British Liturature ( THE ROCKING HORSE THE HAPPY PRINCE MR KNOW ALL)

THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER I SUMMARY "The Rocking-Horse Winner" introduces us to Hester, a woman who dreams of living a luxurious lifestyle she cannot afford She lives in a modest house with her husband and her three children, two girls and a boy Although she and her husband never mention their financial woes, the children sense that their house and everything inside of it whisper about the need for more money Kind of creepy, huh? Hester attempts to make money at various jobs, but she is not very successful at any of them One day Hester's son Paul asks her what makes some people lucky She tells him that people with luck are the ones who make lots of money; Paul's father is unlucky because no matter how hard he tries, he can not make enough money This makes Paul determined to prove that he is lucky to his mother Paul discovers that when he rides his rocking horse long enough, he is somehow able to "know" what the winning racehorse will be Using this knowledge, he asks Bassett, the family gardener, to help him place bets and hold onto his winnings Eventually, Uncle Oscar discovers Paul's gambling scheme and joins in as a partner too Paul arranges to have a lawyer send his mother five thousand pounds with the money he's won, which she promptly spends on all kinds of luxuries Meanwhile, unaware of her son's gambling habit, Hester grows concerned about Paul's health She plans to send Paul to the seaside to recover, but Paul convinces her to let him stay until after the Derby Stakes race One evening while out at a party, Hester is overcome with anxiety over Paul When she returns home, she discovers that he is still riding his rocking horse Paul collapses with a brain fever, but not before he utters the name of the Derby Stakes winner Now that's what we call a dramatic finish With this information, Uncle Oscar and Bassett go ahead and place their bets and make off with a hefty winning when the Derby Stakes winner is announced On hearing this news, Paul dies later that night Timeline’s summary • As the story begins, we are introduced to Hester, a woman who lives with her husband, two daughters, and a son in a nice neighborhood • Hester is dissatisfied with motherhood and feels that she needs more money in order to maintain a more luxurious standard of living • The children also sense their mother's desire for more wealth They can hear the house whispering about money • One day, the son, Paul, asks his mother why they don't have a car of their own like their uncle Oscar • The mother explains that Paul's father has no luck, and is unable to make as much money • Paul declares that he has luck • Paul starts to spend a lot of time riding his rocking horse He believes that if he rides the horse long enough, it will tell him where he can find luck • Paul's sister, Joan and his nanny are annoyed by his rocking horse habit • One day, Paul's mother and Uncle Oscar watch as he rides on his rocking horse • Paul's mother comments that he is too old to be riding a rocking horse, but Uncle Oscar is amused that Paul names his horse after winning racehorses • Uncle Oscar asks Bassett, the family's gardener, whether he's been talking about horseracing with Paul, and whether he puts any money on horses for Paul Bassett hesitates • Uncle Oscar then asks Paul whether he puts money on the horses • Paul tells his Uncle Oscar that he has been winning a lot of money betting on horses— getting his start with a ten-shilling note that was a gift from Uncle Oscar He always keeps twenty pounds in reserve, and has plans to bet three hundred pounds on a horse named Daffodil at the next race • Uncle Oscar humors Paul, and offers to put five pounds on a horse for him Paul asks the money be put on Daffodil • Daffodil wins • Uncle Oscar still doesn't believe Paul when Paul says that he now has fifteen hundred pounds, with twenty in reserve and twenty more won using Uncle Oscar's five pounds • Uncle Oscar confronts Bassett about the money • Bassett reveals he and Paul have been partners Bassett has been holding Paul's money for him • Paul explains that when he's absolutely sure about a horse, it's a sure win If he feels even a little uncertain about a horse, they usually lose • Uncle Oscar decides to be a partner as well • For the next big race, Paul predicts that a horse named Lively Spark is going to win Paul places a thousand pounds on the horse, Bassett places five hundred, and Uncle Oscar two hundred • Lively Spark wins at 10-1 odds, meaning that Paul wins ten thousand pounds, Bassett wins five thousand pounds, and Uncle Oscar two thousand pounds • Paul wants to give the money to his mother, but doesn't want his mother to know that it's from him or how he's made the money • Uncle Oscar arranges for a lawyer to send a letter to his mother, informing her that a relative has left her five thousand pounds to be distributed over five years, that is, one thousand pounds per year on her birthday • When his mother's birthday approaches, it seems that the house has been whispering more about money than usual Paul now has meals with his parents; he is too old for a nanny • When his mother receives the letter about the thousand pounds, she visits the lawyer and asks for five thousand pounds all at once Paul agrees, and Uncle Oscar arranges to have the whole five thousand pounds given to Paul's mother • Paul's mother spends the five thousand pounds on home décor and an expensive new tutor for Paul But with all the money, the house begins to whisper even louder that there must be more money • Paul is desperate to win, but he isn't absolutely sure about the Grand National, where he loses a hundred pounds He's also unsure about the Lincoln, where he loses fifty pounds • Paul's mother worries that Paul seems headed toward a mental breakdown, and she suggests that he takes a break at the seaside • Paul wants to bet on the Derby race, and convinces his mother not to send him away until after the Derby • By this time, Paul has had the rocking horse moved from the nursery into his room • Two days before the Derby, Paul's parents are at a big party in town Hester suddenly becomes worried about Paul and calls the governess, who reassures her everything is alright • Paul's parents return home after midnight Paul's mother discovers that Paul is still riding his rocking horse in his room • Paul collapses with a brain fever, screaming, "Malabar!" • For three days, Paul lies ill and