Saturday, 30 March 2024

Question -Answers of 'Tolerance'

 1.     How does Forster draw a comparison between ‘love’ and ‘tolerance’ as a desirable state of mind? What arguments does he put forth?

                                             Or

             What is the theme of the essay ‘Tolerance’?

Ans. Love, according to E.M. Forster, is a great force in private life. It is the greatest of all things. But it does not work in public affairs. It has been tried again and again and it has always failed. He believes that it is absurd, unreal, and even dangerous to suggest that nations, business concerns marketing boards or people of whom one has never even heard may love one another. It is indulging in vague sentimentalism to expect Germans and the British, who had been fighting during the war, to love each other. But, in the post-war world, they have to live with each other. They must learn to tolerate each other because one cannot exterminate the other. Forster further says that one can only love what one knows personally. The world is full of people. And one cannot know much. Tolerance, in Forster’s opinion, is ideal in public affairs, and in the rebuilding of civilization. It is much less dramatic and emotional. It may be called very dull, even boring. It merely means putting up with people and being able to stand things. But this, says Forster, is the quality most needed after the war, for it will enable different races, classes, and interests to settle down together to the work of reconstruction.

2.      What are the two solutions to the problem of living with people one doesn’t like? Is there a third solution? If so, why doesn’t the author accept it?

One solution is to segregate people one doesn’t like and kill them. The other solution is to put up with such people as well as one can. The first is what the Nazis did and the second is the way of the democracies. Forster’s own preference is for the second solution. He sees no other foundation for the post-war world. Most people will say that men and nations must start to love one another. Forster, however, strongly disagrees with this solution simply because it is not possible. It has been tried again and again and it has always failed. One can only love what one knows. And one cannot love what one knows and does not like.

 

3.      What kind of negative virtues are desirable? What positive phrases does the author find disgusting? Why?

                                         Or  

What does Forster say about Tolerance?

Tolerance is a very dull, boring, and negative virtue according to Forster. Yet this is the quality most needed after the war. The post-war world needs negative virtues like not being huffy, touchy, irritable, and revengeful. Forster finds positive militant phrases like ‘I will purge this nation’, and ‘I will clean up this city,’ terrifying and disgusting. He explains that when there were fewer people in this world, these phrases might not have mattered. However, when one nation is mixed up with another when one city cannot be organically separated from its neighbours, they have become horrifying. Today, if such militant ideals are sought to be put into practice, there will be tremendous damage both in terms of life and material.

No comments:

Post a Comment