The desire to shape a docile body based on notions of "discipline," "repression" or "exclusion" always produces an opposite effect--the return of the repressed. For modernist writers who long for intellectual/spiritual/sexual freedom, the Victorian conceptions of the family, education, and religion are abominably oppressive. Reacting against these restrictions, they seek to break taboos and to uncover the dimensions of the repressed and the distorted. In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, we see how the hitherto unchallenged Western imperialism and its "civilizing mission" are unmasked and revealed to be despicably evil and corrupt; in Forster's "The Other Boat," we see how the British imperial norms of order and discipline are exposed to be racist and homophobic; in Woolf's A Room of One's Own, the seemingly neutral history is debunked as misogynist and anti-woman.
In other words, modernism is an age of transgression and boundary-crossings. Transgression entails the exploration of the exclusions and the taboos that both define the modern identity. For this assignment, you have to analyze the taboos and transgressions in Forster's "The Other Boat" and Woolf's A Room of One's Own. Please choose one from the following questions and write an essay of 200-250 words.
1)Look for the articulations of racial and class prejudices in "The Other Boat." How does the Mater's racist bigotry influence her son? How does Forster depict Lionel as a complex character who obeys and internalizes the Mater's teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well?
2)If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
3)In A Room of One's Own, the narrator, remembering a bishop who declared that a woman could never possess the genius of Shakespeare, begins to imagine what would have been the likely biography of Shakespeare's sister had she too been as gifted as her brother. What's the purpose of imagining the possible fate of Judith Shakespeare?
4)In the chapter one of A Room of One's Own, Woolf describes the difference between women's and men's meals. Analyze their differences. What does food have to do with privilege, elitism, and achievement in Woolf's thinking?
5) What are the relations between writing fiction and the concrete conditions of its production? How does "gender" play in them?
50 comments:
(2)If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
E. M. Foster’s The Other Boat gave the best interpretation for freedom. E. M. Foster, who gave birth to The Other Boat, attempted to deliver readers a controversial message that boundaries like race, class, gender and sexuality would be broken once human ran away from conventional constraints of norms. He himself was a homosexual and wrote this story to symbolize his desire to escape and to break the stereotypes. From the conversation and interaction of Lionel, readers could easily understand the affections between them and the affections were homosexual, which was not allowed in that era. In his era, western civilization colonized eastern one. The superiority of white people nibbled the cultures, civilization and territories of the colored races. Therefore the boundary of races formed. However the author tried to express the complicated relation and thoughts of two protagonists and Lionel’s affectionate conflict to suggest how the author’s aspiration for freedom because they were two different races and classes.
At the beginning of the story, I was doubting about the relationship between these two young men because I didn’t believe they were gay. However, as I went on reading this story, my doubt had gradually flown away. But if this was a simple gay story, it might not be so interesting me. The story ended up with an impressive and tensional ending, which was worth thinking if the existences of sexuality and races did matter and what freedom really was.
1)Look for the articulations of racial and class prejudices in "The Other Boat." How does the Mater's racist bigotry influence her son? How does Forster depict Lionel as a complex character who obeys and internalizes the Mater's teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well?
The relationship between Mater and Lionel is complicated. Mater gives Lion an image of the only voice in his family. He esteems her:first hides the connection with Coconut but re-send a letter to confirm this relationship; feel offended when Coconut tries to let him imagine Mater having sex. Although he does complain about her unreason and control, he does feel necessary to be pure and that even though she isn’t around, contacts (filaments) of her are everywhere. Influenced by Mater, Lionel considers acting properly as his direction: he keeps thinking about proper acts, suitable fellows, routine, and that he gets mad when finding out that Coconut has two passports, and despises suggested to bribe the steward. He is also proud of being in a family that “can trace itself back nearly two hundred years”, and he insinuates about blood of Coconut’s; surprised by the way Coconut deal with British officers and makes himself in Lionel’s cabin. Whatever he is influenced by Mater, he also has his way out: keeps things covert. He takes “colour-prejudices” tribal rather than personal. He thinks that on the public, Coconut is meant to sit in a second sitting, and they can stay as close as they want when door is bolt. As personal, he feels the relationship is unusual and takes that as a gaily experience, and that he is willing to wear an oriental pajamas Coconut gives.
Rita-49802026
Question3:
By imagining the fate of Judith, the narrator concluded the reasons why the women, who had the talents in writing, could never possess the genius of Shakespeare in two main reasons: unfairness and poverty. Both Shakespeare and his sister lived in the same family, but they shared totally different resources from their home. Like the author and most women, Judith did not receive education since her parents also invested their fortune in her brother. Also, her only choice was to be chained to marriage. When she ran away from home to pursue the dream of being an actress, the manager in a theatre told her the fact that “no woman could become an actress”. Unfairness leads to Judith’s death because she could not live by herself; that is, poverty did kill her. In fact, most women experienced the unequal and poor situation as Judith. The narrator echoed and embodied her opinion: “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. Even though they were in 20th far from Shakespeare for about three hundred years, women still had been unfairly treated. The narrator looked forward to her audience―the female students of Cambridge, could work for themselves, although they were oppressed by men and society. Because they received higher education than other women, they bore the expectation and hope to improve the environment on their shoulders.
2) If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
E.M Forster kept delivering us the same message about transgression and boundary-crossings. He crossed the gender boundary, because in Forster's "The Other Boat," it described homosexual not heterosexual, because Lion and Coconut were male character. Also, he crossed the class boundary, because Lion came from upper class and he was a typical British gentle man. But Coconut came from street (lower class), and seemed to be a trouble maker. Forster even crossed the race boundary. Because Lion was a white man, but Coconut was not. They loved each other, no matter their race differences. In these points, I think Forster is a pioneer, who challenged every taboo in order to ‘’free’’ himself. The foundation of this novel was unlike any literature works. Simply by reading through "The Other Boat," we could know the conflicts and struggling which was deep buried in Forster’s mind. Indeed, it was very hard for those minority groups to share the equally right as mainstream did, but Forster used his own way to give those people a chance, living happily without enduring any judgmental and harmful morals standard, a chance to be a free person. In this novel, they didn’t have a happy ending, I think; Forster was trying to tell us that the reality still was unfriendly and imperfect to those minority groups, we should make it better.
