Which work is a powerful document about the human ordeal produced by Somerset Maugham?

• A. The Razor's Edge
• B. The Painted Veil
• C. Of Human Bondage
• D. The Narrow Corner

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is recognizing a work that vividly documents human suffering and inner struggle through a realist, semi-autobiographical lens. Of Human Bondage presents the life of Philip Carey, a man scarred by a clubfoot and haunted by unfulfilled love, as he confronts pain, desire, faith, and the search for meaning. The narrative follows his emotional and moral battles with a raw honesty, showing how physical limitation, social pressure, and misguided choices shape a person’s sense of self and destiny. That unflinching, intimate portrayal of struggle makes it a powerful record of the human ordeal in Maugham’s hands.

The Razor’s Edge also grapples with big questions about belief and purpose, but it centers on a postwar spiritual quest and the protagonist’s search for truth through renunciation and experience, rather than the continuous, intimate depiction of suffering across a life. The Painted Veil focuses on moral conflict and transformation within a specific relationship and setting, offering insight into redemption but not the same broad, unvarnished chronicle of hardship. The Narrow Corner leans more toward danger and crime, emphasizing plot and suspense over a sustained meditation on human endurance.