unconscious in his room with his mother at his bedside Meanwhile, Oscar and Bassett have put their money on Malabar • On the third day, Bassett visits Paul, and informs Paul that Malabar has won Paul has made over seventy thousand pounds on the race, with his total race winnings at eighty thousand pounds • Paul is overjoyed, but the excitement is too much for him and he dies that night Oscar comforts Paul's mother THEMES Family: II You know what's scary? Your mom No, seriously—mother-son relationships have proved to be a rich source of horror over the years (Sophocles, Hamlet, Freud's Oedipal complex, Psycho—do we really need to go on?) The mother-son relationship in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a mess of unfulfilled desire, anxiety, hostility, and terror Paul's father is virtually absent from the story—we never learn his name—while his mother frantically tries to make up for all the luxuries her husband can't provide by trying to taken on the role of breadwinner, a role traditionally reserved for the husband (Note: We at Shmoop not condone strict adherence to traditional gender norms, so go Hester) The only thing is, Hester's own sense of insufficiency spills over onto Paul, who is driven mad by his ever more desperate attempts to please her and earn her love Questions About Family How does Hester feel about her children? Do you think she loves them? Why or why not? How the children feel about Hester? What kind of relationship does Paul have with his mother—do they seem close? What role male figures such as the father, Uncle Oscar, and Bassett play in the story? Who you think has the most influence on Paul, and why? Quote #1 Everybody else said of her: "She is such a good mother She adores her children." Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so (1) =>Hester publically overcompensates for her indifference to her children, which is obvious to the children, but not to anybody outside the family Sounds like Hester's a tough nut to crack Quote #2 The children could hear it all the time, though nobody ever said it aloud (5) =>The children can sense their parents' constant anxiety over money, even though the adults try to cover it up with expensive toys Too bad the house is such a blabber, whispering to the kids and all Quote #3 The boy saw she did not believe him: or rather, that she paid no attention to his assertion This angered him somewhere, and made him want to compel her attention (40) =>For Paul, his mother's attention is simply an acknowledgment that he exists He needs her attention; otherwise, he feels invisible Quote #4 "I started it for mother She said she had no luck, because father is unlucky, so I thought if I was lucky, it might stop whispering." (149) =>This is the smoking gun: Paul begins to bet on horses for his mother It's all an effort to win his mother's love Quote #5 When there were no visitors, Paul now took his meals with his parents, as he was beyond the nursery control (170) =>The family dynamic shifts here when Paul finally grows out of the nursery He's taking a seat at the table, next to his mother and father, suggesting he hold a more equal status in their eyes Technically, he's pulling in a lot of money and supporting them, although they don't know it yet Quote #6 "[…] My family has been a gambling family, and you won't know till you grow up how much damage it has done But it has done damage […]" (189) =>Isn't it ironic? Hester still doesn't know about Paul's gambling or what it's doing to his wellbeing Quote #7 His mother had sudden strange seizures of uneasiness about him Sometimes, for half an hour, she would feel a sudden anxiety about him, that was almost anguish (209) =>Hester almost starts to worry and actually care about her son—or does she sense that her wealth is somehow tied to her son? Is her anxiety really spurred by her subconscious fear of losing her money? Quote #8 Then he fell with a crash to the ground, and she, all her tormented motherhood flooding upon her, rushed to gather him up (226) =>Paul finally gets the motherly love he has so desperately desired—but only when he collapses from a brain fever Quote #9 "What does he mean by Malabar?" asked the heart-frozen mother "I don't know," said the father, stonily (230-1) =>These are the only words spoken by his father, and the word "stonily" suggests that he is not in touch with his human emotions Is he even human, or is he denser? Quote #10 He neither slept nor regained consciousness, and his eyes were like blue stones His mother sat, feeling her heart had gone, turned actually into a stone (235) =>Like the father, both Paul and Hester are compared to stones, suggesting that while Paul has literally died, his parents have figuratively died They are dead to the real, human emotions that a mother and a father ought to feel toward their dying son Wealth: At its core, "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a story about the psychological trauma inflicted by the desperate attempt to keep-up-with-the-Joneses The mother and father in the story are not wealthy, yet they aspire to a social standing and an elegant lifestyle that they can't afford Money becomes the quantitative value for everything in their lives Dad can't bring home the bacon? He's useless Mom can't succeed in any of the different jobs she tries out? Better send her back as defective Are the children a financial burden? Then it's probably better if they go unloved, maybe that'll save a few bucks Everything from selfworth to love is measured by money in this family, and the resulting emotional impoverishment has devastating effects on the children Questions About Wealth Who are the wealthy characters in the story? Who are the not-so-wealthy characters? How does having or lacking money affect their personalities? What is the relationship between luck and money? What about love and money? Do you think the characters would rather have love or money? Why or why not? At the beginning of the story, it seems that not having money makes the family unhappy, but when Paul starts raking in the big bucks through gambling, the family is still unhappy Why? Quote #1 “The mother had a small income, and the father had a small income, but not nearly enough for the social position which they had to keep up” (3) =>Oh, the horror! This bit tells us that the Cresswell family likes to spend more than they earn, and hints at the unhappiness that comes from this sort of discrepancy Quote #2 “And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase, There