The Great Divide By John Woolf And Forster s Howard s...

Nashandra M. Jolley ENG 4425 Ross 11 November, 2015 The Great Divide There were several prevailing thoughts towards connections present during the time in England on the cusp of High Modernism. The importance of connections with others was one that was specifically addressed in much of the literature. E.M. Forster even highlighted the idea in his novel â€Å"Howard’s End† with the epigraph â€Å"only connect†. The idea supports the notion that, in order for a society to survive and thrive, some degree of connection must be adequately maintained. Yet, through the stratification of social classes in England at the time, there was little social connection being preserved. To address the issue, authors like Virginia Woolf and Forster included connection as a prominent theme in their works. Both Woolf’s â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway† and Forster’s â€Å"Howard’s End† address connection through their characters as well as geographical locations. In each of these stories, the underlying theme of connecting highli ghts the characters’ struggles to â€Å"only connect†. It would seem as if Forster is urging connection by illustrating that, without some degree of connecting, social classes would remain stratified and society would fall into utter ruin. Through the intermingling of characters in â€Å"Howard’s End†, Forster suggests that connecting in such a way is progress. He further advocates and suggests that progress should be presented as a positive thing, and, in order for a society to flourish, connections between the