In A Room With A View, E.M. Forster contrasts Florence, Italy with the culture of England (specifically the countryside in Sussex, where the Honeychurch family home is located) and extends the title theme of “having a view” both literally and figuratively. The view represents the decent, beautiful things of the world; humanity amongst peers and strangers, general kindness, lack of petty superiority complexes. Being denied a view, or being without one altogether, serves as a representation of the cosmopolitan bias of the high class, which helps to convey the point that what is said is far better than what is meant. Throughout the book, Forster conveys this parallel in many aspects, but three stand out: manners or rules of civility, the caste system and its impact on behavior, and romantic love. In the opening lines of the book, we find Lucy Honeychurch and her chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett, in a Pensione in Florence. To Charlotte’s surprise, the view from their room was not what they had expected as they wanted to see the River Arno. Subsequently, Charlotte’s disappointment of the view led her to complain to Lucy. While Lucy expressed her dislike of the Signora’s cockney accent, she did however, feel positive about, “…all kinds of other things…just outside” (Forster, 1). Miss Bartlett, seemingly oblivious to the incredible treasures of Florence goes on to complain about the food, their accommodations, and the manners of fellow boarders. The narrator describes Mr. Emerson
In this passage from The Glass Castle the Wall’s family moves into a dinky abused house on 93 Little Hobart St. in Welsh after being kicked out of grandma Erma’s house. The family tries to make the most of the house out of what little they have. The author of this passage wants the reader to understand that you must learn how to make the most out of what little you have either as an individual or as a family in order to prosper. To support this understanding the author uses the writing strategy of point of view to convey this meaning.
Lucy lectures Eliza on her “coquettish” ways and suggests that she be cautious in her attempt to rebel (7). However, Eliza does not heed Lucy’s advice and continues her quest for her ideal husband.
The gulf between the upper class and its servants is explored in the scenes with Merriman and Prism. When Lady Bracknell unexpectedly shows up at Jack's, Merriman coughs discretely to warn the couples of her arrival. One can only imagine his humorous thoughts as he watches the wealthy tiptoe around each other and argue about what should be important. When Lady Bracknell hears the description of Prism and recognizes her as their former nanny, she calls for Miss Prism by shouting "Prism!" without using a title in front of her name. Imperiously, Lady Bracknell divides the servant from the lady of the manor. Wilde's audience would recognize this behavior on the part of the servants and the upper class. The stuffy class distinctions defined the society in which they lived.
Daisy is a Buchanan, a family with enormous hereditary wealth, where Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ashes with an auto mechanic as a husband. Their differences become striking when we compare the first bits of information about them: where they reside. Whilst Daisy's home is described as a 'cheerful red-and-white Georgian colonial mansion'. This house not only connotes to wealth but also hereditary wealth through the premodifier 'Georgian'. The Buchanans couch is compared to an 'anchored balloon', that could be suggesting that wealth 'anchors' security in the society of 1922. Contrastingly, Myrtle's home in the valley of ashes is overlooked b the eyes of T.J Eckleberg. This could be an indication of how capitalism is hampering them as a less than wealthy couple. This idea of the wealthy hampering the poor is reinforced by Carraway ignorance to the way poor people live, implied when he assumes that the 'shadow of a garage must be a blind, and that sumptuous and romantic apartments were concealed overhead'. As he struggles to believe that people live in such conditions. This difference is all more evident when we consider how when Carraway is describing the Buchanans' home he uses colours like 'red', 'white', 'rose' and 'wine'; all of which connote to luxury. Whereas in describing the Wilsons' home, colours like 'whitewashed', 'blond' and 'light blue'. Colours that a very pale and
Grenville further utilises figurative descriptions of topography and character’s demeanours to delineate how people with differing views were often alienated by their societies. The isolation such people were suspected to is clearly evidenced by how Rooke was reluctant to join Gardiner at the window and hence Gardiner was
Next, Foster brilliantly introduces the character of Cecil Vyse, a “medieval'; and high standing Englishman who, while is an acceptable suitor, really only sees Lucy as another pretty possession by his side. Cecil’s most important function ironically enough, is to serve as a “mirror'; for Lucy. For by seeing his snobbish and downright crude mannerisms, Lucy receives a likely image of what she herself could become if she were to marry Cecil for convention and not for passion. Becoming disgusted with Cecil’s behavior, she breaks off her engagement with him, yet still cannot distinguish whether she is doing it because of his crude and snobbish nature or because of her love for George, which she has still yet to admit.
