Passage

Medium

I was prepared to dislike Max Kelada before I met him. The war had just ended, and accommodation on the ship was scarce. I was relieved to have a cabin with only one other passenger, but when I learned his name, I was dismayed. His large luggage, covered in numerous labels, suggested he was a man of excess. When we met, he greeted me warmly, claiming to be English, despite his foreign appearance and accent. Prohibition was in force and the ship was dry, but he insisted we share drinks. Mr. Kelada was chatty, boastful, and familiar, using no formality despite our status as strangers. I disliked his intrusive behaviour, especially when he interrupted my game of Patience and insisted on showing me card tricks.

Mr. Kelada soon became the centre of attention. He managed activities, organised events, and knew everyone on board. Though he was the most disliked person on the ship, he was oblivious to it, always assuming others were as happy to see him as he was to see them. At mealtimes, he monopolised conversations, arguing passionately. We called him Mr. Know-All which he took as a compliment. It was an affront to his overweening vanity that you should disagree with him. He would not drop a subject, however unimportant, till he had brought you round to his way of thinking. The possibility that he could be mistaken never occurred to him. The only other person who could match his arrogance was Ramsay, and their acrimonious and interminable debates made the trip even more unbearable.

The narrator's initial attitude towards Mr. Kelada was one of

indifference and detachment

prejudice and aversion

curiosity and admiration

abhorrence and disgust

✅ Correct Option: 2,4

Option 1 -> The narrator was not indifferent; he explicitly states "I was prepared to dislike" Mr. Kelada before meeting him, showing strong negative feelings rather than detachment.

Option 2 -> Prejudice is clearly present (judging before meeting based solely on his name), and aversion is evident in his dismay and growing dislike of Mr. Kelada's intrusive behaviour — making this a valid characterisation of the narrator's initial attitude.

Option 3 -> The opposite is true; the narrator shows no curiosity or admiration, only negative preconceptions and growing dislike from their first encounter.

Option 4 -> The narrator's "prepared to dislike" before meeting, being "dismayed" at learning his name, and immediate dislike of his "intrusive behaviour" demonstrate intense, visceral negative feelings from the outset — making this equally valid.

Both Option 2: prejudice and aversion and Option 4: abhorrence and disgust have been awarded marks as correct answers.

Option 2 captures the pre-judgement aspect — the narrator forms a negative opinion before even meeting Mr. Kelada, purely based on his name and luggage, which is textbook prejudice coupled with aversion.

Option 4 captures the intensity of those feelings — the visceral dismay, the immediate repulsion toward his appearance, accent, and behaviour pointing to something deeper than mild dislike.

Both options are therefore correct as they describe different but equally valid dimensions of the narrator's initial attitude.

Question 10

Mr. Know-All seems to be a knowledgeable, sociable and humorous person, yet the narrator doesn't take to him. What does this tell you about the narrator?

Question 11

What does the phrase "an affront to his overweening vanity" suggest about Mr. Kelada's character?

Question 12

What does Mr. Kelada's large luggage suggest about his personality?

The narrator's initial attitude towards Mr. Kelada was one of

Solution

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