49802028 (Question2)
I think it suggested that if one’s homosexuality came out of the closet, that person better commit suicide like the ending of the story than live without dignity, because once the public known his sexual tendency, he would be considered as “freak” at his time. The society put too much pressure on gay people made Forster repressed his true feelings, but at the same time, he wanted to break this kind of social rule. Just like Lionel in the story, he also received many pressure from his mother who tried to control her children to “behave properly”. At some point, Lionel wanted to be normal as anybody else, but part of him just couldn’t ignore the fact that he was attracted by men. Therefore, I think Forster was kind of projected himself as Lionel who struggled between “proper behavior” and homosexuality. Foster tried to convey a message that it was very painful and shameful for the public to know one’s homosexuality under that circumstance. Either he would die or live a life without dignity. In addition, I think Forster might hint that if his “big secret” were found out by the public, he would rather kill himself than live on painfully.
1) Look for the articulations of racial and class prejudices in "The Other Boat." How does the Mater's racist bigotry influence her son? How does Forster depict Lionel as a complex character who obeys and internalizes the Mater's teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well?
In “The Other Boat,” Lionel’s mother, Mrs. March is the symbol of repression, discipline and executor of paternity. I think primitive education will construct and internalize one’s thinking, behaviors and belief. In the beginning of the story, we can see the Mater's racist bigotry because she banned her kids to play with Coconut who has brown skin. In addition, we can see Mrs. March’s thought of those different colors people in her racialism and class prejudices words. For instance, “tar-brush” which discriminates against those people with brown color; she also considered that they were “Ruling Race” which means the British reveal her class prejudices. These words and behaviors absolutely influenced Lionel. When Lionel on the boat and had a sexual harassment by Coconut and exiled from the room, he told his friends that he shared his cabin with a “wog,” and also the “tagrag and coloured bobtail”.
The other question, how does Forster depict Lionel as a complex character who obeys and internalizes the Mater's teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well? First, Lionel remembers his mother’s warning but still associated with Coconut even slept with him. Second, when Lionel came up his father who went native, then Coconut asked Lionel that which gender of person did his dad have extramarital relations. Lionel answered female directly and rejected to believe his father may go with a boy. However, Lionel and Coconut was really a homosexual couple. The condition just reveals Lionel’s paradox. Third, Lionel loved Coconut but he couldn’t escape from Mrs. March teaching. In this way, he killed Coconut then suicided to not betray his mom’s teaching and his desire.
1) Lionel’s mother was a classical representation of the so-call “classical” and “pure” British culture that deeply influence on Lionel in a way he did not notice. For example, as for Lionel and his mother, the incident his father went to the east was a scandal. His mother did not want to mention it when this thing happened. Consequently, Lionel also thought that the incident of his father was unspeakable since his childhood. So, when he told this to Cocoanut, he told this like a secret and asked Cocoanut did not tell others. However, Cocoanut, who represented the opposite site of this society, was a sophisticated man. He did not regard this incident as a secret and did not care about it. In fact, Lionel was doing the same thing as his father, but he felt ashamed to his father. So, we can know that he also felt guilty and ashamed to the love affair with Cocoanut in his heart because of the deep-rooted influence made by his mother from childhood. Moreover, when they slept together, he was afraid of being discovered by others. He was angry at Cocoanut because the door was unlocked. I think it was also because of the class prejudice which not only his mother but also the society did not accept. He did not want to be the person being blamed and ashamed at that time. Consequently, when they finished their argument, Lionel went to the deck to seek the group which he thought belonged to him.
Ethan 49902015
(2) If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat", what would that be for you?
What E.M. Foster wanted to say to the readers was quite obvious. He wanted to challenge the world. He wanted to challenge the society. No matter it is about homosexual or racial issues, Foster desired to deliver to the society. What I learned and what I got from "The Other Boat" was courage. The courage of endeavoring after what you want. In the article, Coconut was homosexual and an Indian. At that time, the white looked down on Indians. And the society didn't accept homosexual, the society consider it as going wild. However, Coconut still fight for Lionel, fight for his love. I think the courage in Coconut was admirable. He dared to pursue what he want. To have the courage to pursue what and what you think is right is important. If you aware of something is wrong and you don't stand up for it, nobody will do that for you. Being silence is being compromising. You should take actions to defend for the right things. To defend needs to have courage. This was the message that I receive from the article. I believe this is something that E.M. Forster wants to tell all the readers, too.
1)Lionel’s mother was a classical representation of the so-call “classical” and “pure” British culture that deeply influence on Lionel in a way he did not notice. For example, as for Lionel and his mother, the incident his father went to the east was a scandal. His mother did not want to mention it when this thing happened. Consequently, Lionel also thought that the incident of his father was unspeakable since his childhood. So, when he told this to Cocoanut, he told this like a secret and asked Cocoanut did not tell others. However, Cocoanut, who represented the opposite site of this society, was a sophisticated man. He did not regard this incident as a secret and did not care about it. In fact, Lionel was doing the same thing as his father, but he felt ashamed to his father. So, we can know that he also felt guilty and ashamed to the love affair with Cocoanut in his heart because of the deep-rooted influence made by his mother from childhood. Moreover, when they slept together, he was afraid of being discovered by others. He was angry at Cocoanut because the door was unlocked. I think it was also because of the class prejudice which not only his mother but also the society did not accept. He did not want to be the person being blamed and ashamed at that time. Consequently, when they finished their argument, Lionel went to the deck to seek the group which he thought belonged to him.
1) Lionel’s mother was a classical representation of the so-call “classical” and “pure” British culture that deeply influence on Lionel in a way he did not notice. For example, as for Lionel and his mother, the incident his father went to the east was a scandal. His mother did not want to mention it when this thing happened. Consequently, Lionel also thought that the incident of his father was unspeakable since his childhood. So, when he told this to Cocoanut, he told this like a secret and asked Cocoanut did not tell others. However, Cocoanut, who represented the opposite site of this society, was a sophisticated man. He did not regard this incident as a secret and did not care about it. In fact, Lionel was doing the same thing as his father, but he felt ashamed to his father. So, we can know that he also felt guilty and ashamed to the love affair with Cocoanut in his heart because of the deep-rooted influence made by his mother from childhood. Moreover, when they slept together, he was afraid of being discovered by others. He was angry at Cocoanut because the door was unlocked. I think it was also because of the class prejudice which not only his mother but also the society did not accept. He did not want to be the person being blamed and ashamed at that time. Consequently, when they finished their argument, Lionel went to the deck to seek the group which he thought belonged to him.
49788036 Clare
1)Look for the articulations of racial and class prejudices in "The Other Boat." How does the Mater's racist bigotry influence her son? How does Forster depict Lionel as a complex character who obeys and internalizes the Mater's teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well?
