An analysis of The verger (William S. Maugham)

Dạo này không viết được gì, để blog vắng hoe thì buồn quá, hôm nay post bài analysis môn American & British selected short stories lên đây, để sau này các bạn có học môn Intro to lit hay môn Selected này có thể tham khảo :-) Bài đầu tiên sẽ là bài phân tích irony trong tác phẩm "The verger" của William S. Maugham.
The English author William S. Maugham is best known for his short story “Mr. Know All”, in which he employs the irony technique brilliantly. Written in the same fashion is “The Verger”, another short story about the path of making success of an illiterate verger. Maugham, in this amazingly ironic literary work, has put the art of utilizing irony to the top degree with the reply of Foreman the protagonist to the bank manager at the end of the story.

Foreman has been the verger of St. Peter’s for sixteen years, which seems lengthy enough to assure him a life-time service there. Since “the vergers of St. Peter’s, like the popes Rome, were there for life”, Foreman could never, even in his wildest dream, think of the day when he would leave the church and no longer be a verger. Yet everything is not what it seems. That very day has come when the newly-appointed vicar comes to him with the forceful and cold announcement that he is to resign because of his being unable to read and write. To the new vicar, illiteracy can be dangerous and “at a church like St. Peter’s Neville Square, we cannot have a verger who can neither read nor write”. These seems quite reasonable, but the new vicar has ignored the fact that Foreman has managed well without literacy for sixteen years! The vicar fails to examine the situation with sympathy and open-mindedness. Ironically, the Church – the representative of God – does not save his life but let him down, and it is not a peaceful place for people as it is said to be.

“Save the best for last”, Maugham undoubtedly has bared this in mind as he lets the irony reach its peak at the very end of the story. Now that Foreman has become a successful businessman with more than 10 tobacco shops under his hand, he comes to the bank for his regular depositing. The bank manager, impressed by his great wealth, invites him to invest his fortune and is stunned to learn of his client’s being illiterate. Questions flash in his mind what would have happened if this brilliant man had been able to read and write. To his wondering, Foreman simply, but aristocratically, replies “I’d be verger of St. Peter’s, Neville Square”. The reply contains no more than 10 words, but all of them are extremely sharp, and irony has peaked. Yes, it is true that if Foreman had been literate, meaning he had accepted the new vicar’s order to learn to read and write, he would have still been a verger. Thing, once again, appears to be not what it seems. Literacy has long been believed to be the only way to success, yet it now turns out to be a hindrance in Foreman’s case. Successful and wealthy businessmen are said to be of high education, or at least literate, yet now standing in front of the bank manager is an illiterate one with more than 30 thousands pounds deposited. These examples has evidently fortified the main irony embedded in the story: it is not how much you learn that counts but rather how well you make use of the little you have.

The verger, like many other stories by Maugham, has a very lucid plot and an astonishing ending. There would not have been such ending if it had not been for the author’s expertise in employing irony.

(Original writen in 2010, as a third-year student)

Update in 2024: I asked ChatGPT to proofread my writing and here's its version:

The English author William S. Maugham is best known for his short story “Mr. Know All”, in which he employs irony brilliantly. Written in the same fashion is “The Verger”, another short story about the path to success of an illiterate verger. Maugham, in this amazingly ironic literary work, has elevated the art of utilizing irony to the highest degree with the protagonist Foreman's reply to the bank manager at the story's end.

Foreman has served as the verger of St. Peter’s for sixteen years, a tenure seemingly guaranteeing a lifetime of service. Since “the vergers of St. Peter’s, like the popes of Rome, were there for life”, Foreman could never, even in his wildest dreams, envision leaving the church and ceasing to be a verger. 

Yet everything is not as it seems. That day arrives when the newly-appointed vicar informs him, with forceful coldness, that he must resign due to his inability to read and write. To the new vicar, illiteracy can be dangerous and “at a church like St. Peter’s Neville Square, we cannot have a verger who can neither read nor write”. 

While this may seem reasonable, the new vicar ignores the fact that Foreman has managed well without literacy for sixteen years! The vicar fails to examine the situation with sympathy and open-mindedness. Ironically, the Church – the representative of God – does not save his life but lets him down, revealing itself as not as peaceful a place as believed.

“Save the best for last,” Maugham undoubtedly had this in mind as he lets the irony reach its peak at the story's conclusion. Now that Foreman has become a successful businessman with more than 10 tobacco shops under his control, he visits the bank for his regular deposit. 

The bank manager, impressed by his great wealth, invites him to invest his fortune and is stunned to learn of his client’s illiteracy. Questions flash in his mind: what would have happened if this brilliant man had been able to read and write? To his wondering, Foreman simply, but aristocratically, replies, “I’d be verger of St. Peter’s, Neville Square”. 

The reply contains no more than 10 words, but all are extremely sharp, and irony has peaked. Yes, if Foreman had been literate, meaning he had accepted the new vicar’s order to learn to read and write, he would still have been a verger. 

Once again, things are not what they seem. Literacy, long believed to be the only path to success, turns out to hinder Foreman’s case. Successful and wealthy businessmen are said to be highly educated or at least literate, yet before the bank manager stands an illiterate man with more than 30,000 pounds deposited. These examples fortify the central irony of the story: success is not determined by how much you learn, but rather by how well you make use of what you have.

“The Verger,” like many of Maugham’s stories, boasts a lucid plot and an astonishing ending. Without the author’s expertise in employing irony, such an ending would not be possible.