An Existentialist Study Of Maugham's Of Human Bondage And The Moon And Sixpence

William Somerset Maugham (1874—1965) was a miracle of the British literature and even that of the world literature in the 20th century. In a career spanning more than sixty years, he wrote a large number of short stories, novels and dramas, etc. He is loved by people of different classes. However, up to the present, few papers or works criticize Maugham's works from the perspective of existentialism. Therefore, the author of this thesis would like to analyze two masterpieces of Maugham's literary works, namely Of Human Bondage and The Moon and Sixpence, from Sartre's existentialism, supplying a new angle to study Maugham's works.This thesis begins with an introduction to Maugham's life and his literary achievements, the brief contents of Of Human Bondage and The Moon and Sixpence, the literature reviews of Maugham's works at home and abroad, and the feasibility and significance of this study. Chapter Two follows with an examination of the theoretical concepts of Sartre's existentialism, providing a readable account of the historical development of the term"Sartre's existentialism", and a thorough and accessible introduction to the core of Sartre's existentialism—Existence precedes Essence, which will be explained by the concepts of absurdity, choice, freedom, responsibility, and bad faith.The central section, including Chapter Three and Chapter Four, analyzes a number of selected texts of the two novels from the perspective of Sartre's existentialism. Based on Sartre's"Existence precedes Essence", Chapter Three is about the characters'existing states in absurdity. Chapter Four is about the characters'responses to their lives in absurdity. Chapter Three presents three kinds of absurdity, respectively in the Christian religion, reality, and passion. In face of the cruel truth that life is absurd, Chapter Four explores the diversity of reactions of the characters. According to Sartre, it is a person's responsibility to make choices and take actions to get free. The first part of this chapter will talk about the characters who fail to take the responsibility for themselves. They either choose to commit suicide or flee into the shelter of self-deception. The second part is about the ones who accept the absurdity and take the responsibility to be free. They are Philip and Strickland. Both Philip's experiences of making choices for freedom and Strickland's resolution of pursuing freedom are the key points. One must take responsibility not only for himself but also for others, and according to which, the last part in this chapter will seek more into Strickland's responsibility.The conclusion, Chapter Five, traces the characteristics and effects of existentialistic analysis in these two novels. The similarities and differences among Maugham, Philip and Strickland will be discussed. And then the author of this thesis raises the last question: Do they three get the real freedom defined by Sartre? The pursuit for freedom is an endless process. Maybe that is what Maugham wants to reveal in his works.