Pincher Martin (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: William Golding
- First Published: 1956
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: World War II
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Fable
- Subjects: Nature, Self, World War II, Religion, God, Reality, Islands, Death or dying, Imagination, Atlantic Ocean, Shipwrecks, Military life or service, Navies, Lobsters
- Locales: Islands, Oceans
Places Discussed
Atlantic island. Desolate rocky island, perhaps near North Africa, where the naval officer Christopher “Pincher” Martin miraculously washes up after his ship has been sunk by a German torpedo, leaving him alone in the ocean, adrift with only a lifebelt.
William Golding served in Great Britain’s Royal Navy during World War II, and the early pages of his novel—in which Martin struggles to stay alive in the ocean—have a gritty realism that could well have been informed by experience. However, when Martin discovers a tiny island where no island...
[The entire page is 1000 words long]
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