How to Use the Metric System in Spanish

You may speak Spanish well, but if youre talking to typical Spaniards or Latin Americans using inches, cups, miles, and gallons, chances are they wont understand you well even if they know words such as pulgadas and millas. With a few exceptions—among ​them, Spanish speakers inside the United States—Spanish speakers throughout the world use the metric system of measurements in everyday life. Although local or indigenous measurements are in use in some places, and American/British measurements are occasionally used for some specific instances (gasoline is sold by the gallon in some parts of Latin America, for example), the metric system is universally understood in the Spanish-speaking world. The metric system has widespread usage even in Puerto Rico, even though it is a U.S. territory. British Measurements and Their Metric Equivalents in Spanish Here are the most common British measurements and their metric equivalents in Spanish and English: Length (Longitud) 1 centimeter (centà ­metro) 0.3937 inches (pulgadas)1 inch (pulgada) 2.54 centimeters (centà ­metros)1 foot (pie) 30.48 centimeters (centà ­metros)1 foot (pie) 0.3048 meters (metros)1 yard (yarda) 0.9144 meters (metros)1 meter (metro) 1.093613 yards (yardas)1 kilometer (kilà ³metro) 0.621 miles (millas)1 mile (milla) 1.609344 kilometers (kilà ³metros) Weight (Peso) 1 gram (gramo) 0.353 ounces (onzas)1 ounce (onza) 28.35 grams (gramos)1 pound (libra) 453.6 grams (gramos)1 pound (libra) 0.4563 kilograms (kilogramos)1 kilogram (kilogramo) 2.2046 pounds (libras)1 American ton (tonelada americana) 0.907 metric tons (toneladas mà ©tricas)1 metric ton (tonelada mà ©trica) 1.1 metric tons (toneladas mà ©tricas) Volume/capacity (volumen/capacidad) 1 milliliter (mililitro) 0.034 fluid ounces (onzas fluidas)1 milliliter (mililitro) 0.2 teaspoons (cucharaditas)1 fluid ounce (onza fluida) 29.6 milliliters (mililitros)1 teaspoon (cucharadita) 5 milliliters (mililitros)1 cup (taza) 0.24 liters (litros)1 quart (cuarto) 0.95 liters (litros)1 liter (litro) 4.227 cups (tazas)1 liter (litro) 1.057 quarts (cuartos)1 liter (litro) 0.264 U.S. gallons (galones americanos)1 U.S. gallon (galà ³n americano) 3.785 liters (litros) Area (superficie) 1 square centimeter (centà ­metro cuadrado) 0.155 square inches (pulgadas cuadradas)1 square inch (pulgada cuadrada) 6.4516 square centimeters (centà ­metros cuadrados)1 square foot (pie cuadrado) 929 square centimeters (centà ­metros cuadrados)1 acre (acre) 0.405 hectares (hectà ¡reas)1 hectare (hectà ¡rea) 2.471 acres (acres)1 square kilometer (kilà ³metro cuadrado) 0.386 square miles (millas cuadradas)1 square mile (milla cuadrada) 2.59 square kilometers (kilà ³metros cuadrados) Of course, mathematical accuracy isnt always necessary. For example, if you remember that a kilogram is a bit more than 2 pounds and a liter is a bit more than a quart, thats close enough for many purposes. And if youre driving, remember that a speed-limit sign that says 100 kilà ³metros por hora means you shouldnt be driving more than 62 miles per hour. Sample Spanish Sentences Involving Measurements  ¿Realmente necesitamos 2 litros de agua al dà ­a? (Do we really need 2 liters of water per day?) El hombre mà ¡s grande del mundo tenà ­a 2 metros 29 de estatura y un peso de 201 kilogramos. (The tallest man in the world had a height of 2.29 meters and a weight of 201 kilograms.) El territorio mexicano abarca una superficie de 1.960.189 kilà ³metros cuadrados sin contar sus islas o mares. (The Mexican territory covers an area of 1,960,189 square kilometers not counting its islands or seas.) La velocidad de la luz en el vacà ­o es una constante universal con el valor 299.792.458 metros por segundo. (The speed of light in a vacuum is a universal constant with a value of 299,792,458 meters per second.) Los hoteles de esta zona deben tener la habitacià ³n doble de 12 metros cuadrados mà ­nimo. (Hotels in this zone should have double rooms of at least 12 square meters in area.) La diferencia de 10 centà ­metros no se percibe ni importa. (The difference of 10 centimeters is neither noticeable nor important.) Hay casi 13,000 kilà ³metros entre Londres y Johannesburgo. (There are almost 13,000 kilometers between London and Johannesburg.) Key Takeaways All Spanish-speaking countries use the metric system, although British and indigenous measurements sometimes have specialized uses.Outside the United States, most native Spanish speakers are unfamiliar with everyday British measures even if they understand what the words mean.The Spanish words for metric units are very similar to the corresponding English words.

