• The Man Who Knew Too
Much
• Keeping It From Harold
• The Seven ages

•The Man Who Knew Too Much by Alexander Baron is a first person
narrative. However, the protagonist of the story is not the narrator himself.
The narrator remains unnamed throughout. The story title itself gives us
an insight to the story. The story is on Private Quelch, the man who knows
too much and is condescending. How his arrogance weaves his fall.
Knowledge is good and helping. However, one must not take excessive
pride in one knowledge, it makes one arrogant and rude.
•The protagonist, Private Quelch is the narrator 's mate in the same
platoon while they train as Army personnel. The Professor is known
for being notorious and for his condescending nature. He remains
unabashed and points out any and everybody to correct their
mistakes. Of course he is knowledgeable and works hard to outshine
the rest of the fellows. He is determined to get a commission, before
long. As the first step, he tries to get a stripe. Everyone in the platoon
is subjected to his mockery and sarcasm. It is almost
impossible, even on his seniors ' part, to stop him from flaunting his
subjective knowledge. He always interrupts and point out things
during the ongoing lectures to his seniors.

Corporal Turnbull, who returns from Dunkirk and is to deliver a
lecture on hand grenade, is finally able to put a stop to Quelch 's
whims and assigns him the role of permanent cook house duties
to teach him a lesson. It all happens because 'The Professor '
tries to take control of the lecture just the way he did in an earlier
lecture on Muzzle Velocity, which was delivered by a sergeant
who was however a patient one. But Corporal Turnbull is a man
not to be trifled with and makes it clear to Private Quelch on who
was actually the boss. The whole scene is a joke for days
afterwards, a joke and joy to the entire platoon. It is not surprising
that even in the end how Quelch stays rigid. The author and his
friend Trower, one day, are returning from the canteen to their hut
when they find Quelch vehemently protesting against the
abominably and unscientific method of peeling potatoes The
Professor is not able to learn anything from his mistakes and does
not bend a bit even after having had his lesson from Turnbull.

Mr and Mrs Bramble were immensely
proud of their son Harold. Harold was ten
years old, a prodigy and an exceptional
child by all standards. An intellectual, he
won prizes in competitions. He was very
classy and so superior that even his
parents developed a complex.
.Harold was a model of excellent
behaviour and he respected his parents a
lot. Mr Bramble was a professional boxer
and had been proud of his fame but ever
since Harold was born, he had kept this as
a secret.
Harold was told that his father was a
commercial traveller. Mr Bramble who
had thrived on his feats in the boxing
ring, trembled to see his name in print
now.

 Both Mr and Mrs Bramble were secretly a little afraid of their son
and did not wish to fall in his esteem. Mr Bramble was already
thirty-one years old and he had decided to have his last boxing
match and then retire.
 A week away, Bill Bramble was scheduled to have his last fight, the
twenty-round contest with American Murphy at the National
Sporting Club, for which he was training at the White Hart down the
road.
 Mrs Bramble sends Harold for a walk but she is surprised to see her
husband and her brother, Major Percy Stokes in the doorway. She is
shocked to know that Bill has decided not to fight and there is lot of
discussion regarding his decision with Percy Stokes. Mrs Bramble
makes it clear that this step was unacceptable to her, even if she did
not like her husband's profession.

Bramble was supposed to win five hundred pounds, and one hundred and
twenty, even if he lost. This money was very much needed to cater to Harold's
education. The trainer, Jerry Fisher, enters at this juncture and he is also shocked to
discover that Bill has decided to back out at the eleventh hour.
Jerry begs, pleads, cries and tempts Bill but he is steadfast in his decision because
this fight will be covered by all newspapers and Harold will discover this secret.
Tempers are running high, and at this critical moment, Harold makes his entry. Mr
Jerry Fisher feels cheated, he wants his revenge. So he spills over the entire story to
Harold, despite all opposition. Bill feels let down in front of his son and tells him
frankly that he was not a man of wrath but just a professional boxer and he is
withdrawing from his last match.

Harold who had been watching all, suddenly surprises
everyone. He is angry with his parents for hiding this secret but
the content of his speech takes everyone's breath away. Harold
reveals that he was betting his pocket money on the defeat of
Jimmy Murphy and his friends would have been awefully proud
of him, had they known that his father was 'Young Porky'.
He even requests for a photograph of his father to impress his
friends. This talk encourages Jerry Fischer and Bill also goes to
complete his training. Harold reverts back to playing games
with his mother and continues with his affectionate chat.

William Shakespeare (baptised
26 April 1564; died 23 April
1616) was an English poet and
playwright, widely regarded as
the greatest writer in the English
language and the world's pre-
eminent dramatist. He is often
called England's national poet
and the "Bard of Avon". His
surviving works, including some
collaborations, consist of about
38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long
narrative poems, and several
other poems. His plays have
been translated into every major
living language and are
performed more often than
those of any other playwright.

The first and foremost act
of every human being is the
stage of infancy, where he
makes his presence felt by
crying at the top of voices
and many a times vomiting
any food or drink that is
repulsive at the nursing
arms of his mother. This
period normally last till four
years of age.

The second stage is the
‘whining’ school boy where
he learns to utter a
plaintive, high-
pitched, protracted
sound, as in
pain, fear, supplication, o
r complaint. His shiny
morning face and his
satchel; a small
bag, sometimes with a
shoulder strap; he creeps
like a snail and not willing
to go to school.

The third stage is his
early youth, the peak of
love and high romance.
He sighs like a burning
furnace and sings the
sad ballads of romance;
full of woe; affected
with, characterized
by, or indicating woe:
woeful melodies; to
impress his lover’s
heart. The impression of
her reply can be seen in
her eyebrows

The fourth stage is that
of a soldier where life is
full of
obligations, commitment
s, compliances, oaths
and vows. His beard is
like a leopard or
panther. He endlessly
fights for his honor, a
full presence of mind
which is sudden and
quick in quarrel and a
heart to maintain a
dignified reputation.

The fifth stage is the adult-
hood where a man tries to live
a fair and justified life. His
belly becomes bigger than
normal. He is conscious about
his dies and consumes a good
intake of ‘capon’ ; a cockerel
castrated to improve the
flesh for use as food. His
eyes are severe with
seriousness and his beard is
leveled to a formal cut. He is
to take a lot of correct
decisions to keep up with the
ever changing times. So this
stage is the most powerful
stage in life.

The sixth stage is the middle age. Here is
where he prepares for the next level in
life i.e. old age. He learns to relax from
the hustles of life. His strength begins to
weaken and spends more time within the
roof of his house. He looks like a buffoon
and an old fool in his rugged old slippers.
He hangs his spectacles on his nose for
reading and all his youthful hose, ; a
flexible tube for conveying, a liquid, as
water, to a desired point; saved for the
world too wide. His shank begins to shrink
with time; the part of the lower limb in
humans between the knee and the ankle;
leg. Even his voice begins to descend to a
lower tone. In his free time, he smokes his
pipe and whistles his matured melodies.

The seventh stage, even the
last stage, that is the old-
age where he enters his
second childhood. It is also
the beginning of the end of
his eventful history. It is
also the stage of oblivion; the
state of forgetting or of
being oblivious ; official
disregard or overlooking of
offenses; he is without
everything; without
teeth, eyes and taste.

• World’s a stage
• Men and women are merely players
• Bubble reputation
• Big manly voice

• Creeping like a snail
• Sighing like furnace
• Bearded like the pard

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