10. For twenty-five years I’ve said that Tom would end in the gutter. (lin in that state of life in which it has pleased Providence to place me. (line 138-140) 12. If he occasionally borrows a trifle from me, that is merely force of habit. (line 158159)
A flashback of George’s brother Tom: how he changed from a respectable person to an unscrupulous fellow. And how he blackmailed his brother George again and again.
Organization of the text
• • • • Part I( Line 1— line 23) Part II (line 24—line 38) Part III (line 39—line 119) Part IV (line 120—line 150)
Part I( Line 1— line 23)
8. He was a most amusing companion and though you knew he was perfectly worthless you could not but enjoy his society. (line 99-101)
9. I never grudged the contributions he regularly levied on me for the necessities of his existence. (line 102-103)
3. I do not ascribe it to perversity on my part, but rather to the inconsequence of childhood, which is deficient in moral sense, that I could never reconcile myself to the lesson. (line 19-21)
Part IV (line 120—line 150)
Difficult
1.Among those learned was The Ant and the Grasshopper, which is devised to bring home to the young the useful lesson that in an imperfect world industry is rewarded and giddiness punished. (line 3-6) 2. I apologize for telling something which everyone is politely, but inexactly supposed to know (line 7-8)
Main Idea of the Text
In this short story, Somerset Maugham, by describing two brothers' attitudes toward life, examines the nature and inconsistent qualities of human beings. George was a hard-working and respectable man with a decent job as a lawyer. He was also a faithful husband and loving father to four daughters. He believed that the industry should be rewarded and giddiness punished. His brother Tom, however, was an unscrupulous and good-for-nothing scoundrel. He philandered with the prettiest girls, danced, ate in the most expensive restaurants, and dressed beautifully. He borrowed money from relatives and friends. At the beginning, he fooled George by making empty promises repeatedly. Later on he even went to such an extreme that he blackmailed his brother.
Thank You!
Introduction of the fable and the author’s understanding about it.
Part II (line 24—line 38)
Beginning of the story about George and his brother.
Part III (line 39—line 119)
His players are no longer popular, and his fame rests on his many short stories and four of his novels: Of Human Bondage(1915),The Moon and Sixpence(1919), Cakes and Ale(1930) and The Razor’s Edge(1944). These reveal a cynical but sometimes compassionate view of humanity.
Unit 3
The Ant and the Grasshopper
政治学院：
余莎 陈娟娟 赵君 褚令令
Background Knowledge
William Somerset Maugham (18741965) was a famous English novelist, short-story writher, playwright and critic. He was born in Paris and educated at King’s School, Canterbury, and at Heidelberg. He qualified in 1897 as a doctor from St. Thomas’ medical school but abandoned medicine after the success of his first novels and plays.
4. I never saw anyone wear an expression of such deep gloom. (line 29) 5. Tom had been a sore trial to his for twenty years. (line 43-44)
6. But if George could oblige him with a couple of hundred pounds, he didn’t mind for the honour of the family giving it up. (line 7779) 7. It cost George an infinite deal of trouble and five hundred pounds to settle the affair. (line 89-90)
Loading money to his brother, George appeared to be in Tom's favor at the first sight. On a second thought, readers can find that George helped his brother only for his own sake. For instance, he gave Tom some money in order that Tom might quit his job as a bartender. By doing so, he saved his face and the good reputation of his family. But unfortunately Tom took advantage of his weakness of vanity over and over again. The story offers a new interpretation of the fable of La Fontaine The Ant and the Grasshopper whose classical teaching is that in an imperfect world industry is rewarded and giddiness punished, and reveals the dual personality of ordinary people.