In A Passage to India, the colonialists are definitely the stronger race and have authority over the locals. This authority gives them power which they use against the inferior race, the Indians (Boehmer 1995: 10). The Indians are considered weak, outcast, and second rate. They are believed to be different from Europeans, especially the English. Even though the British might have their own different categories like social class and religions, they are united as opposed to the local natives (Boehmer 1995: 67). There is very little social integration between the colonialists and the Indians. Yet there are incidents in the novel that show that the Indians are more sophisticated than the colonialists. Forster had spent a long time in India before …show more content…
The Possibility of Friendship
A Passage to India is an investigation whether there could be an invisible bond of value rather than an investigation of a political bond. The novel considers whether it is possible for personal relationships between the locals and English to develop to mutual satisfaction. Forster’s text considers whether the English can connect with the Indians, and vice versa (Forster 1979: 26).
Racist attitudes towards the Indians
Throughout the novel there are examples of racist attitudes and oppression by the Anglo- Indians towards the natives. Major Callendar boasts about torturing an injured Indian youth by putting pepper on his shattered face; Mr Mc Bryde expresses supercilious views of the lust the Indians show for white women; Ronny Heaslop is ignorant; Miss Dereck shows anger towards her Indian employers; and Mr Turton is arrogant towards the
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They are not to blame, they have not a dog’s chance – we should be like them if we settled here” (Forster 1979: 176). Mr Turton states that he has “never known anything but disaster result when English people and Indians attempt to be intimate socially” (Forster 1979: 182). Contact, in his opinion, would be allowed, as well as courtesy, but intimacy should not be allowed. Such intimacy is only negative. Only mutual respect and esteem can enable them to socialize with each other.
The British feel that it vital for them to stick to the unwritten rules on how they behave towards the locals. These unwritten rules, which the locals are bound to follow in their relations with the colonialists, safeguard the interests of the British, making them the white superiors. Any modification of these rules would risk the whole system
Beginning in the sixteenth century, Europeans made the voyage to a “new world” in order to achieve dreams of opportunity and riches. In this other world the Europeans came upon another people, which naturally led to a cultural exchange between different groups of people. Although we commonly refer to European and Indian relations as being between just two very different groups of people, it is important to recognize this is not entirely true. Although the settlers of the new world are singularly referred to as Europeans, each group of people came from a different nation and with different motives and expectations of the new world. Similarly, the Indians were neither a united group nor necessarily friendly with each other. Due to the
She explains her thesis by stating “Others who write stories of migration often talk of arrival at a new place as a loss of communal memory and the erosion of an original culture. I want to talk of arrival as a gain,” (360). The key points of the text include Mukherjee describing her transition between Calcutta and the United States, and what it means to be and American and how culture influences that aspect. The information in the text is significant; the people of America are a part of a melting pot, sometimes it is hard for them to find the distinction between American culture and their own. The information in Mukherjee’s story is clear and specific, unbiased, and is relevant to the purpose of the story. I believe Mukherjee has achieved her purpose of informing her audience about cultural differences; she presents certain strengths and weaknesses within the text.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.
The students “believe that whites [are] not quite human” they walk like angry wolves and terrify them (Maracle, 173). The white men have made themselves powerful. In One, two, three little Indians, the Whites do not help the Native Americans no
During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.