In this article, E. M. Foster talked about heterosexuality, homosexuality, race, class, gender and sexuality. In "The Other Boat," the other boat also means the other world for Lionel. In Lionel’s world, his mother gave him a lot of "traditional concepts." It was like a boundary, Lionel and his sibling must do the proper thing instead the improper thing. Years later, Lionel has become a Captain in the British army, and is known for being a war hero, after he was injured in battle. He met Cocoanut again; Cocoanut waked the deep desire of Lionel. But we can see clearly that Lionel’s struggle between his moral code and the freedom of his heart. Because Lionel knew that this kind of love between him and Cocoanut was a forbidden pleasure. Sexual transgression was a big no-no for Lionel’s mother. I think that Lionel’s mother stands for Lionel’s persona. And Cocoanut stands for Lionel’s shadow. Lionel’s mother influenced her son with racist bigotry. And we can tell that in this article, Lionel’s mother always appeared as voice. When every time Lionel wanted to across the boundary, his mother’s voice would appear in his ear. Mrs. March is the symbol of repression, discipline and executor of paternity in this whole article.
Question3 If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
In the novel, E.M. Forster ‘s concerns are reflected on the protagonists. Lionel represented the character who is from upper class and the symbol of West. From other hand, another character, Coconut, who has dark skin and was viewed as the boy from lower class. Moreover, he was the symbol of East. They have different status. However, when they grown up and met each other again in the boat. Lionel found he loved Coconut by the interactions with him. They loved each other. But there was always a voice, Lionel’s mother, who didn’t like Coconut because he was not pure in her standard. Therefore, Lionel had the complex struggles in his mind. The struggles stood for race, gender, class, and sexuality. Furthermore, these conceptions were what E.M. Forster wanted to discussed about. From the relationship, dialogue and interactions in all the characters, I think E.M. Forster was eager to tell us that there were the taboos in the society and he used this novel to challenge them. In other words, He unceasingly talked about boundaries in our mind. We should cross these boundaries. On the hand, I think that E.M. Forster wrote the novel for not only the society but also himself because we all should break the stubborn rules and have the free mind.
2)If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
I think Forster wanted to tell us that we shouldn’t be afraid to cross the boundary. In “The Other Boat”, Mrs. March was depicted as a classical white people with high self-esteem and discriminated other races. Lionel was taught not to engage with “other races” people and also he was taught to be a “normal” person. I think Forster wanted to use Coconut to encourage those who were afraid to break the traditions or cross the boundary. I think in Forster’s mind he wanted to be Coconut. However, he lived in a very conservative time. It forced him to be a “normal” person just like Lionel. In Forster’s heart, he desired to be free. He wanted to be free from the conservative and traditional jail. Forster used “The Other Boat” to liberate himself. At that time, many people are afraid of being “different” with others. However, what is the standard to measure “normal” and “abnormal”. We don’t have the right to judge a person by those “rules” we made. If we are afraid to make a change or cross the boundary, the society will never improve. Forster successfully used “The Other Boat” to tell us that we shouldn’t be afraid to cross the boundary. Instead, we should follow our mind to chase what we want.
2) If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
I think the big message in “The Other Boat” is love beyond gender, races and class, true love can conquer every thing. In this novel, Lionel is a handsome young man, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders and he is also a Captain in the British army, known for being a war hero. On other hand, Coconut is just a “half-caste”, he is from orient who has mysterious power and fatal enchantment. Moreover, in Lionel’s world he is also has a fiancée, until he meet Coconut on the boat, he begin to liberate his heart and realize that he love Coconut. However, in his mind, he struggles to the relationship between Coconut and himself; it will not be accepted by other people, especially Lionel’s mother. Even though, they die in the end of the story, but death maybe is a way to let them love each other without concern forever.
(2)If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
In Forster's "The Other Boat", I think the idea of confliction of one's own is folded in the text. For Lionel, he loves Cocoanut so much but he still can not conquer the severe restrictions of British hierarchy and racialism. People can not follow their own will to love, to hate or even to live. They are stuck in a system that the society build– a system which is set by rules and principles. If one does not obey what the society asks, he/she will be thrown out form the so-called “ civilization”. Although Lionel loves Cocoanut so strongly and deeply, the control of under the yoke of British rules which he was taught since his childhood is still more powerful than the love toward Cocoanut. The conflictions inside himself finally drove Lionel crazy and made him commit suicide. And for Cocoanut, I think his confliction is raised by Lionel's unsure emotion toward himself. For Lionel always worries about judgments of others, I think this brings Cocoanut a sense of insecurity. He lives in the doubt of whether his lover can abandon the social conventions and rules, and actually love him only. I think it is kind of confliction in Cocoanut's mind which is also bought up by the British civilization.
2)If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
I think the most significant message is quite obviously revealed by E.M. Forster in “The Other Boat.” Forster urged us to challenge this society. In “The Other Boat,” there were two main objections, one is homosexual, and the other one is the racial issue. During that conservative period, it was a crime that Lionel fell in love with Coconut, if Lionel were discovered that he was in a relationship with Coconut, Lionel would be sent to jail, not mentioned that both of them were in the different race and class. In this story, Lionel’s mother continuously brainwashed Lionel, this action made Lionel feel struggle when he got along with Coconut. On the contrary, Coconut was so brave to pursue what he eager for. It can be noticed that in the end of the story, Coconut’s corpse was thrown into the sea, but his corpse against the tide.
In fiction, The Other Boat, is talked about the crossing the boundary of race, class, gender, and sexuality, which is built in Victoria period. In this time, the British Empire had invaded many continents as their colonies. In order to maintain their superiority and social order, they made lots of regulation to force their nations to follow.
The other boat means Lionel and coconut’s childhood’s boat. As children, they can have time playing with each other even though they came from different culture, race and class. When growing up, they suffer from the regulation of social value and position and have difficulty doing everything they want to do. Although they are on the boat which privacy is much more than that in continent, their date is still in the secret time and secret place.
By the way, race, love and gender are given by Gods, everyone own them when they are born, it is our freedom and just like the god’s law. However, the human beings think of themselves as the dominators of the whole life, use their short-sight perspective to make social value to against the God. Like the drama Antigone, those who disobey the nature may cause sadness and bad ending.
At the end of the story, even though Lionel and Coconut are dead, they are happy for their personal willing instead of social value. They actually win the game of breaking the man-made boundary.
The purpose of Virginia Woolf created a fictitious called “Judith” is to compare with the realizable Williams Shakespeare. They born in the same family and both of them are all talented at writing; joy to adventure; full of imaginations and so forth. The only different is that they are totally opposite sex. Just because Judith is a girl, she cannot go to school nor have the chance to see the world as his brother. Due to the fact that lack of the education, even her innateness is higher than everyone in the world, she still cannot have the brilliant result. On the other hand, his brother, William Shakespeare inherits her mother’s inheritance, and goes to school to learn Latin; Ovid or Virgil’s masterpieces; some essential writing skill like logic and grammar. Finally died young and never wrote a word.