must be more money! There must be more money!” (5) =>Everything in the house whispers this phrase, suggesting that no amount of money is enough; money only inspires the desire for more money Quote #3 "Oh!" said Paul vaguely I thought when Uncle Oscar said filthy lucker it meant money." "Filthy lucre does mean money," said the mother "But it's lucre, not luck" (15-6) =>The pun on luck/lucre here suggests that luck is equated with wealth Quote #4 "If you're rich, you may lose your money But if you're lucky, you will always get more money." (18) The whole story tests this notion of this sentiment; is Paul really lucky when he dies in the end? Quote #5 "Bassett is lucky, and you must be lucky, because it was your ten shillings I started winning with…" (113) =>Paul takes his mother's words on luck quite literally, and Uncle Oscar is onto his scheme Quote #6 "And then the house whispers like people laughing at you behind your back It's awful, that is! I thought if I was lucky –" (157) =>It's almost as if his parents' anxieties about money become intensified into fullblown obsessions when transferred to their son Quote #7 “As his mother read it, her face hardened and became more expressionless Then a cold, determined look came on her mouth.” (171) =>Money is dehumanizing, as this reference to Hester's stone-like quality emphasizes (compare with Quote #10 under "Family") Quote #8 Then something very curious happened The voices in the house suddenly went mad, like a chorus of frogs on a spring evening There were certain new furnishings, and Paul had a tutor (181) =>Poor Paul His earnings haven't helped the money situation at home at all; it's only spurred more expensive tastes and made the voices louder Quote #9 He studied away at his Latin and Greek, with his tutor But his intense hours were spent with Bassett (182) =>Paul is studying to attend Eton, an elite school, in order to become a gentleman like his father Ironically, it's gambling with the working-class Bassett that helps him maintain that lifestyle for himself and his family Quote #10 And in spite of himself, Oscar Cresswell spoke to Bassett, and himself put a thousand on Malabar, at fourteen to one (234) =>Money is too powerful to resist for Oscar, who bets on his nephew's dying words Life consciousness and existence; luck: In Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner," everyone and everything seems to exist in an entirely different psychic wavelength People can read each other's minds, toys and houses whisper incessantly, and a boy can predict horse-race winners by riding on his rocking horse We're never quite sure if this magical world is real or not, and even the characters themselves don't seem too sure God may be absent from the picture here, but some characters suspect that other supernatural forces are at work in the boy's luck, forces that may not be all that benevolent Questions about Life, Consciousness, and Existence; Luck What are the supernatural or magical elements of the story? Do you think these elements are real? For example, does the boy really have a magicalgift—or is it just a symbolic one? Do you think the boy's gift for identifying winning racehorses is a blessing or a curse? Explain Take a look at the instances where the characters experience extreme mental states: Depression, anxiety, madness, even euphoria What drives them into these extreme states of mind? What are the effects of these psychological states on their perception of reality— for example, when Paul goes mad, is he able to keep his grip on reality, or does he lose his mind? Quote #1 They looked at her coldly, as if they were finding fault with her And hurriedly, she felt she must cover up some fault in herself Yet what it was that she must cover up, she never knew (1) =>The family often communicates with each other in unspoken ways—and it can get downright creepy We're talking telekinesis a la Carrie here, people Quote #2 The whisper was everywhere, and therefore no-one spoke it Just as no-one ever says: "We are breathing!", in spite of the fact that breath is coming and going all the time (7) =>The whisper seems to have supernatural qualities; it's in everyone's minds but never spoken aloud Quote #3 "Don't they? Nobody at all? Does nobody know?" "Perhaps God! But he never tells." (24-5) =>"God" is used ironically here, as Hester clearly values luck and greed over moral integrity Quote #4 "It's as if he had it from heaven, Sir!" Bassett reiterated (141) =>In contrast with the mother's cynicism, Bassett truly believes that the boy has a divine gift Quote #5 "Look here, Son," he said "This sort of thing makes me nervous." (146) =>In contrast with Bassett, Uncle Oscar finds something sinister in Paul's abilities—but he exploits Paul for gambling tips anyway Surely there can be no harm in encouraging his young nephew to gamble Quote #6 "I've got to know for the Derby! I've got to know for the Derby!" the child re-iterated, his big blue eyes blazing with a sort of madness (184) =>Paul has many of the qualities of an ancient seer (think Cassandra in Agamemnon or Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings) with his lunacy and mysterious remarks Quote #7 "But you know you needn't worry, Mother, don't you?" the boy repeated "I should be awfully glad to know it," she said wearily (199-200) => "Know" is another ironic term in the text, as it refers only to that which the characters are already conscious of The stuff they really need to know to help solve their problems is all the unconscious stuff: Paul's madness, the desire for money, the weird mother-son dynamic Quote #8 Paul's secret of secrets was his wooden horse, that which had no name (203) =>Paul's rocking horse is another object in the house that has magical properties to it We wonder what kind of magic… Quote #9 “What in God's name was it? She ought to know She felt that she knew the noise She knew what it was Yet she could not place it She couldn't say what it was And on and on it went, like a madness” (219-20) =>Here's another part where a character isn't in tune with the unconscious truth It's another instance where "God" is referenced ironically Quote #10 "I never told you, Mother, that if I can ride my horse, and get there, then I'm absolutely sure – Oh absolutely! Mother, did I ever tell you? I am lucky!" (241) =>Paul is so distraught that he's forgotten that he has told his mother that he's lucky symbolism of “The Happy Prince” escapes them, and they stare as dumbly at the statue in the end