An Alienated Protagonist--On The Distance In Of Human Bondage

William Somerset Maugham, the British dramatist and novelist, is well-known for his objective, detached Maugham persona. It is most obvious in his autobiographical novel Of Human Bondage. Due to his ingenious narrative technique, he created the aesthetic distance between the protagonist and the reader successfully. This made his reader gain an impression of the novel. My essay intends to analyze Maugham success from three aspects. Part I . expounds the personality of Philip , an over-sensitive , self-pity sadomasochist protagonist . Part H. illustrates Maugham artistic narrative technique. The final part presents the explanations for Maugham narrative technique . Personal reticence and his early experience made Maugham choose to be a naturalist...