The Disunited States Of America Essay - 1536 Words

Lauren Solouki Mr. Martin AP English Language and Composition June 8, 2016 The Disunited States of America As you walk through the streets of Los Angeles, it is impossible to let the cultural diversity escape you. You can hear snippets of conversations in Hebrew, Farsi, French, Mandarin, and about every other language in existence. This diversity is not just confined within the walls of Los Angeles. It is pervasive throughout the United States. Thomas Paine’s characterization of America in The Rights of Man as a country made up of â€Å"people from different nations, accustomed to different forms and habits of government, speaking different languages, and more different in their modes of worship† still holds to be true in modern times. However, Paine’s assertion that â€Å"by the simple operation of constructing government on the principles of society and the rights of man, every difficulty [that evolves from these differences] retires† no longer applies in today’s world. Though our government has a constitution that upholds these â€Å"principles of so ciety† and â€Å"rights of man,† difficulty has certainly not â€Å"retire(d)†. As Paine’s book proceeds to evaluate the consequences of our society, it fails to capture the struggles that have arisen in our time to face increasing multiculturalism and inequality. America’s united front is beginning to dismantle as inequality and discord increases on the basis of wealth, race, and political partisanship. We have declined in social mobility andShow MoreRelatedTypes Of Governments Of Ancient Greece And Rome970 Words   |  4 PagesAfter removing themselves from under the power of England, the former colonies, now states, were fiercely independent, a trait that was further reinforced by the American Revolution. As such, The Federalist essays oft use many examples based on the types of governments of Ancient Greece and Rome. 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Class Distinctions In Ww2 Literature Essay Research free essay sample

Class Differentiations In Ww2 Literature Essay, Research Paper In about every civilization, certain differentiations exist which elevate peculiar members of society above others. These differentiations may be based upon age, wisdom, lineage, gender or profession, but more frequently than non, category lines seem to be drawn on the footing of wealth. While the being of these position groups may be harmless, when bias prevents the motion of persons or societal groups between and within categories, valuable human resources are being put to waste. This issue was of concern during the First World War. While the category system in topographic point in Western Europe did let for a certain sum of societal mobility, differentiations among categories were however apparent and good defined. Both Erich Maria Remarque # 8217 ; s All Quiet on the Western Front and Evadne Price # 8217 ; s Not So Quiet # 8230 ; name attending to the thought that societal place should be of small or no significance in the face of wartime # 8217 ; s human hurting, agony and d ecease. In All Quiet, the chief character, a immature German named Paul Baumer, enlists in the ground forces. Initially, in his company, two distinguishable categories of persons exist. Paul and his four classmates are good educated and of a higher station in life. They are still adolescents, fresh from school, and have volunteered for the war. The other group consists of provincials and common labourers. In the beginning of the novel the reader is made keenly cognizant of the differences between the two groups as Paul introduces the characters. Paul mentions his fellow schoolmates foremost. This telling lends the thought that Paul thinks more extremely of his schoolmates than he does of the other less-educated soldiers. The distinction is farther heightened by the sentence structure used. The common soldiers are described in an wholly different paragraph from the educated male childs. Standing in the muss line, Paul says that # 8220 ; shut behind us were our friends # 8221 ; ( Remarque 3 ) . Not merely are these work forces physically # 8220 ; behind # 8221 ; in the line, they are besides # 8220 ; behind # 8221 ; in societal position. Besides interesting to observe is the fact that as # 8220 ; our friends, # 8221 ; these common work forces are merely of import or memorable in so much as they relate to Paul and his schoolmates. The pronoun # 8220 ; our # 8221 ; gives a sense of ownership and therefore a certain sum of lower status in comparing to the educated male childs. As the novel progresses, so make