On The Naturalistic Characteristics Of Maugham's Of Human Bondage

William Somerset Maugham (1874- 1965), a world-renowned novelist and playwright of modern Britain who has yielded a great number of novels and plays, enjoys high popularity among readers for his special talent of appealing to the taste of both intellectual and ordinary readers. Artistically, Maugham learned a lot from the outstanding French novelists such as Zola and Maupassant. With a naturalistic point of view, he observed and presented human life, emphasizing the indifference and ruthlessness of the environment to the characters in his novels. Of Human Bondage, the greatest masterpiece among them, is a typical naturalistic novel.Introduction gives a brief of Maugham's life experiences and a summary of the current state of criticism on Maugham. Chapter one mainly focuses on the establishment of naturalism. The principles and features of it serve as the major theoretical basis of the paper. Chapter Two mainly focuses on the naturalistic features of Of Human Bondage. 1) Physical defect has great influence on the hero, Philip. 2) The novel expresses human being's sexual instinct. 3) Environmental determinism portrays man as a product and a victim of environmental forces which are beyond his control or his full understanding.Chapter Three mainly focuses on Maugham's objective description of life. Objective narration is essential to Maugham's writing. Objective description, first of all, claims for a privilege in naturalistic writings. And it is indispensable in Maugham's writings.In the Conclusion, the thesis restates that there are obvious naturalistic characteristics in Of Human Bondage, but Maugham did not confine to naturalism.From aforementioned, it can be concluded that naturalism plays an important role in Maugham's Of Human Bondage. Maugham's integration of traditional writing styles and those of the modern times, on the one hand, strengthens his creative power and increases the authenticity of his works, on the other hand, generates some limitations. Anyhow, Maugham has expanded naturalism, which is his major contribution to the development of British fiction.