Page 1 : Salvatore – W. Somerset Maugham, Model Essays, 1. Critically analysis the short story ‘Salvatore’., W. Somerset Maugham was a humanist. Almost all his writings have strong, undertones of human suffering – broken marriages, devastated families, poverty, and, colonial exploitation. Salvatore is another such story that portrays the travails of a, young man who has suffered great setbacks in life, but has managed to re-build his, life through astounding forebearance and equanimity., Salvatore went on naval duty to far-off China when he had never gone out of his, village even once. When the war duty came, he was an adolescent. He had been, gripped by the first flush of intoxicating romance with a local girl. The conscription, call tore him away from his village and from his girl. He didn’t rage, nor did he try to, evade. He fell in line, like any other young man with a sense of responsibility and, patriotism. In far-away China, he was crippled by rheumatism – a deadly misfortune, to befall a young man from a working class family. Again, he took the misfortune in, its stride., When he couldn’t spot his beloved in the shore among the crowd gathered to, welcome him back, he was shocked. But the deadliest blow came when she told him, plainly that the marriage had been aborted due to his physical disability. Salvatore, didn’t remonstrate, didn’t curse her, didn’t decide to end his life. Unlike most jilted, lovers, he returned home dejected, but not the least vengeful. The wound in his heart, was oozing blood, but he managed to hide it from public view. He remained quiet., After his marriage to Assunta, he never looked back. He became a loving husband, and a doting father. He toiled to make his living. In the midst of his two children and, his wife Assunta, he found bliss and fulfillment., In more ways than one, Salvatore emerges as an ideal young man. Spite, revenge and, cursing don’t touch his heart. As a young recruit, and later as Assunta’s husband, he, remained committed to his duty. The story doesn’t have a spectacular end, but the, uneventful end imparts a rare goodness to the character of Salvatore., 2. Character sketch of Salvatore, Salvatore grew up in a remote fishing village of Italy, where the footprints of the, modern industrialized society were very faint. Salvatore’s upbringing in such unspoilt environment shaped his persona. He grew up in the family that scraped its, living from the soil. Toiling in the farms was Salvatore’s daily chore. He grew up like, a robust, rustic and romantic lad. His beloved, a girl from a similar socio-economic

Page 2 : background was an ideal fit for him. The duo made a good romantic pair,, supplementing each other’s need for passionate longing and togetherness., The call for naval duty came as a huge disruption for both. It was a conscription call,, so couldn’t be evaded. Salvatore was not a meek man to shy away from the call. Sans, his sweetheart, he had nothing to lose by accepting the call. Anyway, the duty was, going to be of short duration, so he thought he could go through it and return to the, waiting bosoms of his girl. But fate had something nasty in store for him. He was, crippled in his leg. The infirmity could last all his life. For a young man used to the, toil and sweat of the soil, it was a very rude shock. Just as he had borne the pain of, his temporary separation from his girl friend ahead of the voyage, he bore this bad, news with remarkable calm and fortitude. To the reader, Salvatore’s equanimity looks, so un-worldly and so unrealistic., The sea voyage and the stint with the navy ended prematurely enabling Salvatore to, dream of returning to his land ahead of time. The news of his affliction had reached, his village and the family of his girl friend. The news had upended Salvatore’s, dreams, and his vision of life. When he was still at sea, the girl’s family had decided, that he was not the man who could earn a living and support a family. So, they, prevailed upon the girl to erase Salvatore from her mind. Pragmatism weighed, heavier than the pull of teenage romance., Salvatore returned to a cold and empty world. The girl had drifted away, although his, physical debility had receded well enough to restore his power to slog in the field. It, was a shock that could have driven any other man to do crazy things. But, vengeance, was not in Salvatore’s blood. He didn’t even argue with the girl who had jettisoned, him so unjustly and so abruptly. He didn’t flay her parents either for their disregard of, their daughter’s wishes. Salvatore heard them out and in the most dignified manner, made his way back carrying the weight of his grieving heavy heart. It was an epic, moment in his life that had such profound consequences for him. Quite astonishingly,, Salvatore carried his distraught heart with little bitterness and no ill-will towards the, girl who had walked away from him. It was Salvatore at his best – a perfect, gentleman , and a noble human being who bore his broken dreams with fortitude and, stoicism., Salvatore was coaxed into marrying a girl elder than him in age, and not so beautiful., Salvatore was a kind man. When he heard that the girl herself had wanted to marry, him, he couldn’t break her heart by spurning her proposal. Finally, Salvatore married, her and became the father of two children. He lavished his love on his wife and the, two kids. Like an ideal father, he reared them with all his ability. Not even for a, second, did Salvatore think about his past romance. Never did he pine for the lost, romance. Gallantly, he fought off those memories and became a real good family, man. This was Salvatore at his best.

