫ )תוקפנות גזענית‬does, the aggressor (‫ )תוקפן‬will
always look to find fault in the victim.

A lack of a name for the narrator – We are not given a name for the narrator.
The author is telling us that the name of the narrator is not important because we
all are the narrator, with closed mindedness about those who are different from
us.
Once the narrator voices (‫ )משמיע‬his dislike for Mr. Kelada, he leaves the cabin
to play solitaire on the boat and is approached by Mr. Kelada. When Mr. Keleda
introduces himself to the narrator, Mr. Kelada is described as having, “a row of
flashing teeth.” White teeth should be a sign of good hygiene (‫)היגיינה‬, but our
narrator uses them to make Mr. Kelada have a sinister ) ‫ )מרושע‬look. Again, the
racist is quick to grab hold of any attribute of the targeted (‫ )מיועדת‬population to
justify his attitude, even if the interpretation (‫ )פרשנות‬the attribute (‫ )תכונה‬is presented
in a twisted manner (‫)בצורה מעוותת‬.
When Mr. Kelada tells the narrator that he is an English citizen, the narrator is
quite surprised. While he must accept the fact that Mr. Kelada is a British citizen by
law, because he has a passport, he does not accept him as a true Englishman being
worthy of being called a gentleman, and certainly not as someone equal to himself.
In fact, Mr. Kelada is a Levantine. A Levantine is someone who comes from
Levant, the former name for the geographical area of the eastern Mediterranean that
is now occupied by Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. Mr. Kaleda is presented with all the
typical stereotypes of a person from the Middle East. He is portrayed as an informal,
loud, dogmatic and pushy person who cannot help but interfere in the lives of other
people.
Yet, our narrator does not openly treat Mr. Kelada as different, although he
appears to slightly show his surprise that Mr. Kelada is indeed a British citizen. What
our author is telling us is that not all racists and bigots (‫ )גזענים‬actively participate in
acts of open racism. They carefully conceal (‫ )מסתירים‬their feelings (perhaps
because they know that such attitudes are not socially acceptable – despite being
common- ‫)נפוץ‬, but this does not mean they are any less racist.
Our author goes even a step further in establishing (‫ )לבסס‬the racist hypocrisy
(‫ )צביעות‬of the narrator. When Mr. Kelada offers our narrator an alcoholic beverage
(which was illegal in this era (‫ )תקופה‬in the United States, and on ships leaving US
ports), the narrator quickly accepts and takes advantage of Mr. Kelada’s stock of
alcohol. This is symbolic of the hypocrisy of racists who pretend to be friendly to
those who suffer from prejudice and bigotry (‫)גזענות‬, but indeed share the same
feelings as those who detest (‫ )שונאים‬them. In fact, they are even willing to use the
resources (‫ )משאבים‬of those they consider inferior (‫ )נחות‬when it suits their personal
interests.
But our author (‫ )סופר‬is not without criticism of Mr. Kelada. Mr. Kelada, despite
being a well-travelled (‫ )טייל הרבה‬man, and apparently cultured (‫)מתורבת‬, ignores the
cultural norms (‫ )נורמות תרבותיות‬of the narrator and acts in a manner that brings ill
feelings upon himself (‫)שגורם לאנשים לא לחבב אותו‬:



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He talks too much.
He acts with ill manners when he doesn’t use the term “Mister” to address the
narrator as is expected between two total strangers.
He interferes(‫ )מתערב‬in the narrator’s solitaire card game.
He reserves (‫ )שומר‬a seat for the narrator in the dining hall without
permission.
It appears that Mr. Kelada does not have evil intentions (‫)כוונות רעות‬. But in his
desire to gain acceptance, he oversteps the accepted social boundaries
(‫)גבולות המקובלות בחברה‬. The writer is indeed warning those who suffer from
prejudice and racism not to overstep (‫ )לעבור‬socially acceptable boundaries if they
seek (‫ )מחפשים‬to be accepted. He is also telling minorities (‫ )מיעוטים‬that they must
adapt to the acceptable social codes (‫ )כללים חברתיים‬of the dominate population
(‫ )אוכלוסיית השולטת‬if they seek (‫ )מחפשים‬to have a chance of being truly accepted.
Part Two:
In part two of the story, we learn that Mr. Kelada took upon himself to arrange
all the social affairs of the cruise. While Mr. Kelada appears to think that his
efforts are appreciated, the narrator is quick to point out that: “He was certainly the
best hated man on the ship.”
The passengers called him “Mr. Know All” to his face. While this is clearly an
insult (‫)עלבון‬, Mr. Kelada takes it as a compliment. He earned the nickname because
he would argue any point, even the smallest of points, until he had won the
argument. Undoubtedly, many of Mr. Know All’s “victories” (‫ )נצחונות‬came as a result
of his ability to wear-down (‫ )להתיש‬his partner in debate (‫)ויכוח‬.
