View Of Nature In A Passage To India

Edward Morgan Forster was one of the most celebrated British novelists in the 20 th century.His works,widely appreciated worldwide,feature abundant descriptions of nature and insightful reflections on the relationship between man and nature.A range of studies across the world on Forster and his works have focused on the connection between man and nature,between human beings,between human inner and outer world.The three aspects being interdependent,the study on the link between man and nature in Foster?s works,compared with those on the other two relationships,seems unfortunately insufficient.This thesis intends to review the bond between man and nature in Forster?s major work A Passage to India from the perspective of eco-criticism to reveal Forster?s view of nature and analyze his concept of facilitating and furthering the connection between man and nature.The Introduction involves a critical survey of various academic research on the relationship between man and nature in Forster?s works,the framework of the eco-centrism theory adopted,the thesis statement as well as the research methods applied for the paper.The main body of the thesis is divided into three parts,where the three stages of Forster?s view of nature in A Passage to India are analyzed in great detail.The first part reveals man?s desire to embrace nature in the work.Human beings,exposed to nature are constantly impacted by the latter,evoking in them tremendous curiosity and awe for nature.And the celebration of nature in religions,cultures,and literary works consolidate the link between human and nature.The second part analyzes the conflict between man and nature presented in the novel,which ultimately results in man?s withdrawal from the close tie with nature.The advancement of science and technology allows mankind to transform the world,and consequently,to lose respect for nature.However,when nature releases its mystical power,man?s panic is provoked,which leads them to retreat from nature.The third part illustrates the compromise between man and nature,and the determination of mankind to return to nature.Having gone through the conflict with nature,mankind gains a deeper understanding of nature and learns to seek harmony with nature.In brief,this thesis attempts to delve into the three phases in the relationship between man and nature in A Passage to India to demonstrate the evolution of Forster?s view of nature in this novel.Plenty of studies on Forster?s works tend to focus on the conflict between man and nature while neglecting the return of man to nature.As a matter of fact,the confrontation between man and nature in A Passage to India can be seen as that between eco-centrism and anthropocentrism,and man?s determination to return to nature embodies the pursuit of the re-enchantment of nature.Eco-centrism suggests man?s respect for nature while the re-enchantment of nature aims to pursue the harmony between man and nature,from which Forster?s profound concern for nature and advocacy of the interaction between nature and mankind is distinctively evident.Though living in the colonial society,Forster did not ignore the changes in the bond between man and nature,nor did he neglect the unfairness of human society.What he has advocated is the harmonious coexistence of nature,human society,and man himself,which is in line with the notion of the re-enchantment of nature.