Ending Journal

January 9, 2010

In the Passage to India E. M Forster uses his real experiences in India to write the book. The book opened a new world to British Imperialism and

I knew that around the 17^th century when Britain was the queen of the sea they began to take note of areas around the world that were rich in spices and also as a post to neighboring lucrative countries such as China. The company that was in charge of taking the lucrative products from India was the British East India Company which set up numerous posts in India. I knew that the British and the India used to have very positive relations. The British would send Indians to school in Britain to attain a proper education and teach them the necessary skills to become successful in society. I knew that in turn the British would take many of the profitable riches that the Indians had. The Indian nationalists who were devout Hindus and Muslim began to despise the presence of the British.

I learned a varied amount of facts from reading A Passage to India. I learned that the tensions between the English and the Indians had become strained and they showed more hatred towards one another. The English now saw the Indians as inferior to them and less as equals. I also learned that this story was written after the First World War which could add an additional strain to the Anglo- Indian relationship. They may have had extreme segregation as they separated themselves as they did in the mosque, the place of worship and many other places such as bathrooms. There were specific people who did try and make relations with the Indians and British but the majority of people refused to come together especially the British. The tensions never stayed stable but continued to rise among the two races as shown by the separation of Mr. Fielding and Dr. Aziz.

After reading the book I researched British Imperialism in India. I found that acts in 1773 and 1784 had already empowered the government to control the British East India Company policies and to appoint the Governor-), the highest Company official in India. The company prospered in India, where it became the most powerful political force, and beat its Portuguese and French competitors. There was a rebellion named the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion, or Indian Mutiny, an uprising initiated by Indian troops, called sepoys, who formed the major part of the Company's armed forces, was the key turning point. Indian nationalism began was at a high point during the time period, which explains the swarm of opposition to the British. The Indians first began by creating the Indian National Congress in 1851 with prominent leaders seeking their basic rights to appear for civil services examinations and more rights, for the Indians.

There has been so many facts that I have learned from reading A Passage to India from British Imperialism to India’s Independence and also the Anglo- Indian relations and its development.

Journal #2

Hey you guys!!!

December 28, 2009

There are numerous symbols in a passage to India so far including :

Prominent among other symbols is the wasp. When Mrs. Moore goes to hang up her cloak at the end of chapter three, she sees a wasp. The symbolic significance of the wasp is not spelled out. However, it suggests the natural life of India, and also carries a hint of uncertainty. Much later, in Part III, Professor Godbole recalls "an old woman he had met in Chandrapore days." He then remembers "a wasp seen he forgot where. He loved the wasp equally."

The wasp is a symbol of the unity of all life, as understood in the Indian religious tradition. Everything, even an insect, is a manifestation of Brahman. Mrs. Moore does not know this intellectually, but she is sympathetic to the idea of the oneness of the universe. Her reaction to the wasp shows she is in tune with this way of thinking. Professor Godbole is performing the religious ceremony. Into his mind at almost the same time drift the images of Mrs. Moore and of a wasp, two images that "melt into the universal warmth." It also represents the limits of the Hindu vision.

The Marabar Caves represent all that is alien about nature. The caves are older than anything else on the earth and embody nothingness and emptiness—a literal void in the earth. They defy both English and Indians to act as guides to them, and their strange beauty and menace unsettles visitors. The caves’ alien quality also has the power to make visitors such as Mrs. Moore and Adela confront parts of themselves or the universe that they have not previously recognized. The all-reducing echo of the caves causes Mrs. Moore to see the darker side of her spirituality—a waning commitment to the world of relationships and a growing ambivalence about God. She eventually loses her idealism and her faith because the echo reveals their limitations. In representing the British colonialist at her best, even Mrs. Moore is dwarfed by the essential indifference of India

walls reflect the visitor's image and the echo becomes the echo of one's limitations.

The cave bears some resemblance to the mosque, in that both are enclosed spaces. Here, however, the resemblance ends. The cave is dark, featureless, and menacing. Although there are many caves at Marabar, it is impossible to tell one from another; they are all alike. It is at least certain that whatever else they might suggest, they stand for misunderstanding and meaninglessness, or what Mrs. Moore calls "muddle."

Mr. Godbole also seems to be a symbol. He represents the Hindu culture as he is peaceful and stays away from trouble but he is also able to keep healthy and positive relations with the British.

Journal #1

December 24, 2009

Happy Christmas Eve!!!

I think it is very intriguing that the setting is in India. India in the 1924 as told in the book was imperialized by the British. It could be from anywhere else in the world but he decided to write about India I did some research on E.M Foster and discovered that he had wrote the book based on his real life experience in India.

Foster could have decided to write the typical racism or friction among the blacks or Africans and whites but he opens a new world by revealing the racial tensions between the whites and the Indians which sheds light to how universal and varied racism is.

India is a land that is known to represent tranquility, harmony, and history that has been kept for thousands of years. Suddenly these invaders (the British) barge in to India to disrupt the peace and tranquility that India has acquired. Even in the place of holiness (the mosque) they still continue to segregate one another and act rudely towards each other.

India has its own character that holds mystery that many of the British and Indians are still trying to fathom. Even as the British tried to change India in to another England, the settings never loses and succumbs to the British thinking and also reveal new things of the Indian culture each day.

The setting also leads to a culture clash between the eastern and western cultures. British try to implement their laws on the Indians, but the Indians hold fast to their traditions and cultures as the British continue to impose their laws and traditions on them. The British try and judge the Indians based on their appearance and put labels on them. The Indians on the other hand look beyond appearances and into every detail of a person from the way they speak, the tone of their voice, and the gestures they make.

The British are not shown as tyrants, although they do fail to understand Indian religion and culture.

The name of this first chapter is the mosque, which is also one of the first settings where the racism and hatred is seen so blatantly. The mosque is a place where people from different cultures can come together as one and forget about their differences to worship one God. Even though there are notable differences this first chapter does represent the setting of the mosque because both the British and the Indians do try and make an effort to come together in union just as they would at a mosque. An example of this could be seen from Adela, Mrs. Moore, and Mr. Fielding’s efforts to step out of their usual British boundary and learn more about the Indians and their culture

I thought that the British would never be able to resolve their issues and I may never witness a British person befriend with an Englishmen but after reading and visualizing Mr. Fielding and Aziz talking to one another maybe there is hope as India always brings a sense of hope.

December 24, 2009 Comments

This book has been good so far. The tensions among the British and the Indians are becoming very tense. Even in the holy place of worship the segregation and hate that these two cultures have for each other is vivid. It is so strange because as any imperialistic country, the British think that they are "saving" the Indians but they are slowing their process to advance with society by "enslaving" these people. It is very interesting that world history follows this cycle of countries trying to "help" people rather than harm them. The power and greed that these countries have can harm their nation When is this cycle ever going to end?

sorry, you guys, my mom has been in the hospital for the past 2 weeks and last minute college stuff have kept me off the internet but I typed out my journals on the computer except for my last one, I will definetly upload them by tuesday. Hope your break has been awesome!!!!