It appears that Mr. Kelada’s annoying habits are not motivated by ill-will
(‫)רצון רע‬, but by cultural codes which are unacceptable to our narrator who is a
snobbish English gentleman (another stereotype). Yet, it is these mannerisms which
prevent Mr. Kelada from assimilating fully (...‫ )להיות חלק מ‬into English culture and
being accepted as a true Englishman.
Our author is making an important point about the difficulties of foreigners in
becoming part of their newly adopted cultures. The only way Mr. Kelada will be
able to become accepted as a true Englishman, is if he deserts (‫ )נוטש‬the ways of his
native culture and becomes someone who is really isn’t – a heavy price that
requires him to give up (‫ )לוותר על‬his cultural identity (‫)זהות תרבותית‬.
Our narrator tells us that while being around Mr. Kaleda was an unpleasant
experience during the course of the day, it was the meal times that were the worst
because the diners were a captive audience (‫ )קהל שבוי‬and could not just get up and
leave the table for this would be poor manners.
Despite being a clear annoyance, it is obvious that Mr. Kelada has gained a
place of respectable status on the ship. This we can see from the fact that he
arranges for himself to sit at the table of the ship’s doctor. The ship’s doctor, in the
era in which the story was written, played a key social and professional role on the
ship. The high status of sitting at the doctor’s table is reinforced (‫ )מחוזק‬by the fact
that another cruise-goer who joins the doctor’s table is an American diplomat, Mr.
Ramsey.
Mr. Ramsey is quite annoyed at Mr. Kelada’s attitude that he is right about
everything and picks arguments with Mr. Kelada. While we are not told so outright,
(‫ )במישרין‬it appears that Mr. Ramsey’s problem with Mr. Know All’s attitude and selfconfidence is connected to his ethnic background. While Mr. Ramsey, has a certain
social status as a member of the American Counselor Service, he is certainly not rich
and has a quite neglected appearance, and is a heavy man who dresses poorly.
This is in sharp contrast to the description of Mr. Kaleda who is well groomed
(‫)מטופח היטב‬.Their physical contrast is an expression of their contrasting mental and
cultural attitudes.
We are also introduced to Mrs. Ramsey. Mrs. Ramsey is described as a simple
person with a modest (‫ )צנוע‬personality and appearance. Her modest demeanor
(‫ )התנהגות‬is what makes her stand out. (“It shown in her like a flower on a coat.”).
But we are soon to learn that appearances can be deceiving (‫)מטעה‬.
Mrs. Ramsey is also described as a “very pretty little thing.” Her physical
incompatibility (‫ )חוסר התאמה‬with her husband might represent their differences,
which cause problems with their marriage.
Part Three:
This part of the story contains (‫ )מכיל‬the climax (‫ )שיא‬of the story. Mr. Ramsey
decides to start an argument with Mr. Kaleda just for the fun of it. The argument
centered on whether the development of artificial peals (‫ )פנינים מלכותיים‬would have a
negative impact (‫ )השפעה שלילית‬on the price of the real pearls. This argument was
very heated, even more than past ones and Mr. Know All lost his temper
(‫)איבד את העשתונות‬.
Mr. Kaleda reveals (‫ )חושף‬for the first time the nature of his business and tells
his captive audience at the table that he is travelling to Kobe, Japan to investigate
the cultured (artificial) pearl business.
Mr. Kaleda looks at Mrs. Ramsey, who is wearing a beautiful string of pearls ( ‫מחרוזת‬
‫)של פנינים‬, and tells her that her necklace will maintain its value (‫ )לשמור ערכו‬despite
the influx (‫ )חדירה‬of cultured pearls in the marketplace. In essence, he is saying that
Mrs. Ramsey’s pearls are real.
However, Mr. Ramsey quickly asks Mr. Know All how much the pearls cost. Mr.
Kelada estimates their price at between 15,000 to 30,000 dollars. Mr. Ramsey
quickly says that the pearls are artificial and cost 18 dollars. Mr.Kelada is shocked
and tells Mr. Ramsey that the pearls are real.
Mr. Ramsey quickly takes the opportunity to make a few extra dollars and offers a
$100 wager to Mr. Kelada regarding the authenticity of Mrs. Ramsey’s pearls.
Despite the fact that Mr. Kelada has an obvious conflict of interest, Mr. Ramsey
agrees to let Mr. Kelada judge the authenticity of the pearls. Again, despite having
an obvious negative opinion of Mr. Kelada, a member of the “better race” is willing to
make use of the “inferior race’s” abilities (this time, his expertise - ‫)מומחיות‬.