So how pity and deplorable Judith is! Just because she is a girl. Virginia Woolf feel confused and angry about this situation and social practice. So at the end of the novel, she encourages all women to rise, and not just wash the dishes or do some housework. By the way, at that period, they have to revolt by themselves. No one will give a hand to them. And Virginia Woolf convinced that someday; gender equality will accomplish. In today’s modern world, her hope is almost achieve!
If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
The inheritance from Victoria’s age emphasizes the importance of the racial, class, and sexuality. However, ideas that the white are superior to any others are challenged by modernist writers. In E. M. Forster’s “The Other boat,” it concerns the order and the disintegration of the sexual orientation as well as racial hierarchies under the control of the British Imperialism. In the beginning of the story, Lionel is playing with his childhood playmate, Coconut. In the description of Mrs. March, Lionel’s mother, Coconut is portrayed as the “touch of the tar-brush,” which indicates racial discrimination. Besides, the racial discrimination can be found on Lionel himself who is influenced by the Mater’s racist bigotry when he finds out that the rooms on the ship are full and that he has to share a room with a “wog.” Next, Mrs. March exhorts boys not to scream but to shout. It means that as British offspring, they should behave themselves. Moreover, the powerful sunlight is hostile to the “Ruling Race.” It reveals that the British are noble and fragile.
As for the sexual taboos, homosexuality is fiercely forbidden. Lionel, a first son of March’s family, has a pressure to take the responsibility to maintain integrity of the family name. At first, he feels confused when Coconut reaches his groin, but he transgresses the sexual boundary after a bottle of champagne. However, their relationship breaks up in an incident that the door is unlocked entire time when they make love. Finally, both they die and the Coconut’s corpse drifts in a direction, “contrary to the prevailing current.” It shows a sign of anti-mainstream.
2)I think in E.M.Forster’s The Other Boat, Forster leaves a message: as a homosexual, struggling between the social values and personal affection, will eventually been submerged by the over-depressed affection. In the story, Lionel keeps struggling between the social values, which presented by his mother, and his affection toward Cocoanut. At first, when Cocoanut touches Lionel’s legs in their cabin, Lionel rejects for Cocoanut’s touch for the so-called “property”. However, after their boat leave away from England, Lionel’s affection can no longer been hidden. He gets the sexual transgression with Cocoanut and falls into his strong affection with Cocoanut. When everything almost goes to perfect, the quarrel which is about the door unbolted break their relationship. Lionel’s fear of the unbolted door is the reflection of the fear of being exposed under the social values. He is afraid that his “improper” relationship with Cocoanut will destroy his reputation. However, he still has the strong affection toward Cocoanut. Under the struggle between the social values and his true feelings, he kills Cocoanut when they are having sexual relationship and commits suicide after the death of Cocoanut.
“The Other Boat” contained homosexual and racial issue. I thought the traditional England was a stuffy and oppressive country. In the story, Lionel was a noble and he was oppressed by his mother. His mother had a narrow mind and thought the white were superior to other races. In that time, homosexual was also not allowable in the society. Therefore, even though Lionel wanted to break the barriers to love Coconut, he was still be restricted by traditional England culture. Lionel was taught to have proper behavior and owned the noble blue blood. In Lionel’s mind he also had the anxiety of crossbreeding. This kind of anxiety came from the education of his mother so that he thought the offspring of his father’s another marriage were half-castes. On the other hand, Coconut was a symbol of freedom. After he was dead, he was still not followed the prevailing trend. He had super power and he had different religion. I thought it was a tragedy in that era. Lionel could not overcome the conflict in his mind so that he killed Coconut and choose committed suicide in the end. If Lionel and Coconut was not lived in that society, maybe their ending would change. It was the oppressive England society killed them.
If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
Actually, it mentions a lot of different issues such as race, gender and class in this story. Lionel who is a traditional blue blood hopes that he can have more freedom and escape from his mother’s control. Indeed, he really acquires it during his journey but he chooses to kill his lover and commit suicide in the end of the story.
After having an argument with Cocoanut, Lionel goes on to the deck. And he sees a colonel and having a short conversation with him. He suddenly finds that no matter how eagerly he hopes to cross the boundary between Cocoanut and him, he must go back to stay with his same race, otherwise, the end of his destiny is extinction. According to Forster background, he has gay tendency but he never admits it because he is afraid that he may be condemned or discriminated by others. So he may want to convey that although you are able to break into the unwritten rules such as heterosexuality and racism to seek for what you really want, you can’t escape from the “racial binding” finally. Because it is the invisible connection, you don’t have the power to change the final fate.
I answer the third question. Women are oppressed and discriminated by men for a long time. Even though the movement of women right is prevailing gradually, it still exist the discrimination in daily life. The example of Judith Shakespeare can represent women in that time or even long ago. Men accustom to forbid and command women what should do or not to do by their invisible power. Women have lived forcefully under man’s control. Even if women only want to live for themselves, there are still many trifles interrupting them. We can see Judith Shakespeare also had talent in writing. However, compare to her brother, Shakespeare, her life was miserable. First, she had no chance to learn something related to writing. Second, she had to get married early that her parents arrange. Third, she was asked to do household duties that made her no free time. Fourth, she committed suicide because there was no space for her to be engaged in writing. I think maybe men are afraid that if women can write freely, they may surpass men and whittle down man's power. In that period, the article alludes that no matter how talented you are, as long as you are a female that you have no right and chance to write your works. Also, it expresses how oppressively that women experience in many sides. But the author wants to tell every woman is Judith Shakespeare is a hope and a soul that will appear in every body yearning for writing recently.
In “The other boat”, I can see the obvious rule that everyone has to be heterosexual. From Lionel’s mother to other persons, they are portrayed to be homophobic. Nobody can listen to Lionel about his struggle between heterosexuality and homosexuality. When Coconut attracted Lionel in the beginning, Lionel felt odd and ran away. He saw his crew and told himself that heterosexuality was correct rule as his mother always inculcated him. After being seduced, Lionel still had sex with Coconut and enjoyed the relationship. It seemed to be a good process for Lionel to accept his sexual orientation. However, there’s something bad happened. Finally, Lionel killed his lover Coconut and committed suicide. There’s no one could understand their mind, especially Lionel. Coco loved Lionel, Lionel also loved him. But Lionel couldn’t admit the relationship for his family’s fame, he could just hide the thought. I think E.M. Forster cast his position on Lionel. He wanted a person to realize him, but it’s a repression time at that period. So he escaped to other country to feel free about his sexual orientation as Lionel chose to go to heaven. On the other hand, Coconut’s converse drift means another transgression. I think that’s what Forster wanted to say.
