The Moon and Sixpence Literary Elements

Novel / Fictionalized Biography

The novel takes place in London, Paris, Marseilles and Tahiti in the late 19th century, in the aftermath of the Impressionist movement.

The novel is written from a first-person perspective. The narrator appears as a character in the story and interacts with his protagonist, Charles Strickland, though he often takes on the role of an observer.

The tone of the novel is balanced and sympathetic, the narrator shows a great deal of care for vulnerable people, but tries to give the most accurate portrayal of the events he has witnessed or heard about. The mood of the novel is foreboding, as the narrator is constantly observing the terrible consequences of Strickland's actions.

Charles Strickland is both the protagonist and antagonist of the novel, as he is the main character but inflicts a great deal of pain and suffering on the other characters.

The main conflict in the narrative is between Strickland's desire to be a great artist and the societal values that he constantly transgresses. Strickland himself seems relatively untroubled by the consequences of his actions, but the narrator spends much of the book trying to reconcile the greatness of Strickland's art and callous cruelty of his behavior, eventually noting that they are almost directly related.

The climax of the novel is Strickland's completion of his masterpiece and subsequent death from leprosy.

Blanche's death is foreshadowed when Dirk says he thinks something terrible is about to happen.

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The book makes a number of allusions to visual artists like Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Claude Monet, El Greco, Rembrandt, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet.

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The central paradox of the novel is the narrator's distaste for Strickland as a person that exists simultaneously with his fascination for Strickland as an artist.

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The narrator personifies Strickland's drive to work as a demon possessing him.