Wen Shu Qingxin Junyue
To tell the truth, the first time I read Maugham's "Moon and Sixpence" is because some people commented that when ideals and life conflict, you can get answers from the book. But the first time I read it, I didn’t find the answer. I was just astonished by the courage of the protagonist Charles Strickland (the character name in Xu Chungang’s translation) to "abandon his wife and abandon his son" to pursue his ideals, despite his actions. There may be some truth, but it is not desirable in real life.
It was not until many years later that I read it again and found that Charles Strickland’s approach may be just a choice, and this choice is still based on artistic treatment, and even more critically his choice is likely to be Maugham A negative textbook of life choices deliberately depicted.
What we see may not be the moon in the work
. The storyline in the work "The Moon and Sixpence" is not that complicated. The protagonist Charles Strickland is a securities broker, which is considered a career. An adult middle-aged man with a wealthy family, a happy marriage, and two lovely children. There is no extra burden and pressure in his life. This is the original state of Charles Strickland. He has no bad hobbies, no excessive material requirements, he is staid and unsocial, in the eyes of others, it is difficult to imagine such a person will make subsequent unimaginable actions.
Later, during a regular family trip, Charles Strickland took the lead to leave, and then he sent a letter to his wife informing him that he would not return to his home in England and decided to go to Paris, France alone. At first, people speculated that his unusual behavior must be due to an extramarital affair. However, later facts proved that what he did was just a sudden desire to pursue his ideal-painting.
Perhaps, some people think that when ideals and life conflict, they can find certain answers in this book, is because of Charles Strickland’s unusual decision, and more importantly, his decision is ultimately It has also achieved unimaginable success. As a result, some people believe that when ideals and life conflict, the decisive, brave, and at all cost choice is the correct choice. After all, the former is a round hanging in the sky. The bright moon, the moonlight is bright and bright, which can make life radiant, and the latter is just a vulgar and unbearable sixpence.
may also make sense. After all, from another perspective, when a person accomplishes a thing at all costs, the outcome is often not too pessimistic. But is there really a contradiction between ideals and life? In fact, apart from the story of Charles Strickland, in the work, the views put forward by other seemingly insignificant figures inadvertently provide crucial breakthrough points and clues to this issue.
’s interpretation of Charles Strickland’s pursuit of the ideal of painting. Different people in the works have different attitudes. He himself thinks:
"I want to paint, I have to paint, I can’t help but fall into it alone. In the water, it doesn’t matter whether he swims well or not, anyway, he has to struggle, or he will die.”
Because in his heart, painting is not necessarily just an ideal in our imagination, but a source of unrest in his life. What he cares about is not necessarily the painting itself, but only painting can relieve his inner anxiety. All this has nothing to do with his life state. In the work, another protagonist "I" is for Charles Strickland's This is how you think:
"I feel like there is a fierce power in him. This power is extremely powerful and overwhelming. It seems to be against his own will and just grab him."
is watching "I" Come, Charles Strickland did not aspire to become a painter because he could not bear the boring life, so as to get rid of the shackles of boring life, but because he had a strong creative instinct deep in his soul. This instinct became the source of his uneasiness. In the works, an insignificant little figure, Captain Bruno, thinks this way:
"Grabbing Strickland is a passion to create beauty, so that he will have a moment. There is no peace.”
From this we can find that, for Charles Strickland, life and ideals are contradictory,That is because the existence of ideals makes life uneasy, and the reason why he chooses painting can be said to be the eagerness and desire for painting, but it can be said that he pursues inner peace.
So in real life, we feel that there is a contradiction between life and ideals, which makes us unable to choose, and what is the reason for the confusion? For some people, it may not be for the pursuit of inner peace. It seems that there is anxiety in their hearts, but this anxiety is only for the current life state, and it can even be said to be to get rid of the current life state.
