E. M Forster - Notes on an EnglishMan PDF

Preview

Summary

Download E. M Forster - Notes on an EnglishMan PDF

Description

Modern Prose

Assignment. No. 1: Thematic Analysis of “Notes on an English man” and “A passage to India”

Submitted by: Group 1 Hafsa Usmani Syeda Marium Zara Samia Inam Shanzay Zafran Aroma Sardar Tayyaba Zainab

Submitted to: Ma’am Afshan Abbass.

Date: 12th October, 2019.

!

1

Introduction

2

Style of E. M Forster

3

Tracing theme of “Suppression and Expression of emotions” in “Notes on an English man” and “A passage to India.” 7

Conclusion

12

References

13

!

2

Introduction: This assignment focuses on two texts; “Notes on an English Man” and “A passage to India” written by E. M Forster. The theme of “suppression and expression of emotion” has been traced in both of the texts. The manner in which Forster has associated expression of emotions with Orient whereas Suppression of emotions with Occident has been discussed and analysed. Moreover, the validity of this claim has also been probed. Furthermore, literary and linguistic aspects of both of the texts have been scrutinized as well i.e. theme, style, symbolism. The literary and linguistic similarities as well as differences between of the texts have been highlighted.

!

3

Foster’s narrative style is straight forward; events follow one another in a logical order. Structurally, his sentence style is also relatively uncomplicated and he reproduces accurately the terms of human conversation; his handling of the idiom of the English - speaking Indian is especially remarkable. However, Forster’s rhetorical style is far from unsubtle. His descriptions of the landscape, however unattractive it may be, frequently have a poetic rhythm. He makes lavish use of both satire and irony. Satire is especially biting in his treatment of the English colonials, but he is also capable of gentle humour. The style of a man decides the nature of the man. Forster in his essays comes to us as a good stylist. His prose is racy because he starts with an argument and links it with various aspects of life. His prose is simple, easy and direct. The predominant quality of his prose style is its fidelity to the truth of life. It also resorts to deliberate irony. It is sometimes metaphorical and highly poetic. Forster in his essay “Notes on English character uses the first person pronoun to talk in a relaxed, chatty, conversational informal manner.

The informal style is a suitable vehicle for communicating the whimsical views. Forster holds with regard to English character. The style becomes conversational with his use of proverbs such as “Let the cat out of the bag”; “get fire out of ice” and suggestive such as “bottle up emotions, weight out of proportion to its number”. There are words such as “buck up”, ‘make a fuse about’ and striking similes such as ‘measuring emotions like potatoes’ slopping them about like water from the pail, as various as the sound of the sea etc. We also observe role shifting – He says English nervous system is well equipped for meeting a physical emergency. It acts promptly and feels slowly. Such a combination he reiterates, is fruitful and one who possesses it is brave. This shift of attitude is evident in the arguments he makes such as “If the English nature is cold, how it is that it has produced a great literature and a literature that is particularly great in poetry”. Forster accepts the generally held views about English character;

!

4

insularity, shallowness and smugness. He even extends reasons for such views. He accounts for the dominant role played by the middle classes, he attacks the English public school system for the kind of unrealistic education it gives. In fourth paragraph when he says “for it is not that the Englishman cannot feel – it is that he is afraid to feel”.

The rest of the essay is a discussion on the unfeeling nature of Englishmen. In “A Passage to India”, he takes a sharp critique of the British class system and takes it on an international scale, embracing racial issues while he is at it. “A Passage to India” often considered to be Forster’s finest novel is told through a third person omniscient point of view. It creates a greater opportunity to connect with the characters on an emotional level. EM Forster’s writing in “A Passage to India” is full of literary devices. The narration abounds with similes, metaphors personification and symbolism. The vocabulary in Forster’s best known work is sometimes highly sophisticated. Other times, the vocabulary, though old fashioned is easy to understand. Because of the liberal peppering of high level vocabulary, Forester is difficult to understand. Forester style in overall, fairly typical of the time period in which he wrote. He used some elements of his style unusually well though, and through his narrative voice use of literary devices, descriptions, vocabulary and theme, he communicates the basic ideas of human nature he was most concerned with.

