PINCHER MARTIN’S LOSING STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY
PINCHER MARTIN’S LOSING STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY

Summary/Abstract: The present article is a character study applied to Pincher Martin, the main character inWilliam Golding’s novel bearing the same name. The research aims to identify andanalyse the motives used to depict the personage’s psychological evolution throughoutthe literary work. The character’s inner struggle is essential for the twofold topic of theentire novel; namely, the world of human relationships, seen as pervaded byestrangement and selfishness, and the human person’ s inner world, affected by theformer’s sins. Thomas Hobbes’ concepts related to human relationships [3] are used asanalytical instruments. In this respect, speech utterance, naming, as well as futureperception and orientation, considered by Hobbes as defining ways of human identity andpersonality, are used by Golding as refuges in his main character’s endeavour to survive.On the other hand, linguistic means, such as pronoun use, and psychological elements,mainly the loss of reason, are employed as evidence of depersonalization, the ultimatestage before the loss of complete contact with reality. However, the main concern of thestory is the progressive alienating transformations undergone by Pincher Martin beforereaching this point. Staggering animal imagery and the motive of animals’ eating oneanother identifies are highlighted as key means of portraying human social intercourse inwhich the character took part. In the last part of the article, a personal point of view isexpressed in the context of other critical approaches regarding the end of the novel

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