In Maugham’s story “Salvatore”, the fisher boy Salvatore was very close to nature. In the second paragraph of the story, the narrator narrates how he used to swim in the sea all the time with his ‘clumsy, effortless strokes’. Then we come to know how he scrambled up the hill on his bare feet. In fact, except on Sundays he never wore shoes.

When on his military service, Salvatore found it difficult to live in a battleship with strangers instead of in a little cottage among the vines. He found no solace in the ‘noisy, friendless cities’ abroad where he was missing the silent paths, the mountains and the seas. In his boyhood days, he used to look at the islands of Ischia and Vesuvius at the distance and enjoy their beauty. He found Ischia to be a fairy island in the sunset and Vesuvius pearly in the dawn. He missed those too when he was away from home for his service.

Even at the later stage of his life, Salvatore used to catch fish in the sea and at other times he was working in his vineyard. When he was unable to work due to his rheumatism, Salvatore used to lie about the beach.

So, we see that Salvatore was a man who was born and grew up in the lap of nature. It was an inseparable part of his life. His diving in and out of the sea all the time, walking on his bare feet, his homesickness, lying about the beach, working in the vineyard, catching fishes in the sea — all these references present only one thing to the readers’ mind, i.e., Salvatore was a man who lived close to the nature.