论文总字数：45915字

摘 要

作为英语文学的伟大作品之一，E.M.福斯特的小说《印度之行》在文学批评界受到高度的赞誉。小说不仅描写了处于英殖民时期的印度和印度人，更有着深刻的文化意义。批评家们对《印度之行》的解读已经涉及政治、种族、宗教及文化等多个方面。本文则在后殖民理论和“他者”理论的基础上，较为深入全面地分析《印度之行》中存在的不同的“他者”，并探究小说中产生“他者”的原因。

论文引言部分介绍了E.M.福斯特的生平、创作经历，《印度之行》的写作背景及国内外研究现状，还简要概述了“他者”的后殖民主义理论基础。正文分为三章，分别论述了种族“他者”，女性“他者”，和宗教“他者”，旨在揭示这些“他者”遭受的不公平待遇，进一步地探究“他者”形成的原因。论文在结论部分指出，福斯特作为殖民帝国的一员，不可避免的会受到殖民帝国的意识和文化的影响，这就导致他的后殖民主义话语不可避免地会带有殖民主义色彩。

关键词：E.M.福斯特；《印度之行》；“他者”；后殖民主义

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements i

English Abstract ii

Chinese Abstract iii

Introduction 1

Background 1

Literature Review 2

Theoretical Basis 3

Chapter One: The Racial Other Under The Colonial System 5

1.1 Isolated Indians in the Bridge Party 5

1.2 Colonial Discrimination in the Trial 6

Chapter Two: The Feminine Other of The Patriarchal Society 8

2.1 The Awkward Status of English Women in India 8

2.2 The Low Status of Indian Women 11

Chapter Three: The Religious Other Under Christianity 13

3.1 The Hindu under Christianity --Godbole 13

3.2 The Oppressed Muslim--Aziz 15

Conclusion 17

Works Cited 19

Introduction

As a world-known short story writer, critic, and novelist, E. M. Forster is one of the greatest English writers in the twentieth century. He enjoys great popularity as an English novelist, and his novels are widely read both home and abroad.

Background

E. M. Foster was born on the first day of 1879 in London. Soon after Forster was born, his father died of tuberculosis, and Foster was raised up by his mother and aunt. As a teenager, he has grown up in the house that was later to become the great symbol of Howards End, in Hertfordshire. At the Tonbridge School in Kent, Forster accepted his education and his unpleasant experience in that school would be responsible for his later criticism of the public school system in England. Then he attended King's College， Cambridge, where he joined the“Bloomsbury group”, a famous group composed of intellectuals. After graduation, Forster went to Greece and Italy. This experience gives him a lot of inspirations for his later writings.

Where Angels Fear to Tread, a story partly set in Italy, was completed in 1905.His other great works include The Longest Journey (1907), set in Cambridge; A Room with a View(1908), set in Italy again; Howards End(1910), set in his own house in Hertfordshire; A Passage to India(1924), set in colonial India; and his book about critical theory, Aspects of novel(1927).

A Passage to India is known as the best novel of Forster. In it, Forster employs both his first-hand and second-hand knowledge of India. Long before his first visit to India, Forster had already gained a lot of information of its places and people from Syed Ross Masood, one of his Indian friends, who also introduced Forster to several other Indians. The friendship between Forster and Masood is just like the friendship between Aziz and Fielding in the novel. Forster first visited India in 1912. At that time, India was still a colony of the British. During his visit, he spent a lot of time with both the Englishmen and Indians, and he found that he preferred the latter. At the same time, he was also troubled by the cultural misunderstanding and racial gap between the Englishmen and Indians. After this visit, he started writing A Passage to India. This novel was not finished until he made his second visit to India as a secretary to the Maharajah of Dewas State Senior.

Literature Review

As I mentioned above, A Passage to India is highly acclaimed in the circle of literary criticism. Since its publication, there have been several kinds of reviews. The first regards it as a realistic novel that vividly describes the historical and social background of the colonial India. Some of the critics claim that this novel criticizes Anglo-Indian society, whose people are not optimistic about the communication between the Indians and Englishmen. Some critics have argued that it is Forster’s failure not to depict India’s early nationalist movement sufficiently. And based on a relatively new theory, some critics believe that A Passage to India is an imaginative text that from socio-historical perspectives, overtly justify imperialism. Some reviewers consider the novel as a commentary on the condition of the human. For example, in the last part of the novel, the positive religious image of the temple makes up for the relatively negative rape trial of Aziz, and the influence of Hinduism in A Passage to India provides a possible solution to the conflict between the Indians and Englishmen. Since Edward Said’s Orientalism was published in 1978, postcolonial theory has become more and more popular as an approach to analyze novels that involve colony and its people. A Passage to India is one of such proper novels which can be approached from the postcolonial perspective.