Paul # 8217 ; s relationships and regard for his fellow soldiers. Paul rapidly learns that experience and wisdom are possibly more valuable than faculty members. While reminiscing with his schoolmates about old school yearss, Paul comes to the decision that in war, rational cognition is about useless. As pupils, Paul and his schoolmates were put through a strict and demanding course of study by their headmaster Kantorek. However, the information that they learned now has no practical application. During combat, cognizing the intent of the Poetic League of Gottingen or the figure of dwellers of Melbourne seems worthless to a soldier in comparing to cognizing # 8220 ; that it is best to lodge a bayonet in the belly because there it doesn # 8217 ; t acquire jam-packed, as it does in the ribs # 8221 ; ( Remarque 85 ) . Paul # 8220 ; [ remembers ] mighty small of all that trash. Anyhow, it has neer been the slightest usage to us # 8221 ; ( Remarque 8 5 ) . In contrast to the useless information memorized in school, life-experiences are of great wartime value. Remarque uses the character of Stanislaus Katczinsky to show this point. Kat is 40 old ages of age at the beginning of the novel and has a married woman and kids at place. He is a resourceful, imaginative adult male, and ever seems able to happen nutrient, vesture, and covers whenever he and his friends need them and therefore becomes the group # 8217 ; s unofficial leader. Paul describes him as holding # 8220 ; a singular olfactory organ for dirty conditions, good nutrient, and soft occupations # 8221 ; ( Remarque 4 ) . Kat # 8217 ; s accomplishments are direct consequences of his age and experience. They are gained through life non school-learning. Despite being comparatively uneducated, Kat is presented as the cleverest of all the characters. As the war continues, the lines between the two groups within Paul # 8217 ; s company Begin to melt. During the class of his experience with war, Paul disaffiliates himself from those social icons, such as parents, seniors, school, and faith, which had been the foundation of his pre-enlistment yearss. His new society becomes the company, his fellow trench soldiers. They are a group who understand the truth as Baumer has experienced it. Digesting the same hideous conditions and holding merely one another on which to trust, the work forces become connected in a manner that does non happen in civilian life. While Kat and Paul roast a stolen goose, Paul comments that even without speech production, the two work forces have # 8220 ; a more complete Communion with one another than even lovers have # 8221 ; ( Remarque 94 ) . Paul # 8217 ; s drift to stay in the war is to remain alongside his companions. He no longer has any semblances about contending for the glorification of his state. They genuinely care for one another and have been bonded by their common apprehension of what war truly is. When Paul is stranded in a shell hole after traveling out on a patrol, Kat and one of Paul # 8217 ; s schoolmates risk their ain lives to come expression for him with a stretcher. The soldiers will make anything and travel to any lengths for their friends. Evadne Price # 8217 ; s Not So Quiet # 8230 ; was written as a response to All Qu iet from a woman’s position. In contrast to All Quiet, the category lines that exist between the characters are non erased through the necessity of war. While some of the stupidity and thriftlessness associated with war is addressed in the novel, the societal differentiations still remain, even in the head of the chief character. For the supporter in Not So Quiet # 8230 ; , category is the finding factor in her place in the war. In order to be ambulance drivers, immature adult females are required to be of a certain societal degree. Smith is # 8220 ; the characterless girl of a characterless male parent who made money, sold his concern, retired, and is passing the remainder of his life in a large house on Wimbledon Common # 8221 ; ( Price 23 ) . The adult females volunteer to pay for the privilege of driving the hurt soldiers to infirmaries. Due to the pecuniary demands necessary to work the occupation, merely misss of upper category households are able to afford to make this occupation. On top of this, a miss # 8217 ; s familial background and ethical motives are considered and impact her eligibility. The work is hard, the hours are long, and the nutrient about uneatable, yet all the misss must be the # 8220 ; gently-bred, educated adult females they insist on so stiffly for this work that seemingly can non be done by adult females incapable of talking English