Character sketch of Charles Strickland
Character sketch of Charles Strickland
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
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