In Delusions and Discoveries: Studies on India in the British Imagination, Benita Parry applies a direct postcolonial approach to interpret the novel. Harry T. Moore argues that human beings’ failure in communication is explored in the novel. Rex Warner states that “undeveloped heart” is a major theme of this novel. In China, there are numerous studies on A Passage to India, but most of them are incomprehensive. A large part of researches have been done from perspectives of cross-cultural communication and post-colonialism. These researches mainly concentrate on racial clash and gender factors. Some of them do talk about the Other, but they mainly focus on the theme of“Only connect” and fail to systematically explore the images of the Other. Thus, this thesis, from postcolonial perspective, will deeply and systematically explore the various images of the Other in A Passage to India.

Theoretical Basis

In 1978, the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism started a new wave of literary criticism of the postcolonial studies. The postcolonial theory was formed in 1980s and matured in late 1990s affecting the whole Western humanities and social sciences. The theory contains a rich, strong critical consciousness, which makes it a remarkable academic change and a new critical method in European and American criticism.

Western scholars use different terms to illustrate postcolonialism, such as the postcolonial criticism, postcolonial studies, postcolonial discourse, and postcolonial theory and so on. Postcolonial studies bridge political science, cultural studies， philosophy, geography, history, anthropology，literature and other disciplines. It takes class, gender, and race as the reference to reflect and expand cultural critique of various thoughts in Western academic circles, focusing on the oppositions such as white/black, metropolis/colony. Postcolonial criticism takes some elements from Marxism, postmodernism and poststructuralism. On the one hand, it studies some social and historical matters in the Third World; on the other hand it bases itself on the Western thought, echoing with cultural studies, localization studies, and feminism leading to a diversity of cultural criticism and reflection.

Another kind of complicated explanation tries to divide postcolonialism into four aspects: first, as a unique cultural form, it refers to the postcolonial phenomena in the field of literary studies and cultural criticism. Second, as a historical concept, it indicates the historical period after the Western colonization. Third, as the anti-colonial discourse, it represents a kind of resistance to and subversion of colonialism. Fourth, in the context of globalization, the postcolonialism refers to the economic and cultural contradictions the postcolonial nation-states face during their construction of cultural identity.

Postcolonial theory can be defined as a reflection on cultural differences, an address to the Other or a discourse about the Other. When the colonizer’s culture clashes with that of the colonized, the colonized often stay in the circumstances of being marginalized, and they are forced to accept different values. Postcolonial theories analyze some conditions or situations which lead to the colonial Other. Thus, this thesis will do research on the colonial Other from the postcolonial perspective.

Chapter One: The Racial Other Under the Colonial System

1.1 Isolated Indians in the Bridge Party

Major Turton holds a “Bridge Party” and invites English people as well as Indians to meet Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested’s request to see real India. The party is held neither for the wish to fill the gap of communication nor for the friendliness between the two groups of people. The truth is that the “Bridge Party” is just the means for pleasing the English ladies. Thus, it is easy to perceive how pathetic the Indians are. The party is doomed to be a failure and Forster shows us a depressing atmosphere and an embarrassing scene.

Out of respect, the Indians arrive much earlier but “stood massed at the farther side of the tennis lawns, doing nothing” (Forster 38). As a result, to avoid any unnecessary contact with the Indians they are contemptuous of, those English people stand on the other side of the lawn. Because they think they are born to be superior to the Indians. This spatial distance shows the psychological barrier, which is full shown through the following awkward interaction. Mr. Turton hopes to change the stifling atmosphere, so he sends his wife--Mrs.Turton to “get it over” (Forster 41),attempting to justify the communication. However, Mrs. Turton feels really reluctant, and she even does not want to shake hands with them. She believes that the Indians attend the party is to expect things from Mr. Turton. From the very beginning, the friendly try is full of distrust and suspect.

Mrs. Moore wants Mrs. Turton to introduce the Indian ladies to them while Mrs. Turton said, “you’re superior to them, anyway. Don’t forget that. You’re superior to everyone in India except one or two of the Ranis, and they’re on equality” . When Mrs. Moore has a talk with Ronny, there is a strong divergence in opinion that even runs into a quarrel. The mother holds that India is part of the earth that deserves the pleasant treatment from the British. Conversely, the son rebuts, “We’re not out here for the purpose of behaving pleasantly! We’re out here to do justice and keep the peace” (Forster 52). The imperial Britain is not to see real India but to build its global empire through consistently putting the third-world country into the marginalized position. They feel reluctant to understand the colonized people but reinforce their stereotypical prejudice that India is backward; native Indians are untruthful and inferior. The English are to allege their power and bring prosperity to this desolate place instead of understanding the local people.