In “The Other Boat,” Lionel’s mother, Mrs. March, influenced Lionel who became an obedient son and internalized his mother’s teachings but also transgressed her puritanism. Mrs. March was a racist and she strongly believes that the British are the dominant race. When Lionel was a child, Mrs. March informed him not to play around with people of the lower-class. However, Lionel had a cross-bred friend who he played with during that period, and he was called Cocoanut. When Lionel’s mother found out that his son was playing with Cocoanut, she said to the boy “you’re a silly idle useless unmanly little boy”. In this statement, it clearly shows Mrs. March’s idea towards gender, race and social status. On the other hand, Forster, the author, depicts Lionel as a discrepant character. Lionel was the firstborn son and his mother had high expectations on him, and he finally became a successful captain. As the boat was sailing away Britain, his constraints from his mother had also released. So, Lionel fell in love with Cocoanut and had a sexual behavior with him. However, Lionel also showed that he was homophobia when he revealed a scandal about his father, though Lionel himself was crossing over the boundary of gender, race and social status. In addition, after they had an affair, Lionel found the door was unlocked. He then remembered his mother’s voice condemning him that carnality is a sin and he went to his group which belonged to him. In conclusion, Mrs. March was the source of Lionel’s constraints and made him a complex mind at the same time.
Question1:
In "The Other Boat," Lionel’s mother, Mrs. Mater, represents the discipline of old British convention, racial superiority and repression. Everything should be in norms of order and no one can obey the rules. The concept is deeply rooted in Lionel’s mind and always comes as a voice when he tries to cross the boundaries. For instance, in the beginning, Mrs. Mater forbids her son to play with the tar-brush child, Cocoanut, and also blames Cocoanut as an improper and unmanly boy. Moreover, her husband abandons his family and everything in Britain only to spend the rest of his life with the native woman. She is ashamed of this scandal and never mentions her husband. We can see Mrs. Mater’s racial discrimination of different colors people through these incidents clearly.
Internalizing his mother’s teachings, Lionel dare not imagine his mother enjoys the sensation with his father, and he feels sacrilegious and shocked because of the dirty thought. In addition, when Cocoanut asks about his father’s affair with the native, he naturally thinks that it definitely happened with a female instead of a male. These are all affected by her mother’s discipline and repression absolutely. However, while Mrs. Mater truly has a great influence to Lionel, he still can’t deny Cocoanut’s love. His affair with Cocoanut crosses the boundaries of race, class, gender and sexuality. The transgression makes Lionel’s sensual and emotional desires compete with the repression－ the very opposite of his mother’s thoughts.
3)In the passage we can see that Judith is as gifted perhaps as her brother. She receives no education. But she can create for herself when she has free times. Although she is "the apple of her father's eye," her family expects her to conform to a social role that leaves no room for the development of her talent. She writes some in secret. She becomes engaged at a young age. When she begs to be allowed not to marry, she is chastised and beaten by her father. She wants to go into acting. But she meets with rejection and ridicule. She is finally taken up by a theater-manager, becomes pregnant by him, and commits suicide.It is tell us the fact that women simply were not writing literature at that time. Although Judith Shakespeare and Shakespeare also have genius .But genius depends on certain conditions. And that these conditions are at the most basic level. They are material and social. Judith is women so she writing literature is not match the certain conditions. William Shakespeare is a man so he can do the thing that he cans do. The different outcomes of William and Judith Shakespeare serve to dramatize this point.
(Q2)
E. M. Foster tried to give us the massage that people should not be afraid of boundary-crossings and should be brave when it comes to love. In the text, E. M. Foster designed the two main characters Lionel and Coconuts. The former give us the image of white and good social status: the later represented the non Aryans and the low class. Here talked about the boundary-crossings like race and class. Besides, throughout the story, E. M. Foster written down the love between Lionel and Coconut in an extremely exquisite way. He himself as a homosexual tied to deliver the concept the love is great and it was really brave of him to written such a piece of work since in that era homosexual were deemed to be abnormal. And we can see that from his text, he expressed the strong desire to break the stereotypes. He also wanted to tell us that how desperate he wanted to be free. Just like poor Lionel, being constrained by his social status and being white and were being oppressed by the society. However, deep down his mind, there was a heart which wanting to be free. And this indeed gives readers a feeling of sorrow.
Q2:
This story is a self-portrait of Forster, reflecting his agony of seeking understanding, wholeness and love. Lionel, the young army captain, has a spot in society, and much is expected from him by his mother and the society. However; he seeks wholeness and finds it within his lover, Cocoa, who does not possess any of what Lionel has. England (and his conservative mother) is symbolic of the rules of society, as the boat moves farther away, Lionel eventually puts downs his guard against Cocoa and can’t escape the fate of becoming a homosexual. In a historical perspective, Forster’s life did not reflect the violence and turmoil in the story. Though he did engage in a romantic relationship with a man on his journey to Egypt, he had no choice but to hide the affair and avoid being bombarded by the society. The society can be described as a mold; the ones that don’t want to except it or end up differently are abused by the others that end up as the same patterns of dullness. Why can’t one break the rules of society without feeling guilty? The things that restrict us are merely invisible bars that have a price when we cross the boundaries, but the outcome, the feeling of liberation will make it worthwhile.
1)Look for the articulations of racial and class prejudices in "The Other Boat." How does the Mater's racist bigotry influence her son? How does Forster depict Lionel as a complex character who obeys and internalizes the Mater's teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well?
We can see that the Mater’s racist bigotry is clear in the beginning when a man asked her who’s hanging out with her children and in the end of the first part “She told him with unusual heat. ‘You never will play any game properly and…’” In the second part we can see that how the Mater’s racist bigotry influence Lionel and he knows how her mother dislike other races. In the letter Lionel only mentions Cocoanut helps him but not contact. In the third part, the narrator first mentions “pure” after Lionel and Cocoanut had their first sex. “…being hers, they had to be pure.” When Lionel talks about his father, he proudly says “My family—Dad’s, that’s to say—can trace itself back nearly two hundred years, and the Mater’s goes back to the War of the Roses.” It shows that Lionel obeys and internalizes the Mater’s teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well. In the fifth part, the narrator mentions that the Mater is like a voice which influences Lionel strongly. “…she was a voice… He, her first-born, set apart for the redemption of the family name.” Then, “He spat into the sea. He promised her ‘Never again’.” However, when Lionel comes back the cabin, he has sex with Cocoanut again. He transgresses the Mater’s puritanism again and again. Everything about crossbreeding and puritanism makes Lionel feels anxiety. So he kills Cocoanut when they have their last sex.
