文档介绍：Author
William Somerset Maugham
(1874-1965) was a famous English author,novlist and playwright(儿童游戏专家).
Many of his stories are about
human weaknesses.
He is considered to be one of the best writers of short stories in the English language.
Summary
Strickland is a well-off,middle-class stockbroker(股票经纪人)in London.
One day,he abandoned his wife and children to Paris to pursue his dream. So he lived a poor and chall-anging life there as an artist(especially a painter).
Dirk Stroeve recognized Strickland's genius and helped him from the life-threatening condition in Paris. But Stroeve didn't know his wife abandoned him for Strickland.
In order to pursue the Art and Beauty Strickland also abandoned Stoeve's wife and came to Tahiti(an island) alone.
He lived here for a few years and had a native wife and two children here.
Finally he died of poverty (贫穷)and leprosy(麻风病)here.
In this island he left many paintings, but his magnum opus(巨作),which he painted on the walls before his death was burnt down after his death by his wife by his dying order.
Background
The novel is a reflection of the famous France painter Gau-guin's life.
But Strickland in the novel is much more crazy than Gauguin.
Although they all abandoned their home to pursue the art. But they are just simmaliar in this experience not all the same.
In the novl, Striland is crazy and immoral,
He never feel sorry