Summary Of A Passage To India And A Passage To India

The British Raj, or the British rule over India, has long since passed; however, the remnants of the pro-colonization have lingered around and are seemingly even making a comeback. Salman Rushdie in his essay, Outside the Whale, notices this romanticisation of Britain’s colonial past in the resurgence of Raj fiction and films. Rushdie, in his criticisms, embraces theories from Edward Said, and hints at theories from Frantz Fanon. By emphasizing the influential language of Raj films and texts, analyzing Orwell’s theory institutional denial, and finally calling for a systematic upheaval of oppressive thinking, Salman Rushdie’s essay and criticism mirrors John McLeod’s theories and definitions of colonial discourse and recognizes that with the comeback of Raj fiction comes a resurgence of the pro-colonization colonial discourse that it originated with.

The feelings and emotions that make this a powerful and thought-provoking story on stereotyping and general ethnic insensitivity are carried primarily as the author provides you with the internal narrative dialogue and careful observation of a young Cherokee girl named Arletta. Much is communicated without a spoken word by her throughout the essay. Much is said in a one sentence reply to her foster mother at the close of the story.

In the novel A Passage to India, Forster portrays many of the interactions between the Indian population and the British imperialists as an over-arching metaphor for the shortcomings of imperialism. This ‘metaphor’ is further elaborated by the personal make-up of certain characters, through their values, and their actions towards one another. The following essay will focus on the character Cyril Fielding and his ability to contrast the ordinary English imperialist and by doing so expose the polarizing inroads of the British Raj.

Forster spends large sections of the novel characterizing different typical attitudes the English hold toward the Indians whom they control. Forster’s satire is most harsh toward Englishwomen, whom the author depicts as overwhelmingly racist, self-righteous, and viciously condescending to the native population. Some of the Englishmen in the novel are as nasty as the women, but Forster more often identifies Englishmen as men who, though condescending and unable to relate to Indians on an individual level, are largely well-meaning and invested in their jobs. For all Forster’s criticism of the British manner of governing India, however, he does not appear to question the right of the British Empire to rule India. He suggests that the British would be well served by becoming kinder and more sympathetic to the Indians with whom they live, but he does not suggest that the British should abandon India outright. Even this lesser critique is never overtly stated in the novel, but implied through biting

Many of the themes explored by Gandhi in Hind Swaraj are directly or indirectly influenced by these texts. ‘I lay no claim to originality. They have been formed after reading several books.’ For instance, Gandhi’s explanation of colonialism is built upon Tolstoy’s Letter to a Hindoo where he argues that ‘it is not the English who have enslaved the Indians, but the Indians who have enslaved themselves.’ Similarly, an uncompromising critique of industrial culture, the hallmark of Gandhian thought, is derived from Ruskin, Tolstoy and many other writers. Further, Maine’s contention, that Indians were inheritors of a civilization that had representative institutions but destroyed by the new utilitarian state, was used by Gandhi to point out the superiority of

However, the main theme/message of this story is really the cultural difference between two different origins of country. As we can tell, Fleete doesn’t know much about India’s religious beliefs and traditions and this creates a conflict between the two different nations. This novel is like a critique, an

One question I have on the topic of Britain’s reign over India is why Indians were discriminated against. On page 42, a young British girl says to Vidya at the airport, “Don’t touch me, blackie! Look where you’re going, you crow!” On page 38 Vidya’s father scoffs sarcastically, “Only white people have the brains to be officers. We are too stupid, of course.” Why did Britain hate the citizens of the country they had taken over? Was it to keep them in line, to say if they dare go against them the discrimination would get worse? If the British thought the Indians were so horrible, why did they take over their country, take their resources and take volunteers to fight on their side of the war? It made no sense that Britain would occupy their country