with a public-school speech pattern # 8221 ; ( Price 60 ) . Throughout the novel, Smith inquiries the cogency of these demands to be in the voluntary assistance withdrawal. Smith seems to differ with regulations that limit the chance for an person to make a occupation when that individual has the ability. In visible radiation of Skinny and Frost # 8217 ; s discharge for sapphism, Smith comments that ethical motives do non # 8220 ; [ affair ] two hoots when it comes to convoying wounded work forces # 8221 ; ( Price 126 ) . She states that # 8220 ; personally, if I were taking adult females to drive heavy ambulances, their moral characters wouldn # 8217 ; T worry me. It would be # 8216 ; Are you a excellent driver? # 8217 ; non # 8216 ; Are you a excellent virgin? # 8221 ; ( Price 126 ) . Breeding and rules do non impact a adult female # 8217 ; s capacity to make the occupation. While Smith overtly criticizes the otiose human resources caused by the category differentiations, she does still retain many of the thoughts and ideals held by the upper category. This construct is exemplified through the character of Georgina Toshington. Tosh, as she is frequently called, is the niece of an earl. Price ab initio seems to utilize Tosh to interrupt the stereotypes associated with the upper-crust of society. She has # 8220 ; a head like a cloaca ( her ain definition ) , the bravery of a elephantine, the vocabulary of a Smithfield meatman, and the unit of ammunition, wind-reddened face of a milkmaid # 8221 ; ( Price 11 ) . These features are non by and large thought of as those of a lady, but of all the ambulance drivers, Tosh has the most breeding and is of the best line of descent. This portrayal lends the thought that Price would wish to interrupt the image by and large associated with the British aristocracy ; nevertheless, in contrast, Tosh is besides one of the most sympathetic characters in the novel. She is a heroine. She is brave, knows her occupation, does it good, and is the graven image of the full convoy. Smith has # 8220 ; adored her since the first dark I arrived # 8221 ; ( Price 11 ) . As a member of the upper category, Tosh # 8217 ; s mistakes are readily overlooked. On the contrary, when Skinny uses coarse linguistic communication, Smith does non pardon it. Alternatively, she refers to Skinny as utilizing # 8220 ; despicable linguistic communication, non like Tosh # 8217 ; s good-natured swear words that ever sound characteristic of Tosh and hence precisely # 8216 ; right, # 8217 ; but low shameful, foul someway # 8221 ; ( Price 113 ) . Why is this behavior excusable in Tosh and non in Skinny? Possibly Price intends to demo that Smith has a prejudice of which she is incognizant or possibly Price has unwittingly incorporated her ain bias. Smith # 8217 ; s concluding pointed poke towards the category system imposed on the war voluntaries occurs when she offers to return to France in order to acquire the hundred lbs Trix needs for an abortion. Smith tells her aunt she will rejoin the war attempt but does non stipulate in what capacity. She decides to be a domestic worker. In this manner, she is taking a base against her female parent, her aunt and others who endorse category segregation. She is of a high plenty societal degree to be an ambulance driver, but chooses a place in which she will be working with # 8220 ; awful people out of the slums # 8221 ; ( Price 211 ) . Smith does this to hurt her female parent and aunt. These adult females would wish to believe that they want Smith to be a portion of the war attempt to back up her state, but in truth, they merely want to utilize her to better their ain societal position. They want to be able to state that one of their dealingss is an ambulance driver because ambulanc e drivers are # 8220 ; a most sole category of miss, most sole, all ladies # 8211 ; they stipulate that, you know # 8221 ; ( Price 211 ) . These adult females are willing to set Smith # 8217 ; s life on the line for boasting rights. Monetary value exposes the less benevolent nature of their motivations and the jobs built-in in spliting groups on the footing of category. In the terminal, about every character in both books reaches a common destiny. They all die. While the disappearing of category differences in Remarque # 8217 ; s work seems much more idealistic and unrealistic than Price # 8217 ; s work, it is clear that Price # 8217 ; s unfavorable judgment is fraught with its ain jobs. While denouncing the category system, both the writer and the chief character are still a merchandise of it and therefore unable to wholly liberate their heads of it.

