journal 11

                Aziz awoke covered in sweat. The strange dream had passed, but what did it mean? The hot Indian weather had made his stay rather uncomfortable, and the prison guard’s foolish babbling made the stay even worse.

 “This heat is terrible! I haven’t felt heat this bad since my tour in Africa. Have I ever told you about my tour in Africa?”

“No and I could care less about your pointless story.”

 “Ha, you wouldn’t believe the heroic deeds I preformed in the service of the queen. In fact, I have an entire room devoted to my military exploits.”

Aziz doubted that the guard had done anything of importance in his entire life, let alone anything in Africa. However, sheer boredom drove Aziz to encourage the guards rant.

“Ah! I see you’ve found an interest in my military career. Hmm, where to start…”

The guard paused a few moments in order to gather his thoughts.

“Well, I should probably start from the beginning. When my father died, I was forced to find a way to provide for my seven younger sisters…”

Normally Aziz would be annoyed by such obvious embellishment, but today he found strange enjoyment in the guard’s tall tale. He found what some might consider an advanced literary style in the guard’s storytelling, like that of John Smith and his tales of the new world, or like the long standing oral traditions found across the globe. Maybe his opinion was distorted because of the amount of time he had spent alone in a cell, but the story was grand none the less.

“…and after I saved my squad from a pack of lions, I was Invited to be knighted by the Queen herself, but I declined because I didn’t feel worthy of such recognition.”

“You seem to have done many great deeds in your life.”

“Indeed I have, and maybe you’ll do great things one day too.”

Aziz was surprised at this comment.  

journal10

Aziz woke that morning, his feet touching the ground. He had been thrown in prison not just a few nights before, the bitter feelings still lingering. He felt little more than spite for Miss Quested, accusing him falsely and destroying his life. In fact, all Englishmen (save Fielding) had earned his hate. He could see the malice filled emotions manifest in his hands. “Why bother?” said malice. “Why bother with England? Why bother with life? Why bother living for the entertainment of some half-witted reader who won’t even realize the significance of your story?” The voice began creeping in. It was a strange voice, one that felt as poison seeping into Aziz’s very existence. “Why Bother? Why bother!? I’ll bother as much as I wish!” said Aziz with much rage. “The English treat us Indians as dirt, always accusing us of acts unfitting our character. I have not the slightest thought of giving up on life, there’s too much to be done.” “Much to be done? What good is a lowly Indian trapped in a cage? And even if you could escape your chains, you would simply inherit another set. Your influence is limited, and your resources few.” Aziz sat back a moment, pondering his life. Should he just give up? Is his life meaning or even worth living? As his thoughts continued, the malice began to grow, engulfing Aziz’s surroundings. “Just surrender” said the abyss, “surrender to pity, to hate, to spite. It shall all end soon.” Aziz felt his malice well up inside him. The bitter feelings began consuming all of his being. Aziz tried to resist, but to no avail. His thoughts were fading, the abysmal darkness consuming everything. At that moment, his breathing stopped, hearing nothing more than a faint noise in the distance. But wait. The noise was growing, and suddenly Aziz fell flat on his face. The dream had ended.   

Journal9

After Mrs. Moore enters the mosque, Aziz begins to talk with her. He starts to vent about the many wrongs that the British have done towards him. Mrs. Moore sympathizes with him and agrees that many of her fellow countrymen are snobby. Mrs. Moore later goes to the English club to meet with her friends. She later tells her son, Ronny, that she met a doctor at a mosque on the way to the club. Ronny is surprised to hear this and begins to question his mother in order to figure out who this man was. Eventually, he finds out that this man was the Indian doctor Aziz and tells his mother not to be friendly with him.

The strange meeting between Mrs. Moore and Aziz illustrates what seems to be the start of a good friendship. However, the views of society, not only challenge, but attempt to destroy this friendship. The     Majority of both Indians and englishmen think it is impossible for the two to mix, causing a barrior between Mrs. Moore and Aziz. Even Mrs. Moore's son tries to stop the friendship. This instance is only proof of the tensions between the Indians and the English.