Page 3 : 3. The theme of love and affection is prominent in the short story “Salvatore” by W., Somerset Maugham. Elucidate., The titular character Salvatore in Somerset Maugham’s story is an embodiment of a, true congenial combination of love and affection that we count to be two primal, qualities most predominant in his mental constitution., One can easily notice a radiance of divine grace that is reflected in his attitude to his, younger brothers and his parents. It is a homespun natural way of expression in his, day-to-day affairs of life. Moreover, it is almost a motherly propensity that he shows, for his two brothers. Salvatore showed his teenage love at the juncture of puberty for, a girl living on the Grande Marina. It was only for his love that he joined military, service. He “wept like a child” when he had to go., But on the foreign land he could not rest in peace in the absence of his near and dear, ones. His homesickness made him restless and ill. The toughest part was “to be, parted from the girl he loved with all his passionate young heart”. In his long ill-spelt, letters, he wrote to the girl how constantly he thought of her and how much he longed, to be back., When his boat from Naples finally reached ashore, he saw his father, mother and his, two brothers. He waved to them. His eyes were then searching for the girl living in, his heart. But she wasn’t there. Soon after, he got a devastating blow from his lover, who ignored him and refused to marry him as he was then an invalid, not being able, to work any longer. It was owing to some form of rheumatism that he became unfit, for any work. He suffered such stiff mental setbacks without any complain; nor did, he show any grievance against his lover. Even though he was unhappy, he never, blamed the girl he genuinely loved. Instead, he unburdened himself by weeping in his, mother’s bosom., He married Assunta, a girl older to him, in accordance with his mother’s choice., Salvatore and Assunta were blessed with two children. As a responsible husband,, Salvatore worked all day long in his vineyard and used to catch cuttlefish at night., Though he often suffered fits of rheumatism, he had pleasant words for everyone he, met. A sort of fellow-feeling for every human being on earth is seen in his character., Being a happy father, Salvatore was sometimes used to give his babies a bath. He, would then seat the younger one on his big palm and hold him up and laugh a little at, his smallness. Such fatherly affection and care make Salvatore a man worthy of, respect., The author has thus explored the theme of love and affection through the, protagonist’s character in the story. He has shown how valuable the two qualities are, in a man’s life. Salvatore has, no doubt, gained a permanent place in the readers’ heart, with his unconditional love and affection not only for the girl but also for everyone he, lived among.

