《刀锋》中毛姆的道德观从对话到人生

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From Talks to Paths —— On W.S Maugham's Morality in The Razor's Edge Abstract The Razor's Edge is a masterpiece of W.S Maugham. It tells a story during the World War I. The young American pilot Larry Darrel makes an acquaintance of an Irishman, but unfortunately his friend dies for saving him. So Larry feels puzzled about the evil and misfortune in the world, and start his trip to find some transcendent meaning in his life.

The story, focusing on Larry, also describes many other American male and female, such as Larry's fiancée, a loyal believer of material world, Isabel; a social-addicted Elliott Templeton; simple-minded but rich Grey; tragic and poor Sophie; and prostitute Suzanne. Just as the author explains in the book, neither is he attempting to advocate the philosophical system known as Vedanta, nor to encourage everyone to be next Larry. The thesis is aimed to, through the perspective of dialogism, and a further study of the characters and their paths, to explore the magnanimous and lenient morality of the author: paths could be various, while the best is to achieve one's ambition.

Keywords: Maugham; The Razor's Edge; Morality; Dialogism; Paths

从对话到人生——论《刀锋》中毛姆的道德观

摘要《刀锋》是英国作家威廉·萨默赛特·毛姆的代表作之一。小说讲述的故事发生在第一次世界大战前后。美国青年飞行员拉里·达雷尔在军队中结识了一个爱尔兰好友。但好友不幸在一次遭遇战中，因为救拉里而中弹牺牲。拉里因此对人生感到迷惘，弄不懂世界上为什么有恶和不幸，拉里开始了他令人匪夷所思的转变。

小说以拉里为中心，描绘了许多美国男女，有拉里的未婚妻，物质世界的忠实信徒伊莎贝尔；有以买卖古董起家，一心沉溺于社会交际的艾略特·谈波顿；有头脑简单但宅心仁厚的富家子弟格雷·马图林；有伊莎贝尔的同学，历经丧夫丧子悲惨遭遇，最终被不逞之徒杀害的索菲·麦唐纳；还有一个模特兼妓女的法国女子苏姗·鲁维埃。正如作者在小说中交代的，他这本书并不像"阐述所谓《奥义书》的哲学体系"，也并非提倡人人都得学拉里。本文旨在通过对话理论这一视角，进一步分析小说中的人物以及各自的道路，来探究作者隐藏其中宽容而又平等的道德观——四民有业，各得志为乐。46681

毕业论文关键词：毛姆；《刀锋》；对话理论；人物；道德观；

Contents

1. Introduction..1

1.1 Introduction of W.S Maugham's Life and Literary Achievement1

1.2 Introduction of The Razor's Edge1

2. Literature Review....3

2.1 Previous studies of the novel 3

2.2 Dialogism.4

3. Dialogism in The Razor's Edge.6

4. The Morality of Maugham...8

4.1 The Variety of Characters8

4.2 The Variety of Paths..9

5. Conclusion11

Notes…… 12

References 13

1. Introduction

1.1 Introduction of W.S Maugham and Literary Achievement

William Somerset Maugham was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer, among the most popular writers of his era during the 1930s.

After losing both his parents by the age of 10, Maugham was sent to the UK to be cared for by his uncle. The move was damaging, as his uncle proved cold and emotionally cruel. School life was also difficult for him. He was teased for his bad English, his short stature and stammer. At sixteen, Maugham refused to continue at The King's School. His uncle allowed him to travel to Germany, where he studied literature, philosophy and German at Heidelberg University. Not wanting to become a lawyer like other men in his family, Maugham eventually trained and qualified as a medical doctor for five years, which enabled him to understand the life of people at the bottom and analyze life and world with an critical eye. From 1897 Maugham started to specialize in literary creation.