I choose to answer question 2 If there were a message in "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
When Lionel tells the story which is about his father’s dishonor, Cocoanut asks him “with a girl or with a boy”? Lionel is surprised of this question which annoying him from his homoerotic lover. However, Lionel who is conservatism is crossing the broader of race, class, and sexual which he looks down on.
If I were someone who just hears the conversation, I probably dislike Lionel because of his perception of himself is blind and ridiculous. I prefer not to heeds someone who likes Lionel talks, because I suppose what this person mentions help nothing to me, and I’m trying to improve myself in every aspect.
What I’m trying to say is human makes mistakes, but we need to know and realize the situation of our own. Face the problems, so we can go forward with confident and conscience. Although, it is difficult for people to acknowledge our defeat soon, especially on the public the shame and embarrass disorient our minds. Find ours weakness and take the defeat well. I think that is why an extraordinary person extraordinary. A wise person can be wise person.
What inspire me the most in “The Other Boat” are the problems for Lionel and Coconut to have a stable relationship. The difficulties include their social class and the pressure of being homosexual.
The first point is the social class. Lionel was a merited soldier in a wealthy family. Compared to Lionel, Cocoa was rather poor; he merely worked on the deck. If they did not have quarrel at whether the door was open or not, they were likely to maintain the relationship secretly. However, it was Lionel’s social status that made him be extremely careful about having an affair with a man. This scandal would totally destroy himself as well as his mother, and the March family.
Regarding of homosexuality, on account of the trial of Oscar Wilde, this issue became incredibly sensational. Most European believed either Christianity or Catholicism, and in the Bible being a queer was seriously condemned. I have no idea how many gays or lesbians there were, but I am sure rare of them had the courage to talk about their sexual tendency out loud in the public. Probably only the members in Bloomsbury could maintain free love regardless of the social boundaries.
In modern times the society is more and more open compared to the days a hundred years ago. Thanks to the movement for women to fight for rights, I think this also has an effect on gender equality. As a result, people can accept all kind of love, heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality.
Answers to question number 1:
The Mater's racist bigotry does influence her son in various ways in the fiction, The Other Boat by Faulkner. Firstly, Lionel is shown a perfect idle of british pride, good looking, wearing an imperial officer's uniform that symbolizes British empire and blonde hair, which can only be found in european genes. Also, Linoel is described as "Goth like" in the fiction that emphasizes his figure of pure british and european characteristic. He also has injuries during the war, which makes him closer to the ideal British idle.
However, after the meeting with Coconut, this "British figure" starts to melt. The first collapse of this ideology is from which part Lionel let Coconut touch his private place and comes back to meet Coconut again. Though Lionel does show his resistance and struggle, and goes into a circle of resistance and acceptance. Even at last, Lionel's action of killing Coconut(resistance to his heart) and then kills himself (acceptance to his heart.)
Kaylin Chiang/ 49701224
(3)What's the purpose of imagining the possible fate of Judith Shakespeare?
There is no equality between men and women if women have the responsibility of procreation. Women are not weaker creature, as the article said: "She was as adventurous, as imaginative, as agog to see the world as he was. But she was not sent to school." The doors were closed to women. Especially at that time, there was no way to prevent from pregnant. Once a woman married, she has to gives the birth year and year, busy at least for 30 years until she stop her period. I am daring to say women are stronger and better creatures. Women have great sensibility on everything and always know how to take care of people. But women are trapped in the home; they need to do the grocery, laundry, nursing, and cooking…etc. Just like a maid. That is why Virginia Woolf would say:” A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write a fiction.” If women have enough money, they can hire a servant or buy a robot to do everything for them. Then, women can prove that they have remarkable ability as men, or better.
Answer to question 1:
The Mater has been a “voice” that constrains Lionel’s desires and any behaviors that go beyond “propriety.” Neither Isabel nor the army is the biggest power that curbs his relationship with Cocoanut, but the Mater’s voice which contains no parleying and which permanently lingers on his mind and makes him dare not to disobey. The Mater’s discrimination against Asians clearly prevails in her speech, deeds, and belief, and it is a voice of prejudice and arrogance that is supported by European privilege, which deeply influences Lionel’s mind. The sentence “she understood nothing and controlled everything” indicates her blind racist bigotry. However, Lionel does not completely accept this value, “for his colour-prejudices were tribal rather than personal, and only worked when an observer was present.” From here, we can see that in the deepest heart of Lionel, there is no intense discrimination against dagoes, so he goes beyond the race, status, and gender boundaries and falls for Cocoanut. But he is afraid to be found out, hence the struggle exists here. His inner desire makes him cross the boundaries, but he dares not to be a scandal that would disgrace himself for the Mater and his same-colored fellows. It is such FEAR of being found out (symbolized by the door in the story) that has Lionel retreats from the love with Cocoanut and returns to “where he belongs.” Besides, even though in the deep heart of Lionel is no intense discrimination, I think he still is accustomed to the values of the Mater and his society and sometimes has some speeches or act that shows his privilege, such as “one of your fuzzy-wuzzy cousins” as well as his bossy attitude toward Cocoanut. It is also an influence on him given by the Mater’s teachings, which is full of intense discrimination against the dagoes. Finally, Lionel is depicted as a “virile” figure with good look, but interestingly, he used to practice chastity. It is because of his sexual orientation and the Mater’s symbol of “purity” that made him resist his bestiality. It also makes him a character who constantly denies his true self.
2) If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
E.M. Forster draws a wonderful picture that people will broke their bound once they escape from the control of the society rules. This can refer to the main claim of Modernism, freedom.
In the story, United Kingdom was described as a country with a lot of regulations. Since Lionel was banned to play with the “lower class” children when his childhood by his mother (related to the regulations), the conservative image was kept hunted around. No matter it’s the class, gender, or race.
When the timeline moves to their adulthood, The ocean, which is a metaphor of the sub-consciousness. When the boat had kept getting more far from the land of regulation, the characters in the story can even face their id more easily.
Characters started to cross the boundaries of the class, gender, and race. Lionel can accept the “illegal” things like a homosexual action between he and Coconut, who has a different color skin but the same gender with Lionel.
