A Study Of Survival Theme In Forster's Short Stories From The Perspective Of Existentialism

Edward Morgan Forster is a famous British writer in the 20 th century.He wrote six novels in his life,which attracted great attention from the academia.In addition,he wrote many short stories,which were later incorporated into E.M.Forster Collected Short Stories in 1947,with a total of twelve short stories.Although these short stories were written before World War I,Forster was fairly forward-looking that existentialism was profoundly reflected in his short stories.Forster had a strong sense of compassion,focusing on the survival of vulnerable indiv iduals and special groups,hoping to give spiritual comfort to the weak and to explain how to survive to the readers in distress.This thesis systematically analyses the embodiment of existentialism in Forster 's short stories from three aspects: survival background,survival connection and survival significance.The thesis includes five chapters.The first chapter is introduction,which introduces Forster's life,his short stories,the research status at home and abroad and key views of existentialism.The second chapter expounds the absurd and painful survival background of the protagonists in Forster's short stories using the view that “the world is absurd and life is anguished” in existentialism.Contingency of former fate,absurdity of post-fate;anguish of not being understood,anguish of life pursuit are common problems faced by characters in Forster's short stories.The third chapter analyses the right and wrong demonstrations of human connection in Forster's short stories systematically using the “I and you” relationship and the “I and it” relationship in existentialism.Friendship across different classes,tolerance to different thoughts;conflicts among different classes,ruthlessness to different thoughts show the right and wrong survival connection among characters in short stories respectively.The fourth chapter discusses the characters' awakening of consciousness and their processes of making free choices in short stories using the view that “existence precedes essence” and the view of free choices in existentialism,showing Forster's intention to encourage readers to pursue survival significance.In Forster's short stories,some characters' consciousness is awakened after they experience the meaninglessness of emptiness,while others' consciousness is awakened after they realize their unique soul essence.After awakening,they realize their existence of themselves,then they begin to define themselves,create themselves,and make choices f or the true meaning of life in their own opinions or for spiritual freedom,also they take responsibility for their own choices.The fifth chapter is conclusion,which points out the significance of studying the survival theme in Forster's short stories from the perspective of existentialism.The academia at home and abroad pays great attention to Forster's novels,but systematic research on his short stories is obviously less than the former.It is hoped that this thesis can provide a new train of thought for the study of Forster's short stories.