Page 4 : 4. Comment on the appropriateness of the title of the short story “Salvatore” by, William Somerset Maugham. Suggest another title for the story., The title of a literary piece generally represents its theme, a particular character or, sometimes symbolically refers to something deeper than what it actually says. As far, as our present story “Salvatore” is concerned, the author has not had much trouble, finding a suitable title for his story. In fact, the title here represents the protagonist of, the story, Salvatore, a fifteen year old boy when the story begins and a middle aged, man with a wife and two children at the end of the story., Maugham’s short story is actually a biographical narrative of a common fisher boy, from an Italian island. It is a narration of events in a chronological order, perhaps the, simplest form for a story., At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes Salvatore’s life before joining the, military service — how Salvatore passed his days lying about in the beach, his, expertise at swimming, his love and care for his two younger brothers and his love, affair with a girl who lived on the Grande Marina. Then the story goes on to tell us, how homesick he was during his service on foreign lands, how he wanted to come, back, how he fell ill and finally reached home due to rheumatism. The story narrates, how Salvatore was then rejected by his lover, how he got over the twin shocks of his, life by his mental strength, Salvatore’s marriage with another woman called Assunta, and how he was spending his life happily with his wife and two children., The story of Salvatore ends here. The narrator then directly addresses the readers to, covey his message about why he told this story. He says, Salvatore is an epitome of, goodness, the inner beauty of a man. This is a rare quality of a man’s character which, makes Salvatore so special in the eye of the narrator and the readers alike., Now, to return to the discussion about the title, the story does nothing but tells the, story of a good human being, the titular character Salvatore, who has set an example, by his virtues of calmness, forgiveness, broadmindedness, mental strength and ability, to stay happy and positive in all situations. Salvatore never complains against, anything or anyone in life, but takes life how it comes to him. He has shown the inner, beauty of his heart, which makes him uncommon and rather heroic despite his, common, mundane life as a fisherman., What could be a better title than the name of the character when the writer’s sole, purpose is to present a character before the readers and show a special quality in his, character? This is to say that the title of W. Somerset Maugham’s story “Salvatore”, has been just and apt, given the purpose of the piece, i.e., to highlight the life of, Salvatore and the rare quality he bears., If I really have to suggest another title for this story, the best one should be, “Goodness”. This is the rarest quality that Salvatore bears according to the author.

Page 5 : 5. Describe Salvatore’s life when he was on foreign lands for his job. Why did he, come back in the middle of his service?, Salvatore joined the military service reluctantly, only to marry the girl he loved., When he had to leave the island which he had never left before, to be a sailor in the, navy of King Victor Emmanuel, he wept like a child. Living on a battleship with, strangers without any touch of friendship made his life miserable. He was constantly, missing his little white cottage among the vines and the little island he loved so well., He was all alone in the noisy friendless cities he had to visit as part of his job. He also, realised that the volcanic islands of Ischia and Vesuvius which he used to look at, every evening and at dawn when he was home were “as much part of him as his, hands and his feet”, a feeling that he had never had before., As Salvatore was “dreadfully homesick”, he badly wanted to come back home. The, hardest part of it was “to be parted from the girl he loved with all his passionate, young heart”. He also wrote her letters telling her about his agony of staying away, from her and how much he wanted to be back., Salvatore was sent to many places including Spezzia, Venice, Bari and China as part, of his service. In China, he fell ill seriously and was in hospital for months. With the, mental toughness he has got, he managed to recover. But it was learnt that Salvatore, had some form of rheumatism which made him unfit for further service. In fact, the, doctors told him that he would be unable to work any longer. This is why Salvatore, had to quit and return to home. And Salvatore was happy that he had to, as he would, finally be able to come home and meet his near and dear ones., 6. Write a note on the setting of Maugham’s short story “Salvatore”., W. Somerset Maugham’s story “Salvatore” is set on the Italian Island of Capri in the, first half of the Twentieth Century during the reign of King Victor Emmanuel., Salvatore is the protagonist of the story, a boy of fifteen from the fishing community, when the story begins. Salvatore then goes abroad for military service in the navy of, King Victor Emmanuel. But he comes back and settles on his homeland with his wife, and two children when the story ends., Though the writer doesn’t name the island directly, the mention of Grande Marina, where Salvatore’s fiance lived and the names of the Island of Ischia which Salvatore, looked at every evening and Mount Vesuvius which looked pearly in the dawn, suggest it to be Capri., Through his storytelling, the narrator has also presented a picturesque landscape of, the place where Salvatore lived. The sea, the beach, the jagged rocks, the hot vineclad, hill, the silent paths through the mountains, the beauty of sunset at Ischia seen from

