Martin

The protagonist of the novel, Martin Arrowsmith, is a driven young man whose main personality trait, curiosity, is the foundation for every decision and action in his life. It is curiosity that makes Martin an excellent scientist but his explorations and desires to see many aspects of life also set him up for both disappointments and successes. Martin has a lifelong battle with the lure of commercial medicine versus his authentic love of research. In an attempt to provide for Leora, Martin sets up a medical practice but fails in his eyes because he cannot devote any time to research. Martin's career is a back-and-forth pattern of attempts to establish himself in commercial medicine and then in research capacities. Even when Martin feels that he has found his scientific nirvana at the McGurk Institute, he learns that the element of commercialism is pervasive there as well. Martin's combination...