A Passage to India Analysis - Essay Example

? s A Passage to India ‘A Passage to India’ is one of the greatest works produced by E.M. Forster that sheds great light on to the relationship between the Indians and British. The novel was set against the backdrop of the British rule in the Sub-continent. It follows the lives of two women, Mrs. Moore and Adela Quested, who travel to India to gain more insight into the Indian culture; as they were not completely convinced or impressed by the account given by all their fellow English people. Both women embark on their journey to find ‘real India’. The author juxtaposes the women’s quest with that of Aziz, an Indian doctor, who is greatly distressed by the treatment he receives at the hands of the British. However, during the women’s stay in India, they form an unlikely friendship with Aziz, which later on completely changes their view of the Indian society and people. The story incorporates several themes, but interracial friendship and communication is the most obvious of all. When British came to India, the society consisted of a wide array of cultures and languages, which greatly divided the sub-continent, thus leading to Mrs. Moore’s revelation that there is no real India and she undergoes a massive philosophical change as she comes to term with the illogicality of some of her romanticized views and notions about the world. Although, Forster has used many cryptic motifs, and their perception is largely left open-ended but they provide great insight into the dynamics of the relationships between the colonizers and natives. The story begins with the question that whether or not an Indian and Englishman can truly sustain a healthy friendship without paying heed to the schism between the two ethnicities. These aspects are further elaborated when Aziz is befriended by Mrs. Moore and Adela, who then introduce him to Fielding. For a short period of time, the group develops a great level of understanding and together they all begin to explore various areas of India. Even though, Aziz’s distaste for the English people is ostensible in the beginning of the novel, but after he develops an instant connection with Mrs. Moore in a mosque, he becomes more open to the prospect of mingling with the British. The relationship between Aziz and Fielding represent mutual understanding and respect, which Forster underlines, could have saved British Raj in the sub-continent. However, their friendship is put through a test and subsequently fails, when Adela wrongfully accuses Aziz of sexually assaulting her in the Marabar caves. It leads to a major furor and the case gives rise to a clash between the two races. Rather than being a simple case between the plaintiff, Adela and the defendant, Aziz; the case was sensationalized to an extent that the trial was seen more as India vs. Britain. The incident adversely affected the friendship between Fielding and Aziz. (Forster, 1947) Although, Fielding and Mrs. Moore are aware of Aziz’s innocence in the matter, but they are also torn between the boundaries created by the racial differences. Mrs. Moore is greatly perturbed by the behavior of her people and leaves India after reiterating her faith in Aziz’s innocence. She suffers a fatal heart attack on her way back to England. On the other hand, Adela retracts her accusation and the case ends in Aziz’s favor, but it nearly destroys his reputation. Much to Aziz’s chagrin, Fielding goes back to Adela in order to help her cope with the difficulty of her situation, which is seen as betrayal on part of Fielding by Aziz and he shuns the English people and moves to Kashmir to work in a clinic. It is rumored that Adela married Fielding, but in the epilogue it is revealed that Fielding married Mrs. Moore’s daughter instead. Although, the novel ends on a positive note that Aziz and Fielding have both forgiven each other, but still their friendship cannot remain as they are as different as the sky and the earth. Aziz hints that a friendship may be possible in future but the society and the people are simply not ready for it yet. The reason such relationships are so difficult to sustain lies in the fact that Indian sensibilities and values are quite difficult for the British to relate with. For instance, Aziz is quite offended with Adela’s blunt question regarding the number of wives he has. Adela is oblivious to the fact that although this question does not really matter to an English person, but Indians are more sensitive and their social interactions are not as frank or straight-forward as that of English; they follow strict etiquettes when it comes to interacting with others. The direct remark offends Aziz immensely, to the point that he abandons her and thereafter, he is accused of rape. It is not clear whether Adela imagines it or was it someone else, who assaults her. However, her automatic accusation is proof enough of the lack of trust on part of the English towards the Indians and it is ostensible that most of the British found Adela’s accusation to be accurate because Aziz was Indian. From the initial years of the Colonization, the British had held themselves to be of superior heritage and often looked down upon the Sub-continent and Indians. Therefore, it is not surprising that Adela’s accusation