An Analysis of Symbolism in A Passage t India 英语专业毕业论文.doc

An Analysis of Symbolism in A Passage to India 　　Abstract: E. M. Forster is a very famous traditional novelist, who is good at using symbolism to interpret the themes in his novels. At the beginning of this essay, the author briefly introduces Forster’s life story, and then analyzes the use of symbols in his masterpiece A Passage to India. 　　Key words: symbolism; friendship; A Passage to India 　　1 Introduction 　　Edward Morgan Forster is a realistic, traditional novelist in English literature. He was born in London in 1879, the son of an architect. He was educated at Tongridge School and later at King’s College, Cambridge, where he enjoyed the free academic atmosphere there. He was particularly interested in the Cambridge philosopher, G. E. Moore’s idea of true friendship in a very stuffy and hypocritical world. 　　Forster began his career by working as a journalist after his graduation. He visited Greece and stayed for a time in Italy. Both Greek mythology and Italian Renaissance art gave him much inspiration. And most of his work is concerned with ways of discovering a quality in personal relationship amid the complexities and distortions of modern life. And he also emphasized the importance of harmony between spiritual life and material civilization and the need of mutual understanding in human relationships, which was very well presented in his novels. In 1912 and 1922, Forster visited India twice, and out of his personal experience of the two trips, he wrote his last and best novel A Passage to India. 　　2 The Content of A Passage to India 　　In A Passage to India, Forster takes the relations between the Englishmen and the Indians in India in the early 1920s as a background, tells us a story about an Indian doctor’s being accused falsely of insulting an Englishwoman, and explores the possibilities of establishing true friendship between Englishmen and Indians under the British colonialist rule. The story develops mainly around the relations of Aziz, a Muslin