# The Skipper explained — On a Chinese Screen

> Chapter companion for On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham.

## What happens

The narrator observes a seemingly wholesome, clean-living skipper who, despite his youthful appearance and respectable demeanor, reveals a drunken confusion about democracy and socialism. The skipper, a Harrow-educated man, expresses disdain for socialism and the working class, insisting he is not a working man himself, highlighting a tension between his self-image and his actual profession.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Moral Compromise

The skipper's denial of being a working man despite his occupation, and his contradictory disdain for socialism while being a laborer himself.

### Colonial Ennui and Isolation

The skipper's isolation on the Yangtze, his untouched purity, and his drunken philosophical musings reflect the ennui of colonial life.

## Character check-ins

### The Taipan

The narrator, who engages the skipper in conversation about democracy and socialism.

### Henderson

Mentioned by the skipper as a figure associated with socialism, alongside Ramsay Macdonald.

## Key lines

> I knew he was drunk. He was a skipper of the new school, a neat little man, clean-shaven, who might easily have passed for the commander of a submarine.

The narrator recognized the skipper's intoxication, noting his tidy, youthful appearance that could be mistaken for a submarine commander.

_Sets the scene of the skipper's deceptive sobriety and his modern, disciplined look._

> He had a pleasant taste in light literature and the works of E. V. Lucas adorned his bookcase.

The skipper's bookcase contained light, enjoyable books, including works by E. V. Lucas.

_Highlights the skipper's cultured but superficial interests._

> I knew he was drunk, but I did not think he was very drunk, till he asked me suddenly: 'What is democracy?'

The narrator initially thought the skipper only mildly drunk until he abruptly asked about the meaning of democracy.

_The question reveals the skipper's inebriated state and his engagement with political ideas._

> If I had my way I'd stand them up against a wall and shoot them.

The skipper expressed a violent desire to execute socialists.

_Shows his extreme anti-socialist sentiment._

> Look here, I'm not a working man. Hang it all, I was at Harrow.

The skipper insisted he was not a working man, citing his education at Harrow as proof.

_Reveals his class-based identity conflict and denial of his actual occupation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xli-the-skipper
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters