The Spire on his back whereas the latter is the will of God. His narcissism is belied by these failing structures he reinterprets to maintain his worldview. "The Spire" is subject to critical analysis by Steve Eddy in the York Notes Advanced series and reviews by Frank Kermode and David Skilton are included in "William Golding: Novels 1954–1967." Don Crompton, in "A View from the Spire: William Golding's Later Novels," analyses the novel and relates it to its pagan and mythical elements. More recently, Mark Kinkead-Weekes and Ian Gregor cover all of William Golding's novels in "William Golding: A Critical Study of
Pincher Martin who uses his intelligence, education and training to source food, collect fresh water and alert any potential rescuers. It is in fact during this rational phase that Martin is at his most delusional. It is only when insanity takes hold that he begins to comprehend the reality of his predicament: 'There is a pattern emerging. I do not know what the pattern is but even my dim guess at it makes my reason falter'. The novel's twist ending reveals that Martin actually drowned shortly after his ship was sunk; when his body is found, it is noted that "he didn't