Reading: The Outstation by W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham was a british novelist, and short-story writer. He wrote ‘Of Human Bondage”, “The Moon and Sixpence”, “Cakes and Ale”, and “The Razor’s Edge”. His work emphasizes the understanding of human nature in a cosmopolitan settings. He died on December 16 1965.

The story is about Mr. Warburton, an english man who’s in charge of an outstation in the colony of Borneo. He was sent there because prior to that, he gambled a lot, and lost his money. The outstation was doing well, until a young man, Cooper, came as his new assistant. The problem of this story is that they didn’t like each other. Warburton hates Cooper because he didn’t rescpect the natives, and he didn’t want to listen to his advice. On the other hand, Cooper hates Warburton because he thought he is better than him (a snob). In the end, because of Cooper’s attitude towards the natives, one of the natives (his own man) killed him. My favourite character is the head-boy of Warburton. It’s because he obeys his master’s order, even though he has a different thought with his master, like, he trusts him.

We are related to the story, because the setting was in Malaysia, which is close to Indonesia, and also the language is pretty similar. You can find “prahu”, “topee”, “tuan” words in it.

I like the story. What I love the most is when Warburton’s and Cooper’s thought are clashing. Which makes the story goes with hating each other.

If I could change the story, I would change that Cooper didn’t kill the man in the Warburton’s office. Because, I think that man was doing nothing wrong at all. Or, if it was to make the tense more higher, I would make Cooper threatens Warburton about something.

For me, the moral value is if you have a different thought with everyone else, and it clashes pretty hard, one should give up. It is either you, or the other side. But if one of them doesn’t give up, it will end badly.

I will recommend this story to old people who have been in a war before. Because the setting is similar, it will reminds them to the war setting.