Public School Mentality in Howard's End and Passage to India
The public-school system remains unique because it was created by the Anglo-Saxon middle classes - how perfectly it expresses their character - with its boarding houses, its compulsory games, its system of prefects and fagging, its insistence on good form and on esprit de corps -
(E.M. Forster, 'Notes on the English Character', 1936.)
Forster perceived the public-school system to be at the centre of the English middle-classes, defining their set of core values and moulding their behaviour. He was particularly intrigued by the notion of emotional repression being indoctrinated into public-school pupils, and the effects of this 'stiff upper lip' mentality is keenly considered in both Howards End and A Passage to India. While several of his male protagonists unquestionably display solidity and efficiency, their lack of imagination and inclination towards hypocrisy inevitably undermine any potentially positive characteristics. Their personal relationships with others are consequently affected, and in A Passage to India the failure of Anglo-Saxon relations is significantly contributed to by the small-minded selfishness of the English. Forster's skilful use of contrast means that those removed from the public-school mentality, such as the colourful characters of Leonard Bast and Aziz, can serve to expose its flaws.
The extreme importance of maintaining an unruffled sense of composure, or 'good form' in all situations, even if done in an illusory manner, is an element of public-school mentality much explored by Forster. Margaret Schlegel is subjected to this when travelling in a train with the Fussells, and somewhat bemusedly notes how they raised windows for som...
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...ring will inherit Howard's End is perhaps a way for Forster to applaud his emotional maturity: in contrast, Henry reaches a dead end with no prospects.
The fact that Forster is clearly opposed to the public-school system and its values is responsible for much of the effectiveness of his writing, especially in Howards End and A Passage to India. His rigorous scepticism of rigid, middle-class behaviour leads to particularly vivid characterisation, and enhances the exciting tension prevalent in both novels. While he is hesitant in explicitly condemning public-school mentality - which is, incidentally, never clearly defined by Forster - his sly observations and cunning implications regarding the subject are significant. Even if one is reluctant to draw firm conclusions about his viewpoint, there can be no denying that it is a powerful vehicle for Forster's wry wit.
In The Crucible, the main struggle of all women is to be a perfect Puritan, wife, or friend, while the men struggle to uphold their reputations without sullying anyone else’s. Elizabeth Proctor is a prime example of a Puritan woman who strives to be the perfect wife. She demonstrates this by cooking for her husband and putting effort into cooking for him. When he compliments her food, she blushes, which exemplifies her desire to please him and to be a good wife for him. Elizabeth also forgives John for having an affair with Abigail. Even though John accuses her of judging him for his affair, Elizabeth maintains that she does not judge him for those actions. When he continues to claim that she has not and will not forgive him, she says, “I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery” (Miller 137). By saying this to John, she is telling him that she sins too and that she has things other than his sins to worry about. She appears to be hurt by his blame and lack of trust in her. John
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws – mendacity, lust, and arrogance – that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts. Driven by lust, Abigail was able to lie to the Salem community in hopes of covering her and her friends’ deeds and gaining the attention of John Proctor. Her arrogance enabled her t0 advance her deceit.
During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.
Within the walls of our educational system lie many adverse problems. Is there a solution to such problems? If so, what is the solution? As we take a look at two different essays by two different authors’ John Gatto and Alfie Kohn, both highlight what’s wrong within our educational system in today’s society. As John Gatto explores the concept if schools are really as necessary as they’re made out to be; Alfie Kohn analyzes the non-importance of letter grades within our schools. Although both essays are fairly different, they still pose some similarities in relation to the educational system in today’s society.
Julian Nava was one of the people who fought to end IQ testing. He believed that students that did not get high IQ scores still had the potential to be something greater than a factory worker.
Born on June 25, 1903 to parents Richard Walmesley Blair and Ida Mabel, “George Orwell” was born Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, Bengal, India (Merriman, “George Orwell”). Orwell referred to his own family as a member of the “lower – upper – middle class” in his 1933 book The Road to Wigan Pier; this definition means that though his family was a literal member of the middle class, their atmosphere was that of “impoverished snobbery”(Merriman; “George Orwell”, Biography.com). The class Blair had been born into was called by the Indians “sahibs” (“George Orwell”, Biography.com). The year after his birth, Blair moved with his mother back to England, where he grew up with sisters Marjorie and later Avril until his father’s return in 1912 (Merriman, “George Orwell”). He began his education at age five at an Anglican parish school in Henley – on – Thomas; he started at the St. Cyprian school in Sussex two years later, at the age of 7 years (Merriman, “George Orwell”). The common use of corporal punishment throughout schools in England in the time period leads to the belief that Blair, subjected to this abuse of power, may have come to despise and resent the exercising of authority (Merriman, “George Orwell”). His first work, published while Blair was studying at the St. Cyprian sc...