When Catherine resides in Thrushcross Grange, her coarse demeanor is heavily augmented by the values of the upper class. Catherine’s return from a five weeks stay at Thrushcross Grange renders “her manners much improved” and her appearance as a “very dignified person” (Bronte,37). Catherine proves to be a proper, civil woman, when on the Grange, picking up on the well-mannered tendencies of Edgar and
In the novel A Room with a View there are two main settings that not only contrast in location but also in atmosphere. The author, E.M. Forster uses Florence, Italy and Summer Street, England to exaggerate the differences in the main character’s state of mind influenced by the people and places around her. The restricting culture of early 1900 Europe in which the story takes place also plays a role in the varying settings as the author strives to convey his purpose.
Lucy Honeychurch is a dynamic protagonist in A Room with a View and her voyage to Italy drastically changes her perspective about conforming to society. Lucy is from the English middle class, and her family sends her to Italy with her cousin Charlotte for a cultured experience to become more sophisticated and educated. This vacation is irregular; Lucy develops a romantic relationship with George, and she challenges her past judgements of English society. This vacation signifies the beginning of Lucy’s growth as an individual. The title A Room with a View states the progression of Lucy Honeychurch’s accidental journey of introspection and her desire to find independence and escape from English social norms.
Within the novel A Room with a View, E. M. Forster explores the differences between 2 social classes. A young woman of upper class by the name of Lucy Honeychurch has traveled from a luxury estate in England to Italy where she will unlock new characteristics of herself. What Lucy did not know was that on her trip her world would take a complete 180-degree turn towards a perspective that is distinctly different than what she is taught to believe. Italy allows Lucy to meet impactful and influential people, such as the Emersons and Mrs. Lavish, who encourage to explore her mind and question her preconceived notions regarding both her place in society and individual desires for happiness.
A Room with a View by E.D. Forster explores the struggle between the expectations of a conventional lady of the British upper class and pursuing the heart. Miss Lucy Honeychurch must choose between class concerns and personal desires.
Sometimes it can be easier to let others make decisions. People find comfort in letting others decide deadlines or goals. People can find direction in others’ choices for them that they could never have possibly come up for themselves. That having been said, life also requires ownership. A person’s life is full of options and can mean so much more if personal decisions are made within. It certainly is difficult, but the struggle often makes the result all that much sweeter. Such is the case in E.M. Forster’s novel A Room with a View. Throughout the story Lucy is stuck within the rigid, cookie-cutter class system. She finds herself surrounded by people who mindlessly go with expected actions and must walk in step behind all the adults in
The discovery of individuality and following unjust social hierarchies, two dissimilar theme’s that are prominent in E.M Forster’s Room with a view. Lucy Honeychurch, a leading role in the novel, travels to Florence, Italy with her Cousin Charlotte. Their intensions were simple, travel to the beautiful city experience what it has to offer and leave more enlightened by the beauty they experience. However it all changed, the young women were not aware of the life altering events that were to occur during this peculiar yet clarifying week. A week not only to open her her sheltered mind but realize who she was with out the looming vexation of social class. The contrasting views and individualistic becoming of age were
He himself had declared it to be a ‘romantic’ genre along with gothic interests and it being a carrier of Puritan History of England. For the obvious reasons this novel deals with issues concerning the times of mid-1850 wherein Hawthorne has juxtaposed “poverty and riches”, “aristocracy and democracy”, “youth with age”, “greed with unselfishness”, “complex with simple”, “appearance with reality”, “pride with humbleness”, “the isolated with un-isolated” (Dillingham, 59) all these parallels are supported by detailed characterizations of almost all main characters in the text. Hawthorne has provisioned and facilitated his characters with an independent backbone with which they support his themes and carry them on their own shoulders. The text in its romantic narrative fashion has been well-crafted to involve various themes which Nathaniel Hawthorne wished to include in this 1851 published Gothic work. It will not be incorrect to put forth the view that Hawthorne’s The House of Seven Gables is a representative of the era and society of that time. He has accurately projected the concerned subjects of that time and how they used to affect the humans of that period. The juxtapositions too are echoes of the society and mirror the basics of whatever contrived into being the fundamentals of that society. Therefore, the themes of this text are majorly colored by the real world of that period and the
For centuries women have been forced into a role which denied them equal opportunities. Virginia Woolf expresses her frustration on why women were denied privacy in her novel, A Room of One’s Own. Woolf compares the traditional lifestyle tailored made for the opposite sex and the sacrifices that came with it. Women are limited intellectually as to not interfere with their domesticated duties. Even having the same desires for activities and education as men, a women’s place was not allowed in the man’s world.