Discussions of identity occur frequently throughout the novel. Choose at least three characters and discuss how each one approaches the concept of identity. Questions to consider while writing are:

- Is the character conscious of his or her identity or not?

- Does that character feel comfortable with her or her identity?

- Does the character consciously try to change who he or she is or how he or she is perceived by society?

- Also, what social commentary does the author hope to make through these explorations of identity in the novel Howards End?

Essay Topic 2

A motif is a recurring theme or image an author uses to emphasize a point. Discuss a motif in Howards End, providing examples from the story of where the motif occurs. Explain why you think the author uses this recurring theme and what effect this repetition has on the reader.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, Forster has the characters moving in and out of houses and discussing their relationships to the places they have lived. The houses almost become a secondary roster of characters in the novel: Howards End, Wickham Place, Ducie Street, etc. Write an essay in discussing the difference between the way the characters relate to their houses. Choose at least three characters to compare and contrast. What does the way a character relates to his or her home say about his or her character? What view do you think the author relates most closely to?

(see the answer keys)

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