Somerset Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence" has been controversial since its publication.

Some people think that this is a story about a dream. The protagonist Strickland walks out of his homeland for his ideals and recklessly achieves his goals in life, which is the portrayal of every dreamer. If everyone had Strickland's pillow, then maybe there wouldn't be so many haunted souls floating around in this world.

To a certain extent, he makes people see another realm of life, that is, desperate for dreams. To be more precise, it is to stay away from the fetters of the world and pursue the true self, just like the sentence: "The ground is full of sixpence, but he looked up and saw the moon."


Ordinary people are limited to the secular world, and often cannot be as decisive as Strickland, and Maugham created such an image, probably to satisfy the inner desire of some people, as if to tell the world: what you dare not do, Strickland has done it all. Believe in the power of dreams, even if people don't necessarily choose to realize them; also believe that someone is really pursuing your truest self, even if you can't.

If someone still has a throbbing heart after reading this book, it may just mean that he is still secretly collecting dreams and has a heart that longs for freedom.

Maybe he won't be as crazy as Strickland, but he will definitely re-examine his life, re-examine his choices, maybe he will find a more real self, which has a decisive role in life.

The reason why some books are classics is often because the philosophy and human nature contained in them are multi-faceted, just like the real world, not black and white, and we can only choose what we think is right.

If you see the power of dreams in this book, then Maugham writes about your innermost desires and gives you a glimpse into yourself.

If you only have deep disgust after reading the book, it just means that Maugham awakened the goodwill in people's hearts. Because a pure and ordinary person can't agree with what Strickland has done, it is normal to dislike him.


In this book, Scrrickland is an admirable dream catcher, but also a hurt man. Among them, the most distressing is his friend Stroeve.

Stroeve was Strickland's most staunch supporter, even though everyone disapproved of Strickland's paintings, he still believed that Strickland was a genius and went to great lengths to help him achieve it. dream.

However, Strickland did not return the friend with the same kindness. In the eyes of his genius, Stroeve was very low-level and even incompetent, so he often mocked Strove in public and made him lose face in front of Strove's wife.

But Stroeve did not leave this friend. He was like the farmer in "The Farmer and the Snake". Even if he was bitten by a poisonous snake, he was still willing to hold him in his arms.

After that, he continued to take care of Strickland's necessities, and seeing that Strickland was poor, he would feel guilty for it, and always felt that he had not taken good care of him. Finally, when he learned that Strickland was ill, he took Strickland directly home to take care of him with his wife.

However, Strickland did something that made him sad again.


After Strickland lived in the Strove's house, Strove's wife gradually developed a love in contact with him. And Strickland did not reject such feelings, and soon walked with Stroeve's wife.

For Stroeve's wife, the relationship was disgusting, and she knew she had betrayed her husband, but she couldn't control herself. Because Strove is good, but she is only grateful for him, but not in love. Until she met Strickland, she had a feeling of heartbeat, so she had to hold him firmly.

For Stroeve, this result was undoubtedly a devastating blow. He was heartbroken and sought help from outsiders several times.

But after calming down, he made the shocking decision to move out of the house and let his wife live with Strickland, leaving them half of the money.


Generally speaking, in the face of the betrayal of their wives and the interference of their friends, people may try to break them up and take revenge on each other. After all, these two caused them to suffer.

Why did Stroeve, instead of doing that, sacrifice himself for the two of them? It's just because he loves too humble and he is too kind.

Even if he knew that his wife had betrayed him, he was still reluctant to get angry with his wife, and even if he saw the interference of his friends, he was still willing to forgive him.

When he learned that his wife was going to fly away with Strickland, his first thought was not resentment, but worry. He was worried that his wife would have a hard life with Strickland, so he left his house and money to his wife, Moved away.


To a certain extent, Stroeve is a person who is kind to ignorant and fraternity to the humblest.

He was hurt again and again, but he didn't teach him a lesson. He still treated those who hurt him with kindness. It was this behavior that made those people feel that he was easy to bully, and finally got more damage.

He loves very humblely, and obeys his wife and friends from beginning to end. Even if he learns that there is a relationship between them, he just runs away from home alone. It was this humble and pleasing state that made his wife look down on him from the beginning, didn't even take him to heart, and betrayed the marriage casually.

This reminds me of a sentence: if kindness does not grow claws, then it is weakness.

People should be kind, but kindness without the bottom line and principles is a kind of stupidity and weakness, it will only give others reasons to bully you, and make you suffer betrayal and hurt again and again.

So, don't give up your principles and bottom line at any time, just treat people with kindness, which will only give others the chance to bully you. Only by maintaining basic sharpness can you gain the awe of others, and you will not be toyed with again and again, which is also responsible for yourself.


The tragedy of Stroeve's life, ostensibly caused by Strickland and his wife, would not have come to this point if they hadn't betrayed him.

But the deeper reason is due to his own cowardice. If he'd been hurt by Strickland and he'd never dealt with it again, then nothing would have happened. If he is not so humble to his wife, maybe his wife will not be so free.

He makes people understand: there is a kind of man, it is normal to be looked down upon, you can tell by looking at his posture in love, and there is a reason for all this.

This also reminds everyone that preventing the harm of others is the way to protect yourself, but more importantly, let yourself establish the correct awareness. Only by erecting an iron wall in your heart will you not give anyone the chance to hurt yourself.

I hope that in the future, we can all remain kind, but not lose our principles and bottom lines, and be soft inside, but also have the hardness to protect ourselves. Don't hurt others, but don't let others hurt yourself, so that you can live better.


"The Moon and Sixpence" is an immortal masterpiece that includes everything, and it would be a shame if you only saw the dream.

It is better to read it in depth and taste the true meaning expressed by Somerset Maugham in the book. Perhaps, it will open up your life and learn to protect yourself better.