Abstract: Maugham pursues self-improvement of human nature. Many of his protagonists look unfavorably upon the world full of desire and pursue the liberation of spirit. Larry is one of the spiritual explorers. This paper makes a comparison between the worldly desire in the main characters and Larry’s liberation of spirit to find out the conflict between the worldly desire and the liberation of spirit through analyzing people’s crazy pursuit for fame and the hypocritical relationships between humans based on the money and the marriage on the premise of material benefits. Then we will know that the satisfaction based on the worldly desire is transitory. At the end of the paper we can know that people can gain the liberation of spirit through balancing the relation between the worldly desire and the liberation of spirit.

Key words: worldly desire; liberation of spirit; conflict; Larry;

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Worldly Desire in Elliot and Isabel-3

  2.1 Material Desire-3

  2.2 Desire for Fame-4

  2.3 Sexual Passion and Possessiveness-5

3. Liberation of Spirit in Larry-6

  3.1 Larry’s Desire for the Answer to Life and Death-6

  3.2 Western Philosophy and Eastern Religion-7

  3.3 Free of Material Dependence-9

  3.4 The Meaning of Life for Larry-10

4. The Conflict between the Worldly Desire and the Liberation of Spirit-11

  4.1 The Conflict Reflected in the Social Status-12

  4.2 The Conflict Reflected in the Pursuit of the Material-13

  4.3 Irreconcilable Conflict-15

5. The Way to Balance the Conflict-17

6. Conclusion-18

References-19