A Passage to India
Well, I finally finished E.M. Forster's A Passage to India over the weekend. I think it is poignant for the time it was written. I think the general theme of the novel is an idea that most people would agree upon, that the Brits aren't superior to the Natives, nor is any group of people superior to another group of people. Which is demonstrated, of course, by a bunch of British people acting superior to Indian people. And a few British people that try desperately hard not to act superior, and a few Indians who try desperately hard not to think that all British people are snobbish oppressors.
I think this is a perfectly noble thing to write about, and you can substitute many cultural, social, economic, racial and religions groups for the Turtons/Burtons vs. the "Orientals" in this story. However, the action in the book itself was something I found a little boring, and had trouble plowing through. I would give it a 6 out of a possible 10. It did as well as it did, because it is an impressive commentary for its time, and E.M. Forster's writing style is quite enjoyable, when it's not being wasted on mindless dialogue. I'm glad I read it, I suppose, but I won't re-read it and I can't forsee many circumstances in which I would highly recommend it to others.
The misunderstandings between the characters in the book were all based on assumptions that they all seemed to know they were wrongly making the entire time. And just when I thought there was progress, the dialogue between Dr. Aziz and Mr. Fielding at the end of the book spelled out that, like it or not, the way things are, is just the way things are. Social nirvana could not be reached in the current state of the world between the British and the Indians, nor truly within each group amongst themselves.
Also, Aziz's unconditional friendship for Mrs. Moore bothered me so, so very much. It honestly made very little sense to me, how based on one conversation, he would hold on for dear life to this one friendship indefinitely. The good aspect of this, however, is that his undying love for Mrs. Moore, even after her (annoyingly) sudden and convenient death/disappearance, is of course that years later it caused him to let go of his hatred for Miss Quested and Mr. Fielding for her sake, and for the sakes of Stella an Ralph. I suppose that was the point of this friendship's existence, but it seemed like a very lazy way for E.M. Forster to force Aziz's change of heart after the incident with Miss Quested left him to lead his life under constant speculation and shame, even after he was pardoned.
And as for the incident with Miss Quested, it's frustrating that nothing really happened to her and she didn't know who exactly frightened her in the caves. It was infuriating to read through the bullying the men did to Adela to get her to implicate Aziz, and try to carry through her false testimony. I was relieved that she told the truth in the end, but the whole situation was a little absurd, in my opinion. But I can see how things like that could really happen under Britain's (or any nation's) imperial rule.
Those are my two cents. I would love to hear what others thought if they read it!
X-posted to
cha_book_club
I think this is a perfectly noble thing to write about, and you can substitute many cultural, social, economic, racial and religions groups for the Turtons/Burtons vs. the "Orientals" in this story. However, the action in the book itself was something I found a little boring, and had trouble plowing through. I would give it a 6 out of a possible 10. It did as well as it did, because it is an impressive commentary for its time, and E.M. Forster's writing style is quite enjoyable, when it's not being wasted on mindless dialogue. I'm glad I read it, I suppose, but I won't re-read it and I can't forsee many circumstances in which I would highly recommend it to others.
The misunderstandings between the characters in the book were all based on assumptions that they all seemed to know they were wrongly making the entire time. And just when I thought there was progress, the dialogue between Dr. Aziz and Mr. Fielding at the end of the book spelled out that, like it or not, the way things are, is just the way things are. Social nirvana could not be reached in the current state of the world between the British and the Indians, nor truly within each group amongst themselves.
Also, Aziz's unconditional friendship for Mrs. Moore bothered me so, so very much. It honestly made very little sense to me, how based on one conversation, he would hold on for dear life to this one friendship indefinitely. The good aspect of this, however, is that his undying love for Mrs. Moore, even after her (annoyingly) sudden and convenient death/disappearance, is of course that years later it caused him to let go of his hatred for Miss Quested and Mr. Fielding for her sake, and for the sakes of Stella an Ralph. I suppose that was the point of this friendship's existence, but it seemed like a very lazy way for E.M. Forster to force Aziz's change of heart after the incident with Miss Quested left him to lead his life under constant speculation and shame, even after he was pardoned.
And as for the incident with Miss Quested, it's frustrating that nothing really happened to her and she didn't know who exactly frightened her in the caves. It was infuriating to read through the bullying the men did to Adela to get her to implicate Aziz, and try to carry through her false testimony. I was relieved that she told the truth in the end, but the whole situation was a little absurd, in my opinion. But I can see how things like that could really happen under Britain's (or any nation's) imperial rule.
Those are my two cents. I would love to hear what others thought if they read it!
X-posted to
cha_book_club