W. Somerset Maugham says that Salvatore possessed nothing in the world except a quality which is the rarest, the most precious and the loveliest that anyone can have. In what way has the author shown this quality in Salvatore as he plays the role of a son, brother, lover, husband and father? (15 marks)
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The story “Salvatore” by William Somerset Maugham begins abruptly with “I wonder if I can do it.” The writer is doubtful whether he can hold our attention for a few pages when he narrates the story of Salvatore. Salvatore was fifteen years old, the eldest son of an Italian fisherman. He had a pleasant face and happily took care of his two younger brothers. He spent his morning lying on the sea-beach and used to swim effortlessly in the sea where his father used to catch fish.As Salvatore grew, he fell in love and was betrothed to a girl who lived on the Grande Marina. The girl was pretty and had beautiful eyes. There was a condition to marry someone which was that the groom had to serve the country to marry so then Salvatore left home for military service to become a sailor in the navy of King Victor Emmanuel. He missed the island. He felt all alone in the battleship living with strangers and also in the noisy friendless cities where he landed. Salvatore now grew homesick. And above all these, he missed his fiancee the most. In service, Salvatore was sent to many places like Spezia, Venice, Bari and China. He fell ill when in China, and as he was suffering from rheumatism he was considered unfit for further service. Salvatore did not mind his illness and rather felt happy to return to his own home. He was eager to meet his family and fiancee. On his return he was very emotionally welcomed by his parents and brothers with ‘great deal of kissing’ and cry of joy. But Salvatore was looking for his girl in the crowd, but in vain. She was not there.When he went to her house, she was sitting with her mother at the doorstep. They had already received the news of his illness and learned that he ‘would never be quite well again’, ‘would never be strong enough to work like a man’. So, his fiancee’s mother bluntly told him that her daughter could not marry him now. This was a heartbreak for Salvatore, but he did not blame the girl. On his mother's saying he got married to Assunta and settled down in a tiny house in the middle of a vineyard. Later they had two children, both boys. He used to catch cuttlefish at night. He also used to work in his vineyard the whole day.Never did he blame anyone for anything in his life. Salvatore was a responsible husband as well as an affectionate father.
The author reminds us that he wanted to keep us attentive throughout his narration and he has successfully done so. Maugham 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. Salvatore had a soft and kind heart and never did he spoke anything wrong for the girl who broke his heart he just had goodness in him.