The Moon and Sixpence free essay sample

Both words and phraseological units are names for things, namely the names of actions, objects, qualities, etc. Unlike words proper, however, phraseological units  are word-groups consisting of two or more words whose combination is integrated as a unit with a specialised meaning of the whole. Phraseological units also called idioms are non-motivated word-groups. An indispensable feature of the idiomatic (phraseological) expressions is their figurative, i. e. , metaphorical nature and usage. (Ginzburg 1979) Functionally and semantically inseparable units are the subject matter of phraseology. As Ginzburg says, it should be noted that no proper scientific investigation of English phraseology has been attempted until quite recently. English and American linguists as a rule confine themselves to collecting various words, word-groups and sentences presenting some interest either from the point of view of origin, style, usage, or some other feature peculiar to them. These units are habitually described as idioms but no attempt has been made to investigate these idioms as a separate class of linguistic units or a specific class of word-groups. We will write a custom essay sample on The Moon and Sixpence or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page American and English dictionaries of unconventional English, slang and idioms and other highly valuable reference-books contain a wealth of proverbs, sayings, various lexical units of all kinds, but as a rule do not seek to lay down a reliable criterion to distinguish between variable word-groups and  phraseological units. Attempts have been made to approach the problem of phraseology in different ways. Up till now, however, there is a certain divergence of opinion as to the essential feature of phraseological units  as distinguished from other word-groups and the nature of phrases that can be properly termed phraseological units. The complexity of the problem may be largely accounted for by the fact that the border-line between free or variable word-groups and phraseological units is not clearly defined. The so-called free word-groups are only relatively free as collocability of their member-words is fundamentally delimited by their lexical and grammatical valency which makes at least some of them very close to set-phrases. Phraseological units  are comparatively stable and semantically inseparable. Between the extremes of complete motivation and variability of member-words on the one hand and lack of motivation combined with complete stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure on the other hand there are innumerable border-line cases. (Ginzburg 1979) Interest in phraseology has grown considerably over the last twenty years or so. While the general linguists’ view of phraseology before that time can probably be caricatured as â€Å"idiom researchers and lexicographers classifying and researching various kinds of fairly frozen idiomatic expressions†, this view has thankfully changed. Nowadays, the issues of identifying and classifying phraseologisms as well as integrating them into theoretical research and practical application has a much more profound influence on researchers and their agendas in many different sub-disciplines of linguistics as well as in language learning, acquisition, and teaching, natural language processing, etc. While translating word-groups and phraseological units, grammatical and lexical phenomena are viewed as inseparably connected. Functions of word-groups and their particular meanings are determined only in certain sentences. A word keeps its semantic identity standing in different contexts. One of the main problems in the art of translation is phraseology. In this context, it is a disheartening fact that most of the language-pair-related phraseological dictionaries are unidirectional (source language to target language) and based on a selection of the target languages phraseological units. The problem with the unidirectional approach is the very important fact that phraseological units cannot simply be reversed. It is necessary to make a new selection among the idioms of the former target language in order to achieve a central, adequate corphraseological units s of lexical units (lemmata). On rare occasions the lexical meaning of idiomatically bound expressions can coincide with their direct, i. e. , not transferred meaning, which facilitates their understanding. There is also the possibility of a non phraseological translation of an idiom. This choice is preferred when the denotative meaning of the translation act is chosen as a dominant, and one is ready to compromise as to the presentation of the expressive color, of the meaning nuances, of connotation and aphoristic form. In the case of non phraseological rendering, there are two possibilities: one can opt for a lexical translation or for a calque. The lexical translation consists in explicating through other words the denotative meaning of the phraseologisms, giving up all the other style and connotation aspects. In the case of the hammer and anvil idiom, a lexical rendering could be to be in an uneasy, stressing situation. The calque would consist instead in translating the idiom to the letter into a culture where such a form is not recognized as an idiom: in this case the reader of the receiving culture perceives the idiom as unusual and feels the problem to interpret it in a non literal, metaphorical way. The calque has the advantage of preserving intact all second-degree, non-denotative references that in some authors’ strategy can have an essential importance. It is true that the reconstruction of the denotative meaning is left to the receiving culture’s ability, but it is true as well that the metaphor is an essential, primal semiotic mechanism that therefore belongs to all cultures. Phraseologisms – or expressions that would aspire at becoming so – are formed in huge quantities, but do not always succeed. Sometimes are formed and disappear almost simultaneously. The only instances that create problems for