An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in <i>The Moon and Sixpence</i>

Lei Zhu; Donger Yang

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18

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An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence

Lei Zhu, Donger Yang

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 5)

Received: 24 August 2022 Accepted: 27 September 2022 Published: 28 September 2022

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Abstract

The Moon and Sixpence, one of Maugham’s most famous novels, tells a story of a stockbroker Strickland, who gives up his comfortable life in London, chases his dream of arts in Paris and eventually achieves his ideal in Tahiti. During the process of self-realization, he has experienced the following three stages: self-loss, self-exploration and self-realization. Strickland constantly makes free choices to create his own essence, thus adding meaning to his life, which embodies existentialism, a philosophical theory centering on such themes as absurdity, alienation and freedom. This paper attempts to interpret Strickland’s journey of self-realization from the perspective of existentialism: his self-loss in his boring marriage life and empty spiritual world reflects the existentialist view that “the world is absurd; life is painful” and “existence precedes essence”; his self-exploration in alienating himself from others and pursuing his dream reflects “free choice”, “alienation” and “responsibility” of existentialism; his self-realization by reestablishing a harmonious family and accomplishing his final painting not only reflects the “freedom of choice” but also indicates that “existence precedes essence”. This paper also points out that Strickland’s self-realization still has some limitation: even if Strickland finally realizes himself by going through the three periods, he actually fails to obtain true freedom because he has ignored the importance of responsibility.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18
Page(s)	321-327
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Existentialism, Absurdity, Alienation, Free Choice, Self-realization

References

[1]	Vokhidova, N. The Description of Charles Strickland’s Character in the Novel ‘The Moon and Sixpence’ by William Somerset Maugham [J]. SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013 (11).
[2]	Jonathan, W. What Is Existentialism? [J]. Rethinking Existentialism, 2015 (11).
[3]	Li Jiang. An Overview of Existentialism [J]. Thinking, 2011 (37).
[4]	An Lu. The Exploration of Interpersonal Relationship Between Self and Others in The Moon and Sixpence from the Perspective of Existentialism [D]. Northwest University, 2019.
[5]	Sidikovna, I. K. The Problem of Human and Art in the Novel “The Moon and Sixpence” by W. S. Maugham [J]. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences, 2014 (3).
[6]	Muraoka, M. A Study in W. S. Maugham’s View on Freedom of Mind for Artists: Especially as Seen in The Moon and Sixpence [J]. Gendai Eibei Bunka, 2017 (20).
[7]	Tang Qianyue. An Exploration of the Complexity of Characters inrs in The Moon and Sixpence [J]. JinGu Creative Literature, 2020 (46).
[8]	Sun Yajie. An Interpretation of the Relationship Between Characters in The Moon and Sixpence from the Perspective of Existentialism [J]. Northern Literature, 2016 (5).
[9]	Chen Ziyun. The Fusion of Spirit and Desire: Strickland’s Self-pursuit in The Moon and Sixpence [J]. Academic Review, 2019 (4).
[10]	He Shengli. The Absurdity of the World and the Loneliness of the Individual --- An Analysis of Existential Literary View [J]. Journal of Chengdu Electro-mechanical College, 2006 (4).
[11]	Sartre, J. P. Existentialism and Human Emotions [M]. New York: The Wisdom Library, 1957.
[12]	Xie Youyi. A Brief Analysis of Sartre --- “Existence Precedes Essence” [J]. Business, 2016 (5).
[13]	Heter, T. S. & I. Ebrary. Sartre’s ethics of engagement: authenticity and civic virtue [J]. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2006 (14).
[14]	Maugham, W. S. The Moon and Sixpence [M]. London: Vintage, 2008.
[15]	Wang Siman. An Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence from the Perspective of Existentialism [J]. Youth Literator, 2018 (6).
[16]	Zhao Zihan. An Analysis of Existence and Freedom in Sartre’s Existentialism [J]. Modern Society, 2020 (6).

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Lei Zhu, Donger Yang. (2022). An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence. Social Sciences, 11(5), 321-327. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18

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Lei Zhu; Donger Yang. An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence. Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(5), 321-327. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18

