On The Theme Of Rootlessness In The Longest Journey

Edward Morgan Forster is the famous liberalist and excellent novelist in England of the20thcentury. The Longest Journey is published in1907and is regarded as the mostauto-biographical work of E. M. Forster. It more or less reflects the life experience of Forsterhimself. Through writing the short and tedious life journey of the hero, Rickie Elliot, thenovel opens up the prospect of the ethical disorder in the British society of Edwardian age.The temperament of rootlessness in the characters is running through the development of thenovel, which summaries Forster’s concerns on the anxiety and hesitation of individuals.“Liquid modernity” is the portrait of modern society which is put forward by ZygmuntBauman. It explains the discontinuity and uncertainty in modern times in which the time andspace are separated. Liquid modernity demonstrates the individuals’ rootlessness, whilerootlessness is the connotation of liquid modernity. Similarities exist between them. Studyingfrom the perspective of rootlessness, and taking the historical background into consideration,we can find that The Longest Journey is of great value for the researchers.Taking three typical characters Rickie, Herbert and Agnes for example, this thesisanalyzes the theme of rootlessness from the aspects of family, work and love. It aims toexplain the anxiety and wandering of individuals in self-identity, morals and feelings. It putsforward three concrete questions: how can the hero Rickie obtain the sense of security andfigure out his own values in the broken family? How is Herbert enslaved by utilitarian workethic? How is Agnes misled by the middle class conventionalism and loses faith in love? Thefirst chapter is mainly to analyze Rickie’s broken family. Rickie’s family members areindifferent to each other. The lack of family love has caused Rickie’s rootlessness; he is notclear about his identity and always suspicious of the reality. The second chapter is to analyzeHerbert’s utilitarian work ethic. Herbert works under the guide of mechanical and utility workprinciples, and he gradually turns into the slave of the education system created by him. Thethird chapter is to depict Agnes’s liquid love. Agnes holds the hypocritical values and shejudges love as an object. Her behaviors express her spiritual void and numbness. Inconclusion, the rootlessness in three persons is analyzed: Rickie is trapped in the moraldilemma because of his broken family environment so that he is uncertain about his identity in the modern world; Herbert is enslaved by his distorted work ethic. Through the analysis ofhis rootlessness, the individuals’ puzzlements on the existence in the modern society are to bediscussed; Agnes’s view of liquid love expresses her confusions in love. Their dilemmasreflect Forster’s criticism on the chaotic ethical order in the society and his humanistic carefor the existence of individual.