Henry Graham Greene's Life and Accomplishments

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An English writer that went by the name of Henry Graham Greene, once quoted, “The truth has never been of any real value to any human being. It is a symbol for mathematicians and philosophers to pursue. In human relations kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths.” Graham Greene’s work explored the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world. He was a truly an interesting man, as well as an author with an exotic tone for settings in part of the world.

Foremost, Graham Greene was born on October 2, 1904, in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in England. He was the son of Charles Henry Greene, headmaster of Berkhamsted School, and Marion R. Greene, first cousin of famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson. Greene was one of six children and from our understanding he did not enjoy his childhood. In his youth, he often skipped classes in order to avoid constant bullying by fellow classmates. At one point he was driven to emotional distress and fled from his household.

Subsequent, Henry Graham Greene began to suffer from mental and emotional difficulties. His state of mind began to become untamable, which lead to his parents leaving no choice but to send his to London for psychotherapy; which is the treatment of a mentally or emotional disturbed person through verbal communication. His therapist, Sigmund Freud, worked with Greene every step through his rehabilitation. While in therapy Graham Greene developed his love for literature and began to write poetry. Before he returned back to high school writers Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein became lifelong mentors for him. In 1922, Greene graduated from Berhamsted School, which was a school that ranged from ages three to eighteen. He later went on to Oxford University’s Balliol Coll...

... middle of paper ...

...ccompanied by an American assistance worker who taught him about finding a "third force in Vietnam”.

Gradually, he produced a series of works that received both praise and criticism. He was mentioned for the “Nobel Prize” for Literature but never won the honor. Still, many other awards were given to him, including the “Companion of Honor” award by Queen Elizabeth in 1966, and in 1986 he received a much higher honor, “the Order of Merit.”

In 1990, Greene was struck with a vague blood disease, which weakened him so much that he moved from his home in the South of France to Vevey, Switzerland, to be closer to his daughter. He stayed until the beginning of spring, and then died on April 3, 1991, in La Povidence Hospital in Vevey, Switzerland.

Works Cited

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Greene-Graham.html#b

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Greene

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