elicited such a dramatically racist response from the British. The colonization was created on an imbalanced relationship, which can diminish any chances of interaction or dialogue between the two communities. Although, Fielding was convinced of Aziz’s innocence but he holds his silence for it seems that in the midst of this racial strife, he was torn between his friendship and loyalty to his own race. Moreover, Fielding rushes to Adela’s aid, which further angers Aziz. The charitable and sympathetic act on Fielding’s part, simply convinced Aziz of the fact that no matter how close of a bond he establishes with an Englishman, they will always have an inclination to help their own kind. Aziz felt betrayed because Adela nearly tarnished his image in the society and he could have even been severely punished, but despite all that had transpired, Fielding still helped Adela. Fielding on the other hand, is unable to empathize with Aziz or fully explain his reason for helping Adela. He could have salvaged their friendship, but his English sensibilities and his ability to reason clashes with that of Aziz’s. It was a classic case of differing perspective and from an unbiased point of view, it seems that neither Aziz nor Fielding were wrong in what they did. However, they could have at least attempted to find common ground to help explain their stances. Forster has set the story against the backdrop of a multicultural India and uses motifs from all the three major religions in order to highlight the certain forces that seems to bind all humanity. Mrs. Moore is the embodiment of this characteristic of the plot, as out of all the characters she is the one who makes an allusion to the presence of the universal and the spiritual connection that all human beings seem to share. She is the first character, who comes in contact with Aziz in a Mosque, which is a spiritual place for all Muslims. The story then shifts to a Hindu temple and then a cave; the latter turns out to be the most disconcerting experience in her life that serves as a turning point in her beliefs. Dr. Jabbar has also analyzed this aspect of Forster’s writing and has come to the conclusion that Mosques and temples are recognized places of worship, whereas caves are more secluded and seem to contain a mysterious air and vibes that manifested itself in the form of the echoes that seemed to have distressed Mrs. Moore the most (Jabbar, 2011, p. 407). She noted that despite whatever sound was made in the Marabar caves, they always sprung back in the form of a ‘Boum’. Mrs. Moore reaches a crucial turn in her ideals as through her visit to the cave, she finally gets to peek in the darker side of spirituality (Jabbar, 2011, p. 407). It seems to highlight the fact that the dichotomies and divides created in this world are completely pointless, because the existence of human beings is essentially the same in all aspects. The only difference between the Indians and British is in the way they look; otherwise everyone shares a close bond as everyone belongs to the same universe and is unwittingly controlled by similar forces of life. Mrs. Moore is the first to realize this out of the lot, and this newfound revelation of hers further influences her mind as it is further characterized by her rising ambivalence and indifference to the concept of god. She realizes that the things she had discovered in her travels cannot be explained by the notions established by Christianity. Therefore, it is completely pointless to draw boundaries and further divide one another into groups. Mrs. Moore is the first one to delve in the philosophical side of the flawed divide between the Indians and the British, and openly expresses her disapproval of the behavior of her fellow countrymen by refusing to testify against Aziz. Dr. Jabbar further admits that there are certain aspects of the religion that does not seem eye to eye with other religions, but despite these varying perception of this entity, human beings share the same destiny and all the actions culminates in to the resonating sound of a single ‘Boum’. The novel explored some of the practical barriers that hindered the development of friendly relation between the English and Indians. Besides tolerance, the absence of respect and trust is also a key factor that destroyed the relationship between Aziz and the English eventually. Adela’s lack of respect and trust for Aziz results in an embarrassing courtroom trial. On the other hand, Fielding, pressurized by the demands of the people he associated with, failed to voice his concern. However, much like Mrs. Moore’s character, Fielding is also the kind of person who acknowledges intelligence and respectfulness in an individual regardless of their race. As a result, he was able to reach out to Aziz and offer him his friendship. Aziz’s response highlights the society’s needs to be more embracing of each other’s differences. Even if an individual is interacting with the members of their own race, they still cannot establish a healthy relation unless they incorporate the aforementioned traits in their behavior. Works Cited Forster, Edward M. A Passage to India. London: Ardent Media. 1947. Print. Jabbar, Abdul. Reading and Writing with Multicultural Literature. New York: McGraw Hill. 2011. Print. Read More