Critical Analysis of the Story:
Introduction:
The story entitled “Salvatore”, written by William Somerset Maugham is a heart - touching story of a man who is just an ordinary fisherman and who has been living a life of goodness from his boyhood to manhood. The story shows that in spite of facing many calamities in his life, he always remains calm and cheerful. Ups and downs of his life do not bring any change in his life. He never becomes submissive before the circumstances of life, but becomes stronger than before.
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| Somerset Maugham’s Story Salvatore: Critical Analysis |
In the story, the character namely Salvatore, does not compromise with the situation but faces it with indomitable spirit. The man shown in the story is an embodiment of goodness and morality. The author depicts the character of Salvatore as a man who possessed nothing but an invaluable quality, ‘the rarest, the most precious and the loveliest that anyone can have’ - the quality of goodness.
Plot:
Exposition:
The story begins with the depiction of a young boy of fifteen who has a pleasant face, laughing mouth and carefree eyes. He spends his morning lying on the sea- beach and swimming effortlessly in the sea where his father used to catch fish. As he grows, he falls madly in love with a beautiful girl. They are engaged but do not marry as Salvatore leaves home for military service to become a sailor in the navy of King Victor Emmanuel.
Rising Action:
Salvatore leaves home for military service to become a sailor in the navy of King Victor Emmanuel. He feels nostalgic and misses the islands of Ischia and Vesuvius which he now realises are the parts of his life as important as his hands and legs. He feels all alone in the battleship living with strangers and also in the noisy friendless cities where he lands. Salvatore now grows homesick. And above all these, he misses his fiancee (the girl he is engaged) the most. In service, Salvatore is sent away to many places like Spezia, Venice, Bari and China. He falls ill when in China and as he suffers from rheumatism he is considered unfit for further service. Salvatore does not mind his illness and rather feels happy to return to his own home. He is eager to meet his family and fiancee.
Climax:
On his return he is very emotionally welcomed by his parents and brothers with great deal of kissing and cry of joy. But Salvatore looks for his girl in the crowd, but in vain. She is not there. When he goes to her house, she is sitting with her mother at the doorstep. They have already received the news of his illness and learned that he would never be quite well again and be strong enough to work like a man. So, his fiancee, at the instigation of her mother, bluntly tells him that she cannot marry him now. This is a heart break for Salvatore. He is utterly shattered, but does not blame the girl. Instead, he returns home with a heavy heart.
Falling Action:
He feels sad, depressed and unhappy at the humiliating rejection. He feels beaten, wrecked and wretched. He knows very well that a girl cannot afford to marry a man who might not be able to support her. He gives vent to his unbearable pain of shattered love by crying out his heart on his mother's bosom. One day Salvatore's mother tells him about Assunta, a girl older than him who has seen him in a festival, fallen in love with him and wants to marry him. Though at first he denies, on his mother's advice he gets married to Assunta and settles down in a tiny house in the middle of a vineyard.
Denouement:
Salvatore has two children and he becomes a fisherman just like his father. Despite his medical condition, Salvatore works literally day and night to provide for his family. He proves to be a loyal husband and loving father to his children.
Moral of the Story:
Through the character namely Salvatore, the author brings to us that we should not forget the importance of inner beauty of a person. We should give more importance to moral virtues and goodness of a person than outward appearance and materialistic possessions. The author describes Salvatore's fiancee as a beautiful girl but she is wholly devoid of moral virtues. In the story, we discover that she is mad after physical appearances and materialistic possessions. Upon Salvatore's return from the navy due to an illness, she chooses to believe the hearsay that Salvatore cannot work like a man ever in his life. The girl ends up breaking their engagement and his heart. In the story, we find a fine example of the human fallibility which makes us fail to see the inner world of goodness that a person can possess. Salvatore's fiancee only takes into consideration his supposed disability and fails to see the heart and mind that he has. The author presents a fact of this physical world that morals seem insignificant when selfish interests come into play. The girl only thinks of herself and fails to considerate to the man who loves her with all of his heart and soul.
On the other hand, Salvatore possesses goodness and morals. He marries an ugly looking girl and leads a happy life with her without having any grudge against her. He seems to be contented with her. Hence, the author drives the moral that we should learn to look beyond appearances as Salvatore does and as a result, he lives happily ever after.
Setting of the Story:
The main part of the story is set on an Italian island. In the story, the author mentions Ischia and Vesuvius which ‘were as much part of Salvatore as his hands and his feet’. Salvatore as a young boy used to spend his morning lying about the beach. He used to swim effortlessly in the sea. He spent his childhood here with his family. Even after becoming the father of two children, he used to bring them down to the beach to give them a bath. Moreover, when, at times, he felt unbearable pain in his limbs, he would simply lie on the same beach to relax himself. The little white cottage, the vineyard, the beach of the sea, the seashore, all these form the setting of the story.