However, Mrs. Ramsey tries to convince her husband to call off (‫ )לבטל‬the bet. She
claims it is not fair to bet on something that is known absolutely. When she realizes
that this is not going to prevent the bet, she pretends to be unable to take off the
pearls so that Mr. Kelada can examine their authenticity. Despite the fact that it is
obvious to all that Mrs. Ramsey is uncomfortable with the bet, Mr. Ramsey is
persistent and takes the string of pearls off of his wife and hands them to Mr. Kaleda.
Just when Mr. Kelada is about to announce that the pearls are real, he catches sight
of Mrs. Ramsey’s face which has turned pale. He decides to announce to the people
at the table that he was wrong and that the pearls are fake. The irony of this is that
Mr. Kelada who apparently (‫ )כנראה‬lacks sensitivity (‫ )רגישות‬to other people, is
sensitive to Mrs. Ramsey more than her husband is.
But it is the price that Mr. Kaleda is willing to pay that is most surprising. Mr. Kaleda
takes pride in being correct all the time and he allowed himself to be “caught” being
wrong even though he was correct about the pearls. Add to this that he was willing to
lose a $100 bet (a considerable – ‫ נכבד‬amount of money at the time the story was
written), and the sacrifice (‫ )הקרבה‬that Mr. Know All has made becomes all too clear.
The story spreads (‫ )מתפשט‬all over the ship and Mr. Kaleda becomes the subject
ridicule (‫)נושא לצחוק או להקטנה‬. The next morning, an envelope with a $100 note is
placed under the door of the cabin in which our narrator and Mr. Kaleda live. At this
point, it becomes obvious (‫ )ברור‬to our narrator that Mr. Know All was correct about
the pearls being authentic. Apparently, Mrs. Ramsey received the pearls from a
secret lover in New York while her husband had been in Kobe during the previous
year. It was at that moment that our narrator is able to connect to the human quality
of compassion (‫ )חמלה‬that Mr. Kaleda possesses, and his dislike of Mr. Know All
decreases (‫)פוחת‬.
The author is making a very important point. He is saying that if we look beyond
(...‫ )מעבר ל‬race, ethnicity (‫ )לאום‬and cultural issues, and look at human qualities, we
will be able to like those who are even quite different from us.
Who returned the money?
It is assumed ( ‫ )אפשר לשער‬that Mrs. Ramsey returned the envelope with the $100
bill in order to make up for causing Mr. Kaleda to look bad. Also, despite her faults,
she is not willing to keep money that does not belong to her.
The Pearls:
One major point that must be addressed (‫ )חייבים לדון בו‬is the importance of the
pearls. First of all, in Christian culture, pearls are associated with purity – as in the
pearly gates of Heaven. Mrs. Ramsey, the owner of the pearls, is described as
having godly attributes such as modesty. However, we soon realize that she only
seems to have wonderful traits (‫ )תכונות‬and is indeed an adulterer (‫)נואפת‬. Adultery is
considered in Christian society a grave sin (‫)חטא חמור‬. The “holy” figure of Mrs.
Ramsey is revealed (‫ )נחשפת‬to be a sinner (‫ )חוטאת‬of the worst type.
The pearls themselves appear to be fake, and such are perceived by the ship’s
passengers; but in fact, they are real. This is quite the opposite of Mrs. Ramsey in
that the pearls seem to have no value, but in reality are very valuable.
Mr. Know All is portrayed as not being correct about the pearls; and thus (‫)לפיכך‬, is a
fake Mr. Know All – at least in the eyes of the ship’s passengers. However, he is
indeed correct and is a real Mr. Know All.
The author is putting forward a very important message: Looks can be deceiving.
(‫)המראה החיצוני וראשוני עלול לרמות‬.He is warning us against judging people according
to stereotypes and preconceived prejudices (‫)דעות קדומות‬. Maugham urges us to
have open minds and to be willing to change our minds about our preconceived
notions, just as our narrator does regarding Mr. Know All at the end of the story.
This story exhibits (‫ )מראה‬the fact that first impressions (‫ )רושם ראשוני‬can be
misleading (‫ )מטעה‬and that first appearances are often wrong.
THE NARRATION - point of view
The story is told in the first person – the narrator sees everything and is a part of the
plot. However, just like our other characters, the narrator goes through several
stages of development.
In the first episode, where he meets with Mr. Kelada, the narrator is more active,
and involved. He observes (‫ )צופה‬comments (‫ )מעיר‬and judges Mr. Kelada as he
sees him through his own eyes. Since he is influenced by his prejudiced British
society, his judgments are subjective (‫)אישי‬.
In the second episode, involving the necklace examination, the narrator is less
involved. He is like a cameraman who takes photos and writes down what he hears
objectively. After the chain examination is over, the narrator becomes subjective
again.
In the last episode, the narrator discovers Mr. Kelada’s true character. As a result,
he undergoes a change (‫ – )עובר שינוי‬he realizes that people should not be judged
by their looks, but by their actions and character.