Identity In A Room With A View Essay

These lines exchanged by Jane Eyre and Mr. St John perfectly exhibit the differences in their personalities. Jane Eyre is a passionate, emotional person, while Mr. St John comes off as "cold" and un-feeling. These contrasting temperaments make for an intriguing scene when Mr. St John asks for Jane to marry and move to India with him as a missionary's wife. Jane had a strong emotional reaction to Mr. St John's proposal and St John was taken aback when she rejected him, but he did not have a particularly passionate reaction. In the days and weeks to follow, St. John was by no means friendly or warm with Jane, but he was also not outwardly rude to her. All and all, Mr. St John's disposition can be described as "cold," and Jane's emotions, that had a fire-like intensity, led her to reject to St. Johns final proposal.

At first, Lucy is described as a beautiful woman who complains to Mina about how she got three proposals from three different men. “Why can’t they let a girl marry three different men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble? (Stoker 96)“. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone by not accepting their proposals. Likewise, this shows that Lucy is a caring person. Nobody would ever expect her to do any harm to another person. “I suppose that we women are such cowards that we think a man will save us from fears, and we marry them (Stoker 61)”. By saying this, Lucy is accepting her role in society. She is not confident in herself and thinks that she needs a man to protect her in life.

In the novel, Forster builds Lucy to be described as a reserved, naive, outspoken, follow the rules and don’t ask questions type of girl. Lucy appears to have these traits to her family, but deep within she is desperate to break free from the societal expectations placed on her and lead her own life free from judgment from not only the people in her class but most importantly her family. Lucy’s role in society is to be a proper young English lady and abide by the rules that her fellow elites place on her. These rules include marrying someone her family and peers deem fit for not only her but the advancement of both families and learning the acceptable etiquette for women. Wanting to please the social class she is apart of, Lucy sacrifices her own thoughts, interests and even her own personality. Forester demonstrates this by the division in Lucy’s character between “delicate”, which is her dishonesty and being trapped within a persona of

     A Room with a View, by Edward Morgan Forster, presents the story of Lucy Honeychurch, a young woman belonging to English “high society.'; Foster places this young maiden in a state of conflict between the snobbery of her class, the “suitable and traditional'; views and advice offered by various family members and friends, and her true heart’s desire. This conflict “forces Lucy Honeychurch to choose between convention and passion (Bantam Intro-back cover),'; and throws her into a state of internal struggle, as she must sift through the elements of her “social conditioning'; and discern them from her true emotions and desires. Foster develops and utilizes Lucy’s internal struggle as a means of transforming her from

The society is very controlling but also takes the will away from the people. Everyone in the society thinks that the society knows all, but really the society controls all. The characters in

Mrs. Hopewell is a hard working widow who assumes the male role by being the primary care-giver and supporter to her special needs daughter. Hulga, despite her independence streak is determined to make a life on her own; she gives almost a reversed protest against her mother despite the care she receives. Her education does not lead her to live a more successful life, she fails to live up to her mother’s example and expectation that Hulga’s sisters, Glynese and Carramae, have already successfully copied. O’Connor writes that “Glynese, a redhead, was eighteen and had many admirers; Carramae, a blonde, was only fifteen but already married and pregnant” (151).

Although at times the obstacle in her path was so seemingly insurmountable as to make Lucy despondent, she is able to conquer the challenges of social pressure by pursuing her suppressed desires. In a sense, Lucy is a microcosm of England- an extended commentary by Forster (an essayist) on the evolution of England from feudalism to renaissance-era values. As with Lucy, England’s modern lifestyle was greatly influenced by Italian values of freedom and pursuit of basic desires such as love, regardless of the cost. And like Lucy, England struggled to break free of the oppressive weight of its own social hierarchy. But Lucy is not only a placeholder for great countries and races of people- she additionally mimics the journey each person must make from childhood immaturity to adult independence. Forster demonstrates in this 172-page extended allegorical essay that codified oppression as sanctioned by traditional culture will ultimately collapse when set against a determined individual, and via Lucy Honeychurch Emerson imparts a strong warning against blind conformity at the expense of

The bond of female friendship is an important factor in the novel, especially since Eliza finds herself lonely without the companion of a female friend who might understand her plight; however, Eliza does not have a friend who understands her perils. All of the people in her life, with the exception of her mother, find Eliza beneath them. Eliza’s thoughts and actions to some extent and helped the plot of novel to grow in a significant manner. Baker states that “the theme of sisterhood remains prominent with Foster’s work;” however, the so-called “sisterhood” is made up of petty, condemning ladies (Lucy Freeman and Julia Granby) whose idea of friendship revolves about social status and gossip, even concerning their “dear friend” (Foster, 127).