1.2 Colonial Discrimination in the Trial

With good intention, Aziz tries to receive his guests by inviting them to visit the Marabar Caves-the only extraordinary place in Chandrapore. The Indians make diligent preparation for this tour. Miss Quested is surely not pleased by the arrangements; just the reverse, what she feels is only the dimness of India. The Western rational thinking has the oriental enthusiasm meet embarrassment. Miss Quested sees the East from Westerner’s point of view and hastily jumps to a conclusion of so-called oriental impressions. Later, she gets an illusion that she may be insulted by Aziz in one of the Marabar caves. The Marabar caves event grants the British perfect opportunity to punish local Indians they hate for so long. They ignore laws and arrest Aziz directly without sound evidence.

This accusation further leads to more outward hostility between the two groups. Except Fielding, all the British form a faction spontaneously so that when Fielding tries to defend Aziz, he is severely reproached by the Collector. “I cannot pass the last remark…what induced you so speak to me in such a tone? That is a repetition of your insult in an aggravated form” (Foster 153). The Collector is shocked, trembled because he detects that the man is not in the same camp with him.

In court, the British judge the case by subjective assumption so as to put the innocent Aziz into conviction. They even suggest in their crime theory ludicrously,“all unfortunate natives are criminals at heart, for the simple reason that they live south of the latitude 30” (Forster 166). In their eyes, the local people are inferior. Misunderstanding gets the contradiction between the two nations deepened. When the court is called to order, the Englishmen’s chairs are set in advance to show the most important thing to them-dignity. The Englishmen sit on the platform while the Indians crowd in the body of the hall. The high-low space distance further verifies the estrangement and the status chasm. To Mr. McBryde, more efforts are put into bragging the accusation of the Oriental Pathology instead of defending the plaintiff. He despises Indians, at the same time, he comments that “the darker races are physically attracted by the fairer, but not vice versa-not a matter for bitterness this, not a matter for the abuse, but just a fact which any scientific observer will confirm”(Foster 219). However, the truth is that they do not even have tangible proofs to justify their accusation.

When it is Miss Quested’s turn to take the stand, she suddenly realizes what happened that day is like a hallucination. She almost cannot confirm whether Aziz follows her into the same cave, let alone to accuse his assault. So she decides to withdraw the charge. However, such action triggers her siblings’ outrage. The Superintendent slams down his papers and has to recollect his calmness to keep his dignity. He looks at her as a broken machine and shouts whether she is mad. Mrs. Turton shouts “he shall not, call the other witness; we’re none of us safe.” The Justice shrieks, “You withdraw the charge? Answer me” (Forster 230). They are not concerned with Miss Quested’s health or feeling any more,but furious at their failure to punish the Indians. After this event, her engagement with Ronny is suspended and she could not join her own people any more.

In the trial of Aziz, the gap between two nations results in a racial war. Ironically, the sense of supremacy of their nation is so strong that the British abandon their reason and justice that they learned from their public school. The trial also tells us the gap between the two nations cannot be bridged over because India is the British colony that can never be expected to get equal respect and treatment from the colonizers. The British draw a boundary to distinguish the foreign and from the native, the Occidental and the Oriental, the certainty and the uncertainty which further justifies their attempts to contempt and exploit the inferior others. The stereotype the Westerners construct about the East is the product of consciousness that aims to divide between the West and the East so as to highlight the superiority of the Western culture. When it comes to the colonized India, such ideology becomes much valuable in political use. The interaction that takes place between the British and the native Indians exposes the common prejudice held by Westerners. The Easterners are treated as the Other in the eyes of the Westerners and become more and more marginalized.

Chapter Two: The Feminine Other of the Patriarchal Society

Due to the patriarchal ideology, women are categorized into the domain of nature and matter which are considered as inferior to men in morality, the less valuable half of dualism and the oppressed part of male domination. In the patriarchal society, it is men who are seen as the symbol of spirit, mind and reason, possesses the absolute power of rule and is defined as the principal decision maker. Consequently women are under the domination of men. They are treated as the legal possession and reproduction tools of men and they are dominated, oppressed, exploited and used by men. In A Passage to India, both the British women and the Indian local women are all dominated and oppressed by the patriarchal society that is made up by the most British men with patriarchal ideology and some westernized Indians. Those women are deprived of the basic rights and status of being an independent subject with self-consciousness and are firmly confined by the patriarchal fetters.

