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  1. Jan 28, 2021 · Maugham’s short story “The Verger” is a tale about a simple man Albert Edward Foreman. He has been a verger in St. Peter’s Neville Square Church, doing his duties with great enjoyment and dedication. The new vicar dismisses the verger for being illiterate.

  2. Maugham's "The Verger" is about a church verger named Foreman who loves his job and does it well, until a new pastor is hired, discovers Foreman cannot read, and essentially fires...

  3. The Verger. By Somerset Maugham. There had been a christening that afternoon at St Peter's, Neville Square, and Albert Edward Foreman still wore his verger's gown.

    • Setting
    • Point of View and Tone
    • Themes
    • Characters and Conflicts
    • Dramatic Structure and Moods
    • Examples of Literary Techniques

    The Vergeris set in an unnamed part of London. The story develops over four locations: a fictitious church (St. Peter’s, Neville Square) in “a very good neighbourhood”, a long city street, the verger’s home, and a bank. Over half of the story takes place in the church. In addition to providing the background to the remaining stages of the story, th...

    The story is a narrative told in the third person by a limited omniscient observer. He/she can tell us the thoughts and feelings of the verger (Albert Foreman), but none of the other characters. At first, the language (tone) of the story is formal and objective. The narrator reports the events at St. Peters in a matter-of-fact way, allowing readers...

    appearance: The new vicar is concerned about how his “classy congregation” might perceive the church having an illiterate verger. He takes no account of the fact that Albert has performed his dutie...
    hypocrisy: The vicar is from the “East End”, the historically poor area of London. One would expect him, of all people, to recognize what Albert has achieved in life and support him to continue as...
    indifference: Albert may have faced a different (if much poorer) future if the two churchwardens, who appear to be uncomfortable with the vicar’s decision, had stood up for him. Given their titles...
    opportunity: Albert’s achievements, both as a verger and a businessman, demonstrate that being illiterate and/or having a low level of education are not necessarily barriers to success. All it take...
    The Protagonist: Albert Foreman. We can see from events in the church that he is: 1) dedicated and meticulous – he busied himself quietly, replacing the painted wooden cover on the marble font, tak...
    The Antagonist: Illiteracy (a state of being).
    The Vicar: The vicar is: 1) new to the church and, coming from the East End, ambitious to prove himself in this prestigious ministry; 2) controlling – this new man who wanted to have his finger in...
    Minor Characters: The churchwardens, Albert’s wife, the bank manager.
    Exposition: The events inside St. Peters where the vicar passes on the news that Albert must learn to read and write within three months or leave. Mood:Disenchanted and Concerned
    Rising Action: Albert comes up with the idea of opening a tobacconist shop and goes on to develop a successful chain of them. Mood:Hopeful at first, then Pleased
    Climax: The bank manager learns that Albert cannot read or write. The manager was so surprised that he jumped up from his chair. “That’s the most extraordinary thing I ever heard.” Mood:Inspired
    Falling Action: The bank manager questions what Albert would be if you had been able to read and write. Mood:Intrigued

    The Vergeris widely known as a wonderful example of situational irony. Albert, having failed to meet the new vicar’s literacy requirement for a job he loved and been written off as possessing “lamentable ignorance”, becomes independently rich over the next ten years… so much so that he could now match many of St. Peter’s well-off parishioners! Maug...

  4. In The Verger by W. Somerset Maugham we have the theme of appearance, opportunity, dedication, independence and humility. 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 Maugham may be exploring the theme of appearance.

  5. Short Story by Flannery OConnor. A widow who runs a large farm is visited by three teenage boys wanting a horse ride. When she refuses, they spend the next two days committing petty acts of vandalism around the farm. A threat to call the sheriff results in her greatest fear.

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