A Study Of The Razor's Edge From The Perspective Of Sartre's Existentialism

William Somerset Maugham is a British realistic writer who was active in the literary world from the 19th century to the middle 20th century.Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge was published in 1944,which has reached very high attainments in writing techniques and artistic thoughts.The protagonist Larry suffers from the pain and loneliness of life,but he doesn't give up hope of life.Instead,he faces up to the reality of life,makes positive thinking and free choice,and pursues personal value actively in troublesome situation.From Larry,we can see Maugham's doubts and negation of the present world,his concern about the living conditions of mankind and the quest for the ultimate meaning of human existence.This thesis applies the core theory of Sartre's existentialism,that is,"existence precedes essence","free choice" and "responsibility" to interpret the existentialist ideas of the novel.From the protagonist Larry's doubts and negation of existence,his exploration of the essence of life and his choice of freedom and responsibility,this thesis explores the existentialist ideas embodied in the novel.Existential philosophy aims at human existence,the being of self and existence of the single body with self-consciousness.It guides a person to choose freely and surpass himself in the actual behavior.In return,the person will find the essence of himself in the process of taking the responsibility for his own behavior.The thesis points out that the protagonist's doubts on God's existence,quest for true essence of life,pursuit of the meaning of life,searching for freedom and his perseverance of self-improvement coincide with the idea of Sartre's existentialist philosophy.Although there is no connection between Maugham and Sartre,the philosophical ideas expressed in this novel resonate with Sartre's existentialism.