of the tale as they did at its beginning As the tale opens the statue of the Happy Prince is for the Town’s adults, most clearly a symbol of repression When he sees the statue, the Town Councilor, for example, experiences a delight which he feels is immoderate for a man like himself who must be concerned with the pragmatic, and so represses that delight rather than appear unpractical to others A mother whose child is crying uses the statue for a remonstration since “The Happy Prince never dreams of crying for anything.” And for the disappointed man the statue is an occasion for speech full of the secret misery and falseness that comes from repression and envy: “I am glad there is someone in the world who is quite happy.” Only for the Charity Children is the statue a symbol, not of eliminative repression, but of inclusive identification: it reminds them of the angels they have seen in their dreams Their visionary innocence is far different from the stern repression required of them by the Mathematical Master who, like Blake’s Beadle in Songs of Experience, has charge over them This difference in vision at the tale’s opening is not unlike that at its close where the question is not one of repression but compensation After the Happy Prince has given away all his gold leaf and jewels and the Swallow’s corpse lies at the statue’s feet consumed by their tireless exercises in mercy, the statue itself is naked and shabby “In fact,” the townspeople observe, “he is little better than a beggar.” The compensation the Happy Prince and the Swallow deserve is far different from what they receive at the hands of the townspeople The Art Professor, by a pragmatic aesthetic, concludes: “As he is no longer beautiful, he is no longer useful.” The Town Corporation, agreeing, discusses new uses for the metal The townspeople are blind to the lesson of selflessness and instead argue selfishly about which of them will be portrayed in the next statue The true compensation that the Prince and the Swallow deserve is seen by God and his angels, who see as clearly as the Charity Children This compensation, however, is not a reward that has been planned for by the Prince and the Swallow as if all their actions had an eye on the future and were pragmatic sacrifices; instead, the recognition by God and the Angels seems gratuitous (since unasked for), the gift of divine mercy In fact, the idea that selfishness is attached to sacrifice and selflessness to mercy is illustrated throughout the tale in the lives of the townspeople The small sacrifices of the palace girl who waits for the seamstress to finish her dress for the ball show a girl who thinks of the world in terms of utility, and her impatience is shown to be selfishness On the other hand, the seamstress’ care for her sick son at her own expense is a commendable act of mercy The Professor of Ornithology who pompously writes what is accessible only to a few can be compared with the playwright who writes for all but without the deserts of compensation that the Professor undeservingly receives The abstemiousness of old Jews who count their coins in the Ghetto shows selfish repression by way of a Semitic stereotype that is far different from the selfless actions of the matchgirl who earns money for her tyrannical father Above all, it is through the unmerciful righteousness of the good burghers and townspeople that Wilde spells out quite clearly his rejection of sacrifice and his endorsement of mercy Their righteousness is the vain result of lives where pragmatic sacrifices have played a great part both by ways of self-repression and by way of undeserved compensation that has been confused with moral worth The result is that the rich make merry at the expense of the beggars and the Watchman scolds the two hungry boys of the tale as if poverty and reprobation were the same • The Swallow occupies the center of attention of the story and his metamorphosis seems to represent most clearly the transition from sacrifice to mercy that Wilde advocates This same note of righteousness and practicality is found in the Swallow at the beginning of the tale, but it modulates as the Swallow undergoes a metamorphosis through the lessons of mercy he receives from the Happy Prince His attachment to the Reed, for example, was selfishly imperious: “Shall I love you?” he has asked her His friends have counseled that love for a Reed would be impractical, since he loves to travel, and the Swallow agrees, somewhat proud of his ability to sacrifice her, never thinking of sacrificing his desire for travel His criticisms of the town (“I hope [it] has made preparations” for my stay) and the statue of the Happy Prince (“What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?”) repeat the selfish pragmatic considerations shown in the townspeople The minor sacrifices the Swallow has to make in the “dreadful” Northern European clime of the town, however, will be abundantly repaid in the fantastical compensations he expects to find in Egypt Europe and Egypt are wholly different places: one the land of dreary Puritanical sacrifices and repression of immediate pleasures and the other a fairy tale realm of jewels, lotuses, mythical kings, scented heavens — in short, the compensatory world of unalloyed pleasure so often insinuated and promised, as Bettelheim has observed, in children’s literature Each time the Happy Prince asks the Swallow to delay his migratory trip just a day longer to perform some small task, the Swallow must choose between the fabulous Egypt of compensation or another day of sacrifice in the repressive clime of Europe Each time he reluctantly concedes one more day: to take the ruby from the Statue’s sword to the seamstress with the sick son, to take one of the sapphire eyes to the starving playwright, and finally to take the last sapphire to the matchgirl who has lost her matches The beginning of the Swallow’s metamorphosis can be marked after this series of trials from his decision to stay with the Happy Prince now that he is blind Perched on the statue’s shoulder he tries to console the Happy Prince with tales of fabled Egypt as if it were a heavenly compensation the Prince could expect for his actions The Prince listens politely to the stories of the Nile, red ibises and golden fish, the Sphinx, camels and merchants with amber beads, the ebony King of the Mountain of the moon who worships crystal, pygmies who war with butterflies, and more before he objects: “Dear little swallow, you tell me of marvelous things, but