Universal Problems in Novel A Passage to India

At the time that E.M Forster wrote this novel about his experience about India, the British Raj was going on. The British took over India because they aided them but promised to give them a role in the government. Of course, this did not happen so the Indians tried to rebel and take back power but failed. British India remained divided and that’s what Forster shows in the novel. In A Passage to India, Mrs. Moore says on page 51, “Because India is part of the earth. And God has put us on Earth in order to be pleasant with to each other”.

There is the not only division in the race but also in realign and beliefs. This division between people and their view separate the county and does not let it function properly. When Adela admits to Aziz being innocent all the Indian rise up in a mob. With the hatred towards the English being in their county, this just adds onto their anger. An Indian man about to be falsely accused by the English and mainly because they have more power. By Forster showing this in India and dragging it onto England, it shows that this is a worldwide problem. Not only does he show that people are separated but it also has to take time and experience to find oneself. Finding yourself is a big theme in the novel. Every character seems to go through an experience that changes them and their views. For example in A Passage to India Fielding said on page 121 “I believe in teaching people to be individuals, and to understand other individuals”.

You cannot understand or begin to understand other people until you understand yourself. Adela came to India to try to understand it and get to know the real India. In the end, she learns that there are multiple India’s for different people. In the end, she also learns that she does not want to be just another privileged English women, she wants to be more. She is sorry for her mistakes and by the time she leaves she is a different person than when she first arrived. This piece of the literature shows real-world problems with real-world thoughts and reactions. Forester felt inspired by what he saw in both England and India and he had friends on bother sides. He was there at the time of the British ruling and experienced it.

In the novel, it shows that there is some racism in the country, as a “colored” person I too experience this. This has enlightened people because people go through similar problems every day and live through it. They feel like they have no power or feel less of themselves because the superior people do not understand or try to understand them. Being divided, life and judgment, finding/understanding yourself all have one thing in common, it is part of life. No matter where you live or travel everyone feels this and experiences it. We all have problems, having problems is a universal thing.