The Razor's Edge Themes & Symbolism

The Razor's Edge Significant Topics

Rejection of Materialism

At heart, The Razor's Edge is the story of a young man, Larry Darrell, trying to answer basic questions about life and mankind through knowledge. It's also about taking a different path to modern life, choosing spirituality over money and other material things. In the end, Larry through his independence from shallow desires is one of the few characters that is truly happy and without regret.

One of the first instances in which Maugham, the novel's narrator, notices that Larry is different is when he notices Larry spending an entire day in the library reading one book, a psychology book. Even at twenty, before his travels in Europe, Larry is looking for answers and bucking the status quo. While his friends are getting jobs in banks and other industries, he says all he wants to do is "loaf." Of course, that's not true. He just wants to spend his time...
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