more marvelous than anything is the suffering of men and of women There is no mystery as great as Misery.” This substitution of the mystery of misery for the fantasies of compensation has, in a way, been prepared for in the Swallow’s discovery that the Happy Prince is not pure gold but alloyed gold and lead The coincidence of happiness and misery is the mystery the Happy Prince shares with the Swallow The Prince in effect asks him to see Egypt and Europe as one Sent on a mission over the city and experiencing this unific vision of the mystery, the Swallow now feels compassion instead of righteous repulsion for the beggars and children who are hungry He returns to the Prince and they make a compact to strip the gold leaf off the statue which the Swallow will, not sacrificially and reluctantly, but freely and willingly give to the hungry The approaching winter brings death for the migratory bird and the naked Prince, and the tableau of their dying creates the memorial to mercy that the townspeople judge unattractive • The Happy Prince himself, though he has undergone a change of heart before the story opens, remains throughout the tale an unchanged exemplar of the lesson and value of mercy The townspeople never come to see beyond the sacrifice, and the Swallow only begins to understand that his separation of Europe and Egypt, of repression and compensation, must give way to the unifie mystery of misery and the gift of mercy The Happy Prince, however, preaches for the duration of the story Christ’s message to the Pharisees: “Go and learn the meaning of the words — What I want is mercy, not sacrifice.” But it was not always so with him In his account of his personal history and how he came by his name, the Prince tells the Swallow that as a child he used to live in the land of Sans Souci It was a world not unlike the Swallow’s Egypt where infantile and absolute (if not autistic) pleasure was assured by a gardenwall boundary that excluded (as effectively as repression) whatever was painful The Prince reports he was “happy” there “if,” he most pointedly adds, “pleasure is indeed happiness.” Now, in his second life as a statue, the Prince descries the misery and pain of the world in the alloyed mystery he speaks of to the Swallow If the fact that the Prince is “dead” to the land of Sans Souci (which implicitly and symbolically is maintained by repression) does not clearly imply that he is unconcerned with sacrifice, then his treatment of his jewels makes this fact far more obvious Jewels have always been associated with those compensatory heavens of children’s literature and, more particularly in this tale, they play an important part in the Swallow’s Egypt: jade, beryls, amber, crystal, etc The Prince’s merciful liberality with his jewels is not the result of a Puritanical asceticism but of commiseration for the poor, and not the result of pragmatic planning for compensation but of guileless selflessness There are a number of resemblances between the Prince and Christ which give the theme of “mercy, not sacrifice” a particularly religious ring: as a statue the Prince is a representative, he shows us the way to be happy, he is a “prince of peace,” he is twice-born, his death is a merciful gift to others But perhaps less obvious is the Prince’s role as the “bread of life.” The gift of his jewels provides food for the seamstress and her son and for the playwright; and when the hungry children receive the statue’s gold leaf they pointedly rejoice: “We have bread now.” The Prince in effect says, “Take, eat, this is my body, which I have given up for you.” In terms of this mythic interpretation the Swallow’s gift is a “partial” one The Prince who surrenders his body to be eaten makes the “total” gift; the Swallow plays the role of an assistant, a disciple His sacrifices are reluctant and the Prince must constantly ask him, “will you not stay with me for one night,” as Christ at Gethsemane asked his disciples to watch the night with him Since the Swallow’s death is that of a disciple and is “partial” compared to the “total” gift of the body as food, he participates in the ritualistic eating of the Prince’s body only through partial and symbolic mitigation: he eats only bread The Prince’s sacrifice is total He makes of himself not only a gift of food but a gift of fire As the tale concludes he has been consumed by the hungry and his metal is consumed in a fire And as he has been the gift of food for some, he has also been the loving gift of fire to others: to the unappreciated playwright who can afford no fire, to the unloved matchgirl who has lost her matches Pragmatic sacrifices depend upon repression and compensation While Bettelheim is perfectly correct in his endorsement of children’s literature that teaches sacrifice as means of providing “armor” against adversities (as in “The Ant and The Grasshopper” or “The Three Little Pigs”) or insinuates the promised “jewels” of well-being to the ungrudging (in “Cinderella”) he fails to see that sacrifice produces the righteous “armor” of the townspeople and the selfish orientation of the Swallow’s Egyptian “jewels.” Mercy is selfless The Prince surrenders both the “jewels” and the gold plate that constitute the “armor” of the self He ceases to exist as “he” but through mercy exists everywhere, diffuse, as food for others The gap btw poverty and rich: The third theme of the story is that there is great gap between the rich and the poor, the rulers and the masses The Happy Prince did not know about the poor and their problems when he was alive Therefore, it means that the rulers at that time did not know about the problems and the difficulties of the masses III CHARACTERS: The Happy Prince: Oscar Wilde, in this short story, succeeds to make a round character of a metal statue while the living creatures stand in the story as minor or flat characters When he is alive, the Happy Prince does not know what tears are; everything about him is beautiful that he never cares to ask about what lies out his palace However, when he becomes a golden statue, he becomes more passionate and more responsive to the pains of poor people That is, he weeps while watching his people suffering, and though he is helpless, he tempts the Swallow to stay with him and to be his messenger for those who are in need to his help Thus, he sacrifices his sword's ruby, sapphire eyes and golden leaves to help the poor seamstress, the young play-writer, the little match-girl and the homeless children In addition, the Happy