One direct example is the way both cultures handle the basic decency of avoiding interruptions. “To interrupt another, even in common Conversation, is reckon’d highly indecent. How different this is, from the Conduct of a polite British House of Commons where scarce every person without some confusion, that makes the Speaker hoarse in calling to Order and how different from the Mode of Conversation in many polite Companies of Europe, where if you do not deliver your Sentence with great Rapidity, you are cut off in the middle of it by the Impatients Loquacity of those you converse with, and never suffer’d to finish it.” This shows how Natives are kind and listen to each other, and the Europeans constantly scramble to be heard and don’t mind who gets silenced because of it. Another comparison is made within an anecdote. “You know our Practice. If a white Man in travelling thro’ our Country, enters one of our Cabins, we all treat him as I treat you… We demand nothing in return. But if I go into a white Man’s House at Albany, and ask for Victuals & Drink, they say, where is your Money? and if I have none; they say, Get out you Indian Dog. You see they have not yet learnt those little Good Things, that we need no Meetings to be instructed in, because our Mothers taught them to us when we were Children.” This quote shows another difference in what is seen as standard decency n the different cultures. The native will treat visitors with kindness and respect, while the white man will demand to be
The first interaction that took place in the New World, occurred between a group of European settlers and Native Indians, who inhabited the borders of the United States. Indian tribes, who resided in the North, lacked the skills and literacy Europeans had obtained, such as craftsman’s ship of tools, weapons, and wheeled vehicles. However, their simplistic lives allowed them to master skills, which would become important and useful to new settlements, such as farming, hunting, developing structures, and engage in far-reaching networks of trade. Europeans viewed the Natives one of two ways, “they were regarded either as noble savages, gentle, friendly, and superior in some ways to Europeans, or as uncivilized and brutal savages.” (Give Me Liberty
Although the Indians had many admirable talents, the Europeans respect for the natives was microscopic. Europeans from different parts of the world had conflicting viewpoints of how Indians should be treated. In the, “Native
Imperialism is the domination of one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. Imperialism is more often than not fueled by two major schools of thought known as nationalism and Social Darwinism. Nationalism is a feeling of pride and devotion to one’s country. This can drive a person to think that their country is the most powerful, and in essence drives that person mad with power and a hunger to conquer, which not ironically is exactly what many countries did. Social Darwinism is the very idea that a more powerful country conquer the smaller countries. “Survival of the fittest,” as the well renowned Charles Darwin used to say. Imperialism is also sometimes sparked by military motives, such as when USA set up
As India’s modernization developed, the entire civilization of India improved remarkably. The country’s improvement of civilization is exemplified through it’s establishment of schools and law. Western education was introduced by Britain and laws were well made with courts that enforce them. (Doc 3). One should take into account the speaker of this document because Romesh Dutt is an Indian like any other, yet he praises the British for what they have done to contribute to the development of India. In addition to these establishments is Britain bringing finer ideals of humanity to India. Infanticide, the killing of female babies, was brought to a halt as well as participation in the slave trade (Doc 5). Without the interference of Britain, these inhumane actions would be prevalent throughout India and the country would suffer from a bad reputation. These
The colonization of India and the immense transfer of wealth that moved from the latter to Britain were vital to the success of the British Empire. In fact, the Viceroy of British India in 1894 called India “the pivot of our Empire …” I examine the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the subcontinent. Besides highlighting the fact that without cheap labor and raw materials from India, the modernization of Britain during this era would have been highly unlikely, I will show how colonial policy led to the privation and death of millions of natives. I conclude that while India undoubtedly benefited from British colonial rule, the negatives for the subject population far outweighed the positives.
This is further exaggerated as the narrator describes the tone of the meeting, as containing “the faint civilized aroma of whisky and soda” (Woolf 212). The simple addition of the word “civilized” exponentially magnifies the severity of Europe’s conceived belief. The narrator uses this word ironically in this instance, mocking his superiors as if being fat and drinking late at night classifies as “civilized.” However, if viewed as a statement, it signifies what Europeans think of themselves and others; if we are civilized, than the opposite must be true for others. In this case, the feeling of superiority reflects the way Europeans governs India without the appropriate knowledge necessary. Woolf builds upon this particular argument when the Anglo-Indian recollects a story regarding a pearl
“The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.” (Chinua Achebe 1958) This quote is written by Chinua Achebe which shows the main theme of the novel Things Fall Apart, and even represents the theme within the article, “The Benefits of British Rule”. There are many cultures with different values or practices that might seem obscure to one group but normal to another, therefore no one can determine what culture is wrong or right, but it 's up to society to determine the best way of life. The novel Things Fall Apart and the article “The Benefits of British Rule” examine two different cultures facing similar scenarios. Both cultures, the Indian and
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.
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