the translator are the stable, recurrent lexical idioms, which for their metaphorical meaning do not rely only on the reader’s logic at the time of reading, but also, and above all, on the value that such a metaphor has assumed in the history of the language under discussion. Translating of national idiomatic expressions causes also some difficulties for a translator. Being nationally distinct, they can not have in the target language traditionally established equivalents or loan variants. As a result, most of them may have more than one translators version in the target language. It may be either a regular sense-to-sense variant (an interlinear-type translation) or an artistic literary version rendering in which alongside the lexical meaning also the aphoristic nature, the expressiveness, the picturesqueness, the vividness, etc. of the source language phraseologism/idiom. The aim of this term paper is to investigate phraseological units in Somerset Maugham’s â€Å"The Moon and Sixpence† and their translation into Armenian, to explore peculiarities of some translation of phraseological units in the context. The whole phraseological unit has a meaning which may be quite different from the meaning of its components, and therefore the whole unit, and not separate words, has the function of a part of the sentence. Phraseological units consist of separate words and therefore they are different words, even from compounds. The Moon and Sixpence free essay sample Rather more unconventionally he studied at Heidelburg University where he read philosophy and literature. He then studied in London, eventually qualifying as a surgeon at St Thomass hospital. He conducted his years medical practice in the slums of the East End. It was here that he found material for his first, rather lurid, novel Liza of Lambeth in 1897 and much of the material for his critically acclaimed autobiographical novel Of Human Bondage although this wasnt to be published until 1915. He moved to Paris where he would strike up a successful working relationship with Laurence Housman and write a number of plays that would be run in London from 1908. At the outbreak of The Great War, Maugham, at age 40 and 56 was both too old and too short to enlist in the military so he joined a British Red Cross ambulance unit attached to the French Army, becoming like his comtemporaries, one of many Literary Ambulance Drivers. We will write a custom essay sample on The Moon and Sixpence or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One of his co-drivers was Desmond MacCarthy, a writer in his own right who later became literary critic for The London Sunday Times. Before long Maugham was recruited for a far more interesting assignment as secret agent in Geneva and then Petrograd. In Russia, he was given the rather mammoth job of attempting to prevent the Russian Revolution from starting. His novel Ashenden published in 1928 would draw on these eclectic experiences. Continuing with more peacable travels, Maugham took to the South Seas, where he visited the island of Tahiti and on which he based his novel The Moon and Sixpence. Sickness would then force Maugham to return and remain in a Scottish tubercoulosis sanatorium. However, on recovery, he returned to the Far East and collected imperial information and experiences that would form the basis of many short stories, plays and novels: East of Suez in 1922, Our Betters in 1923 and The Letter in 1927, are amongst the better known of these. Returning to settle in France in 1928, Maugham bought a villa in St. Jean Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera called Mauresque (a word meaning of Moorish style) where he enjoyed a near royal lifestyle. An invitation by Maugham to spend a few hours to a weeks was highly prized by the literary and social elite of the era. In France he wrote what many regard as his satirical masterpiece Cakes and Ale, a literary biography within a novel that examined the private sin that accompanies public success. From early January 1938 until the end of March 1938 Maugham Travels in India, meeting the venerated Indian holy man Sri Ramana Maharshi, returning to France the first part of April. The brewing winds of war would not allow Maugham to remain in France indefinitely. On September 1, 1939 the German Army invaded Poland and reached Paris by June 14, 1940. With the Nazis lightening advance, as might be expected, many, many lives, both large and small including Maughams were adversely impacted. He was forced to flee late one night with nothing but a single suitcase. Although the full nature of his escape is seldom brought up by Maugham as being anything special, it was far more harrowing than most people have come to realize. The following quote on the subject is from an article that covers the escape somewhat concisely, albeit still fairly thoroughly, especially if one takes time to go down to the Footnotes. The article, called Guy Hague, refers to the person thought by many as being the role model for Maughams main character in Maughams best selling novel The Razors Edge: W. Somerset Maugham himself, at age sixty-six, was absconded in his villa in the south of France. When the Nazis crossed into France and raced toward Paris, he too was forced to flee. Waiting too long, Maugham sought refuge aboard his then only means of escape, one of two coal barges slowly plying their way off the coast of the Mediterranean. His escape turned out to be a horrific twenty-day voyage to England. Onboard the barge, a vessel that was not designed for even one passenger, he was crammed together with 500 other fellow escapees. It has been reported a number of the children as well as older and weaker refugees, because of the severe and crowded conditions and lack of food and water and other amenities, died of malnutrition and thirst. Following a slight recovery period and short lay over in England Maugham settled in the United States for the duration of the war, first in South Carolina continuing to work on the The Razors Edge, then in Hollywood, California, working on the screenplay for