Self-actualization in William Somerset Maugham's Fiction

The main objective of this work is to examine William Somerset Maugham¿s The Razor¿s Edge and Of Human Bondage through Maslow¿s Theory of Psychology. It tackles the aspects of the Third Force Psychology and its positive sides. It focuses on illustrating the strong relation between literature and psychology because they are inseparable and interdependent. Moreover, it reveals the needs of the characters of the two novels through Maslow¿s Hierarchy of Needs. The study also illustrates that man desires and craves for satisfying all of the basic needs in order to reach the highest level of self-actualization. Finally, it shows that there are some characteristics of self-actualized people that distinguish them from ordinary ones. It shows how self-actualized people are distinguished, successful and admired. Therefore, it is interested in explaining how these qualities are highly applicable to the two protagonists. This work is suprvised by Prof. Abdulgawad Ali Elnady and Dr Ashraf Ibrahim Zidan.