2.1 The Awkward Status of English Women in India

In the Anglo-Indian society, the British women are not only oppressed by the British men, but also are belittled by some westernized Indian men. Although belonging to different races, the British men and part of Indian men accept the same cultivation of patriarchal ideology and share the same role as the ruler of women who are categorized into the inferior group. Because the patriarchal ideology is rooted in the Western society, the British men’s domination over these women will be first analyzed. In A Passage to India, Ronny was the closest family members to both Mrs. Moore and Adela. He was Mrs. Moore’s son and Adela’s fiancé, who should protect them from any insult and injury. However, it was he who first belittled and marginalized his mother and fiancée to the status of the Other. In Chapter V, when Mrs. Moore talked about the Britain’s domination over India with Ronny. He angrily grumbled at Mrs. Moore and Adela, “you neither of you understand what work is, or you’d never talk such eyewash.” (Forster 50) In the eyes of British men, the British women are of no importance in the patriarchal society. They only can play the role of mother or wife as the perfect tool of reproduction in the family. However, if the field of business, politics or social intercourse is referred to, the existence of the women immediately becomes useless and powerless. Therefore, when Ronny felt that his mother would affect his future career, he sent her back to Britain immediately. His coldness and selfishness supported by the western mechanism directly led to his mother’s death. Women’s sacrifice for men and patriarchal society sometimes will be at the cost of their precious lives, which are regarded as useless and meaningless.

After returning from the Marabar Caves, Adela was disturbed by the delusion and accused Aziz of having raped her in the cave. Disturbed by the haunting echo of the Marabar Caves, Adela was uncertain about whether Aziz had raped her and felt very painful. However, Ronny paid no attention to her difficult position and just cared about the result of trial, which was closely related with his dignity. It seemed that the dignity of men was more important than his fiancée’s physical and mental crisis. He just considered Adela as a machine to help him protect his dignity and protect the Britain’s rule in India. As Mrs. Moore criticizedRonny, “he has started the machinery;it will work to its end.” (Forster 206) His mother sharply pointed out his true feelings towards Adela from the point of view of women. Meanwhile, when Adela withdrew her accusation, the British Superintendent also saw her as a “broken machine”. The western mechanism has been extended into the field of politics. The British government in India is just like huge and complicatedmachinery that is used to ensure their political privilege and dignified social status, yet quite merciless and emotionless. In this trial, Adela was just a machine operated by her fiancé and the whole Anglo-British community to protect men’s dignity and the British men’s absolute power over the colonized people. Since she did not succeed in performing her duty, she was no different from a“broken machine”, losing her existential meaning. In such patriarchal society, women are just playing the role of tool to satisfy the needs of men. They didn’t have any rights to express their true feelings and thoughts, and their voices were silenced by the dominant men. When Adela did not decide whether she liked the dignified Ronny, she tried to discuss this point with Mr. Turton. But she was silenced by “a good-humored motion of his hand” and he continued“what he had come to say”(Forster 206).

Although the British women belonged to the ruling class in the colonial India, they enjoyed no more privilege than the ruled class — the Indians. Furthermore, they received the same discrimination and mercilessness from the group of some westernized Indian men who are another representative of western patriarchal society. They willingly accepted the western patriarchal ideology and firmly followed its doctrines that classify women into the inferior group. In A Passage to India, Nawab Bahadur was a typical westernized Indian man. He drove the car that is the distinct tool of western civilization and product of Scientific Revolution and freely insulted and exploited his compatriot just as the British colonists did. As a westernized Indian man, he also showed his discrimination against the British women represented by Adela. In Chapter VIII, after the occurrence of a traffic accident, Adela showed her calmness and courage in face of emergency. However, instead of appreciate her brave behavior, Nawab Bahadur cried quite rudely, “I consider not to be frightened the height of folly.” (Forster 88) The excellent feminine features are rendered as ridiculous and unbelievable. Meanwhile, another typical westernized Indian man — Aziz, also expressed his prejudice and contempt to the British women for several times in the novel. At first sight of Adela, he mocked her “angular body and the freckles on her face”. (Forster 68) He judged women just from the appearance, which is a typical male perspective. And then, during the conversation with Fielding, Aziz wanted to build a closer relationship with the latter by mocking the common opposite of men — women represented by Adela: “She was not beautiful. She has practically not breasts... For you I shall arrange a lady with breasts like mangoes.” (Forster 120) In the eyes of Aziz and Fielding, the appearance and physical attributes are the best evaluating standard for women. Because the western dualism split men from women, mind from body, spirit from matter, women are closely related with their body which is even regarded as their symbol. However, their immanent quality and intelligence have been totally ignored and obliterated.