Fundamentally speaking, Charles Strickland’s decision is to paint desperately for the purely inner anxiety, not because of dissatisfaction with current life, but we seem to be living and ideals. Contradiction, but in fact it should be a contradiction between existence and ideals. In a nutshell, there is a fundamental difference between our ideals and Charles Strickland's ideals. What bothers us is not necessarily the contradiction between ideal and life In his works, Charles Strickland uses painting to make his heart peaceful, and he finds the true meaning of beauty through painting. For him, ideal is the belonging of the heart. Living oxygen, as the work said: "You don't have to praise him, resist the temptation, because most of us compromise the fame and fortune, which is not a temptation for him." So to Charles St. For Rickland, it is not a particularly difficult choice to give up life and choose painting this time. He doesn't care about the superficial state of life, he doesn't care about the feelings of people around him, even like the "I" in the work that fears him most. One point: "He doesn't care about anyone's vision." For such a person who can be said to be extremely selfish and selfish, there is no essential difference between choosing painting and being at ease in life. Therefore, no matter how much hardship he endured in the process, as long as he can still paint, he can be satisfied. Even knowing that he has leprosy and is near the edge of death, he still can't feel the slightest fear. The only pity is that The remaining time is too short to continue painting, so can the contradictions we face and the ideals we pursue really compare with him? Regardless of whether they admit it or not, most people cannot achieve Charles Strickland's persistence and purity. Even the other protagonist in the work, "I", as a writer, cares more about in the early days of life. It’s still not about writing itself, but about the publication and income of books. In other words, don’t think that the attitude of “I” is too mundane. In the works, Charles Strickland was exiled to Marseilles for painting. During the period, I didn't think about how to paint, but how to survive, because if you can't survive, there is no ideal. It is possible, but it is possible. The reason why most of us yearn for ideals and want desperate pursuit of ideals is not because the ideal itself has a fatal attraction, but because we feel the current state of life-running around for survival. Extreme disgust, so that we can't see beauty, freedom, and tomorrow, only running around, tired, and struggling for survival. Every one of us has a certain romantic feeling deep in our hearts, longing for the beauty of life and the value of life, but this kind of life makes us feel a waste of life, and it feels that there is no possibility of such a life. This kind of life is vulgar and unbearable, and because of this, the ideal glows with an irresistible and seductive light in this special state. If some people do not agree with this view, then you might as well ask yourself, what is the meaning of pursuing an ideal, or more simply, for what? is to realize the value of life, to make life more comfortable, or to get rid of the current state of life. If it is to realize the value of life, then it is necessary to clarify what is the value of life and what ideals can bring to others , Or what an ideal can bring to oneself, but no matter what, perhaps the value of life is too complicated to imagine, because you can realize this value by doing anything. And other meanings, no matter what angle you narrate, even if you really like it, your inner desire can be understood to be for life. In this case, how can there be contradictions between life and ideals. is more realistic. If there is a contradiction, it can only be said that the current state of life is not enough at all.Supporting your pursuit of your ideals will make you think that there are contradictions and oppositions between the two. If you really want to pursue your ideals, then you should solve the problems of your life, rather than just talk about it and consider giving up life. Pursue ideals. If some people insist that life and ideals are two different things, the former cannot achieve the latter, and life itself has no beauty, then we I have to recall a seemingly insignificant story in the work. Captain Bruno was a member of the French Navy. After his retirement, the property he bought went bankrupt. He and his wife did not want to live in poverty, so they borrowed money to buy a deserted island. The island has become a beautiful garden, the debt has been paid off, and life has gradually become richer and better. In this regard, Captain Bruno once said: "I am also an artist, and I realize that there is something in me that inspires Charles Sturt The only difference between Rickland’s desire is that he relies on painting and I relies on life.” Many people may think that Captain Bruno’s efforts do not belong to the pursuit of ideals, but only for life. It’s more comfortable, not commendable, nor can it be comparable to the white moonlight in the sky, but he thinks: "Life may be simple and simple, only a few people have pursuits and achievements, but I have no ambitions. If there is anything to be proud of Yes, that is the pride of creation through his own hands. This is also a kind of beauty." This is his life and his ideal. The beauty he finds from life is precisely the radiance of his ideal. His life has achieved his ideals, and his ideals have endowed him with the beauty of life. The light of this beauty is the value of his life. He is happy and he feels at ease. He thinks this is simple but not secular. does not rule out the possibility that some people’s ideals are selfless, grand, noble, and extremely valuable, but at least for most people, the meaning of ideals is to solve the dilemma of survival and be able to live a better life. , Can enjoy the beauty of life in life, and even for some people, their ideals have nothing to do with them. They hope that through their own efforts, they can make people around them happy, and they can get satisfaction from their happiness. In order to realize the value of life. In this way, ideals and life are still one, there is no contradiction, at least it would be meaningless to give up the so-called ideals of life. Don’t feel that in order to survive, it’s vulgar and meaningless. Survival is the root of life and the soil of life; don’t feel that a plain life is meaningless and valueless. The meaning and value are not in life itself, but in that life is for What, the reason why we have resistance, a bit ridiculously speaking, is because we feel that this kind of life is not "tall" at all, and we feel that this kind of life has reduced the value of life. But in fact, the value of life does not lie in how to live, whether it is tall or not, nor does it depend on life itself. Perhaps the sixpence in 's works represents not only life, but also survival. Survival is for life, but Life is far more than survival, and perhaps the meaning of sixpence is to highlight the light of the moon, and the light on the moon makes sixpence shine, it is sixpence that makes the moon meaningful, and the moon makes sixpence shine. , Even in essence, ideal itself is a part of life, and life is the source of light of the bright moon of ideal. If the work has enlightenment on ideals and life, it is very likely that the moon and sixpence complement each other, and life and ideals are inseparable. The two exist together to make sense, and they exist alone, especially Giving up six pence to search for the moon is a romantic protest against people’s dissatisfaction with current life. If there are such examples, most of them only exist in literary works. After all, literary works come from life, but are higher than Life, this is the beauty and value of literary works, but not necessarily the answer we want, because this is not the beauty and value of our lives. Qingxin Junyue, headline original author, senior mental healthInstructor, TA storyteller, film critic. Warm you with words, me. The moon itself is part of sixpence, and sixpence is the ideal source of light for this bright moon.
