Analytical Reading “The Luncheon” by Somerset Maugham Essay

The textual matter under analysis belongs to the pen of William Somerset Maugham, the one and all(a) of the best known face writers of the 20th century. He was not only a novelist, but also one of the most successful dramatist and short-story writers. He was born in Paris in 1874. His parents died when he was precise young. The boy was taken away from the French school, and went for his lessons daily to the apartment of the English clergyman at the church, then he was sent to England to attend school. In 1890 he went abroad and studied at the University of Heidelberg from which he returned to England in 1892 and became a medical student at St. Thomass hospital in London. After that Somerset decided to devote his life to literature. I didnt want to be a doctor. I didnt want to be anything but a writer. The technique of the short story had ever inte remained Maugham. Somerset Maugham has written 24 plays, 19 novels and a wide number of short stories.At the beginning of the tex t the narrator, who is the pens mouthpiece here recognizes a womanhood with whom he had a lunch several years ago. Then he starts remembering that unforgettable even He was a young man, living in Paris and could hardly keep body and soul together. She had read his book and wrote a earn to him, expressing her wish to have with him a little luncheon at Foyots a very expensive restaurant. He couldnt introduce no to a woman and invited her for lunch. He had only eighty francs to last him the rest of the month. To his horror she ordered one expensive dish subsequently another. He paid the bill and was left with no notes at all. However, at the end of the story, the narrator feels that he has finally had his revenge when he sees that the wench has put on a lot of weight. Compositionally the story falls into 3 parts. The story begins with the exposition, which extends over the first several paragraphs. At the beginning of the text the narrator sees a woman at the theatre in many an(prenominal) years since they first met and can hardly recognize her.Then the origin presents a flashback to the past which goes to the last paragraph with a help of the reprobate Did I remember? which allows us to know what had happened many years ago. here(predicate) we learn active the place of action and its time. The reader gets informationabout the events, preceding the meeting of the main characters and also understands that the narrator was a very poor man. Then come complications, opened with the sentence She was not so young as I expected and in bearing noble rather than attractive. The action takes place in the restaurant. Here the reader learns much about the characters. The author describes how this lady enjoys the meal, ordering the most expensive dishes and he is wondering about the bill. The bill was finally paid and the narrator ready himself with not a penny left in his pocket for the strong month.After it the author comes back to the present time and here comes the climax. Now, after 20 years had passed by, the narrator has had his revenge at last because instantly she weighs twenty-one stone. This story is a first-person narrative. The dialogues are predominant in the complications the biggest part of the text. The general atmosphere of the text is emotional and ironical (even the designation The Luncheon is ironical, because the word luncheon means a light snack, but in fact it turned to be an abundant and very expensive meal), but also strained (I watched the abandoned woman gourmandize them down her throat in large voluptuous mouthfuls, and in my polite way I discoursed on the condition of the drama in the Balkans. Panic seized me. It was not a question now of how much money I should have left over for the rest of the month, but whether I had enough to pay the bill.).The tone of this story is ironical. The author uses direct ( only if I was flattered, and I was too young to have learned to say no to a woman I watched t he abandoned woman thrust them down her throat) and indirect methods of characterization. The characters are presented through their actions, descriptions of the outward appearance and things that surround the characters. The waiter might be called a minor character. To my pass the woman is smart, gluttonous, selfish, cold, indiscreet. She is a villain who serves a foil to the protagonist. By ever repeating her ironic expression I never eat more than than one thing she emphasized the conflict between what she says and what she does. The author the protagonist, is a poor, kind, honest and sincere man. The authors style is vivid, clear and emotional. The author uses stylistic devices sparingly. In my opinion there is an external conflict in this story.The theme of this story is appearance against reality. Everything in thestory is not unfeignedly what it seems to be. The narrator expected to have a little luncheon with a beautiful lady. But it turned to be an expensive meal wit h an uninviting woman. This woman rep eats I never eat anything for luncheon, but eats everything she can. I think that the authors message the appearance is not yet the reality is very important and relevant today.