A Critical Study Of Archetype, Rhythm And Symbol In A Passage To India

Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) is one of the most prominent novelists in the twentieth century English literature. In his long life, Forster wrote only six novels, in which he examined the English upper middle class of the Edwardian society. Forster is a humanist, and, therefore, connection and exploration of human relationships are the central themes of all his six novels.A Passage to India is generally regarded as Forster's best novel as well as a classic in the twentieth century English literature. A Passage to India, which is set in India, discusses connection and human relationships between two different cultures—the Western culture and the Eastern culture.Some scholars and critics call Forster a "modern symbolist" because he has excellently used lots of symbols, archetypes and rhythm in his novels. With them, Forster illustrates his idea of connection and explores human relationships. Forster's masterpiece A Passage to India is a novel full of symbols, rhythm and archetypes, which has been recognized as a major work of the British fiction. The subtle use of the artistic techniques in this novel strengthens the theme and beautifies the narration.This thesis is composed of an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. To understand and appreciate better Forster's novel A Passage to India, this thesis attempts to analyze Forster's use of archetypes, rhythm and symbols by applying Northrop Frye's archetype theories.The first chapter tries to analyze Forster's successful portrayal of the archetypal characters such as Mrs. Moore, Adela and Fielding. Forster uses those archetypal characters to explore the modern society and the alienated relationship between man and man in the modern world.The second chapter discusses the use of rhythm in the novel with the description of the typical wasp image as well as two archetypes of water and fire. Forster loves music, and, therefore, he has designed many symbols and images as rhythm in his novels. The use of the rhythm strengthens the theme, develops the pattern, stimulates imagination, achieves the musical effect and beautifies the narration.The third chapter examines Forster's excellent use of symbols in A Passage to India. It analyzes some major symbols such as the Marabar caves and the echo, the title and the structure, and also discusses some minor and detailed symbols like the punkah wallah, Professor Godbole and his religious songs, as well as the all-controlling sky. Using vivid and lively symbols to display themes is an outstanding feature of Forster's symbolic art.Finally, this thesis draws a conclusion that the subtle use of archetypes, rhythm and symbols has displayed Forster's deep exploration into the human relationships and has revealed his motto "connection".