One of the greatest examples of Imperialism with the tense relationship between Britain and India. It’s a strong showcase that compares both pros and cons of Imperialism. The colonization of India started with the development of the East India Company. First of all the dominion and influence over India allowed many economic growths, which included a strong trade system thanks to India’s very promising amount of raw materials, British could export back to themselves raise money to develop new companies “India became an agricultural colony of Industrial England, supplying raw materials and providing marks for England’s industrial goods.” (Nehru). Since they had a surplus amount of materials they could sell it for very cheap, therefore changing the economy, and the market trends. India became the best sources for raw materials, production, and allowed companies to develop in Britain. The main reason why the manufactured goods were able to be sold at a cheap price was because of the law set in India that allowed foreign goods free entry without having to pay “The East India Company held a monopoly on the export of Indian goods and British goods had free entry into India” (Nehru). This was mainly allowed because of the British ideological views on Indian people, how they are below them. The Indian crafters were being taxed a lot of money when they are leaving the country. The British government made sure to set a tariffs on the Indian textiles. This

In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B Du Bois’ speaks of a ‘veil’ that has hindered his race from living their lives to the fullest potential. This veil has made it seemingly impossible to integrate into the white, mainstream society. Similarly, in “A Passage to India”, E.M Forster describes the story of Dr. Aziz, a native Indian, and his interactions with the imperial British society in his hometown of Chandrapore, India. Dr. Aziz attempts to become friendly with the British, but ends up bringing them on an excursion to the Marabar caves which quickly illuminates the inability of such a bonding experience. In both the Reconstruction Era of America, and in Imperial India, there is a veil that comes it two parts: a physical veil of color and and

Overall, Charles Dickens expresses his criticism on the social system through his novel, which could be translated into modern day India, where people still discriminate on the basis of class and education. In the novel,

However, this exotic allure doesn't change the facts since India is portrayed as a land of poverty, insecurity, chaos and financial opportunity. In other words, it is depicted as London's polar opposite. Seeing that it is the Jewel in the Crown of English colonialism, this land's wealth was usurped by various soldiers absorbed by insatiable greed. Evidently, our creative author experimented with this prospect in our novel inadvertently revealing a pronounced tendency to overlook any wrong-doing committed by British officials. As such, one can argue that he is enslaved by racial prejudices. In fact, his nation’s superiority was exposed through Sherlock Holmes’s ability to efficiently subdue Tonga. In contrast, Stevenson didn't hesitate in acknowledging his nation's atrocities. For instance, we discover that Case who is one of Falesa's established British trader is rotten to the core for he unabashedly sought the annihilation of his rivals. Indeed, for this selfish creature others are only a means to an end. Evidently, he was capable of repulsing Wiltshire who identified him as a false representation of the values or principles of home. However, our author is similar to Doyle in that he recognizes that the colonizing empire’s dominance as evidenced by the villainous Case, who effortlessly keeps the islanders under his thumb by utilizing their belief in Tiapolo or the

“The pace of life in North America is different from Britain, as you will soon discover”, the guidebook informed me. “Everybody feels he must get to the top. Don’t expect an English cup of tea.”

Impact of British Colonization Exposed in A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe

A Passage To India by E. M. Forster is a rich, postcolonial novel delving into the possibility of sustaining a personal friendship between an English person and an "Indian" person. This topic is being discussed in the beginning of the novel at the home of Hamidullah, "... they were discussing as to whether or no(t) it is possible to be friends with an Englishman. Mahmoud Ali argued that it was not, Hamidullah disagreed, but with so many reservations..." (Forster 7) Aziz, who the novel centers around, has the disposition to just shut them out and ignore them and all will be jolly. Of course, later, we find Aziz does not shut them out and rather

E.M. Forster’s classic novel “A Passage to India” tells the story of a young doctor, Dr. Aziz, and his interactions with the British citizens who are residing in India during the time of the British Raj. Throughout the novel, the reader gets many different viewpoints on the people and the culture of India during this point in history. The reader sees through the eyes of the Indian people primarily through the character of Dr. Aziz, and the perceptions of the British through the characters of Mr. Fielding, Adela Quested, and Mrs. Moore. Through the different characters, and their differing viewpoints, the reader can see that Forster was creating a work that expressed a criticism that he held of the behavior of the British towards their Indian subjects.