10 Short Masterpieces by Maugham
The Fall of Edward Barnard
"And what does all that activity amount to? Does one get there the best out of life? Is that what we come into the world for, to hurry to an office, and work hour after hour till night, then hurry home and dine and go to a theatre? Is that how I must spend my youth? Youth lats so short a time, Bateman. And when I am old, what have I to look forward to? To hurry from my home in the morning to my office and work hour after hour till night, and then hurry home again, and dine and go to a theatre? That may be worth while if you make a fortune; I don't know, it depends on your nature; but if you don't, is it worth while then? I want to make more out of my life than that, Bateman."
Honolulu
"Some can go through terrible battles, the fear of imminent death and unimaginable horrors, and preserve their soul unscathed, while with others the trembling of the moon on a solitary sea or the song of a bird in a thicket will cause a convulsion great enough to transform their entire being. Is it due to strength or weakness, want of imagination or instability of character? I do not know."
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I would like to comment on his story "Rain". I thought it was very smart of him to portray the "power" of missionaries in other countries and combat that with the fact that in the end, they are also human and prone to "sin" and "hypocrisy". Men are men as the prostitute said in the end! Which in some way makes this woman dignified, because she was the one which knew men at their very core. As in "Oh yes, you can blabber all you want about your Jesus, but I know what you really want." And it turned out to be true. She, in fact, was the one in control the entire time. She played his game at first, and snared him in the end. Therefore- Maugham shows that these missionaries are not exempt from being HUMAN.
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Published by Moscow Jupiter- Inter, 2009.
The Fall of Edward Barnard
"And what does all that activity amount to? Does one get there the best out of life? Is that what we come into the world for, to hurry to an office, and work hour after hour till night, then hurry home and dine and go to a theatre? Is that how I must spend my youth? Youth lats so short a time, Bateman. And when I am old, what have I to look forward to? To hurry from my home in the morning to my office and work hour after hour till night, and then hurry home again, and dine and go to a theatre? That may be worth while if you make a fortune; I don't know, it depends on your nature; but if you don't, is it worth while then? I want to make more out of my life than that, Bateman."
Honolulu
"Some can go through terrible battles, the fear of imminent death and unimaginable horrors, and preserve their soul unscathed, while with others the trembling of the moon on a solitary sea or the song of a bird in a thicket will cause a convulsion great enough to transform their entire being. Is it due to strength or weakness, want of imagination or instability of character? I do not know."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would like to comment on his story "Rain". I thought it was very smart of him to portray the "power" of missionaries in other countries and combat that with the fact that in the end, they are also human and prone to "sin" and "hypocrisy". Men are men as the prostitute said in the end! Which in some way makes this woman dignified, because she was the one which knew men at their very core. As in "Oh yes, you can blabber all you want about your Jesus, but I know what you really want." And it turned out to be true. She, in fact, was the one in control the entire time. She played his game at first, and snared him in the end. Therefore- Maugham shows that these missionaries are not exempt from being HUMAN.
---
Published by Moscow Jupiter- Inter, 2009.
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