Publication Date

2014

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

May, Brian, 1959-

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of English

LCSH

Forster; E. M. (Edward Morgan); 1879-1970--Criticism and interpretation; English literature

Abstract

By taking a close look at each of E.M. Forster's novels, readers can learn that he, like other authors, appears to be telling the same story over and over again. It is the story of the human desire to connect, even if it means having to adjust that desire to social reality. In each of his novels, he creates characters who struggle through a series of events and complications to reconcile their unique identities with the norms of society, the purpose being to attain significant relationship. But in addition to exploring this theme of authentic connection in the face of countervailing pressures, Forster is also exploring the idea of place and the difference it makes. In all of the novels, place is significant in bringing about different opportunities for connection: Italy in Where Angels Fear to Tread and A Room with a View; pastoral England in The Longest Journey and Howards End; the "greenwood" in Maurice ; and India, his most exotic location, in A Passage to India. In this thesis I emphasize the essential element of place in Forster's characters' quests to develop their hearts and connect.

Comments

Advisors: Brian May.||Committee members: John Schaeffer; Mark Van Wienen.

Extent

94 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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