Pincher Martin

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Pincher Martin (Faber and Faber 1956) is the third novel by William Golding (author of Lord of the Flies). When it was originally published in the United States, its title was changed to The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin, but later it was returned to its British name. It develops the themes introduced in Lord of the Flies concerning the cruelty at the basic nature of mankind underneath the thin veneer of civilization.

The novel is set during World War Two, on a remote islet (possibly Rockall) in the North Atlantic and charts Martin's attempt to stay alive there, after he is shipwrecked. He finds small pools of water, eats sea plants, and, as the weather worsens, thinks about his past deeds and misdeeds. This part of the book ends with what appears to be a large sea storm, with 'black lightning', in which Martin becomes convinced that supernatural forces are trying to end his life, and rails against them.

However the novel features a twist ending which makes it clear that Martin has, in the real world, been dead since very early in the book, and this changes the work into one of religious allegory of purgatory and damnation.

[edit] See also

• An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

[edit] External links

• “A Matter of Belief: 'Pincher Martin's Afterlife”