A Passage to India: Imperialism
Discuss Forster’s portrayal of Imperialism in the novel a passage to India
A passage to India by E.M.Forster is a novel which deals largely with the political, economic and social takeover of India by the British Crown. The novel deals widely with colonialism and more specifically, imperialism. Forster presents the theme in question through the lives and minds of the characters from both the Indians and the English people. There is no subjective undertone to the novel and we see clearly how each character feels, politically correct or not. Forster successfully presents different scenarios and relationships with the assistance of symbolism and imagery, for us to imagine and determine a path to where it may lead; based on the concerns the book shows us. The narrative plays host to an array of themes and consequences present for both parties. The way in which Forster captures the imperialist ideology against the backdrop of a wondrous India and its people has been done so to give the reader a completely unbiased focal on the themes, but still create an enduring curiosity to how the back-story will affect the current affairs.
With the thought on imperialism, rather than take the novel on a tangent of complete political movement, Forster chose to focus on people, relationships and the development of characters. Through this liberal approach it allows the reader to delve into the matter with an open mind, to develop own opinions and comments. To allow for all sides and notions to be represented, Forster seemed to develop a character for each. The idea that Indians would be facing an uphill battle trying to forge friendships with the English was represented in characters such as Hamidullah who implies that possibly both races can be friends but never under the current circumstances, and represented less progressively in Mahmoud Ali who presents a stubborn anti-British attitude. The ignorance of the British arrival in India is not unnoticed in the characters of Adela
A passage to India by E.M.Forster is a novel which deals largely with the political, economic and social takeover of India by the British Crown. The novel deals widely with colonialism and more specifically, imperialism. Forster presents the theme in question through the lives and minds of the characters from both the Indians and the English people. There is no subjective undertone to the novel and we see clearly how each character feels, politically correct or not. Forster successfully presents different scenarios and relationships with the assistance of symbolism and imagery, for us to imagine and determine a path to where it may lead; based on the concerns the book shows us. The narrative plays host to an array of themes and consequences present for both parties. The way in which Forster captures the imperialist ideology against the backdrop of a wondrous India and its people has been done so to give the reader a completely unbiased focal on the themes, but still create an enduring curiosity to how the back-story will affect the current affairs.
With the thought on imperialism, rather than take the novel on a tangent of complete political movement, Forster chose to focus on people, relationships and the development of characters. Through this liberal approach it allows the reader to delve into the matter with an open mind, to develop own opinions and comments. To allow for all sides and notions to be represented, Forster seemed to develop a character for each. The idea that Indians would be facing an uphill battle trying to forge friendships with the English was represented in characters such as Hamidullah who implies that possibly both races can be friends but never under the current circumstances, and represented less progressively in Mahmoud Ali who presents a stubborn anti-British attitude. The ignorance of the British arrival in India is not unnoticed in the characters of Adela