Moving on to the comparison of the two texts of Forster i.e. his novel A Passage to India and his essay, Notes on the English Character, let us focus on the symbolism now. Symbolism is one of the literary devices that is used to infuse objects with a certain hidden meaning that is different from their surface meaning. Writers also use other literary devices, such as metaphor and simile which help in the development of symbolism. In both literary texts, Forster has used

!

5

a lot of symbolism to shift the attention of his readers to the significant ideas. Let us discover the use of symbolism and its significance in the essay first. In his essay, we can see the use of metaphors which are appealing to our senses. He uses metaphor to prove his statement that Englishmen has “An undeveloped heart—not a cold one”. Forster compared the English character with a sea; the depths and mysteries of a sea are the symbol of English character’s romantic and sensitive nature. and English sensitivity. Moreover, the fishes in the peaceful sea symbolizes the sentiments of English character that are not easily expressed. Forster's uses similes as well, to further incorporate the deeper meanings to his text. For instance, “measuring emotions like potatoes”, “slopping them about like water from the pail”, “as various as the sound of the sea”. Consequently, the illustrative metaphors and similes used by Forster in his essay, explains the concealed complexity and sensitive nature of Englishmen.

Moving on to the novel, we can see the similar adaption of the symbols by Forster in his novel too. The symbols that Forster uses in his novel are linked to the main idea of the novel. For instance, the Marabar Caves are linked to the core aspect of the novel, i.e. the emptiness of men’s action. The caves on the surface level seems an ordinary place for a picnic plans, but if we pay more attention, we can see the significance of these caves in the novel. The Marabar Caves presents an ancient idea of the Hinduism that is of universal oneness. The caves are presented as domelike and dark, which signifies the mystery. Inside these caves any sound that is made is condensed to an echo which sounds like “boom.” “Boum” is the sound as far as the human alphabet can express it, or “bou-oum,” or “ou-boum” – utterly dul.” (Part 2, Chapter 14). By using this symbol, Forster represents the idea of hollowness behind all human action. Thus, in both of the texts, Forster uses various figures of speech to give additional meaning to his work. His use of symbolism, metaphor, and simile gives deep meanings to his text and helps his readers to understand his writings from a different perspective.

!

6

Moreover, if we further dig into this comparison between both texts, we can see the difference in narration. Focusing on the essay first, we can see that Forster's uses the first-person pronoun for example ‘I’, ‘us’ and ‘we’ and reflective pronoun for example ‘themselves’. First-person point of view simply means that writer uses the pronoun “I” that refer to himself in the text. For instance, “I happened to feel deeply” and “I began by scolding my friend”. Since Forster always try to include some moral teaching in his writing, therefore we can see the frequent use of inclusive pronouns, as the message the he is delivering is intended to be universal and for the whole society. By using exclusive pronouns, he is including everyone as a part of the idea that he is presenting, thus making the text more explicit. By using first-person pronoun, Forster maintains a calm and friendly tone. He presented his ideas in a conversational manner. By adapting this informal style, he can communicate his unusual views about the English character without the fear of generating any hate in the heart if readers for himself.

However, in Forster’s novel, we can see the use of third person narration. The narrator uses the third person point of view to give a more detailed account of the events. This narration also helps the writer to explain the characters' mind-set and social background with ease. The use of pronouns in the novel is based on the binary between the in-group and out-group’s diverse religious belief systems and ideas which is the central idea of the novel. The sense of belongingness is shown by using the pronoun ‘US’ and its alternatives. For instance, Adela Quested and Ronny Heaslop belong to the same community. That’s why Adela used the pronoun “us” while talking to Ronny: “But let us discuss things; it’s all so frightfully important.” On the other hand, for opponents (out-group), pronouns such as ‘THEY’ and its variants, are used. For example, Dr. Aziz talks to Mr. Fielding indifferently about Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore: “Hamidullah liked them in England. Here we never look at them”. It shows the skills of Forster to express ideas of greater worth with a simple change in pronouns.

