Maugham's Utilization Of The East

William Somerset Maugham has been regarded as "one of the most popular writers writing in English in the 20th century". However,he never gained the sense of belonging in the West. His alienation from Western culture and his longing for Eastern culture prompted him to set out on his journey to the Far East, which brought him to such countries as India, Burma, Singapore, Malaya and China etc. Maugham was not merely a sightseer on his journey to the East. He also gleaned writing materials and hunted for inspiration and comfort from exotic scenery and heterogeneous culture. That's why we can always get a glimpse of Eastern culture and philosophy in his works. Besides, his works are imbued with exoticism for his depiction of Oriental scenery, customs and romances.This thesis takes as its subjects of study Maugham's three Oriental novels: The Moon and Sixpence, The Painted Veil, and The Razor's Edge. The reasons for choosing them as subjects of this study are two-fold: Firstly, the three protagonists in these three novels all follow the same journey of spiritual exploration: fed up with Western civilization, they all turn to the East, but at last they all return to the West after they have gotten what they want in the East; Secondly, the three novels are all best-sellers, and have been adapted into stage plays or films several times.Instead of focusing on "how" Maugham portrays Eastern image,Chinese image in particular,this thesis will concentrate on the revelation of "why" Maugham chooses the East as the dreamland for his protagonists' spiritual exploration and "why" he incorporates so many Oriental elements into his novels. Applying imagology of comparative literature and reception aesthetics to its analysis, this thesis will reveal the creative motive and cultural demand that lie behind Maugham's depiction of Eastern image. The thesis is to draw the conclusion that, instead of eulogizing the East, Maugham utilizes Eastern culture to better his native culture, and utilizes the East to attract more readers. Although Maugham is still a colonialist, he doesn't blindly reject Eastern civilization. On the contrary, he takes the initiative to objectively analyze the defects of his own culture, and explore and learn from Eastern culture, which is of great realistic significance in this highly-globalized era.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is Introduction. This chapter first introduces Maugham, who, as an "outsider" of Western culture,often reflects on Western culture and embraces Eastern culture. This chapter also gives a survey of previous studies on Maugham and his works, discusses the feasibility of this study, and explains the focus and structure of the thesis.Chapter Two analyzes how Maugham utilizes Eastern culture through discussion on the three protagonists' spiritual exploration. Although he apparently thinks highly of Eastern culture, Maugham in essence utilizes Eastern culture to remedy the spiritual degeneration of the West. Maugham regards the East as mirror and remedy. His utilization of Eastern civilization is multifaceted and trans-regional. The three novels respectively reflect the corrupting effects of Western instrumental rationalism, spiritual paralysis and materialism through their protagonists' spiritual pilgrimage. In the meantime,they respectively demonstrate that Eastern primitivism,Chinese Taoism and Hinduism are the remedies to rescue the West. The East is a dreamland for Maugham to outlet his dissatisfaction with the West and to look for remedy to better Western culture.The fact that all the three protagonists return back to the West to contribute what they have obtained from the East to the West indicates Maugham's belief in the West as his ultimate destination, which is the best proof of his utilization of Eastern culture.Chapter Three, with the help of the theory of reception aesthetics, discusses how Maugham utilize the East to gratify Western literary consumers—he writes about the East to boost his book sales. The first half of the 20th century witnessed the most gloomy and crisis-ridden period in the West. Naturally Westerners expected to see something beautiful, odd and romantic. The exoticism highlighted in the three novels opportunely caters to Westerner readers' "horizon of expectation". With regard to characterization,Maugham does not create "anti-heroes" like most of his contemporary writers. Instead,these three novels succeed in creating model characters who are greatly influenced by Eastern culture. The three protagonists can respectively set an example for those struck by the aesthetic movement, feminism or war. On one hand, readers empathize with the protagonists who struggle in their dilemmas. On the other hand, the transformation of the protagonists can offer some enlightenment to readers.Chapter Four is Conclusion, which summarizes previous discussions and restates the arguments of the thesis. In a nutshell, Maugham's attitude towards the East is to make the best of it. Although Maugham cannot get rid of the influence of colonialism, it's worthwhile for us to reflect on and learn from his successful attempt to make positive use of other cultures.