Prince is so sensitive that his leaden heart snaps right into two for the death of his friend, the Swallow The ruby has fallen out of the sword, his eyes are gone, and he is golden no more, but his good deeds are more valuable than his appearance The Swallow: Wilde introduces the Swallow as a round character as he develops and changes through the course of events At first, as a living creatures, falls in love with the Reed who is indifferent to his love He sacrifices his friendships, relatives and family members in spite of the fact that she has no qualification for his marriage nor for sacrifice However, he changes gradually as he promises the Happy Prince to stay with him for only one day every time the Happy Prince begs him At last, he prefers to stay living between his feet rather than leaving to the land of temptation, warmth, peace, beautiful sights and enjoyment Accordingly, he is a symbol of sacrifice as he prefers to stay with the statue as a servant of love, tenderness, passion and fair while he dies of cold weather He is compensated when the Angel picks his dead body, and in God's garden of Paradise, he sings for ever more The town councilors: They are greedy and obsessed with their public images they cannot understand the humanity of dead prince and of a little bird but they are too busy in their daily pursuits to increase their money, rank and power The Mayor: He orders that the statue must be turn down He wants the metal to be made into the statue of himself The story ends with God asking his angles to take the two most valuable things from the city, and carry the leaden heart of prince which was thrown out when the statue was melted down and the body of dead swallow was also there “You have rightly chosen, said God for in my garden of paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the happy prince shall praised me” IV ANALYSIS: a Symbols and motifs: Symbol: The Princes lead Heart symbolizes Immortality This is because when the Happy Prince is being melted they could not melt his heart The swallow himself is a symbol of Loyalty Since the beginning of the story he refuses to leave to Egypt with the others and stays to court the Reed He then decides to stay with the Happy Prince The townspeople are a symbol of repression The townspeople mainly the council want to get rid of the statue just because it was now dull and not beautiful and use the metal to make a statue of the mayor instead b Motifs: Friendship is a Motif for the story due to the recurring help of the swallow sacrificing his time and the princes items to the less fortunate Setting: The setting of "The Happy Prince" keeps the reader's mind active and vivid First of all, the characters are presented in a city As a result, we can see in this city the widening gap between the rich and the poor Also, the statue should be in a city where it is placed in a square, so the Happy Prince can see the ugliness of his city Moreover, the story takes place during the winter when people become in bad need of help This gives the Happy Prince the chance to see the bad side of his city and give the reason for the Swallow's death V.QUOTES “Any place you love is the world to you.” “Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.” “Surely Love is a wonderful thing It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it, nor is it set forth in the marketplace It may not be purchased of the merchants, for can it be weighed out in the balance for gold.” “There is no good talking to him," said a Dragon-fly, who was sitting on the top of a large brown bulrush; "no good at all, for he has gone away." "Well, that is his loss, not mine," answered the Rocket "I am not going to stop talking to him merely because he pays no attention I like hearing myself talk It is one of my greatest pleasures I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying." "Then you should definitely lecture on Philosophy," said the Dragon-fly.” “Everyone quoted it, it was full of so many words that they could not understand.” “In the square below,’ said the Happy Prince, ‘there stands a little match-girl She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money, and she is crying She has no shoes or stockings, and her little head is bare Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.’ ‘I will stay with you one night longer,’ said the Swallow, ‘but I cannot pluck out your eye You would be quite blind then.’ ‘Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,’ said the Prince, ‘do as I command you.’ So he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, and darted down with it He swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand ‘What a lovely bit of glass,’ cried the little girl; and she ran home, laughing Then the Swallow came back to the Prince ‘You are blind now,’ he said, ‘so I will stay with you always.” “The living always think that gold can make them happy” “There is no Mystery so great as Misery.” “I am afraid that she is a coquette, for she is always flirting with the wind.” “Who are you?" he said "I am the Happy Prince." "Why are you weeping then?" asked the swallow; "you have quite drenched me.” MR KNOW ALL I SUMMARY: Mr Know-All is a story with a moral lesson The subject is simple A rich British merchant of Oriental origin, named Mr Kelada, meets a group of Westerners on a ship sailing across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Yokohama His cabin-mate, a British citizen who is the nameless narrator of the story, dislikes Mr Kelada even before he sees him However, at the end of the story Mr Kelada, the Levantine jeweler, proves to be a real gentleman when he sacrifices his own pride and reputation to save an American lady’s marriage As a result, he earns the respect of the narrator II THEMES: CULTURAL AND RACIAL PREJUDICE The opening paragraph reveals this theme From the start, the narrator expresses his prejudices against Mr Kelada for no logical reason The narrator dislikes Mr Kelada’s name, his luggage, his appearance, his manners and even his pride in being British When the narrator says that there are too many labels on Mr Kelada's luggage it has a double meaning: First, Mr Kelada travels a lot so there are labels from different ports on his suitcases Second, people put labels on him so they are prejudiced and they stereotype about him The narrator repeats the expression “I disliked Mr Kelada” a number of times In spite of the fact that Mr Kelada is jovial, hearty and sociable, the writer criticizes him for being talkative, boring