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The Razor's Edge by Sommerset Maugham Essay examples

Decent Essays

The author of this book wrote the story as if it were a true account of events. The author himself is not a main character in the story, but observes the lives of the main characters from his experiences with them with a vast and deep understanding of their lives. The first character introduced is Elliot Templeton. Elliot a wealthy European aristocrat, throws extravagant parties and entertains individuals of very high social class. Elliot brings the author into his social crowd and they become very close friends. In fact, Elliot had many acquaintances from his parties, but very few friends. On his deathbed, the author was the only friend that came to see him. It was through Elliot that the author journeyed to America with to meet the …show more content…

He was also very giving. He sacrificed much of his time and money to help complete strangers by taking in people with nothing and giving them their lives back. Larry was defiantly a leader, but had no problem following. He just did whatever was better for him, but if someone needed his assistance, he would give it. Larry represented ethical relativism several ways. He never discredited anyone. He didn’t believe in a certain religion, but said that each was as plausible as the next. He recognized the existence of a greater power and searched to find it. He enjoyed learning from anyone willing to teach and read a great many books about things many didn’t believe in. Larry is such a fascinating character, once you think you’ve figured him out, he surprises you with something completely unexpected. This is why Larry represents so many different ethical aspects and cannot be put into a single category like the other characters. Elliot, in my opinion, represented ethical altruism. He treated everyone with the utmost respect and was always courteous. He through parties and invited anyone who would feel left out if not invited, even if he didn’t like them. He donated large sums of money to a church, and took care of people who didn’t have enough for themselves like he did for Isabel. Elliot’s problem was that, while he treated others very well, the people he cared for didn’t care for him, just his

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