Appropriateness of the Title:
The title of the story is apt and justified. It can be seen on surface. The whole story revolves around the character namely Salvatore who is the protagonist of the story. The story depicts him as a kind, sympathetic and generous. The author has presented him as an embodiment of goodness. In the story, Salvatore's life story has been presented by the author with great skill. A very brief glimpse of his childhood , his performing his duty as an eldest boy of his family, his looking after and caring his younger brothers, his falling in love with a pretty girl, his serving on a military ship, his feeling homesick during his sea voyage, his falling sick due to rheumatism, his being dejected in love, his marrying to another girl Assunta, his being the father of two children, his doing hard work and his spending a peaceful and contented life with his wife and children, have been presented to us beautifully.
Moreover, the author has brought to us Salvatore's chief trait of goodness. Though the girl whom he loves intensely, breaks his heart by rejecting him, he does not have any ill- will against the girl. He never utters harsh words for her or for anyone. Throughout the story, he remains gentle, sweet and good to all. Hence, the title of the story is perfect and appropriate. As Salvatore means a Savior, the character fits the name accurately as he saves his and his family's life from sorrow and sadness.
Characterization:
In the story, Salvatore is the major character. All the incidents of the story revolve around his life. He has been shown as a man who faces a series of sorrows and disappointments, but never becomes submissive before the adverse circumstances of his life. The author presents him as a kind, generous and hardworking. Goodness is the chief trait in him. In the story, he does not show his bitter and harsh attitude. Even when, he is surrounded with adverse circumstances, he remains calm and cheerful. He does not have any complaint.
There are two minor characters namely Assunta and his fiancee. The depiction of Salvatore's fiancee has been made at two or three places in the story. At first she is mentioned when Salvatore falls in love with her madly and is engaged with him. Another time the author mentions her when Salvatore on sea voyage misses her badly and writes letters to her. Third time, the author mentions her when Salvatore, after arriving home, goes to meet her at her house and is rejected by her as an invalid person. Another minor character is Assunta. Assunta who is older than Salvatore becomes his wife. She has been shown as an aged and ugly woman who loved Salvatore before getting married with Salvatore. She possesses a good heart.
Narrative Technique of the Story:
The story Salvatore by Somerset Maugham is a very short, simple and straightforward story written in third person narrative technique. The author just tells the readers the story of a fisherman named Salvatore who lived in an Italian Island. The author frames the story in such a way that we are well aware of the narrator's presence. In this way we are reminded of the oral tradition, the style of old - fashioned story - telling. What is special about the narrator is that he seems to be somewhat unsure about the outcome of this story telling: “I wonder if I can do it. This tactic really grabs the attention of the reader; we are eager to see what the narrator so earnestly wishes to accomplish. At the very end of the story, the narrator says the ultimate purpose of this tale is to sketch a picture of “Goodness Just Goodness”.
Chorological Order of the Events:
The story is actually a biographical sketch of the protagonist Salvatore in chronological order. The story begins when Salvatore was a boy of fifteen. Then he used to lie about the beach. He used to swim effortlessly in the sea. He acted as a nursemaid to his two younger brothers. He took care of them while their father was away. As he grew up, he fell in love with a girl who lived on the Grande Marina and was engaged with her. Then he left the island to become a sailor in the navy of King Victor Emmanuel. Away from home he used to weep like a child and felt dreadfully homesick.
Moreover, he extremely missed the girl he loved. Then he fell ill with some form of rheumatism and this made him unfit for further service. When he came back home, he found out that the girl he loved would not marry him due to ailment. He was heartbroken and soon married another girl Assunta. After his marriage, he worked hard and lived a happy and contented life with his wife and two children. In this way all the events of the story have been narrated in a chronological order.
The Language used in the Story:
The author has employed lucid and descriptive language in the story. A two -verb pattern has been used in the story:
1. Description in the Past of Both People and Their Actions:
(i) “When he was a boy of fifteen with a pleasant face, a laughing mouth and care - free - eyes.”
(ii) “His father was a fisherman......”
(iii) “He was in and out of the sea .....”
2. Description of habits by using “used to” and “would.”
(i) “He used to spend the morning lying about the beach ......”
(ii) “Sometimes he used to bring his children down to give them a bath.”
(iii) " ......, he would throw himself into the deep water with a cry of delight.”
(iv) “He would seat, the naked baby on the palm of his hand ......”
3. The Use of Similes: (A direct comparison between two things using ‘as’ or ‘like’). Here are some instances of simile:
(i) “...... his brown body was as thin as a rail.”
(ii) “She's as ugly as the devil.”
(iii) “they were like flowers.”
(iv) “his laugh was like the laughter of an angel . "
