The way society has been impacted by materialism, the dominating sense of yearning to pursue wealth, is a complicated subject. According to research, young people are suffering from disillusionment when it comes to jobs and money. Studies also show that as young people become more and more materialistic than ever before, pro-social values and worth ethic are reaching an ultimate low. While materialism has made the youth greedy for money, it has also drawn them away from their potential to pursue a vocation that will bring meaning to their lives. Instead, a majority of the youth choose high-paying jobs where they can earn larger salaries over vocations in which they actually belong even though they may not be as well-paid. However, in his novel, The Razor's Edge, William Somerset Maugham has developed a very existential theme of characters, who try to make their lives more meaningful, rather than pursuing fortune and wealth.
Laurence “Larry” Darrell is not only at the center of the novel but is also a perfect example of the novel’s theme of the rejection of materialism. Larry, who is the protagonist of the novel, not only abandons wealth but personal relationships and security as well in order to make his life more spiritually meaningful. Larry tries to pursue to knowledge instead of wealth and other materialistic pursuits in order to find answers to basic questions about life. He decides to take a different path to modern, and instead of money and other material things, he chooses spirituality. Ultimately, by freeing himself from shallow desires, Larry is among the few characters in the novel that are truly happy and not regretful by the end. Through Larry’s character, Maugham gives his readers a clue as to what awaits those who choose to pursue something meaningful to in life, weather it is spirituality or a worthwhile vocation.
Unlike Larry, a majority of the people today are not enjoying a meaningful life. Instead, they are stuck to the metaphorical treadmill of the materialistic world of today. Success as emotional and spiritual happiness is being disregarded by many people, while a more materialistic life is being adopted by many of them. The first time Maugham reveals how different Larry is than most materialistic individuals is when he spends a whole day reading just a psychology book in the library. Larry, who is just twenty, already seems to resisting the status quo and searching for answers, even before he decides to embark on his quest for spirituality. While his friends pursue wealthy by securing jobs in banks and other industries, Larry reads and studies during most of his time, to try and find the answers to his questions. It is unfortunate that the people today are not able to challenge the materialistic status quo.
It is arguable that most people today look at their bank account in order to determine their self-worth. The bigger their bank account, the better they feel about themselves. The amount of energy people are putting into earning money is a representation of the very energy of life as they see it. Money certainly has its place in every individual’s life; however, it can become a curse if people devote all their efforts to solely pursue it. Money can result in never ending anxiety, no matter how much money we have, we are always concerned and worried that we may somehow lose all the money we have. Perhaps this is why a meaningful pursuit is necessary in life and since the process of earning money begins from the career and job we choose, therefore, it can be assumed that by pursuing a meaningful vocation, they money we earn can become a blessing rather than a curse.
In the quest of making his life more meaningful, Larry finds spiritual peace and gains healing powers. Since Larry’s ambitions are not tied to money, he does not suffer like the characters of Gray Maturin and Isabel Bradley when the stock market crashes. Gary, Isabel’s husband, suffers from headaches due to stress over money and it is Larry, who chose to study and learn from men who preach spiritual purity, who cures Gray’s headaches. Larry is among the few characters of the novel that are truly happy by the end of the novel. Isabel, who was formerly Larry’s fiancé, marries Gray because he is wealthy while she does not love him. Gray has a good job and plenty of money but his life lacks meaning and spirituality. While it is not revealed what ultimately becomes of Larry, but Maugham makes it apparent that Larry is happy because he does not care about money and material things.
References
Maugham, W. S. (1944). The Razor's edge. New York: Random House.
