Домашнее чтение, Уильям Сомерсет Моэм «Узорный покров», главы XXVIII - XXXIII, 2,3 (Школьные сочинения)

2. Comment on Kitty’s situation and Walter’s behaviour.

While reading these chapters I felt sorry for Kitty, because her situation wasn’t pleasant. Of course, she had been cheated on Walter and I’m sure that she would have kept on doing it if Walter hadn’t discovered the adultery. So partially she deserved to get a lesson.

ot now I think nobody would envy a scrape she had got into. She was brought in a dangerous city filled with disease and death. Apart from it, she wasn’t sure about Walter’s intentions. If earlier she could literally read his emotions since his behaviour has changed. He acted extremely indifferent towards her, so she couldn’t understand whether his love had gone.

She was afraid that this journey would kill her because her health was weak. So she lived in a house in the city where the cholera epidemic had broken out; her housemate was a person who made her feel fear and disgust. Apart from it, she had been left by the person she madly loved. It was still hard for her to overcome the betrayal. She had not3hing to do but hide her emotions crying silently in her bed.

3. Describe and attempt an initial characterization of a new character – Waddington, the Deputy Commissioner in Mei-tan-fu.

Waddington was the Deputy Commissioner in Mei-Tan-Fu. Kitty met him on the first day of being here. As Kitty guessed, he was in his thirties. He wasn’t invited, he came to get acquainted with a new Missionary. There was a lot of information about him, and in my opinion, it was too early to try to reveal his personal qualities. In my mind, Waddington was a completely impolite person, because as he knew that Kitty and Walter had gone a long way and nevertheless, as he said he decided to invite himself single-handedly. I was excited at how easily he proposed Kitty to see the previous missionary’s grave. Maybe there was nothing incorrect about his behaviour, but if I were Kitte I would ask him to get out of the house. He was complaining about his boring life saying that since Watson had gone, he has got nobody to talk with. I suppose that he was a quite light-minded and selfish person because he didn’t worry about people who were dying like flies, but he was disappointed that there was nobody to talk with. He couldn’t understand why nuns decided to stay here and sacrifice their lives to help others. It seemed like he was thirsty because he drank gaily. After some time he was far from sober. He gaily chat-chatted about some trivial things.

So, now I have an approximate opinion about Waddington. I suppose that he was easy-going, selfish and a little bit stupid.

ut I can’t say that he was a person who would have any negative intentions towards someone. Kitty compared his appearance with an amusing monkey, and I think it was appropriative. He wasn’t deep or intelligent, just an extra character forgot in the Mei-Tan-Fu as well as Kitty and Walter.