!

7

Thematic Analysis of E.M. Forster’s “Notes on an English Man” and “A passage to India”. He talks about Mr. Bull as the representative English character. John Bull is a caricature that was first designed by John Arbuthnot in a series of his political satires “The History of John Bull”. In these pamphlets, John Bull is introduced as a typical Englishman, “an honest plaindealing fellow, choleric, bold and of a very inconstant temper” (Arbuthnot). Forster picks at the physical representation of Mr. Bull to illustrate the English man in an ironic way. The national figure of England is Mr. Bull with his top hat, his comfortable clothes, his substantial stomach and his substantial balance at the bank” (Forster, 1). In Forster’s context, the top hat represents the English pride or arrogance, depending on which perspective one decides to view it as. The comfortable clothes represent a comfortable life. This comfortable life is what every middle class Englishman aspires to have. The substantial stomach represents capitalization and consumption. The middle class is the target of English economy and it caters to its needs. The bank balance is proportionate to the stomach. A comfortable life can only be led if the Englishman is earning well enough.

These characteristics of Mr. Bull can be found in the English characters of E.M Forster’s A Passage to India. The English-only places like the Chandra pore club show the English arrogance and comfortable life. The club was most probably built upon the labour of the natives, but it did not matter much to the English residents. They were strict in maintaining principles regarding who could access the club and who could not. We can observe their strict adherence to such rules during the bridge party. The English-man had been thought that the Indians were their subordinates. Thus they may not make associate and socialize with them freely. Thus they garnered a false sense of superiority and arrogance. In the 1984 movie of A Passage India, we see the English-men wearing Top hats just like Mr. Bull. This quintessential English attire thus became more than just a piece of fabric; it represents the English identity. When Forster was

!

8

writing this essay, we know that the subcontinent was still under the British empire. The substantial stomach and bank account came at the expense of products produced in the English colonies. English-men moved to these colonies in order start their own business as the labour was easy and cheap. People like Mr. Fielding, Mr. Turton and Ronny earned money without exerting any effort themselves. They were used to the comfortable lifestyle that their bank accounts provided for them. Aziz’s character can show this English trait in a better light. For the trip to the Mara bar caves, Aziz personally prepares everything. He brings the ration for the trip himself and even prepares the transportation. In contrast, Adela and Mrs. Moore barely had to exert any effort. They were not even complacent about it. They were used to the work getting done for them.

The character of Mr. Bull was often evoked to raise the English integrity and moral during times of crisis. During the war against France, several posters and pamphlets with Mr. Bull were distributed to show the English hostility towards the opposite nation. Mr. Bull in those pamphlets was shown as a patriotic individual who abided by the English ideals. Forster representation of this caricature is ironic. In Forster’s opinion, the characteristics that the English-man takes pride in are not all favourable characteristics. The English-man’s arrogance is a result of ignorance and hostility that it holds against other nations. This shows that the Englishman is restricting its world-view by surrounding themselves in a bubble. In Forster’s defence, by presenting Mr. Bull in such an ironic manner, he hopes that Englishman takes note of his negative traits and works on improving them.

Expression and Suppression of emotions, in term of Englishman have also been reconstructed by Edward Morgan Forster in his essay “Notes on the English Character”. This reconstruction

!

9

can also be seen in his most notable work, A Passage to India. Forster in his literature constantly claims that Englishmen are devoid of emotions. In this essay, Forster’s claim will be supported with reference to his works; “Notes on the English Character”, and how he applied his understanding of English emotions in his own novels, like A Passage to India.

