A passage to India

E. M. Forster
Introduction
 If you have the chance to travel for free
• Which destination would you choose?

• England? Or India?

• I bet most of you would choose England…. This is part of the

conditioning that we easterners have internalized subconsciously
as a result of colonialism that impacted our way of thinking.
Most of us would prefer going to the west, rather than the east.
There is nothing wrong with that; but we have to be conscious of
it.
London 1879
 Would you like to visit India someday?
Why? Why Not?
What is the first thing that comes to your mind
when
we mention India?
Elephants? Colorful clothes? Dance?
Pretty Ladies?
Films? Bollywood? Who is your favorite Indian
actor?
The Plot
 1-Exposition
4-Falling 2-Rising
Actions Actions
3-Climax

5-Resolution
 1- The Exposition
Mr. Moore Miss Adela Mr. Ronny Dr. Aziz Mr. Fielding Mr. Turton Godbole
 Adela Quested, and her elderly friend Mrs. Moore
visit the fictional city of Chandrapore, British India.

Miss Adela Mrs. Moore

 What is the purpose of the visit?
• Miss Adela expects to be engaged to Mr. Ronny.
Can you remember who Mr. Ronny is?
 The British in India
• Before the visit, the British community in India,
were a homogenous group of colonizers whose
relationship to the local Indians , the colonized,
is based on their own rules: superiority to the
Indians.
• Only Mr. Feilding was different and had more
liberal views about the Indians and he tended
to deal with them as equals.
 The British in India
• They believed themselves to be superior to all
Indians, including the educated ones. To them
ALL INDIANS are inferior, and therefore it is not
possible for them to befriend them. The only
exception we see is Mr. Feilding who is always
ready to help and serve them.
 The British in India
• With the arrival of the two female visitors, things
start to change since they come with the intention
to see the “real India” which means they want to
contact the Indians without adopting the view the
rest of the traditional British community has about
them as inferiors.
• They came with an unconventional, unbiased
outlook to the natives and therefore, they are often
criticized by the rest of the British.
One day, Mrs. Moore meets Dr. Aziz at the
mosque; they immediately become friends.
The Bridge Party Who are the newcomers?

newcomers have
expressed to Mr. Turton
and Mrs. Turton a
desire to see real India.
So, Mr. Turton invites
them to the Bridge
Party.
 The Bridge Party
As the name suggests, this is a party to “bridge” the
gap between the British and the Indians, to get
both parties to know each other and perhaps
become friends. But what happens in this scene is
totally different from this.
Indian criticizes remain on one side
that has Indian and local food, while
the English remain on the other side
with their own food and drink. So
the whole idea of a “bridge” does
not happen.
The “bridge Party” fails to bridge
the gap because only Adela and
Mrs. Moore have the desire to
contact and the other group while
the rest of the British remain aloof,
cold and distant.
In the Bridge Party, Adela
and Mrs. Moore are
criticized for attempting
to be friendly with the
Indian community.
•During the party, Adela and Mrs. Moore
meet Mr. Fielding WHO invites them to a
Tea Party with Dr. Aziz in his house.
•This is the only positive interaction that
takes place during the Bridge Party.
 2- Rising Actions
• In the Tea Party, Dr. Aziz and Mr. Fielding become friends.
Then, Dr. Aziz promises to take THEM to see Marabar Caves.

then
Friends
 The Marabar Caves
• Dr. Aziz goes to great length to prepare for
the visit of his new British friends to the
Marabar Caves. He hires people to serve
the food, prepares a great feast for the
ladies, prepares the elephants. He
attempts to impress his guests with his
hospitality and generosity, but the visits
ends catastrophically.
The next day, Adela, Mrs. Moore, and Dr. Aziz go to
the Marabar Caves by train, while Mr. Fielding and
Godbole miss the train.
Marabar Caves
In the tour of the first cave, Mrs. Moore is overcome
with claustrophobia. But worse than the
claustrophobia is the echo. So, she decides to stay
behind.

