2. The Luncheon (Somerset Maugham)

SOURCE: http://www.nasou-viaafrika.com/App_Content/Literature/CrosscurrentsIII_TG.pdf
2. The Luncheon (Somerset Maugham)
Before you read this story, ask learners what they think makes a story funny. Can they
give any examples of a funny story? They could refer to stories or movies that they are
familiar with, or even to jokes and anecdotes that they tell to their friends. Note that
humour in literature is one of the hardest things to define and discuss. Sometimes it relies
on satire or irony (see Glossary at the back of the reader), or sometimes the situation or
the characters are comic. Ask learners to think about if and why this  particular  story is
humorous. 12
Answers to questions
1. The time frame changes when the narrator asks himself „Did I remember?‟ (p.183),
and then goes on to relate the events of twenty years previously. He comes back
to the present in the last paragraph of the story, „But I have had my revenge ….‟
(p.187).
One reason why this kind of „framing‟ device is an effective story telling technique
is because it allows the story to work on two levels – that is, the present and the
past. In this story the humour rests on the fact that the woman who in the past ate
her way through all the writer‟s money, now in the present is overweight. [Note that
twenty one stone is about 133 kg.]
2. The young man is a struggling writer living cheaply in Paris. He is flattered by the
woman‟s interest in his work. When she asks to be taken to Foyot‟s, he does not
know how to say no, even though he knows what an expensive restaurant it is. She
proceeds to order all the most pricey things on the menu (all the while saying she
never eats or drinks much) while he looks for the cheapest  item. The woman
seems completely unaware of his situation, and the young man finds that he has
spent all his money for that month on the lunch.
3. There are many examples of humour in the story, several of which depend on the
writer‟s own side comments – for example, the comment that men never learn to
say no to women until it no longer matters (p.184). The best example of indirect
humour is the writer‟s response to the woman‟s suggestion that he should not eat
more than one thing for lunch – „I‟ll eat nothing for dinner tonight‟ (p.187). While
she thinks he is making a joke, we know that this is the literal truth.
4. The woman seems to have no idea that the young man might not have much
money. Her focus in telling the story would be to talk about how healthily she ate,
and how she gave the young man advice about his diet – e.g. „you‟re unwise to eat
meat‟; the French wines are „… wonderful for the digestion‟; „…you ruin your palate
by all the meat you eat‟; etc. She might mention that she thought he was a bit
mean, referring to the small tip he had left – „Her eyes rested for an instant on the
three francs …. she thought me mean.‟ (p.187)
5. Learners might find the title „The Luncheon‟ too literal, and might come up with
alternatives which try to capture the irony or the humour of the story.
Suggested language lessons
This story is written in the first person. You could use the story to revise personal
pronouns, by getting learners to rewrite paragraphs in the third person. They could also do 13
this orally. The best paragraph for this purpose is the paragraph starting on page 183 „It
was twenty years ago …‟.
Other activities
a) Get learners to write the letter from the writer to the woman agreeing to meet, but
suggesting an alternative to Foyot‟s. [They will have to think up a convincing
reason for this!] They will also have to invent names for both the writer and the
woman.
b) Learners discuss different ways in which the narrator could have dealt with the
situation in Foyot‟s. Do you think this situation could still happen in contemporary
times? Why/ why not?
Additinal information about The luncheon: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0704613/