E212: British Literature since 1760

E. M. Forster Study Questions

Al Drake | Uni Hall 329 | Th. 6:00-7:00 | ajdrake@ajdrake.com

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Assigned: selection from A Passage to India (2131ff).

1. On 2133-35, Hamidullah and Mahmoud Ali argue whether an Indian can be friends with a British person. What does Hamidullah's remark that "They all become exactly the same" imply about British imperialism and, perhaps, about human nature? What does Dr. Aziz add to this argument, when he is finally drawn into it?

2. On 2135-36, what details does the narrator provide to start building up a full sense of Dr. Aziz's character? For example, what about Aziz's education and his love of poetry?

3. On 2136-38, what complexity comes into play regarding race relations when the Raj (that is, the British rulership in India) Civil Surgeon summons Dr. Aziz on official business, and then is out when he arrives? What does Aziz actually do (as opposed to what he thinks) when confronted first by this snub and then by two British ladies' commandeering his hired transportation?

4. On 2138-39, what is Dr. Aziz's attitude towards his religion, Islam? What emotions does being in the mosque bring to the fore?

5. On 2139-41, what accounts for the closeness that Dr. Aziz feels when he meets Mrs. Moore? (Mrs. Moore is the mother of the local magistrate Ronnie Heaslop, and she has traveled to India as an escort for her son's fiancee, Adela.) Why is he so impressed with her? Are his impressions narrated as if they are likely to be accurate? Explain.

6. General question: I know it's hard to tell from such a short selection (we may watch part of a recent film rendition in class to get a better sense of what the novel is about), but how would you sum up Forster's way of dealing with the supposed differences between the British and Indians?

Edition: Abrams, M.H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 2A. Seventh edition. New York: Norton, 2000.