Martin's Ascent And Descent: A Maslovian Study Of Martin Eden

As a writer of almost 50 works,Jack London is one of the most famous realistic novelists in American history.Martin Eden(1909) tells the story of a poor sailor's rise to become a famous writer through his tireless efforts.After achieving his goal,he drowns himself deep into the South Sea.Martin Eden's death at the peak of his career has been a controversial topic for long.This thesis makes an attempt to explore the psychological journey of Martin Eden, by adopting Abraham H.Maslow's(1908-1970) theory of hierarchy of needs and that of self-actualization,so as to shed light on the explanation of this enigma.This thesis falls into three chapters.Chapter 1 gives introduction to Maslow's theories.An architect of humanistic psychology,Maslow focuses on each individual's potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization.He proposes a hierarchy of needs in the order of decreasing priority or potency:physiological needs,safety needs,belongingness and love needs,esteem needs,and the need for self-actualization,believing that each individual has within himself a natural tendency towards self-actualization, which may be hindered by the "sick" environment.Chapter 2 explores Martin's ascent towards self-actualization.With his prerequisite D-needs satisfied,Martin is evoked by his B-love for Ruth to write.However,writing does not serve as the means to earn money or satisfy the love needs described in Maslow's hierarchy of needs,but the manifestation of Martin's self-actualization.Dominated by the need for self-actualization,Martin Eden exerts himself to satisfy this need and gradually develops into a self-actualizing person.Chapter 3 discusses Martin's gradual loss of the more prepotent belongingness needs,which develops simultaneously with Martin's rise towards self-actualization.Owing to the "sick" cultural and social environment,Martin is deprived of his belongingness needs during his journey towards self-actualization.He can't find true understanding and belongingness in the bourgeoisie,whereas,he has thrown away the belongingness found in the working class and fails to regain it in his loneliness.This total deprivation of D-needs causes Martin's mental illness and leads to his death.Martin's inner world has experienced both an ascent and a descent.His ascent towards self-actualization progresses side by side with his descent into the total loss of belongingness.The very height of Martin's career coincides with his fall into the loss of belongingness.This explains the mystery of Martin's death in his success.It is the "sick" cultural and social environment that causes Martin's tragedy.Martin's death should be taken as a warning of the danger of the disharmony between self-actualization and environment,for man are all developing toward self-actualization while the environment either fosters or hinders man's development.