The characters we meet in the story are Max Kelada (Mr. Know-All); the narrator;         Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay; and the doctor. 

       The characters are described by their appearance and characteristics, except for the narrator. 

       From the start, the narrator expresses his prejudices against the man with whom he must share a cabin (Mr. Kelada).  I (like the narrator) dislike the protagonist. Kelada was too selfish and egotistic: "Mr. Kelada was chatty.....He discussed plays, pictures, and politics. He was patriotic...... He managed the sweeps, conducted the auctions, collected money for prizes at the sports, got up quoit and golf matches, organized the concert and arranged the fancy-dress ball. He was everywhere and always. He was certainly the best hated man in the ship."

        But, at the end of the story, he appears to us as a good and a decent person. 

        

       

      The plot deals with the conflicting relationship between the narrator and Mr. Kelada; with the relationship between Mr. Kelada and Mr. Ramsay.
       Mr. Kelada and Mr. Ramsay discuss nature-made pearls and cultured pearls, then they bet whether Mrs. Ramsay's necklace is made of real pearls or an imitation.
       Relationship between Mr. Kelada and Mr. Ramsay serves to bring the complications of the plot to its climax and solution. I mean, that is, after the narrator discovers that Mr. Kelada is in fact a gentleman (despite his vulgar manners) he changes his opinion about him.

     The story "Mr. Know-All" takes place in international waters on an ocean going liner sailing from San Fracisco ( the USA) to Yokohama (Japan) on the Pacific ocean. As the war had just ended, it was difficult to get accomodations. Therefore, the narrator had to share a cabin with a total stranger, but he expected him to be one of his own countrymen: "The war had just finished and the passenger traffic in the ocean going liners was heavy. Accommodation was very hard to get and you had to put up with whatever the agents chose to offer you."

     

                                                                                          “There are three rules for 

                                                               writing a novel.

                                                              Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
― William Somerset Maugham

    

  First of all, there are some facts about William Somerset Maugham. He was not only a novelist, but also a one of the most successful dramatist and short-story writers. He was born in Paris in 1874. His parents died when he was very little and the boy was brought up by his uncle.

     As you may know, Somerset Maugham was the master of the short, concise novel and he could convey relationships, greed and ambition with a startling reality. 

     I really adore most of his short stories.  

Mr Know-All

      I have chosen "Mr Know-All" by William Somerset Maugham. The first thing that needs to be said is that Maugham was a popular English author of plays, novels and short stories. He traveled widely, and was one of the best known writers of travel stories in the period between the first and second world wars. This story, which takes place on a ship, is one of those travel stories.
      Mr. Know-All is a story with a moral lesson. The subject is simple. And the main idea of this story is "DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER".