ABSTRACT
FROM 1935 TO NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR: CONCERNS FOR THE PART BECOME CONCERNS FOR THE WHOLE
As we’ve seen so far, when examined based on the doubleness of their perspectives and their ability to treat others decently, both John Flory and Gordon Comstock reveal character flaws that subject them to the negative evaluation of the narrators of their stories, negative evaluations which the narrators encourage the reader to share. The two protagonists’ shortcomings stand out in full relief when they are seen in contrast to the figures in the novels who do see themselves in relation to others and are therefore able to behave decently towards those around them. Flory is duplicitous; he attempts to win Elizabeth’s affections by impressing her with his expertise regarding Burmese culture. He attempts to appear knowledgeable about and sympathetic to the Burmese but is so self-absorbed that he cannot see that such sympathy actually offends the bigoted Elizabeth. But what masquerades
as sympathy is exposed as selfishness and condescension through Flory’s relationships with Ma Hla May and Veraswami, respectively. By the end of the novel he appears to have received what he deserves when his duplicity is finally exposed for all to see in the church, the scene that finally convinces him of his complete lack of place within the compartmentalized social world of Burmese Days, a recognition that results in his suicide.
