Genre
Short story
Setting and Context
The story is set just after the First World War in American Samoa, an Island in the South Pacific Ocean.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is narrated by a third-person limited omniscient narrator; the point of view stays with Dr. Macphail.
Tone and Mood
The tone is descriptive; the mood is ominous.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Dr. Macphail; antagonists include the Davidsons, the governor, and Miss Thompson.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the story is that Dr. Macphail, although he prefers to mind his own business, feels compelled to help Miss Thompson when Davidson treats her cruelly.
Climax
The story reaches its climax when Dr. Macphail is brought to Davidson's dead body.
Foreshadowing
Maugham introduces foreshadowing when Davidson's wife speaks of her concern that his passion for bringing lost souls to God will destroy him.
Understatement
Allusions
Imagery
Paradox
Parallelism
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Personification
Maugham personifies Pago Pago's persistent rain, describing it as having "a fury of its own."
