威廉·毛姆的写作特点研究

On the Writing Characteristics

of William Maugham’s Novels

By

Li Zilin

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

June, 2017

Acknowledgments

Four years of college life is coming to an end. In a short time, I experienced a lot, but also grew a lot. In the beautiful Nanjing left a lot of precious memories, the teacher's enthusiastic teaching and the students' sincere care make me feel warm.

First of all, I would like to give my thanks to my tutor Prof. Zhao Yamin for her careful guidance. In my freshman year, she always provided many opportunities for students to exercise, and her profound knowledge also made me get a lot of inspiration in the academic reading and writing. In the course of every stage, from the selection of the topic, the decision to its finalization, including the modification of paragraphs and words, Professor Zhao gave a lot of valuable suggestions and guidance patiently. During the writing of this thesis my negligence and laziness bring some troubles to her work arrangement. I feel guilty but also moved by her concern and tolerance.

In addition, I also want to express my gratitude to all the teachers and professors in the English Department. I have the honor to get their edification.

Secondly, I would like to thank my parents and families for their supporting in my life, study and spirit.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my three roommates for their support and care. Four years passed, it's very lucky for me to harvest not only knowledge but also friendship.

Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. The Characteristics of Narration 6

2.1 The Narrative Perspective 6

2.2 The Narrator 7

2.3 The Narrative Style. 8

3. The Characteristics of Plot and Figures 10

3.1. Plot Type 10

3.2. Figure Type 12

4. The Modernist Consciousness 14

4.1. The Consciousness of Death 14

4.2. The Thought of Nihilism 14

5. Conclusion 16

References. 17

On the Writing Characteristics

of William Maugham’s Novels

Li Zilin

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures,

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

Abstract: William Somerset Maugham, a British novelist and dramatist, is called the British Maupassant. He makes achievements in all the fields of literature except poetry in his writing career, his magnum opus Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence and The Razor’s Edge make him has impact a place in literature. Maugham lives in the era that British culture is challenged by multicultural. In the context of this era, due to the emergence of the personality impact, the traditional narrative techniques, plot types, character types and other aspects also suffered impact. This paper analyzes the unique writing characteristics of Maugham from several aspects, including narration, plot, figure, and modern consciousness as well, explores his great position in British literature, which will be of some inspiration for Chinese writers.

Key words: William Somerset Maugham; angle of narration; round characters; modern consciousness

摘要：威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆是英国小说家、戏剧家。毛姆被称为英国的莫泊桑。他一生著作甚多，除诗歌以外的各个文学领域，都有所涉及，有所建树。《人性的枷锁》、《刀锋》、《月亮和六便士》等长篇小说让毛姆在文学史上享有了一席之地。毛姆身处的时代正是英国文化遭受多元文化冲击的时代。在这种时代背景下,由于冲击性人格的出现,传统叙事手法、情节类型、人物类型的塑造等方面都受到了冲击同时也遭受到冲击。本文从叙事、情节、人物塑造及现代意识等方面，分析了毛姆独特的写作特点及对英国文学的巨大贡献，为当代作家提供一定的借鉴与启示。

关键词：毛姆；叙述视角；圆形人物；现代意识

1. Introduction

William Somerset Maugham is a famous modern British novelist and playwright. He was born in the British Embassy in France in 1874, experienced nearly a century of wind and storms and died in the Vieira villa in France in 1965, at the age of 91. As a cross-time writer living at historic crossroads, Maugham witnessed the inevitable decline of Victorian tradition, the surging wave of modernism and the huge disaster World Wars brought to the world, the rise and fall of The Times is presented like a broad social picture in his novels.

Like Gustave Flaubert, Maugham also studied medicine, which has a far-reaching influence on his literary creation afterwards. His calm and objective style and profound experience of social life are derived from this. At the age of 23, he published his first novel, Lisa of Lambeth. According to the internship experience during medicine study, the novel drew the attention of the critics as soon as it is published. The success of the first creation made the young writer determined to abandon medicine. Since then, he wrote historical novels and traveled to Spain and Italy, but most of his novels are unknown in this period, however, loving travel habits accompanied all his life and influenced his writing. In 1907, Maugham's play, Lady Fredrick, was performed in London and received a warm welcome from the audience. But the success of the drama did not make him give up the novel. On the contrary, after full protection of the material, he completely abandoned the script writing in 1933 and devoted himself to the creation of novels.

Due to the large number of Maugham's short novels, they can’t be introduced one by one. Only some representatives of his long stories are researched in this paper. The most famous novel of Maugham, Of Human Bondage, published in 1915, has a strong autobiographical color, but it isn’t the only one that can have a place in the history of the novel, his later novels The Moon and Sixpence and The Razor’s Edge are also very famous, showing a different style from early works. In the 1920s, Maugham had been roaming the South China Sea Islands to avoid the war and found the shutters painted by impressionist painter Gauguin in Tahiti, and then he made Gauguin a character in his novel The Moon and Sixpence when he returned to Europe. Because of the love of travel, he continued to travel Far East, the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia and other places. The creation in this period, especially the background of short stories, is popular and cherished. He has also published a novel Cake and Ale, said to be based on Thomas Hardy's life, is Maugham’s favorite novel with excellent writing skills. After the outbreak of World War II, Maugham took refuge in the United States, where he published the last representative The Razor’s Edge, which not only is welcomed by the readers, but also gains the praise of the serious critics such as Virginia Woolf. Different from Of Human Bondage, this novel reflects the mood of the times--the sense of loss, disillusionment and confusion. If we say that Of Human Bondage still belongs to the era of Edward's literature, The Razor’s Edge is marked on the traces of modernism from both the theme and narrative skills.

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