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AMA Style

Lei Zhu, Donger Yang. An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence. Soc Sci. 2022;11(5):321-327. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18,
  author = {Lei Zhu and Donger Yang},
  title = {An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {5},
  pages = {321-327},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20221105.18},
  abstract = {The Moon and Sixpence, one of Maugham’s most famous novels, tells a story of a stockbroker Strickland, who gives up his comfortable life in London, chases his dream of arts in Paris and eventually achieves his ideal in Tahiti. During the process of self-realization, he has experienced the following three stages: self-loss, self-exploration and self-realization. Strickland constantly makes free choices to create his own essence, thus adding meaning to his life, which embodies existentialism, a philosophical theory centering on such themes as absurdity, alienation and freedom. This paper attempts to interpret Strickland’s journey of self-realization from the perspective of existentialism: his self-loss in his boring marriage life and empty spiritual world reflects the existentialist view that “the world is absurd; life is painful” and “existence precedes essence”; his self-exploration in alienating himself from others and pursuing his dream reflects “free choice”, “alienation” and “responsibility” of existentialism; his self-realization by reestablishing a harmonious family and accomplishing his final painting not only reflects the “freedom of choice” but also indicates that “existence precedes essence”. This paper also points out that Strickland’s self-realization still has some limitation: even if Strickland finally realizes himself by going through the three periods, he actually fails to obtain true freedom because he has ignored the importance of responsibility.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence
AU  - Lei Zhu
AU  - Donger Yang
Y1  - 2022/09/28
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 321
EP  - 327
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18
AB  - The Moon and Sixpence, one of Maugham’s most famous novels, tells a story of a stockbroker Strickland, who gives up his comfortable life in London, chases his dream of arts in Paris and eventually achieves his ideal in Tahiti. During the process of self-realization, he has experienced the following three stages: self-loss, self-exploration and self-realization. Strickland constantly makes free choices to create his own essence, thus adding meaning to his life, which embodies existentialism, a philosophical theory centering on such themes as absurdity, alienation and freedom. This paper attempts to interpret Strickland’s journey of self-realization from the perspective of existentialism: his self-loss in his boring marriage life and empty spiritual world reflects the existentialist view that “the world is absurd; life is painful” and “existence precedes essence”; his self-exploration in alienating himself from others and pursuing his dream reflects “free choice”, “alienation” and “responsibility” of existentialism; his self-realization by reestablishing a harmonious family and accomplishing his final painting not only reflects the “freedom of choice” but also indicates that “existence precedes essence”. This paper also points out that Strickland’s self-realization still has some limitation: even if Strickland finally realizes himself by going through the three periods, he actually fails to obtain true freedom because he has ignored the importance of responsibility.
VL  - 11
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Lei Zhu

School of Foreign Languages, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, China
Donger Yang

School of Foreign Languages, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, China

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APA Style

Lei Zhu, Donger Yang. (2022). An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence. Social Sciences, 11(5), 321-327. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18

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ACS Style

Lei Zhu; Donger Yang. An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence. Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(5), 321-327. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18

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AMA Style

Lei Zhu, Donger Yang. An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence. Soc Sci. 2022;11(5):321-327. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18,
  author = {Lei Zhu and Donger Yang},
  title = {An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {5},
  pages = {321-327},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20221105.18},
  abstract = {The Moon and Sixpence, one of Maugham’s most famous novels, tells a story of a stockbroker Strickland, who gives up his comfortable life in London, chases his dream of arts in Paris and eventually achieves his ideal in Tahiti. During the process of self-realization, he has experienced the following three stages: self-loss, self-exploration and self-realization. Strickland constantly makes free choices to create his own essence, thus adding meaning to his life, which embodies existentialism, a philosophical theory centering on such themes as absurdity, alienation and freedom. This paper attempts to interpret Strickland’s journey of self-realization from the perspective of existentialism: his self-loss in his boring marriage life and empty spiritual world reflects the existentialist view that “the world is absurd; life is painful” and “existence precedes essence”; his self-exploration in alienating himself from others and pursuing his dream reflects “free choice”, “alienation” and “responsibility” of existentialism; his self-realization by reestablishing a harmonious family and accomplishing his final painting not only reflects the “freedom of choice” but also indicates that “existence precedes essence”. This paper also points out that Strickland’s self-realization still has some limitation: even if Strickland finally realizes himself by going through the three periods, he actually fails to obtain true freedom because he has ignored the importance of responsibility.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Existentialist Interpretation of Strickland’s Journey of Self-realization in The Moon and Sixpence
AU  - Lei Zhu
AU  - Donger Yang
Y1  - 2022/09/28
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 321
EP  - 327
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.18
AB  - The Moon and Sixpence, one of Maugham’s most famous novels, tells a story of a stockbroker Strickland, who gives up his comfortable life in London, chases his dream of arts in Paris and eventually achieves his ideal in Tahiti. During the process of self-realization, he has experienced the following three stages: self-loss, self-exploration and self-realization. Strickland constantly makes free choices to create his own essence, thus adding meaning to his life, which embodies existentialism, a philosophical theory centering on such themes as absurdity, alienation and freedom. This paper attempts to interpret Strickland’s journey of self-realization from the perspective of existentialism: his self-loss in his boring marriage life and empty spiritual world reflects the existentialist view that “the world is absurd; life is painful” and “existence precedes essence”; his self-exploration in alienating himself from others and pursuing his dream reflects “free choice”, “alienation” and “responsibility” of existentialism; his self-realization by reestablishing a harmonious family and accomplishing his final painting not only reflects the “freedom of choice” but also indicates that “existence precedes essence”. This paper also points out that Strickland’s self-realization still has some limitation: even if Strickland finally realizes himself by going through the three periods, he actually fails to obtain true freedom because he has ignored the importance of responsibility.
VL  - 11
IS  - 5
ER  -

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