The message of E.M. Forster’s “The Other Boat” is obvious. As a homosexual, he wants to present that every limitation is redundant. Only freedom can save human from sufferings. Although the atmosphere then was so conservative that Forster didn’t dare to imagine a utopia that free people can live happily, the desire of build a wonderland was very clear.
response to (2):
If there were a message in “The Other Boat,” I think it would be a record of the social prejudice and repression of homosexuality at that time. This story was written in 1957-1958 and published posthumously in 1972, we could find that even in the mid-twentieth century, homosexuality was still a forbidden issue. Furthermore, Foster had not only dealt with love and sex among same sex but also tried to loosen the structure of racial hierarchy. Lionel is afraid of the revelation of their relationship to the public, therefore this secret can only be kept on the boat that is far away at sea. This story has also triggered me to think about the issue of that whether homosexuality is something born with (essentialism) or something that is acquired (constructionism.) In part I, the interaction between Lionel and Cocoanut is naïve but somehow implying homoeroticism, which could be considered that homosexually is something that anyone no matter how old or even what sex they are born with. It is just like a potential that needs to be discover and develop. However, the repetition of Lionel’s mother, Mrs. March’s sound and image can be found in the story. This means that she has a great influence on her son, and some psychological understanding toward homosexually is that a powerful or over-dominant mother can lead to homosexual development of children (which is still now controversial.) At the end of the story, the death of both characters seems an implication of the unavoidable destiny of the “forbidden” homosexual love. In my opinion, this is the evidence of social repression of homosexuality that cause Foster’s internalization of self-hatred and self-denial, but he justified this love by the description of Cocoanut’s body that flows against the current of mainstream.
Zark 49692009
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Lionel thought hates the racial and class prejudices that his mother holds, he still deeply influenced by her. He did not mention Coconut in the letter that he wrote to Mater, because he still believed that Coconut was not the guy that he could let people know. He also thought that Coconut might have mysterious power.
Lionel in his conversation with Coconut when talking about his father’s going natural, still believed that man should be with a girl and it is called naturally. But at that time, he was in love with Coconut; that is unnatural to be with a boy. He was ashamed of his own father’s scandal, but his own behavior was what transgresses his mother’s Puritanism. While talking about family, he still showed that he considered the importance of the family background. “The mater’s goes back to the War of the Roses.”
After the fight with Coconut, Lionel finally found out that he was true same with his mother. He must keep with his own people, or he would perish. He did not want to be like his father. He had to be pure; being Mater’s first-born. He could not harm his family’s name. He had sin.
If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
E.M Forster challenges the issue about race, class and homosexual. In “The Other Boat”, a white man who is from upper class falls in love with a black man who is from low class. It is really great taboo in the era of E.M Forster. I think a message which is expressed by Forster's "The Other Boat" is “free”. We have the right and free to love the one we want to love, regardless their race, class and sex. And, why should we always are limited by the social customs, for example, men should marry women, men shouldn’t love men, white had better not together with black and so on. Why do we have to comply with these customs? Why can’t we break these customs? However, we are always afraid of that we are not as same as other people, so even if we have crossed these “taboos” we won’t want to let anybody know. Therefore, in “The Other Boat”, because of the kinds of customs the lovers finally die. They love each other but they can’t overcome the challenges of social customs. So, I think everyone has free to be the one who you want to be.
3) In A Room of One's Own, the narrator, remembering a bishop who declared that a woman could never possess the genius of Shakespeare, begins to imagine what would have been the likely biography of Shakespeare's sister had she too been as gifted as her brother. What's the purpose of imagining the possible fate of Judith Shakespeare?
Virginia Woolf creates the character, Judith Shakespeare, to clarify her conceptions and show how this distorted patriarchal society and the external environments accomplish women’s social statues and behaviors. Woolf also claims that no woman can write without a stable income and a privacy room. Woolf points out that the whole history and literature are controlled by males, 3P of literature – Pen, Penis, Patriarchy. Therefore, she creates the fictitious character - Judith Shakespeare who is as talented as his brother but has totally different fate to interpret how women are throttled. In Elizabethan times, the societal expectations control Judith’s talents because of her socioeconomic status and gender. Without a doubt, Judith is the silhouette of Virginia Woolf. They both were as brilliant as their brothers, but their family prevented them from surmounting males. For female, writing or being on stages is something shameful. Women are expected to stay at home, marry to a good family, be a perfect silent wife, keep giving birth, and teach their children. These are all males’ trickery for keeping females from overtaking them. However, women’s ages and potential are wasted by these social restrictions. Women’s fate has already been arranged.
1)Look for the articulations of racial and class prejudices in "The Other Boat." How does the Mater's racist bigotry influence her son? How does Forster depict Lionel as a complex character who obeys and internalizes the Mater's teachings but somehow transgresses her puritanism as well?
In the story, Mrs. March was a conventional character. She would like to control her children after her husband left her. She wanted obedient son. Moreover, she set a lot of rules to her children and she also brought the discrimination of racial to her son, Lionel.
When Lionel met Coconut on the boat, he had paradoxical feeling about the bondary of race and homosexuality between Coconut and him. He reminded the potential prejudice when he argued with Cconut. The unlocked door evoked his homophobic feeling. While he was looking at the Whites on the boat, he started to despised Coconut, who had been his lover. On the other hand, he denied that his mother had had sex with his father. He thought his mother is as pure as an angel. Finally, he decided to break up with Coconut. Although Lionel had crossed the bondary of race and sexuality, he couldn't escaped the internalized prejudice from his heart. And he destroyed himself eventually.
3)In A Room of One's Own, the narrator, remembering a bishop who declared that a woman could never possess the genius of Shakespeare, begins to imagine what would have been the likely biography of Shakespeare's sister had she too been as gifted as her brother. What's the purpose of imagining the possible fate of Judith Shakespeare?
In the article, Woolf used Shakespeare’s sister to point out the indifference and oppression of the women in the past. And it took the readers to a more realistic view and angle to the problem that women were facing in that time. Then the readers could really understand about what Woolf was trying to emphasize. She wanted to let the readers know that: Even if women were born gifted in the past, their life would end up tragically because of the pressures from the society and family. The society forbade women to express their talents because they threatened males’ dominance in their fields. Also, the traditional values of family only demanded women to know little and find a good husband to marry. And these reasons together had prevented the talented women like Judith from being accepted by the public. Therefore, those gifted women, feeling rejected by the whole world, had no choice but to end their life miserably. By using Shakespeare’s sister as example, Woolf told us that even though the bishop words were true indeed, the problems came from the society, not from the women. It was the fault in the society that burdened those women from achieving their greatness in art, music and etc. Because this “society” was generally consists of males’ regulations and value. And thus, it had made women even more difficult to express her talent, and more difficult to be who she really was.