In the essay, “Notes on the English Character”, Forster sees public schools as responsible for the way the English handle their emotions. In Forster’s opinion, public schoolboys “go forth into it [World] with well-developed bodies, fairly developed minds, and undeveloped hearts.” (Forster 5). The public schools consist of “compulsory games, its system of prefects and fagging, its insistence on good form and on esprit de corps, (Forster 4) what it does not consist of is teaching of the heart. This idea is explored in detail in Forster’s novel, A Passage to India. In the novel, the character of Ronny Heaslop is the epitome example of the Englishman that Forster has sketched in his essay. Ronny’s personality sits well with the character sketch that Forster has written in his essay, claiming an Englishman to be “with a smile on his cleanshaven lips, is engaged in admiring himself, and ignoring the rest of mankind.” (Forster 7) Ronny throughout the novel can be seen to care only about himself and his fellow Englishmen because of his “English school mind set”, and believes Indians to be beneath him.

Forster’s focus is on the undeveloped heart. In the essay, he claims that the heart is “undeveloped… not a cold one.” (Forster 5). This reveals that the heart is undeveloped because of its inability to express and even understand one’s own emotions. He combines the inability of expression with suppression of emotions because when the heart is undeveloped, it also leads to the inability to read and react properly to the emotions of others, especially when the others come from a different culture. He shows this through his anecdote in the second note of the essay when Forster’s Indian friend is “plunged in despair” over their separation, while

!

10

Forster shows a nonchalant behaviour and does not understand “what there as to make a fuss about.” (Forster 2) If we compare this idea of undeveloped heart with Forster’s novel, a passage to India, we see a clear distinction of this behaviour in the character of Cyril Fielding after the alleged rape of Adela Quested. His behaviour throughout the novel is very calm and collected as compared to Aziz, the Indian character of the novel, who’s “emotions never seem in proportion to their objects.” (Forster 282). Simultaneously, Fielding is seen to be dealing with his emotions as if they are “a sack of potatoes”. (Forster 282). Through these characters, Forster’s has projected his thoughts regarding the suppression, as well as expression of emotions.

E.M Foster points out materialistic approach of Englishman “He must bottle up his emotions or let them out only on a very special occasion” (Foster 29) they are afraid to express or they simply do not want to risk reacting in an unsuitable manner. So, ideally they suppress their emotions instead of expressing them. Another reason is when a disaster comes; the English instinct is to do what can be done first, and to postpone the feeling as long as possible. Foster quotes an anecdote in his essay involving an unnamed Indian “friend” who compares English approach towards emotions with people of south, who do not “measure out their emotions as if they were potatoes”. (Forster 3) It is because of their materialistic approach. They are calculative about their emotions also and do not use them very often as if they will finish like some material thing e.g. potatoes. Foster interprets it as English consider their emotions finite and do not express them which is wrong and they should express their emotions often. In A passage to Indian, the English character like Ronny, Adela, Moore were cold while Indian characters like Aziz and Bhattacharyya were much more expressive. Ronny and Adela’s relationship was a failure. They behaved very “British-lee”. There were no emotions when they were engaged. They did not even react to their breakup with any emotions as if they were

!

11

heartless. English characters tried to change Indian but their materialistic approach and their attitude destroyed all their efforts because ultimately they belonged to English middle class who is unemotional and materialistic. They suppressed them instead of winning their hearts because of their suppressive attitude which lead to confusion, aggression and chaos.

!

12

Conclusion: In the end, it can be concluded that according to Forster public schools play a huge role in shaping the hearts of British youth, and they are undeveloped. This undeveloped heart then leads to them being very reserved and they do not show emotions for it makes them appear to be weak.

!

13

Work Cited Arbuthnot, John, “Law is a bottomless-pit”. Michigan: University of Michigan Library, 1712. Forster, E.M, A Passage to India, Harcourt, 1924. Storry, Mike and Peter Childs. “British Cultural Identities”. Routledge, 2016....