Page 6 : Capri, the rowing boats, moon shining over the placid sea, lights of Naples twinkling, in the distance — all adding to the landscape create the setting of the story., 7. Comment on the role of Assunta in Salvatore’s life., In William Somerset Maugham’s short story “Salvatore”, Assunta married Salvatore,, the protagonist of the story. Though initially Salvatore perceived her as an ugly, woman who was older than he, they got married and that proved to be a good, decision on his part., Born to an Italian fisher family, the first part of Salvatore’s life went well when he, was happy, taking care of his younger brothers and diving into the sea at will. He was, in love and engaged to a pretty young girl living on the Grande Marina. Everything, had been going well until he set out on his journey abroad on military service., Salvatore was homesick and he missed his near and dear ones, especially ‘the girl he, loved so dearly’. He became ill frequently, and finally returned home with, rheumatism, having declared unfit for further military service., At this juncture, Salvatore received one more blow when his fiance rejected him due, his illness. Then came Assunta in Salvatore’s life. At first his mother told him of the, girl who apparently fell in love with him seeing him at a festival. As Assunta’s fiance, had been killed in Africa during his military service, Assunta was willing to marry, Salvatore. She even wanted to buy him a fishing boat and to take a vineyard for them, with her little savings. At first, Salvatore dismissed the idea. But later he thought that, Assunta had a good heart and would genuinely love him. After having a look at, Assunta from the parish church, Salvatore decided to marry her., They married and settled down in a tiny house in the middle of a vineyard. Though, Assunta was a ‘grim-visaged female’ and looked old for her age, she was admiring,, respectful and devoted to her husband. She could not tolerate the girl who had, rejected such a good-hearted man like Salvatore. She never ceased to be touched by, his gentle sweetness. But she could not bear the girl who had thrown him over., In the later part of the story, we see Salvatore as a happy man with two babies whom, he would sometimes give a bath. He would lie down on the shore when racked by the, pain of rheumatism but he never had a complaint against anyone. He always had a, smile on his face. This tells us of the inherent goodness in Salvatore’s character. But, Assunta also had a definite role in his life., Assunta offered Salvatore the love, respect and care he deserved. She brought back, the meaning of life when ‘he was terribly unhappy’ after his illness and his beloved’s, rejection. Assunta helped him restore hope and faith in life. In turn, that helped him, stay kind and soft-spoken to others throughout his life even after the two harsh blows, he had received. Assunta embodies the triumph of good heart over appearance.

Page 7 : 8. Despite being heartbroken, Salvatore did not let anything affect his marriage to, Assunta. Discuss., Salvatore loved his fiance passionately. He thought of her often and even wrote to her, frequently while he was away serving in the navy. When he fell sick and returned, home, she broke off the engagement, blaming his illness. It was said that due to the, rheumatism which he had contracted in China, he would never be able to work hard., She said that her father would never allow her to marry somebody who could not, work to earn his livelihood. Salvatore was shattered. The writer states that he wept, like a child on his mother’s bosom., Nevertheless, Salvatore was a good man and it is this goodness that never allowed, him to blame the girl for breaking his heart. He married a woman suggested by his, mother. Her name was Assunta. She was previously engaged to a man who was killed, in Africa during his tenure with the military. She was older than Salvatore and was, not very good looking., Assunta fell in love with Salvatore the moment she saw him. Salvatore went to meet, her during the High Mass on a Sunday after which he agreed to marry her. She had, nothing but hatred for the girl who rejected him. She acknowledged the goodness that, was in Salvatore’s heart and absolutely doted on him., Salvatore was a very good husband to Assunta. They had a happy life together as a, family. This was possible only because Salvatore didn’t allow the failure of his, previous relationship to affect his present one. He not only forgave the girl, but also, made sure to do right by Assunta., 9. We all tend to forget the importance of the inner beauty of a person and focus more, on the exterior appearance. Keeping this point in mind, describe the circumstances, under which Salvatore’s fiance refuses to marry him., Salvatore gets engaged to a girl who lives on the Grande Marina. The author, describes her as a girl whose eyes are the colour of forest pools and who carries, herself as if she were the daughter of the Caesars. The girl is, beyond any doubt,, beautiful. But later in the story, we discover that she is not one to go beyond physical, appearances., 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. Here we see 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 fiance only takes into consideration his ‘supposed’ disability and, fails to see the heart and mind that he has. Morals seem insignificant when selfish, interests come into play. She only thought of herself and failed to be considerate to, the man who loved her with all of his heart and soul.

