A Study Of "the Other" In E.M. Forster’s Two Novels

E. M. Forster, a novelist, has long been occupying an important position inEnglish literature and even world literature. He is regarded as one of the greatestnovelists in the20thcentury in England, enjoying equal fame with James Joyce, D.H.Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. He is caught between Victorian and Modernist mode ofthinking-as a way of understanding contemporary confusion about his status as awriter and about how to categorize his work. Therefore, not only strong humanisticconcern but also significant realistic meaning can be found in his works. Forsterattaches great value to interpersonal relationship between individuals and relationsbetween human and non-human.“Only connect” is Forster’s whole-life pursuit andwhat he expects from people regardless of their backgrounds, classes, genders ornations. Some possible means to realize such connection are implied literarily.Among all his works, Howards End and A Passage to India are supposed to bethe most influential representatives of him. This thesis intends to deal with these twoworks from the angle of “the Other”. By studying the representations of “the Other”,this thesis tries to interpret these works mainly through binary oppositions to revealhow “the Other” are unjustly treated, how unbalanced the society is and how fragilethe human relationships are. Therefore, we are able to further explore the root of “theOther”; more significantly, to appreciate the instructive inspiration of “Only connect”motif connoted by Forster. Since “the Other” still keep existing nowadays, guided bysuch illumination, it is of high realistic significance that we are not only capable ofdetecting possible solutions in his literal works but also can meditate on how to applythose approaches to solve practical problems in modern society.The thesis consists of five parts. Chapter One offers a brief survey of E.M.Forster and his two representatives: Howards End and A Passage to India. Earlierresearches by other scholars on these two novels are also included in this part. Besides, “the Other” is a keyword in Western literary criticism. Many philosophers and criticshave made conceptual illustration about it. Thus, Chapter One also aims atintroducing the philosophical origin and development of “the Other”.Chapter Two mainly deals with the representations of “the Other” in HowardsEnd involving the poor other, the feminine other and the nature other.Chapter Three makes a close-up study of “the Other” in A Passage to India fromthe following aspects: the colonized India, Indians as “the Other”, religious other andfeminine other.In view of roots for such phenomenon, Chapter Four excavates potential bridgeconnoted by Forster-“Only connect” which associates the thesis with Forsteriantheme and tentatively figures out possible solutions both in Howards End and APassage to India.The last part serves as the conclusion to summarize the whole thesis analyzedabove to endow us with better understanding of Forsterian theme and its illuminatingimpact so far.