Pincher Martin Pincher Martin Pincher Martin (published in America as Pincher Martin: The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin), is a novel by British writer William Golding, first published in 1956. It is Golding's third novel, following "The Inheritors" and his debut "Lord of the Flies". The novel is one of Golding's best-known novels, and is noted for being existential and minimalistic in setting. The plot of "Pincher Martin" surrounds the survival and psychophysical, spiritual and existential plight of one Christopher Hadley "Pincher" Martin, a temporary naval lieutenant who believes himself to be the sole survivor of a military torpedo destroyer which sinks
The Spire is clear from the clue of the mistletoe that he was a pagan sacrifice buried at the Crossing by the builders to secure their luck against the stupidity of continuing the work. Goody Pangall dies in childbirth, bearing Roger Mason's child. Roger becomes a drunkard and at the end Jocelin dies of his illness, though only after first hearing from his aunt that his appointment was due only to her sexual influence, not to his merits. Before he dies, the phallic imagery of the Spire is displaced by the mysterious symbol of the tree. The spire is incomplete at the