Book review for “The Moon and Sixpence”

If we hold a conventional social value while we’re reading “The Moon and Sixpence”,There is no doubt that we’ll feel disgusted with the main character Charles Strickland.Now let’s briefly summarize his whole life. He is a characterless security broker in England with a life which could be set as an example for felicity ：troubled by no untoward adventure,in possess of a satisfying job,a noble social circle,a beloved wife,a pretty daughter and a handsome son. However,after a pleasant holiday with his family at his 40th,he disappeared from everyone’s life in a sudden,left his wife and children unprepared.He quit his seemingly brilliant life just to chase for his dream:painting,in spite of incomprehension of it. “I’ve got to paint”That’s just his explanation.absurd but unshaken. The truth is he is a genius with incomparable talent in painting,but not recognized by people in his state.Stroeve,the only person discovering his talent,fails on evil owing to his discovering.He let his wife take care of Strickland during his illness ignoring his wife’s feeling,and lend Strickland his own studio to build a better creating environment for him.Finally,her wife fall in love with Strickland and discarded him.But Strickland loses his interests in Stroeve wife as soon as his masterpiece,the nude of Stroeve’s wife has finished.This just lead to her suicide. So far,we may have thought these series of behaviour unbearable,but it seems our main character don’t feel ashamed at all.In his eyes,sex is just a burden which he feel like getting rid of,so females are such a tool. After that,he came to an ideal island and get married with Ata,a resident in the island.Ata can work to earn their livings so all Strickland’s life in the island is just painting,painting crazily,regardless of his illness and even blindness.He may have finished the greatest work in the world:the wall painting in his log cabin,but it was burnt down by Ata after Strickland’s death due to his own wish.     Is Strickland a good person?He has hurt almost everyone around him.Judged by social standards,he is exactly a madman.But the madman was extremely gifted in art.He can feel the world’s subtle beauty and express them with his own way.Maybe his insight prevents him from leading a dull life,maybe getting away from the society offer him the chance to experience art.In other word, “The Moon and Sixpence” is trying to reveal the contradiction between “sixpence”(society ,generality)and “the moon” (art,characteristic).In the society ,we may define “beautiful” as an adjective to describe a flower or a person,but art could lead us to find beautiful in the depth of our souls.As the article’s description,“It meant to him what god means to the believer.” Therefore,for genius like Strickland, to pursue beauty is an instinct,just like we need water and food.However,if we simply regard the book a description of a genius and art,we’re wrong. From many details in the article,we can feel a strong impulse not only possessed byStrickland.Stroeve hold a belief that Strickland is a greatest artist and give him everything he possesses.Stroeve’s wife have an intense contradiction against Strickland but fall in love with him at last.This change is not illogical，but predictable.She has a desire for Strickland’s life from the bottom of her heart,but her social experience and some kinds of intellect calm her down.The change just shows her original impulse take up her mind. In the book“South of the Border,West of the Sun”,a disease called “Fantasia of Siberia ”is mentioned.In the Siberia Plain,landscape is all the same over hundreds of miles.The sun rises and goes down regularly every day.Life there is just like a tranquil water.There’s no lack of food or clothes,but It’s really strange that many people at about 40 are likely to go mad in a sudden one day,and rush towards the end of the horizon until his death. Such behavior is similar with what Strickland or Stroeve or his wife have done.They are both out of the original impulse.Definitely The impulse is not an rare illness but should be a common feeling in our soul.We desire for true beauty,for fresh and distinctive things,for stimulating life.In other words,it represents “art”.Strickland,to some extent,is just an abstract symbol of original impulse,of human’s desire for art. Everyone is busy earning “sixpence” to earn their livings,but we’d look up at the beautiful moon form time to time owing to our instinctive yearning.Art is “Lcarus’wing” which enables us to up soar，getting rid of constraint.