Page 8 : But Salvatore proves her wrong. He works just as hard as any ordinary man. He not, only works in his vineyard, but also goes for fishing. His disease does not succeed in, disabling him. She rejected him based on the mere thought of inconvenience that she, ‘might’ have to face if she were to marry a man affected by a chronic ailment such as, rheumatism. This is also proved wrong as Salvatore ends up having a completely, normal and happy life with Assunta., Through the incidents illustrated above, the author has successfully driven the idea –, ‘appearances are deceptive’ home. An important moral lesson is also imparted, through the story – that of the importance of the inner beauty of a person. We should, learn to look beyond appearances, as Salvatore did and as a result, he lived happily, ever after., 10. Through the story ‘Salvatore’, Maugham has put forth two ideas - that people, often prefer to talk about themselves rather than hear about the goodness of another, person and that people tend to believe hearsay and not the person himself. How far do, you agree with the statement? Taking examples from the story elucidate your opinion., Maugham begins his story with the sentence – “I wonder if I can do it.” He explains, at the end, “I wanted to draw your attention for a few pages whilst I drew a portrait of, an ordinary fisherman who possessed nothing in the world except a quality.” The, author undoubtedly accomplishes this task through a spellbinding narrative that is the, story ‘Salvatore’., Salvatore possesses a unique virtue – goodness, that too in abundance. It is normally, observed that it is difficult to hold the attention of people when we are not talking, about anything which directly concerns or affects them. But, it is not impossible. The, author understands the difficulty of putting forth a story devoid of any thrills or frills., Salvatore is a story about a simple man’s goodness of heart and uneventful life. The, fact that readers not only manage to go through the story, but also enjoy it makes it, very clear that the author’s position is not completely true., The second argument that Maugham puts forth is that human beings tend to find, hearsay more believable than the person himself/herself. This seems to be an, observation rather than a hypothesis. It is mostly true as we come across such, instances frequently on a day to day basis. Salvatore’s fiancee and her mother are the, best examples to validate this statement. Both of them choose 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., Salvatore proves her wrong. He works just as hard as any ordinary man. He not only, works in his vineyard, but also goes for fishing. His disease does not succeed in, disabling him as most people on the island, including the girl and her family chose to

Page 9 : believe. This proves that it is better to believe what a person says rather than, believing hearsay., 11. What is the message the author wants to convey through his story ‘Salvatore’?, Maugham’s short story ‘Salvatore’ conveys the message of Goodness. Though the, story apparently looks like a biographical sketch of a young Italian fisherman, Salvatore, it has actually been a portrayal of a good character, a quality of the, character, which the writer calls “the rarest, the most precious, and the loveliest that, anyone can have” — the quality of “goodness, just goodness”., Salvatore’s carefree life and responsibility to take care of his brothers, his love for a, pretty girl, his journey abroad for the military service, his illness, return to his home, and rejection of his fiance and consequently his marriage to a woman older than him, and then his affection for his children — all through this chronological narration of, events only one thing stands out. He never blames anyone for anything in his life, but, accepts life as it comes to him. Salvatore as an ordinary fisherman possessed nothing, in the world except a rare virtue, that is, the inner goodness of heart, marked by, acceptance of his fate and the Christian forgiveness., 12. How did Salvatore deal with the crisis that erupted in his life after he was, declared unfit for further service in the sea?, In W. Somerset Maugham’s story “Salvatore”, Salvatore received the first major blow, in his life when he was declared unfit for further military service. The doctors even, told him that he would never be quite well and would be unable to work any longer., Though it should have normally come as a big shock to a common man like, Salvatore, he actually did not bother much. He was rather happy thinking that it, would help him go back home and meet his family and his fiance whom he had been, missing very much., But the worst was waiting for him at his homeland. The girl he had loved so well, rejected him because of his rheumatism. All his hopes were shattered. But he dealt, with this situation calmly. He was terribly unhappy but did not blame the girl. In fact,, he was unable to use any hard word for the girl whom he had loved genuinely., He unburdened himself by weeping in his mother’s bosom. And it was by his, immense mental strength that he got over his sadness with time. An accepting and, forgiving attitude towards life is what helped him stay calm even in this time of crisis, and live the rest of his life happily.