William Somerset Maugham was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era. He possessed a keen and observant eye; in his best works he ridiculed philistinism, narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy, self-interest and utilitarian approach to art. His links with realistic art, however, were not so solid as to place him among the best English writers of his period. The Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W.
Somerset Maugham, told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to become an artist. The story is said to be loosely based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. Fu the first part of the Chapter we’ve read, Maugham give us a hint, about people’s attitude towards Strickland’s art.
We can see misunderstanding, defiance, reprobation. We can observe some lexical peculiarities. At first, S. Maugham selects his words with great precision. The use of the slang expression “beach-comber” and colloquial expression “buy for a song” more fit for casual discourse than for the author’s narration, turn the passage from an unemotional account of facts into a vividly drawn picture. The lines are suggestive of the disappointment of those who had known Strickland, might have got his pictures but failed to do it.
The author regretted not the loss of a work of art, but the loss of money. We can observe people’s hard-heartedness, some sort of indifference. We can suppose that they gave no sympathy or compassion to him when he was alive. Only after his death they began to understand and recognize his works. The person who was troubled (anxious) about Strickland was Jewish trader called Cohen. To describe this person Maugham used such words as “copra”, “shell”, “pearls” and some proper names that give an idea of the occupation of the people on the island.
The Essay on Michelangelo Buonarroti Arts That His Works Passed As Roman
Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Ludovico Buonarroti Simon i, was a very influential man of his time and of all time. Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, in a small village a part of the Florentine territory known as Cap rese. His father originally did not support his artistic ability, but just a while after Michelangelo's 13 th birthday, his father allowed him to be an apprentice for a ...
These words as well as the proper names “the Paumotus” and “the Marquesas” help create a local color, the atmosphere of the place that was the setting for the events described. We can see that Cohen was kind, decent, the person of ready sympathy. He was anxious not only his own life, but also the life’s of people around pay attention to their problems and was ready to help. To show the approving impression the author used such epithets like: “little old Frenchman”, “soft kind eyes”, “pleasant smile”.
Due to Cohen we knew more about mysterious or enigmatic life of Strickland. We really can say that Cohen was soft-hearted. he helped Strickland with the work and money, and he did it not because out of pity or profit , but because he just wanted to help. The novel is an illustration of one of Maugham’s favorite convictions that human nature is knit of contradictions, that the workings of the human mind are unpredictable. Stricland was concerned on his art.
He was indifferent to love, friendship and kindness, misanthropic and inconsiderate to others. He sacrificed his “normal” life to passion for art. He was resolute, stubborn in decision, that’s why he had he never stepped back. Thats why he scored a success. His pictures fall flat on the public and recognition comes to him only after his death. In conclusion I want to write the words from the reviewer remarks: “Like so many young men he was so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet”
