This book is a masterpiece by Maugham based on the archetypal character Gauguin. If viewed from an ideal point of view, this is a dream that inspires people to rise and dare to pursue their inner world. If you look at it from a female perspective, this is an unfair existence.
The author uses a first-person narrative technique to tell the story of the male protagonist Strickland's life from a wealthy life to the final death of hardship and illness. And this title is also quite profound in its name, and the meaning it contains is ideal and reality.
Love
First of all, the male protagonist Strickland is a British stock exchange broker, with a stable career and a happy family. He abandoned these auvish lives, and when he was mistaken for eloping with a woman to Paris, he was told that he was obsessed with painting.
Mrs. Strickland didn't understand why her husband had chosen so much? If she chooses to elope with a woman, she still hopes to win it, but learning that her husband has chosen the ideal makes her unacceptable.
Morally speaking, Strickland was not a good husband, a good father. Choosing to pursue personal dreams when the family is most needed, such a stubborn person will only make people hate.
The author doesn't like strickland much, but it has nothing to do with him.
In Paris, Stroeve was the first painter to admire Strickland, which was not at all attractive to the work of the talented Strickland.
Once, because Strickland had been ill for several days, Stroeve wanted to bring him to live in his house, and he and his wife Bronche were soft and hard before they agreed to take it.
Originally his own home, he found that his wife Bronche was in love with Strickland, and Strove left the house to live in the author's house.
I thought Bronche would live well with him, but Bronche drank oxalic acid one day. Although she was sent to the hospital in time, she was burned by her throat and her deteriorating body, and she died resolutely.
At this moment, Strickland did not care, and only Strov was suffering.
Others who appreciate people with a kind and compassionate heart have been exchanged for such results, which no one can accept. The male protagonist is the performance of this uncivilized person's choice in the early stages, which makes people feel very hateful.
Mrs. Strickland and Bronche were not as lucky as Aita, an indigenous person on the island of Tahiti who chose to live with her and gave birth to a child.
Strickland did not like to be disturbed, and it was precisely because Aita respected him and allowed him to create with peace of mind that he created great paintings.
Ideals and reality
When it comes to the protagonist's painting, when he abandons everything for Paris, his painting skills are only superficial. Even in Paris, when he lived in poverty, he was still keen to paint.
Strickland never took it for sale, he only gave it away, and he didn't choose to paint it to make money.
He only pursues ideals, and his means are more unreasonable. After his death, few people bought the paintings at auction.
It is precisely when he reaches the environment in which he intends to create a famous painting that he can create a valuable painting.
When he became famous, the sales price of the painting became very expensive, and some people did not buy the painting before, and only after learning about it did they regret it.
The book also involves another talented doctor, Abraham, who was awarded a scholarship with honors from an early age. When he was up to a better job and a rich life, he decided to stay there on a trip to Alexandria, Egypt.
Abraham's choices made his life worse than before, but his mentality was different.
It was Abraham's choice that gave another doctor, Alec, the opportunity to do the job and earn a superior material life.
From this, it can be seen that sixpence represents alec's happiness, and the moon represents Abraham's happiness.
Everyone pursues a different life, some people yearn for material satisfaction, while others want to satisfy inner and spiritual satisfaction. Respecting the choice of the heart, it is the one who insists on it that is happiness, whether it is poor or rich.
epilogue
Although the hero is immoral, he is indeed so determined in the pursuit of ideals. Even the poorest life could not stop his creation.
Compared with the current era, many people are engaged in undesirable careers for the sake of life. There are very few people who can really love their careers, and there are few people who insist on their dreams, just living for sixpence on the ground.
Looking up at the moon, trying to reach out and touch it, but it is far away, and many people can only reach the sixpence that touches the ground.