the movie version of the same novel. In lieu of a cash payment for his screenplay, as a renown and respected art collector, the studio gave him a rather expensive Impres sionist painting which immediately went into Maughams art collection. The studio eventually used another persons screenplay, but they allowed him to keep the painting for services rendered. Somerset Maugham was the master of the short, concise novel and he could convey relationships, greed and ambition with a startling reality. The remote locations of the quietly magnificent yet decaying British Empire offered him beautiful cavasses on which to write his stories and plays. The real-life inhabitants of these locations were frankly shocked at being portrayed as so trivial, parochial and vacuous creatures. Maugham would enjoy the undying hatred of many a South-East Asian planter and his wife for the rest of his life. Yet, for the rest of us, his realistic depictions of the boredom and drudgery of plantation life, and the desire and trappings of what they would regard as civilisation, can re-evoke what were perhaps the more genuine feelings felt by many of the planters and civil servants in the further flung reaches of the Empire. He disclaims expertise in certain topics such as, for example, American dialect and philosophy. Slang is the great pitfall he tells us in The Razors Edge, then goes on to demonstrate a certain facility with both as he writes about the novels central character, an American he calls Larry Darrell. Maughams English is clear and lucid and this makes his books easy to come to terms with. His works are often full of the basest, and yet more interesting, of the human vices but can still evoke the day to day feelings and emotions that allow us to understand and identify with his characters. A complex and interesting character, Somerset Maugham managed to catch much of the darker essence of Empire. He sums up a great deal about himself and his views in Looking Back, a semi-autobiographical essay he penned in his later years. The Moon and Sixpence Inspiration The inspiration for this story, Gauguin, is considered to be the founder of primitivism in art. The main differences between Gauguin and Strickland are that Gauguin was French rather than English, and whilst Maugham describes the character of Strickland as being largely ignorant of his contemporaries in Modern art (as well as largely ignorant of other artists in general), Gauguin himself was well acquainted with and exhibited with the Impressionists in the 1880s and lived for awhile with Van Gogh in southern France. The novel, The Moon and Sixpence, published nearly 100 years ago in 1919. This novel is inspired by the life of Paul Gauguin, but in this fictionalized account, the protagonist is British, a man called Charles Strickland. In some ways, the novel reminds me of the best of Henry James, for we have a narrator who isn’t exactly involved but is a peripheral canny observer to crucial events. We don’t ever find out a great deal about the life of our narrator as this is the story of Charles Strickland, and when the novel opens we know that Strickland is an artist of some renown. We also know that there is some controversy about Strickland’s life with the intriguing information that his son and biographer, the Rev. Robert Strickland has â€Å"an astonishing ability for explaining things away. † The narrator goes back in time to his youth as an aspiring author in London, part of a circle of writers, and his introduction to Mrs. Strickland, one of a number of women who hosts luncheons for those in the literary world. The narrator rather likes Mrs. Strickland, a woman in her late 30s, as she’s kind and has a genuine â€Å"passion for reading. Unlike many of these literary groupies, she has no ambitions of her own, and is apparently content to have these young authors in her home–as if their mere acquaintance makes her own life more interesting. Mr. Strickland is noticeably absent, but since he’s a broker on the stock exchange, and according to his wife, â€Å"a perfect philistine,† his absence seems both expected and no loss to the literary society that gathers at Mrs. Strickland’s table. But all hell breaks loose when rumours abound that Strickland, after 17 years of seemingly-happy married life, has deserted his wife and family and run off to Paris with a woman. Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Strickland summons the narrator and begs him to go to Paris, track down her husband, and bring him back. The narrator somewhat reluctantly accepts†¦ Over the course of a number of years, the narrator runs into Strickland. One time is, of course, an intentional meeting with Strickland, in theory, being lectured about his ‘moral obligations. ’ Strickland, however, is the most curious character. How can one appeal to morality and conscience when the person who’s receiving the lecture has simply opted out of the moral system he’s supposed to adhere to? When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that they will do as they choose, in the confidence that no one will know their vagaries; and at the upmost only that they are willing to act contrary to the opinion of the majority because they are supported by the approval of their neighbours. It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set. It affords you then an inordinate amount of self-esteem. You have the self-satisfaction of courage without the inconvenience of danger. But the desire for approbation is perhaps the most deeply seated instinct of civilized man. No one, of course, forced Strickland to marry, have children or become a mediocre stock broker, but he seems, in his youth, to have made the decision, as most of us do, to go with the flow, and now, at forty, seeing the years ahead, he has taken drastic, one might say callous measures, to change his life. Strickland’s genuine lack of concern of the opinions of others â€Å"gave him a freedom which was an outrage. † A second meeting with Strickland 5 years later would seem to reveal more information about his character, but instead a tragic