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1、Guide to Reading,How does E.M. Forster cope with this difficult topic?He narrows down the discussion of the English nation to the male members of the middle classes from the very beginning of his essay and concentrates on this social section.,Guide to reading,What is the English character depicted b
2、y Forster? Forster depicts characters with a gentle irony that reveals the moral and emotional deficiencies of the English upper and middle classes. He feels that middle-class and upper-class Englishmen lack a spontaneous capacity for passion and intuition. He believes that the English character sho
3、uld be improved by the imagination, mysticism, and sensitivity to nature that he has observed not only in other nations, but also in the English lower classes.,The major theme in Forsters novels,All the four novels share a gentle irony that reveals the moral and emotional deficiencies of the English
4、 upper and middle classes. Forters whole literary effort probes this profound pathology of undeveloped hearts.,This was originally given as a talk in India, but later worked up for publication. Usually when somebody gives a talk or writes an essay on a subject, he/she is likely to use words such as
5、“points”, “reflections”, “observations” to present his /her views and opinions.“They are the notes of a student who is trying to get at the truth and would value the assistance of others.” E.M. Forster,How to understand the title?,Part I (paragraph1),The character of the English is essentially middl
6、e class. Forsters opinion is supported by a good historical reason, that is, the middle classes have been the dominant force in Britain since the end of the 18th century. (three aspects: wealth/political power; the rise and organization of the British Empire; the literature of the 19th century),Part
7、 II (paragraph2-3),This part is about the English public school system and its role in character building. disproportionately great influence (unique/ four features: boarding school; sports and games compulsory; prefects and fagging; good form and team spirit) the lasting effect of the public school
8、 education on the middle class English men.,The public school system,In England, the public schools are independnt schools supported by funding through the private sector and through tuition rates. So they are in fact private-run elite schools. Public schools are boys boarding schools and are expens
9、ive; only rich middle class parents can afford to send their children to these schools.,Part III (paragraph4-8),The undeveloped heart of the middle-class Englishmen (his explanation of what he means by an undeveloped heart/ an anecdote that illustrates his point/ Foster criticizes the middle-class E
10、nglishmen for being unemotional, or rather the slowness of the English character, which is related to the undeveloped heart.using himself as an example irony,“I will now descend from that dizzy and somewhat unfamiliar height, and return to my business of notetaking.” (para.8)As the author doesnt app
11、rove of the typical Englishmans behavior regarding emotions, he has no desire to be a representative of the English middle classes, assuming the unfamiliar position of self-importance and looking down on others from a dizzy height. (That put me in a high position of representatives, which makes me d
12、izzy and is unfamiliar to me. Now I will come down from that height and return to my role as your commentator on the characteristics of the Englishmen.),“Their instinct forbade them to throw themselves about in the coach, because it was more likely to tip over if they did.” (para.8)The Englishmen un
13、derstood facts extraordinarily well. They were very practical and by instinct they knew if they threw themselves about in the coach, they would be more likely to cause the coach to lose balance and turn over, thus adding to the danger.,Part IV (paragraph 9-10),A thought-provoking question raised by
14、Forster If the English nature is cold, how is it that it has produced a great literature and a literature that is particularly great in poetry?,“if the English nature is cold, how is it that it has produced a great literature and a literature that is particularly great in poetry?” (para.9)Forster se
15、es a paradox, a contradictory situation here. If the English nature is cold, that is to say, unemotional and unsympathetic, then it is not obvious why this cold nature has produced a great literature and a literature particularly great in poetry, which expresses warm sympathy, romance and imaginatio
16、n.,“The warm sympathy, the romanceor we could not have this outburst of national song.“The nation as a whole” includes English people from all classes, esp. lower working classes. As Forster is critical of the English middle classes, he sees some fine qualities in the English working classes that th
17、e middle classes lack. The author hopes that the working classes will bring some positive elements into the English national character.,Part V (paragraph 11-15),The topic of hypocrisy (a prime charge always brought against the English) In Forsters opinion, the English are not guilty of conscious dec
18、eit but only guilty of unconscious deceit, muddle-headedness.( cite an example from Sense and Sensibility),“And now lets get back to terra firma.” (para.11)“Terra firma” is a Latin term, usually used humorously, meaning solid, dry land as opposed to the sea. Here the author implies that he is throug
19、h with the use of his sea metaphor and now he is returning to the discussion in a non-figurative way, using plain English instead of metaphorical language.,“because it is bounded by the titter and the guffaw.” (para.12),The Englishmen think they have a tolerant and humorous attitude toward criticism
20、. In fact it is not so. Their attitude is limited by uncomfortable laughter, which indicates that beneath the surface of their tolerant humorous attitude they are uneasy. When they try to be humorous and brush aside criticism, they would titter and guffaw. Such uncomfortable laughter is a sign of un
21、easiness.,“with a Bible in one hand, a pistol in the other” (para.12),With an ironic tone, the author is using a figure of speech to express the idea that in building the British Empire the English have resorted to both soft and hard means-religious and military means. The Bible represents religious
22、 activities of spreading the gospel, of encouraging Christian ideas of salvation, and the pistol represents military aggression. (metonymy: the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated.),“muddle”,The word often appears in Forsters writings. It is
23、a word of rich and varied connotations in his fiction that normally signifies some fatal obscuring of inner vision by the falsifying conventions of society. Forster uses the word as an understatement for hypocrisy.,Part VI (paragraph 16-17),Some other charges such as treachery, cruelty and fanaticis
24、m that have been brought against the English as a nation. He does not think these charges are true, though there are exceptions.,Part VII (paragraph18-19),Forster sums up his discussion of the English nature. He points out the English character is incomplete, but emphasizes his view that there is little vice and no real coldness in the Englishman and it is the machinery that is wrong. He concludes his essay by expressing his hope to see changes in the English character and mutual understanding between the nations in a shrinking globe.,