The Man with the Scar: Summary and Analysis

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1 The Man with the Scar: Summary and Analysis
1.1 The Man with the Scar: A Tale of Mystery and Fate

About the author

William Somerset Maugham is a British short-story writer, playwright, and novelist. His works deal with the emotions and feelings humans express in their daily lives and complications in human relations.

About the story

            The short story “The Man with the Scar’ is taken from ‘Collected Short Stories’ by William Somerset Maugham.
    The theme of the story revolves around curiosity, struggle, love, luck, and loss.
       The story portrays a sad tale of the Man with the Scar who had struggled in every phase of his life.
      This is a fictional story that is told from the third-person point of view.
       The story revolves mainly around four characters-the narrator, his friend, the man with the scar, and his wife.


Word-Meaning:

broad-wide, ♦crescent-shape of half- moon, ♦sabre-sword with curve blade, ♦shell-piece of bomb, ♦good-humoured-jolly, ♦corpulent-fat, ♦battered-old and slightly damaged, ♦sombrero-Mexican hat, ♦shabby-dirty, ♦strolling-walked leisurely, ♦refused-turned down,♦ threaded-passes through, ♦rolling walk-Moving from side to side as they walk, ♦traverse-cover up, ♦liquor-alcoholic drink, ♦martini-a drink in Italy, ♦held out-showed, ♦affably-friendly way, ♦Que tal- What’s up, ♦brandy-alcoholic spirit,♦Gracis-Thank you, ♦Hasta Luego -See you later, ♦terrific-terrible, ♦exile-banishment, ♦Nicaragua-country in central America, ♦ruffian-violent man ,♦ammunition-supply of bullets and shells, ♦pesos-unit of money,  ♦court-martial-lawful action, ♦poker- a card game, ♦chips-small pieces, ♦patio-field, ♦ADC-a post belongs to administration, ♦troops-a group, ♦barely-rarely, ♦condemned-a person who got penalty, ♦puppets-toys, ♦Bueno-Well, ♦spot-trace, ♦gateway-an approved pass, ♦Caramba-an expression of surprise, ♦stir-movement, ♦veil-concealment, ♦distraught-worry, ♦agony-extreme physical and mental pain, ♦rebel-a person who rises against the power, ♦flung-throw out, ♦hoarse-harsh voice, ♦notion-conception, ♦stabbed-hurt with a knife, ♦retain-keep with, ♦spurted-spread suddenly, ♦burst-to break open, ♦grasp-capture, ♦staunch-stop from flowing, ♦rose-got up, ♦gesture-movement of hand , arm and body, ♦dismay-shock, ♦homage-a salute, ♦approbation-acceptance, ♦marched-walk with a military manner, ♦ginger ale- a type of wine

The Man with the Scar-story of suspension

The Man with the Scar: A Tale of Mystery and Fate

Summary-The Man with the Scar 

The narrator saw a man in the Palace Hotel in Guatemala City in Central America and became curious to know about the scar the Man had. The Man’s face was round, fat, and good-humoured with artless expression. He used to wear a very dirty grey suit, a khaki shirt, and a battered Mexican hat. He used to come to the Hotel to sell lottery tickets at cocktail time. Nobody bought lottery tickets, but some people offered him a drink which the Man never refused. He used to cover long distances on foot, stopping at each table to show his tottery for sale. Once he did the same to the narrator who nodded his head for the twentieth time since his arrival. Then the narrator’s friend talked to the Man in a friendly way and offered him a brandy. After the Man had left to show his lottery tickets to another man, the narrator asked about the Man to his friend who told a sad tale about him.
The Man with the Scar was a revolutionary general who was banished from Nicaragua. If the Man had been successful in his attempt, he would be the minister of war. In the meantime, he had finished his shells and could not change the government. He was arrested along with his staff, and tried by court-martial. He was to be shot at dawn. Before his execution at night, he played poker with others in jail, all of them used matches for chips while playing. The Man lost many matches more than any man could lose in his entire life. The night was over, and the Man along with four men were taken to the field of the jail for execution. The Man smoked a cigarette before San Ignacio, the general came. The general asked the condemned men if they had any wishes before their death. All of them nodded their head except the Man whose wish was to say goodbye to his wife. The four men were shot, and they fell as if they were lively puppets in a toy theatre. 
The man threw the stub of his cigarette when a woman came and ran forward with outstretched arms. The woman was his wife who wore a black dress with a veil over her hair. She had a slim figure with a white face and enormous eyes. She looked so lovely that a few soldiers were amazed by her beauty with a gasp of surprise when she ran to the Man who also moved close to his wife. It was the time when the Man kissed her and stabbed her simultaneously. Her blood was flowing, and she died. Then the general asked him why he had killed his wife. The Man said he loved his wife. The reason behind killing his wife made the general so surprised that he saluted him, and ordered his soldiers to leave him at the borderline. The Man told his story to the narrator’s friend in Spanish, and the narrator’s friend also translated the same story to his friend in English, but the narrator’s curiosity about the Scar remained unfulfilled. The narrator asked his friend how the man got the scar. Then his friend replied that the Man got the scar due to a burst while opening a bottle of ginger ale. But the narrator did not like the reason behind the scar the Man had.

Analysis

The story ‘The Man with the Scar’ tells a pathetic story of a man whose luck did not favour him. The Man failed in almost everything in every phase of life. He failed while fighting with the government troops due to a lack of ammunition. He had been banished from his country. While playing poker he lost more matches than any man usually loses in his entire life. As soon as he killed his wife, the general cancelled his death sentence. In the end, he roamed one table to another to sell lottery tickets in search of livelihood, but he was offered a drink. Even he got the scar while opening a bottle of ginger ale. He could not get anything he desired, and he met unexpected consequences during his entire life. He had to endure his ‘life’ as a burden, and he had to consider all of his sorrows as destiny. As he got the scar accidentally, he got hardships in life, unfortunately. Here the scar is used symbolically, which represents the unexpected sorrow and struggle of the man. Again, the mark of the scar could not be removed from the face of the man as the trouble and turmoil of the man’s life never changed.