In the late nineteenth century many European, and especially British, authors, play writes and poets wrote about the inadequacies of the upper class. Often times the author will not blatantly express his feelings, but rather he will hide them behind the plot or characters in his story. In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde mocks the values of the upper class. By fully exaggerating the flaws of the upper class, Wilde succeeds in expressing his beliefs that men and women of the upper class are shallow, foolish, and have no respectable values.
The novel, Great Expectations, deals with the concepts of a ‘true gentleman’; where the Victorian idea, which is based upon birth, wealth, social status and apparel, contrasts to Dickens’ portrayal of a gentleman who is a person of kindness, humility and generosity. Dickens upbringing and early life allows him to understand the position of the poor due to their humble upbringing, which keeps them in the lower social class. His didactic message, what it is to be a true gentleman, is reinforced by the bildungsroman style of the novel.
Educators attempt to change that system to make it better, but their change was not that great as an example for the world. Also, did that change qualify education systems to compete with other systems or not? Some examples and reasons have made me agree with some of the points from Gatto’s and Edmunson’s and disagree with them. John Taylor Gatto, in his essay “Against School: How Public Education Cripples our Kids, and why,” argues that the contemporary purpose of education in public schools is to produce “harmless electorate,” “a servile labor force,” and “mindless consumers” (28). According to Gatto, he is blaming public schools for claiming that the purpose of education is to shape students to certain expectations and habits without their interests.
While watching this movie I noticed many social psychology concepts throughout. I have never paid attention to these concepts when watching the movie before, so it was interesting to pay close attention and see how many came up. The movie displays foot-in-the door technique, social facilitation, deindividuation, ingroup, scapegoat theory, among many others. Being a very real and honest movie, it is easy to understand why so many social psychology concepts are present. Our textbook defines social psychology to be, “the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior, feelings and thought in social situation” (Baron & Branscombe, 2012). There are many strong characters within the movie, and they display these concepts.
In sociological terms, Ben is a classic representative of the old, 19th century middle class, while Willy represents the new, dependent, salaried, pathetically other-directed middle class. Ben’s character is clearly inner-directed… While Willy stresses the importance of personality, of being ‘well-liked’ and acceptable to the world, of pleasing others, while insisting on proper form, dress, manner, and style, Ben ignores all of this. (Martin 56)
An important lesson that has been learned throughout life and the beginning of time is to respect the individual’s content and not their image. It is shown throughout George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, that different people can be brought together in the same circumstance, being a heavy rain shower in London, but distance themselves so effusively because of outer appearances. The situation between the nonintellectual flower-girl and the sophisticated Pickering, Higgins, and the Mother-daughter is drawn out over the judgment of her poor speech and her value as a person as she constantly defends herself against their prejudice. Shaw uses Pygmalion to show how language shallowly reflects the importance of social classes within the Victorian era through the portrayal of characters, their conflicts, and transformation in the first act of the play.
...y a set of expectations and values that are established on mannerisms and conduct challenged by Elizabeth. From this novel, it is evident that the author wrote it with awareness of the class issues that affect different societies. Her annotations on the fixed social structure are important in giving a solution to the current social issues; that even the class distinctions and restrictions can be negotiated when an individual turns down bogus first impression s.
Doing the weekly readings and watching the videos, my mind exploded with possibilities for change - not unlike Raphael’s “brain popp[ing] open” (Senge, 2012, p. 64). Senge brings to our attention that schools were organised due to the necessity of the industrial age. However he also states that it’s time to move on from this out-dated mode, as i...
		Many critics are split on E. M. Forster's writings, although most things written are positive and they all seem to agree on the same things. His use of characters and their development and his story lines all seem to be the same and have the same theme. All the characters in his books seem to contain the same elements. They are exempt from poverty, hunger, lust, and hate. They seem to have almost perfect characteristics and are never poor. None of his characters are portrayed in a relation to society; and all must choose between good and evil. ( XXXXX, #2). These characters seem less significant in themselves and more in an allegorical aspect that varies in complexity. XXXXX says,