A Colonial Worldview in E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the colonial worldview characteristic of the friendship between the English and the Indians in the early 20th century represented in E. M. Forster’s novel A Passage to India. The socio-cultural contacts between the British colonizers impersonated in the novel as the British characters and Muslim Indians as the colonized group is studied in detail. Applying Franz Fanon’s psycho-political perspective the paper focuses on conflicting situations between two groups of characters in the novel. The paper focuses on the colonial worldview and its effects on the relations described in the novel are represented through the situations of misunderstanding and alienation that result in chaos. The study found that the hostile and discriminate approach of English men toward the Indians never let the relationship flourish. The study however, shows some positive signs, as the author has criticized the attitude of the English. This paper suggests further research into Forster’s novels from different literary perspectives to investigate the psyche and its effects on human relationships.