Feed, by M. T. Anderson, is a novel set in a dystopian society where the people have become lazy, uneducated humans who have let the companies control what they do, buy or say. This is presented by the new technology, ‘feed’. The ‘feed’ is a chip inserted into your brain that acts and functions like a regular computer; not only that the ‘feed’ is also connected to all of your necessary motor functions, and if the Feed gets harmed in any way, you will see the effects (ex: Legs not functioning, coma, loss of hearing or sight, etc.) during your day to day activities. For something that is supposed to help a person it seems to have some horrible side effects if broken.

A Room with a View depicts the struggle between societal expectations and independence. This book takes place in two different settings, it opens in Italy where Lucy Honeychurch and her cousin Charlotte Bartlett are vacationing. Lucy is a talented Pianist whose passion can be observed by simply watching her play. Lucy is originally from Windy Corner, England where her family owns much real estate. The Honeychurch’s are rather wealthy, and enjoy the luxuries of upper class lifestyle. Charlotte Bartlett is Lucy’s older, poorer cousin. She has never married, and has very old fashioned views for life and people. For Lucy Italy is a chance to gain independence from her boring life in England. Lucy is a product of Upper Class societal constrictions, and as a woman coming to age she wants to free herself from societal expectations. This feeling is expanded upon when she meets George Emerson. George is a quiet, yet thoughtful person. He is melancholy, and struggles to find meaning in daily life. His father, Mr. Emerson, is a kind, yet misunderstood man. He is seen as rude and loud; however, has a great passion for art and beauty. Lucy’s first encounter with the Emerson’s is at the Bertolini pension where her and her cousin are staying. Charlotte, at dinner, complains about the poor view she has in her room. “‘The Signora had no business to do it… she promised us south rooms with a close view together, instead here

Lucy is with Cecil her fiancé of obligation and George who passionately loves her in the garden. As they are going back to the house, George and Lucy run up ahead of Cecil, and they kiss, Cecil doesn’t even notice. “She led the way up the garden, Cecil following her, George last. She thought a disaster was averted. But when they entered the shrubbery it came. The book, as if it had not worked mischief enough, had been forgotten, and Cecil must go back for it, and George, who loved passionately, must blunder against her in the narrow path. ‘No—‘she gasped, and, for the second time, was kissed by him” It was dangerous to express passion in front of a woman’s fiancé at any time, but particularly in England at this time.

Firstly, Florence Crutchfield is the main character in this novel. She is a twelve year old orphan who is sent to her uncle's mansion to live with her great aunt and uncle, Eugenie and Thomas, and her cousin, James. James is Florence's younger cousin who is a rather delicate child. “After his sister’s death, the boy went into a long decline. (pg.25) Uncle said.” Sophia is the older sister to James, she however is dead. “The girl was in a tragic accident. (pg.6) said Mr. Graybeale, a passenger on the carriage.” Sophia is

Cecil her fiance is overly protective, thus limiting Lucy’s freedoms. He believes that he must “lead women” and “protect them” at all times, which is different than the way Lucy was treated in Italy by men (Pg. 107). Cecil is different from George, with whom she shared a kiss, in that he truly did not love Lucy. Cecil only thought of his relationship to Lucy as a “protector and protected” arrangement as he did not want the “comradeship after which the girl’s soul yearned” (Pg.

After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, her son and successor Edward VII became the reigning monarch, embracing society whilst Victoria had shunned it. Edward became a fashion elitist, influenced by continental Europe’s art and fashions and expressed a great love for travel, thus exposing Britain to various global cultures; this then allowed for a vast change in politics permitting those in society who held no power to become empowered, these included groups such as women and common labourers. The novel centres around one of the groups who were able to gain power, women, and begins in Florence, Italy, where the main protagonists Lucy Honeychurch and Charlotte [Miss] Bartlett, of the upper class, are staying in a pension. The characters Mr. Emerson and his son [of similar age to Lucy] George are also staying in this pension, however these men are of the lower, middle

The first three mornings of the week, my roommate asked me to do a few different things. The first day the task was pretty simple. We are both Math majors, and he asked if he could have my notes for the day because he would be going to Walter Reed for a follow up on his surgery. The second day, he asked me to take his watch because he is not able to stand for prolonged periods of time, and the third day he did not request anything. The tasks that he asked of me were very easy, and I did not have a problem doing them for him. This is partly because he did the same for me last year when I had my knee surgery, but I know he would do anything I asked him to do regardless of what it was. From this, I learned the importance of having a good roommate. I think it is important to have someone that you can live with that you are able to be relaxed with after a stressful day (it also helps having a roommate of the same major so you can share notes). I did not find it hard putting my roommate’s need above my own.