and obnoxious However, Mr Kelada and the narrator behave differently because they come from different cultures (explaining patterns) Strangely, all the Westerners feel the same, and they give Mr Kelada the nickname “Mr Know-All” What seems good and friendly to Mr Kelada seems bad, pushy and vulgar to the Westerners (Distinguishing different perspectives) Ironically, despite the cultural differences between the narrator and Mr Kelada, they share the same attitude towards women Both refer to Mrs Ramsay as “a pretty little thing” The author does not name the narrator for a purpose: the racist narrator can be any one of us We all may be guilty of judging people by stereotypes and generalizations rather than examining the true character of people and getting to know them as individuals Thus, the moral lesson of the story is to avoid stereotypes and prejudices and to judge persons as individuals Hoặc: The major theme of the story is prejudice From the very first paragraph, the narrator expresses his negative feelings about the man with whom he must share a cabin on the ship Later, we learn that he dislikes Mr Kelada’s name, his belongings, his appearance, his manners and even his pride in being British One of our recent stories, Shooting an Elephant, dealt with prejudice due to differences in class In this story the prejudice has little to with class The narrator and Kelada are sharing a cabin in the same passenger class, and both are given the honor of sitting at the “doctor’s table” at dinner As the story develops, the narrator changes from referring to Kelada by name to using the term “Levantine” When Britain took over part of the Levant at the end of the First World War, some in the new government used the term “Levantine” as an insult to local people of mixed Arab and European blood This suggests that the narrator’s prejudice against Mr Kelada is an example of racism, which is supported by the fact that he also refers to Kelada’s oriental smile and possible birth in Alexandria or Beirut A suggestion I have seen on another website is that Maugham could actually be describing religious prejudice At the time the story was written, the word Levant was apparently a code word used to refer to people who were Jewish Kelada’s great pride, forceful personality, and description as being dark-skinned, with a fleshy, hooked nose all fit with what may have been the then popular stereotype of a successful Jewish businessman There are two possible minor themes in the story, which may or may not have been in Maugham’s mind as he wrote These are: • Jealousy: The narrator’s comments about the number of travel stickers on Kelada’s suitcases, the size of his wardrobe trunk, his expensive toiletries and monogramed brush, and even his apparent popularity with other passengers suggest that the narrator may be jealous because Kelada appears to be more wealthy and/or sophisticated than he is • Snobbery: The narrator was clearly disappointed about not being able to get single cabin This, coupled with the way he puts other characters down in the story, may indicate that he is a snob He labels the doctor as lazy for not joining in Mr Ramsay’s arguments with Mr Kelada over dinner, where it was clearly the doctor’s job to try to “keep the peace” at his table Later, he describes Mr Ramsay as a great heavy fellow from the Middle West, with loose fat under a tight skin, (who) bulged out of his readymade clothes, and dismisses Mrs Ramsay as a very pretty little thing, with pleasant manners and a sense of humor… (who) knew how to wear her clothes III CHARACTERS AND CONFLICT (XUNG ĐỘT): Protagonist (nhân vật chính): The Narrator: Although his main problems are with Mr Kelada, the narrator is at times critical of each of the other characters with the notable exception of Mrs Ramsay It is only in the last sentence that we see a grudging respect develop towards Mr Kelada for his actions over Mrs Ramsay’s necklace, but one wonders how long this will last Antagonist (phản diện): Mr Kelada: Kelada is a successful, widely-traveled businessman It is therefore difficult to believe that he does not understand the normal conventions of polite “British” behavior His ship-board informality can perhaps be put down to trying a little too hard to be liked and accepted socially by other passengers Minor Characters: Mr and Mrs Ramsay, the doctor Internal Conflict: Mr Kelada’s struggle with himself in not telling the true value of Mrs Ramsay’s pearls The Narrator’s struggle with himself in putting aside his prejudices about Mr Kelada External Conflict: The Narrator’s dislike for Mr Kelada (Man vs Man) Mr Ramsay’s arguments with Mr Kelada at the doctor’s table (Man vs Man) Mr Kelada pushing himself to be accepted by the passengers (Man vs Society) The debate over cultured pearls (Man vs Nature) ANALYSIS Literary Techniques: IV a Hyperbole: Tell them you’ve got a pal who’s got all the liquor in the world He was everywhere and always They’ll never be able to get a cultured pearl that an expert like me can’t tell with half an eye b Irony: Mr Kelada is forced to say that he was wrong about the pearls, when in fact pearls are the one thing he could truly be said to “know all” about (Situational) Kelada, who is originally presented as a pushy person concerned mainly with appearances, turns out to be sensitive, considerate and noble Mrs Ramsay, who is described as modest and possessing a quiet distinction, turns out to be a shallow, selfish adulteress (Situational) The name Mr Know-All, given to Kelada by the people on the ship (Sarcasm) c Metaphor: Mr Kelada was born under a bluer sky than is generally seen in England d Oxymoron: …the best hated man in the ship Ramsay smiled grimly …a perfect damn fool Personification: …my heart sank (also an idiom) …a row of flashing teeth It shone in her like a flower on a coat It is interesting to consider here just what the “it” is Most comments I have read say that it refers to “modesty”, because this what the narrator suggests However, a first person narrator does not necessarily see things as they really are Rather than modesty, I think it more likely that what really shone in Mrs Ramsay was a quiet feeling of self-assurance that came from knowing she had seduced or been seduced by a millionaire and owned a pearl necklace which in today’s terms would be worth well over $250,000 e Simile: …like a flower on a coat f Symbolism: The most important symbol in the story is pearls, which represent the idea that appearances can be deceptive