Journal 8

Dr. Aziz is a respectable India who decides to visit a few of his friends. He is then quite suddenly summand by his English boss, Major Callendar. Aziz rides his bike to Callendar’s compound, but his bike crashes, forcing him to hire a tonga. When Aziz arrives, he finds that the Major has left, leaving no message. As Aziz talks to an Indian servant, two British women take Aziz’s tonga, forcing Aziz to walk home. Aziz becomes tired on his way home, so he decides to rest a mosque. He soon sees an older Englishwomen enter the mosque, and, assuming that she had not taken off her shoes out of respect, Aziz yells at her. However, Aziz sees that she has taken her shoes off and allows her to enter.

I believe that Sean Connery would be perfectly casted as Cecil Fielding. Sean Connery is a very talented and versatile actor who excels at playing slightly eccentric intellectuals. This makes him an ideal Fielding because Fielding is an intelligent man who comes off slightly strange. Also, Denzel Washington would be an Ideal Aziz. Washington often plays an individual plagued by racial and social biases, making him an ideal actor for the roll of Aziz.

journal6

                Lucy is surprised to find that Cecil has met the Emersons before and invited them to live nearby. This causes Lucy to worry about George interfering with her marriage. Later, George is invited to Windy Corner to play tennis. After playing a game, George and Lucy get separated from the party and, inevitably, end up kissing. This causes Lucy to lie to George by saying she doesn’t love him. After her talk with George, Lucy brakes off her engagement with Cecil. Lucy then decides go to Greece to try and leave everything behind. Before she leaves, Lucy ends up stopping at Mr. Beebe’s church, where she sees Mr. Emerson extremely sick. Mr. Emerson convinces Lucy to runaway with George to Italy. This, however, causes Mr. Beebe and Lucy’s family to turn their backs on her. Lucy and George end up happily married in Italy.

                While A Room with a View may seem just a witty romantic-comedy on its surface, the novel delves deep into an assortment of social biases and issues. The very premise of A Room with a View is a man and woman love each other, but are unable to marry because of a difference in social class. It also makes apparent the shallowness of upper class British society in the early 20^th century, yet still retains its value as an entertaining read. Forster’s ability to blend profound underlining themes and witty, comical humor are, in my opinion, what make A Room with a View a classic novel.

               

journal 5

            Lucy and Charlotte leave early in the morning to go to Rome. Lucy’s mother and brother wait for her arrival at Windy Corner. Freddy, Lucy’s brother is studying anatomy book while Mrs. Honeychurch is writing a letter to Mrs. Vyse. Mrs. Vyse’s son, Cecil, has asked permission from Mrs. Honeychurch and Freddy to marry Lucy. However, Freddy made it clear that he wasn’t comfortable with Lucy marrying Cecil. Freddy is then chewed out by his mother. Cecil had asked Lucy to marry him twice, both times ending with rejection. However, when Cecil enters the room, he is happy to announce that Lucy has agreed to marry him.

            There are many round and flat characters in A Room with a View, but two stick out. Lucy is a very round character, constantly changing her opinion and continually developing with the story. She feels conflict and is forced to confront and question her previous beliefs. Mr. Eager, on the other hand, is the very definition of a flat character. He is arrogant, stubborn, and unlikeable; he’s nearly impossible to feel anything but distain for. But, what truly defines him as flat character is his inability to change.

journal 4

 Journal 4

Mr. Beebe decides to plan a picnic, inviting Lucy Charlotte, and Mr. Eager. However, through strange circumstances, the Emersons and Miss Lavish re also invited. To make matters even worse, the group is paired in two carriages, each filled with characters that dislike each other. After the group stops to rest, Lucy asks the carriage driver where Mr. Eager and   Mr. Beebe are. However, because of a language barrier, the driver brings Lucy to George Emerson instead. George and Lucy then impulsively decide to kiss, not knowing Lucy’s cousin, Charlotte, is standing close by. After this, the party begins their journey home, leaving George to walk home. A lightning storm begins and causes Mr. Emerson to worry for his son. When Lucy gets home, she and Charlotte discuss her kiss with George. George later comes to visit Lucy, but Charlotte doesn’t let him see her. Instead, Charlotte briefly talks to George and says goodnight.

            Division between classes is a theme prevalent throughout A Room With a View. Lucy and George clearly have some significant feelings for each other. However, Lucy is a proper English lady, while George is far from what one would consider a gentleman. Regardless of how they feel, the differences in their social stature make it challenging