chain of events involving Strickland only creates a chasm of questions and ambiguities. One thing is clear, however, if those involved or connected with Strickland expect him to abide by any traditional code of morality or behavior, they are going to be hurt. Strickland is a toxic and destructive man. He takes and uses and expects the same in return. The narrator admits a deep curiosity about Strickland which has morphed into fascination with a character that cannot be dissected, understood, analyzed or neatly boxed: It was tantalizing to get no more than hints into a character that interested me so much. It was like making one’s way through a mutilated manuscript. Years later, the narrator’s fascination with Strickland leads him to Tahiti where the truth, if there is indeed a truth about Strickland, is revealed in his nebulous legacy. Our narrator is almost, but not quite, a tabula rasa, and even though this is predominantly Strickland’s story, if we dig carefully enough, flashes of the narrator’s character appear. We see not just fascination with Strickland but also perhaps a deeply buried sympathy. At first the narrator admits to a â€Å"touch of envy† for the â€Å"pleasant family life† at the Stricklands, but after an evening with them, he admits that while he understands the â€Å"social value† of the family unit, he desires a â€Å"wilder course. There seemed to me something alarming in such easy delights. And then there are the narrator’s comments about the nature of women: I did not then know the besetting sin of woman, the passion to discuss her private affairs with anyone who is willing to listen. And: It requires the feminine temperament to repeat the same thing three times with unabated zest. Strickland’s use of women is divided in two simple groups: se x and models, and if the two become one temporarily, well so much the better: What poor minds women have got! Love. It’s always love. They think a man leaves them only because he wants others. Do you think I should be such a fool as to do what I’ve done for a woman? While the narrator is fascinated with Strickland simply as a previously-unknown character type, there also are strains of the doppelganger in their relationship. There is something disconcerting to the writer in the instinct which causes him to take an interest in the singularities of human nature so absorbing that his moral sense is powerless against it. He recognizes in himself an artistic satisfaction in the contemplation of evil which a little startles him; but sincerity forces him to confess that the disapproval he feels for certain actions is not nearly so strong as his curiosity in their reasons. The character of a scoundrel, logical and complete, has a fascination for his creator which is an outrage to law and order. I expect that Shakespeare devised Iago with a gusto which he never knew when, weaving moonbeams with his fancy, he imagined Desdemona. It may be that in his rogues the writer gratifies instincts deep-rooted in him, which the manners and customs of a civilized world have forced back to the mysterious recesses of the subconscious. In giving to the character of his invention flesh and bones he is giving life to that part of himself which finds no other means of expression. His satisfaction is a sense of liberation. W. Somerset Maugham is a subtle writer, much under-read these days. When I reread these favourites, even though it seems as though I’ve returned to an old friend, there’s always something fresh to uncover. Certainly the test of an excellent novel is to return to it 2, 3, or 4 times and to find it new and intriguing each time. Main Characters: Charles Strickland Charles Strickland, an English stockbroker who seems commonplace to his friends until he suddenly leaves his wife and family and goes to Paris to study art. The reader despises Strickland as a human being: he is selfish, cruel, pitiless and cynical. But, on the other hand, the reader worships him as a talented artist, a creator of beauty. His passionate devotion to art arouses our admiration. The only aim of Strickland’s life was to create beauty. Not long before his terrible death of leprosy, far from his native land, on the remote island of Tahiti, Strickland realized his lifelong dream. The pictures on the walls of his dilapidated house were his masterpiece. In them â€Å"Strickland had finally put the whole expression of himself†. W. S. Maugham tries to be impartial to his characters. They are neither all good nor all bad, â€Å"There is not much to choose between men. They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness, of virtue and vice, of nobility and baseness †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Mrs Strickland (Amy) who wants to become part of cultural society by hosting soirees for literary and artistic figures, including ‘Maugham’. Dirk Stroeve is shown as an antipode to Strickland. He was a very kind man but a bad artist, though he possessed a keen sense of beauty and was the first to appreciate Strickland’s talent. ommercially successful but hackneyed Dutch painter, a friend of the narrators, who immediately recognizes Stricklands genius. After helping Strickland recover from a life-threatening condition. Alongside Strickland appears the character of Dirk Stroeve, an artist who is the first to recognise Strickland’s greatness – but his tragedy (or his first tragedy – there are more to come) is that his ability to perceive and process beauty is not attached to an ability to produce it: he himself is a lousy artist. In the end Maugham’s attempt to understand Strickland comes undone, because there is nothing of him to understand beyond his paintings and his effect on those whose trust and love he has abused. Blanche Stroeve Dirk’s wife, was a model to paint, not serious companionship, and it is hinted in the novels dialogue that he indicated this to her and she took the risk anyway), who then commits suicide yet another human casualty (the first ones being his own established life and those of his wife and children) in Stricklands single-minded pursuit of Art and Beauty.