On the outside, all pearls look the same Some (natural pearls) are pure on the inside, while others (cultured pearls) are not You don’t know which is which until you examine them further Another symbol is mentioned in the first paragraph: It (Mr Kelada’s name) suggested closed portholes and the night air rigidly excluded This refers to the uncomfortable atmosphere and limited conversation that the narrator believes will exist in their shared cabin during the voyage Setting: Time – a short time after World War I It is mentioned for two reasons First, 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 disliked Second, it may give 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 Place – it takes place on a ship in INTERNATIONAL WATERS – a neutral place The journey from USA to Japan takes 14 days 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 Narror point of view: The story is told in the first person – the narrator sees everything and is a part of the plot In the first episode, where he meets with Mr Kelada, the narrator is more active, and involved He observes, comments and judges Mr Kelada as he sees him through his own eyes Since he is influenced by his prejudiced British society, his judgments are subjective 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 – he realizes that people should not be judged by their looks but by their actions and character It is the narrator who closes the story Point of view and tone: “Mr Know-All” is a narrative written in the First-person A very important part of reading a story like this is trying to understand the narrator’s position in relation to the story being told as quickly as is possible In Mr Know-All, the whole meaning will be lost if the reader fails to see the narrator’s prejudice about Mr Kelada’s ethnic origins from the very first paragraph of the story The language (tone) of the story is formal and many of the descriptions of what it means to be British are sarcastic Dramatic Structure and Mood: • Exposition: The Narrator’s problems with Mr Kelada and the daily arguments between Mr Kelada and Mr Ramsay over dinner are explained Mood: Calm and at times Humorous • Rising Action: Mr Kelada and Mr Ramsay have a heated argument about cultured pearls At last something that Ramsay said stung him (Mr Kelada), for he thumped the table and shouted.Mood: Tense • Climax: Mr Kelada examines Mrs Ramsay’s pearls and declares that they are not real She was staring at him with wide and terrified eyes They held a desperate appeal; it was so clear that I wondered why her husband did not see it …Mr Kelada stopped with his mouth open He flushed deeply You could almost see the effort he was making over himself “I was mistaken,” he said.Mood: Suspenseful • Falling Action: Other passengers make fun of Mr Kelada The story spread over the ship as stories do, and he had to put up with a good deal of chaff that evening It was a fine joke that Mr Know-All had been caught out Mood: Amused • Denouement: The truth comes out and the narrator changes his opinion of Mr Kelada At that moment I did not entirely dislike Mr Kelada Mood: Enlightened The climax of the story develops from an argument over pearls, and Kelada’s claim that the newly developed cultured pearl industry would not reduce the value of those produced naturally In this he is correct as nowadays natural pearls are very rare and very valuable However, the cultured pearl industry has grown to be much larger than the natural pearl industry, and over 99% of the pearls sold around the world today are of the cultured variety The meaning of the title: For one thing, A "Know-all" is someone who thinks he knows everything While all the other passengers used it as an insult, Mr Kelada took it as a compliment For another thing, in the end it turns out that Mr Kelada is the real "know-all" because he is the only one who knew that the pearls are real An Unanswered Question: At the end of the story we are left with an unanswered question An envelope containing $100 was pushed under Mr Kelada’s cabin door It was addressed in block letters, so that no one would know who did it Who left the envelope? If it was left by Mrs Ramsay, the fact that there is no thank you note inside indicates that she is a shallow character with little concern for others She does not understand or appreciate the sacrifice that Mr Kelada made for her, and regards the $100 simply as a loan to be repaid Alternatively, the envelope could have been left by Mr Ramsay after learning the truth about the necklace from his wife when he went back to their cabin the previous evening In those days, $100 would have been more than Ramsay’s monthly salary Giving back the money, which he should not have won, would indicate an element of honesty on his part However, a truly honest man (if he had the money) would have included $200 in the envelope as Mr Kelada should have won the bet Turning point of the story: The cultured pearls topic is the crisis of the story The heated argument between Mr Ramsay and Mr Kelada reveals their true characters Mr Ramsay appears to be a prejudiced person who does his best “to have a fling at the Levantine” Mrs Ramsay’s character is also revealed as being unfaithful to her husband When she was alone in New York for a year, she probably had a lover who gave her the expensive pearls Nevertheless, she is honest enough to secretly return to Mr Kelada his “lost” money Mr Kelada, who has been considered a pushy, inconsiderate and vulgar person, turns out to be a real gentleman who saves Mrs Ramsay's marriage The narrator also undergoes a change When he realizes that Mr Kelada behaves considerately with Mrs Ramsay, he says “At that moment, I did not entirely dislike Mr Kelada.” Suddenly, he becomes aware that GENERALIZATION and STEREOTYPES are not the right ways to judge people This is the moral lesson of the story Real pearls and cultured pearls: At first glance, real pearls and cultured pearls look the same But only a closer inspection can reveal what is real and what is imitation The same goes for people People from the same nationality seem the same But only when we get to know them, we see that each person is different For example, the narrator in the story dislikes Mr Kelada because of his name, luggage, appearance and nationality However, when he sees the true character of Mr Kelada, he realizes that prejudice is not the right way to judge people Therefore, the saying DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER is relevant here V QUOTES: