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Essay / Cultures - 1790
Culture is the unifying foundation that civilizes us as humans. It identifies humanity, giving a deeper insight into who a person is as a human being, how they behave, and what they are truly passionate about. Whether a person is Asian, African, Indian, or White American, each person contributes to a unique ethnicity. People's experiences and views on life arise directly from their individual culture, even though they may not be aware of it. There are thousands of cultures coexisting across the world, each with its own foundations and moral code. This coexistence of cultures is not always simple and peaceful; it often becomes convoluted and unbalanced due to disapproval and opposition between two or more cultures. People do not easily put themselves in other people's shoes, which prevents individuals and therefore their countries from accepting different cultures. The culture is ultimately overwhelmed by all the disagreements, because most conflicts are caused by human discontent. EM Forster explores this idea of cultural differences further in his novels A Passage to India and A Room with a View. Forster subtly critiques English, Italian and Indian cultures in these two works through his different characters and plots. Both novels feature a main character traveling abroad, from Britain to India or Italy, and discuss the events taking place in the country, compared and contrasted with the events and style of life to which the main character is accustomed in Great Britain. EM Forster compares two opposing countries and cultures in A Room with a View and A Passage to India by representing each character as their country of origin to prove that transcending their traditional middle of paper..... .reflecting that "In England, the moon seemed dead and foreign; here she was caught in the shawl of night with the earth and all the other stars. A sudden feeling of unity, of kinship with the heavenly bodies, passed into the old woman and out…leaving behind her a strange freshness” (Forster 28). Even a seemingly mundane detail, like the moon, fills Mrs. Moore with wonder. and amazed as she looks at him from a different, more cultured angle. The mysteries of nature flood Mrs. Moore with a new appreciation and passion, feelings she has never felt so deeply before. Travel takes Ms. Moore to new parts of the world and gives her the chance to embrace change and diversity. Forster approaches the central theme of travel in the novel so vividly and passionately in order to better implement its importance for his readers. Without travel, the world would be lifeless and hollow.