Exploring The Best Self

Born at 1970 s,E.M.Forster began to write at the early 20 th as an Edwardian writer.The UK,at the turn of century,has met its economic prosperity after the Industrial Revolution.Nevertheless,there appeared some social issues in this nation.At this moment,Forster sensibly noticed the social mass as well as their dilemma.Forster,in his whole life,has written six novels among which the first four novels Where Angels Fear to Tread,The Longest Journey,A Rome with a View and Howards End all disclose the inner social problems of the Britain at that time,and meanwhile the growth and development of the middle class,the main force of their country,under such a background.This paper chooses the three novels Where Angels Fear to Tread,The Longest Journey and Howards End to explore Forster’s literal thought that is his consideration about the British cultural crisis.Ultimately,Forster pinned his hope on “the best self” to against the cultural crisis.According to Matthew Arnold,Hebraism and Hellenism are two crucial contributions to the best self.Hebraism regards moral conscience as the unum necessarium(110)to achieve one’s salvation or perfection,which in fact is a kind of incomplete perfection.Then Hellenism stresses to see things as they are and to get light and sweetness.Based on these two points,this paper,by focusing on his three novels Where Angels Fear to Tread,The Longest Journey and Howards End,argues that in his life-long writing career,Forster,influenced by Matthew Arnold,at the moment of cultural crisis,was primarily concerned with the issue of rebuilding the best self,first,by tracing back to and improving Hebraism,second,by Hellenism,and finally by fusing the two Hs together against British social dilemma.This paper consists of four parts.The introduction includes the influence of Forster’s life experience to his writing,the literature review of Forster’s works as well as a brief introduction of Matthew Arnold’s theory of cultural critique andtherefore puts forward the significance of this thesis.Chapter one exposes how Englishman take the strictness of conscience of Hebraism as the unum necessarium and regard it as the way to salvation or perfection in Forster’s early novel Where Angels Fear to Tread.This chapter explores Foster’s criticism towards this kind of incomplete perfection,and effort to achieve individual perfection through the improved Hebraism.Chapter two analyzes characters’ pursuit of Hellenism to shape a better man in The Longest Journey,and chapter three discusses Forster’s attempt to combine characters of Hebraism with those of Hellenism to cultivate the best self in Howards End.In the end,it gets a conclusion that at the moment of cultural crisis,Forster hoped to return to the two Hs to get the best self.