In W. Somerset Maugham’s story “Salvatore”, Salvatore received the first major blow in his life when he was declared unfit for further military service. The doctors even told him that he would never be quite well and would be unable to work any longer. Though it should have normally come as a big shock to a common man as Salvatore was, he actually did not bother much. He was rather happy thinking that it would help him go back home and meet his family and his fiancée whom he had been missing very much.
 
But the worst was waiting for him at his homeland. The girl he had loved so well rejected to marry him because of his rheumatism. All his hopes were shattered. But he dealt with this situation calmly. He was terribly unhappy but did not blame the girl. In fact, he was unable to use any hard word for the girl whom he had loved genuinely.
 
He unburdened himself by weeping in his mother’s bosom. And it was by his immense mental strength that he got over his sadness with time. An accepting and forgiving attitude towards life is what helped him stay calm even in this time of crisis and live the rest of his life happily.