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Essay / A Passage to India - 1742
EM Forster, born into a middle-class London family, was an English humanist and writer famous for his literary works which drew attention to hypocrisy (present in time in which he lived). In his novel A Passage To India, Forster explores the relationships between and within the Anglo-Indian and Native American communities under British imperialism and exposes the sins its members commit against the humanist values of sympathy and understanding. Additionally, in A Passage to India, Forster reflects the relational phases that occur between his characters through the use of the three main divisions: mosque, caves, and temple. The First Division Mosque, a Muslim place of worship, is set in the fictional world. city of Chandrapore and brings about the first stage of human confrontation --Introduction. One of the first introductions Forster makes to the reader is the division between Indian and British cultures. He does this by describing Indian Chandrapore as a place where "the streets are mean, the temples ineffective, and although there are a few fine houses, they are hidden in gardens or in alleys whose filth deters all but the 'guest ". (Forster 3) while describing British Chandrapore “as a totally different place.” It is a city of gardens. It is not a town, but a forest dotted with cabins. It is a tropical delight washed by a noble river” (Forster 4). The idea of "introductions" is further explored in Dr. Aziz's visit to the mosque which allows him to "lose his imagination...where his body and thoughts have found their home" (Forster 16), where the "many little sounds [of] the English... amateur orchestra... Hindu drums... owls" (Forster 17), all diverse in nature, echoed through a similar space...... amidst a paper ...... apart; the earth would not have it, sending up rocks through which the horsemen had to pass in single file; the temples, the tanks, the prison, the place, the birds, the carrion, the Guest House... didn't want it, they said... "no, not yet", and the sky said: "No, not there'" (Forster 362). Works Cited Forster, EM A Passage To India. New York: Harcourt, Brace and, 1924. Print. "Mosque, cave, temple and some comments on the weather." Shmoop. Internet . April 11, 2012. "The Structure of EM Forster's 'A Passage to India'" Your Knowledge Matters. April 11, 2012. "A Passage to India." SparkNotes. April 11. 2012..