I choose question 2. If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you? I think E.M foster try to send a message that break the taboo and against main stream. No matter what the barrier is about race, sexual issue and gender. In the other boat, E.M foster portrays cross- ethnic homosexuality and racial hierarchy of empire. It’s all taboo in 19th century. E.M foster seems to want to break all discipline, order and superiority in western society. We can find some clues in the novel. Cocoanut and lion’s love challenge the many taboos. First, a white man falls in love with a cross breeding. It challenges the racial issue. And, homosexual love challenges the sexual taboo. And, in the end of novel, the sailor feel happy when they the cocoanut’s body float northwards- contrary to the prevailing current. It symbolizes the minor race against main stream. I think it also challenge imperialism. One day, people of colony will fight back to empire like cocoanut against the stream. I think these messages are that E.M Foster want to say in this novel.
If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat, I would like to talk about gender and racial issue. Although this novel is a navigational novel seemingly, the writer tries to deliver other significant implications to reader like gender and race. According to this novel, the readers can find that Mrs. March suffers the unfair treatment from the sailors. As Mrs. March is a female, she is warned and forbidden to close “men’s area” by the sailors even though she is a white people. One the other hand female in that society is no privilege to decide anything whether she is a white people or not. Besides, the discrimination between white people and black people is also a crucial issue in this novel. After quarreling with Coconut, Lionel is determined to sleep on the deck with his company, the white people; Furthermore, the white people are considered superior race by Lionel as well. Nevertheless, when the Coconut corps flows against mainstream, it shows how Forster is against mainstream of the society. In fact, gender and racial issue have been thought highly for many decades; and many female and black writers are struggling for their privileges like Morrison the writer of “the Bluest Eyes”, and Fanon, the writer of “Black skin, White skins”. In their some novels, they try to tell us how to against unfair treatment, patriarchy society and discrimination. Therefore, the readers not only face these problems but also are provided with the solutions to them through these writer’s novels.
In “The Other Boat”, implications of racial and class discrimination can be seen throughout the story, with the mater embodying extreme racism and Lionel exemplifying the amalgam of both internalization and transgression of racial hierarchy. In my opinion, the events happening during the first voyage demonstrate how the mater’s puritan thinking is imposed on her children and the events in the second voyage display Lionel’s ambivalent attitude towards racial border. During the first voyage, Lionel’s restricted thinking absorbed from the mater is shown by his debate over whether everything has a name. As she warns her children not to stay under the oriental sun without topis on and tells them to play “properly”, she exerts strong influence them, especially Lionel, who is the eldest son. During the second voyage, Lionel meets Cocoanut and discovers his ambivalent true self. He obeys the puritan thinking as he in his letter to the mater avoids mentioning the fact that he stays in one room with Cocoanut, and avoids contact with him on deck because of his race. he thinks of the mater every time he does seemingly improper things. He hesitates to have intimate contact with Cocoanut for carnality is condemned by his preceptors and the mater, who demands he should be pure. However, he gradually gets rid of that constraining teaching when he is away from England, allegorized to repression. “ Resistance weakened” as “curiosity increased.” He finds his current life enjoyable with brutal pleasure included. And his racial prejudice gets weakened. He finds it a dilemma to be in the middle stance. In conclusion, the mater and Lionel demonstrate the repressing puritan thinking and the consequence of being restricted by it.
The author portrayed Judith Shakespeare for two main purposes. First, satirize the tyranny and brutality of the patriarchal society. The author created Judith, who had the same gift as her brother but ended up with different outcomes, to emphasize the fact that women were exploited by the society. Under the patriarchal society, women cannot go to school, cannot inherit the property, and cannot decide their own lives. As a minority, their basic rights had been deprived, such as the right of education, the freedom of marriage, and the right to vote. But the fact is that the male are afraid of the female will take over their place and deprive of their authority; therefore, they create a concept which female are inferior to male and would never possess the genius of Shakespeare. What a despicable act. Second, intend to provoke the conscious of women’s inborn right of education. Since the female are not allowed to learn, they are lack of knowledge, and the male can easily control those uninformed people. Then, a miserable cycle formed, women become the victim of oppression forever. The author was the one who aware of this problem and could not endure this reality. She hoped through the miserable fate of Judith, more and more women can face up to this fact and fight for their own right.
2) If there were a message in Forster’s “The Other Boat”, what would that be for you?
When they were still little boys, Coconut had a thing for Lionel, a thing that as a kid wouldn’t have understood exactly what it was. But as Coconut grew older, the feeling became stronger. When they finally met again, he realised couldn’t hide his feelings anymore, and that was when Coconut decided to help Lionel get onboard and slowly lead Lionel to his “secret mm-mmm place.”
If there were a message in the story, it would be that Forster’s trying to tell the readers how the society abominates and looks down on homosexuals, and how it terribly influences them; it makes them feel so ashamed of themselves and uncomfortable around “normal people” that they commit suicide. Lionel comes from England and is raised by a traditional white mother, naturally his thoughts and actions are to be considered “proper” and “decent”; being attracted to the same sex only makes him feel inappropriate.
I believe even to this day, many homosexual people still have the same problems; not everyone can accept this kind of “non main stream” thing. What really amazes me is that even though the work was written many many years ago, the society really hasn’t changed much – except for the improvement of living standard. Parts of the thoughts in human minds somehow remain the same through out the years, and some people with vision in the past managed to realize it and put it into words for the generations to read.
I choose question 1 as my assignment.
1)The message in "The Other Boar " for me is that the unreasonable regulations of the whole society should be broken. This story encourages me to resist the thing I think is not suitable. What's more, the message of homosexual in the society
is the other one that we should prove it. In nowaday's sociey , homosexual is still not acceptable for many people, especially for elder people. In the story of "The Other Boat", we can clearly seem the courage of the Coconut, he bravely broke the regulation and being himself even after his death. The lion,just like many people, has their own desire that is outside the regulation. However, we still can't bravely to be ourself, still afird of other people 's judgments, just like Lion in the story. And some people may choose to death when they can't endure the pressure of society and get tired of hiding the true self. Loin choose to die with Coconut and becomes the victim of the society.
Again, sorry for late reply.
(2)If there were a message in Forster's "The Other Boat," what would that be for you?
Seeking understanding, acceptance, and love, these several questions aslways echo poignantly throughout human history. For all people these introspective problems—while difficult—desperately need answers, as answers to these questions dictate the choice to stay within the bounds of accepted ethics or to step out. The importance and difficulty of finding good answers to these questions intensifies for atheists and agnostics, since they must formulate answers with the full responsibility for their conclusions resting on their own shoulders. No religion can answer these questions for them. Thus, Forster, a humanist who showed organized religions and endorsed the creation of individualistic,choosing to step out from established laws and customs, is asking if his justifications hold true or if they converge with all other crimes against society.
I think that it's the message he wants to present.
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