He never really shows any contrition for how he has treated those whom he has come across in China. Which may suggest that the main protagonist may not be contrite. In his personal life or in his business life. It is also interesting that the main protagonist does not fully admit that he has done any wrong doing.
It is as though the main protagonist is developing a conscience. A place where the main protagonist has shown nothing but arrogance towards others. China on the other hand has been no more than a business opportunity.
It is his home and where all his memories are. He does not want to be forgotten and longs for his family to visit his grave in England. At the end of the story the main protagonist is driven by fear. Symbolically the grave may be important as the main protagonist does indeed die and he writes a letter informing others that he wants to be buried back home in England. The dream that the main protagonist has at the end of the story may also be important as it not only frightens the main protagonist but leads him to believe that the grave he saw the native labourers digging is the main protagonist’s own grave. Friendship is not something that sits well with the main protagonist which may suggest he is living a lonely life. His main concern is his job and making money. Similarly the main protagonist has not tried to acclimatize to life around him. There is no mention of the main protagonist having any real friends. Culturally China would be very different to England and the main protagonist may have found it hard to adapt. A reality that bores the main protagonist if it was not for his job. He may not have wanted to have been sent by his company to China and now has to live with the realities he faces. For what other reasons would he be so cruel to other people. There is also a sense that the main protagonist is bitter. He has a connection with England but it is not a connection he actively pursues. At all stages of the story the main protagonist is driven by his own ego. If something is not of benefit to him he doesn’t want to know.
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If anything the main protagonist is full of his own self-importance. Real culture for the main protagonist is drinking in the men’s clubs. He also shows an inability to adapt to the culture around him. Even though he is busy living in his own world and trying to make money. It is also noticeable that the main protagonist does not appear to fully understand the culture of the city.
Whose sole purpose was to make as much money as possible. As was often the case the locals were treated a sub-humans by many of the British or other European businessmen. They would not mix with the locals and their primary drive would be to make money. It may also be a case that Maugham is comparing the main protagonist to a group of men who may have made their fortunes overseas. The main protagonist treats the native labourers different to others which may suggest that the main protagonist considered himself to be better that those who are darker skinned than the main protagonist. It is also interesting that the main protagonist is sure to be polite to his employers and those men that he meets in the Club. Preferring a life instead of breeding horses.
This might contribute to the fact as to why the main protagonist doesn’t want to return to England when he retires. Money which he would be unable to earn in England. It is also interesting that the driving factor for the main protagonist is money. He also treats the native labourers (coolies) with disdain as though they are subservient to him. He may enjoy earning money but apart from that there is no real enjoyment in his life. Taken from his Collected Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that the main protagonist doesn’t appreciate the life he lives. Somerset Maugham we have the theme of wealth, appreciation, loss, racism, bitterness, arrogance and fear.
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