Perspectives on the Problem of Poverty in Forster's Howards End and Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London

Mačečević, Iva. (2018). Perspectives on the Problem of Poverty in Forster's Howards End and Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of English Language and Literature. [mentor Domines Veliki, Martina].

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Abstract

The aim of the thesis is to analyse representations of poverty in George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London and E.M. Forster's Howards End. In the analysis of both novels, author utilises three configurations as proposed by Barbara Korte for the methodology in the emerging new literary field of Poverty Studies. The main focus is on signalling differences in using similar sources, models and stereotypes in producing representations of poverty in both novels. Both authors had a middle-class background and their attitude towards their education and experience has a significant impact on their work and it is revealed in their novels. Autobiographical elements also play a part in rendering authenticity, with Orwell who had a direct experience of poverty and Forster who taught working-class men. Orwell largely described and evaluated lives of the working class and unemployed, while Forster focused on wealthy and intellectual middle-class, using lower middle-class to emphasize class differences and the importance of money. The thesis shows how authors used tone, style, perspective and other devices to support their realistic or pastoral attitudes towards poverty. Representations of poverty have largely affected the target readership – middle-class – and the authors are careful in rendering their representations and tone to appeal to the readers and fortify their ideas. The thesis concludes with a final comparison of the two novels.

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