So,
Aziz and Adela go on visiting the Caves. There,
Adela realizes that she doesn’t love Mr. Ronny.
At that time, she insults Aziz with some private questions.
So, Aziz escapes into a cave to avoid her questions.
Then, Adela walks into a cave alone and she gets lost.
At that moment, she is really confused.
She escapes from the cave back to Chandrapore and
accuses Dr. Aziz of attempting to attack her.
0/74Aziz is arrested, Fielding tries to defend him.
 3- The Climax
• The day of the trial, Adela realizes she made a mistake, and declares that
Dr. Aziz is innocent. So, he is set free. As a result, Adela is insulted by the
whole English community and becomes alone, but Fielding protects her.
 4- Falling Actions
•Aziz is angry that Fielding befriended Adela after
she nearly ruined his life.
Aziz believes that Mr. Fielding is leaving to marry his enemy
Adela . Bitter at his friend's betrayal, he decides never again
to befriend a white person.
 5- The Resolution
• Dr. Aziz begins a new life. In the novel's last
sentences, he explains that he and Fielding cannot
be friends until India is free of the British colony.
•In the last sentence in this novel, Mr. Fielding
asks why they cannot be friends now, when
they both want to be, but the sky and the
earth seem to say ‘No, not yet…No, not there.’
…… elaborate ?
The major
themes
• A Passage to India begins and ends posing the
question of whether it is possible for an Englishman
or woman and an Indian to be friends.
THE DIFFICULTY OF ENGLISH-INDIAN FRIENDSHIP

MS. QUESTED DR. AZIZ

At the beginning, Dr. Aziz is Yet, the connection Aziz feels with
scornful of the English Mrs. Moore makes it possible for
him to befriend the British.
Is it possible for the British and Indians to be
friends?
Dr. Aziz tends to let his Mr. Fielding suffers from
imagination run away with him an English literalism and
and to let suspicion harden rationalism that blind him
into a grudge. to Aziz’s true feelings.
 THE UNITY OF ALL LIVING THINGS
Though the main characters of A Passage to India are generally
Christian or Muslim, Hinduism also plays a large thematic role in
the novel.
The aspect of Hinduism, here, for Forster, shows the ideal
of all living things, from the lowest to the highest, united in
love.
Professor Godbole remains isolated and strange and keeps himself
away from the drama of the plot, he doesn’t share the rest of the
people their talk about Marabar caves. He even doesn’t pay much
attention to Dr. Aziz’ accusation, he speaks indifferently which
make Mr. Fielding angry with him.
Mrs. Moore appears to feel connection with all living
creatures.
To sum up, the writer contrasts the idea of oneness with the
Hindu Professor Godbole, and the idea of connection with people
with the Christian and Muslim.
• What does Fielding do that angers the members of
the English club

• A)he hangs around with Aziz

• B)he that pronounces Aziz is innocent
• C)he fights with soldier
• D)he doe not stand when Ronny enters
• Why is Aziz upset during his own victory celebration

• A)because Fielding leaves with Adela

• B)because he has been hardened by prison
• C)because his friends are threatening the English
• D)because he knows that the English will regard him
as a guilty
• In the final scene, who or what seems to declare tha
Aziz and Fielding cannot be friends

• A)professor Godbole
• B)God
• C)the land and the sky
• D)the Marabar caves
• Where does Aziz first encounter Mrs.Moore, to his
initial anger

• His backyard
• His front porch
• A swimming pool
• A mosque
• Where does Turton promise that Adela will be able to
meet Indians

a bridge party
the market
the Marabar caves
The polo match
•Take a look at the numerous relationships in
the novel. Which would you characterize as
true friendships? Why? Consider, for
example, Aziz and Mrs. Moore, Aziz and
Fielding, and Adela and Aziz.
•
What are some of the factors
preventing characters who
clearly like each other from
becoming friends?