With William Somerset Maugham's large array of characters within Of Human Bondage, a third-person omniscient point of view for this novel functions stupendously. Each character, whether essential or secondary to the novel, is able to be understood and acknowledged by the audience due to the helpful impact of this narration. In addition, no bias or false accounts are included in the novel because this point of view is merely an outsiders words. With this form of narrative being so all-knowing and informative, Maugham is able to delve into the inner workings of each character and their minds.
Although third-person point of view allows for the perspectives of numerous characters to be displayed, Maugham focuses on one for the majority of his novel: Philip Carey. Of Human Bondage focuses on Carey's life from when he was a small child to middle age. Due to the large span of time that is covered, Maugham's use of Philip's point of view so exclusively in the majority of the novel can be justified. When first introduced, Philip is a young boy whose parents have recently died and he has to live with his aunt and uncle. It becomes clear quite quickly that Philip is a boy that will live a troubled life in one way or another due to the insight of his thoughts and feelings that the third-person narration provides the readers with. As time goes on and Philip's life progresses, his thoughts and mindset changes like the wind. Philip has relationships with handfuls of women and without his constant stream of conscience that is provided, the reader would be at a loss for the actions he takes with these women. In particular, Philips relationship with Mildred can barely be comprehended even with the third-person narration. Philip's feelings toward Mildred are described in one instance as a date of theirs ends by his thought that "He disliked her, and yet, he knew not why, he wanted to be with her" (Maugham 303). Clearly, this is quite a contradicting thought for Philip to have. If the reader was not provided with his thoughts, especially in circumstances such as this, the relationship between Mildred and Philip would be absolutely befuddling.
On another note, the third-person point of view also aids in the progression of the plot in the novel. Maugham is able to connect events that take place in the story of Philip's life to ones that happen during other stages of his life, enabling the overall story to continue smoothly. This is possible by using the thoughts of different characters and connecting them to events in the story, enabling new situations to take place. For example, when characters reflect on events in the past or have flashbacks, the reader is able to learn more about this character and what has taken place in their life. This enables to novel to progress in a new light due to this new knowledge given to the reader. One instance in the book that compares to this is when Mildred goes away to find someone to take care of her baby. The text goes from Philip reflecting on his thoughts and things that he felt he needed to say to Mildred to stating, "Mildred sent him a postcard to announce her safe arrival" (Maugham 390), providing a smooth progression of time within the story. With this slight jump in time, the novel is able to progress, as it does continuously elsewhere, to cover Philip's lifetime.
Third-person narration and point of view was the best choice for this novel because it provides a holistic analysis of the characters and all that went through their minds while progressing the plot in a smooth fashion. If this novel had been written in a first person point of view, the reader would be robbed of an enormous amount of information about other characters and life outside of Philip Carey's mind. The third person narration enables information to be shared with the reader about all people and society without providing a bias or false accounts. In addition, the plot would have been choppy and jump from years and events like ones mind would do whereas third person provides an uninterrupted and steady flow of time and all concepts and events touched upon. Overall, third person narration suits this novel best in all ways.
You have a really great vocabulary, and it doesn't feel as if the stronger words are out of place, they instead add emphasis to your writing. You have very nice transitions that help maintain a flow in your writing. Also, though this is a somewhat scientific style of writing (this is my idea, and I'm proving it with this evidence) you have a somewhat poetic writing style that makes it enjoyable to read. One thing I think would have been beneficial would be to give an example (if there was one) when the narration focused on the thoughts of a character other than Philip. Also, really great analysis with the time jump created by the postcard!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fantastic analysis of the third person POV in the novel. I agree with Emma in that this was simultaneously a formal and engaging piece, which can be a rare combination. The only thing is that I also would have liked more examples of the book's portrayal of other characters' thoughts and emotions. Again, this was a very well-written and strong analysis--great job!
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