2.2 The Low Status of Indian Women

In the whole novel, there are few descriptions of Indian women, and even this rare appearance is nameless. We are astonished to discover that Forster does not mould a distinctive Indian female image in the whole novel.

Suffering from racial oppression, religious prejudice and patriarchal domination, Indian women live at the bottom of familial and social life. All the Indian women are in impenetrable “Purdah” which means a curtain that makes sharp separation between the world of men and that of women. Women’s submission to “Purdah” restricts their personal, social and economic activities outside home. The fact is well known worldwide. However, no one tries to change this situation, neither the Indian men nor the women themselves. After the trial, once, Aziz meets Hamidullah and they talk about Indian women. Hamidullah mentions that Indian ladies have a deep respect towards Fielding, but none of them have seen him. That must be attributed to two reasons: for one thing, the inherent “Purdah” halts them from doing so; for the other, the Indian ladies themselves have accept what they are and how they are treated and descend to the passive follower of the patriarchal society. Hamidullah’s wife wants to see Fielding, “But always when he calls there is some excuse-she is not feeling well, she is ashamed of the room, she has no nice sweets to offer him, only Elephant’s Ears”(Forster 271). If the husband suggests that Elephant’s Ears are Mr. Fielding favorite sweet, she would reply, “he will know how badly hers are made” (Forster 271). The “Purdah” imprisons them through invisible power so that they are impotent to walk out and have a normal social life. Even the Indian men admit their women are downtrodden. “The Indian lady as she is and not as she is supposed to be” (Forster 65).

Beauvoir points out that woman can choose who they are. But the reality is that they are more accustomed to the roles defined by their father, husband or son than their self-positioning. For the Indian women it is no exception. In India, the women are forbidden to share equality with their husbands. Especially after the death of their husbands, they may live a miserable life guaranteed by their son and daughter-in-law. If they are the son’s lawful mothers, they may be treated better. In fact, the Mohammedans insist on polygamy that aggravates the living condition of the widows who depend on the stepsons. As a usual case, they are no better than a slave. Forced to play the role of the Other in the family, their rights are deprived by the men. At different periods of their life, different labels are attached to them:“daughter”, “wife” and “mother”. Correspondingly, they shoulder various responsibilities in agreement with those labels. But they never acquire independent identity other than the belongings or the auxiliary to men.

They are often depicted as the passive and silent nobody. In A Passage to India, when Aziz is confronted with trial, the Mohammedan women would rather take no food unless the prisoner is acquitted. “Their death would make little difference, indeed, being invisible, they seemed dead already, nevertheless it was disquieting” (Forster 214). But their courage and determination bring no effect to the inherent bias. How bitter it is that their endeavor even death could not arouse the sympathy from the society. Their lives are just like a straw that fails to get any attention.

If we say the English women who settled in India are suppressed by men, then the native Indian women are not only constricted by the Indian men but also despised by British women. At the “Bridge Party”, Mrs. Turton is sent by her husband to treat the Indian women. Far from willing to do so, she exclaims “oh, those Purdah women! I never thought any would come” (Forster 41). She does not only show no sympathy to the confined Indian women but feels exaggeratedly astonished to find they show up at her party. At the request of Mrs. Moore and Miss. Quested, she advances to shake hands with them and says a few welcoming words without knowing the polite forms. After doing so, she asks Mrs. Moore and Miss. Quested, “Is that what you wanted?” (Forster 42) She feels disgusted to low her status to talk to the much-oppressed Indian women. The Indian women naturally respect their men just as the English women do without any reasons. Nevertheless, the women are often treated as the inferior. They are judged by the prejudice that gets a full representation through above actions from different social strata.

Suffering from racial and colonial oppression, Indian women are being treated as the Other for being women and Indians as well. They often automatically identify themselves as the Other unconsciously. What’s worse is that they are not well aware of their condition and prefer to stay as they are, being the subordinate and auxiliary to the dominating male. Chapter Three: The Religious Other under Christianity

3.1 The Hindu under Christianity

Besides Aziz, another representative of Indians is Professor Godbole. He is the incarnation of the mysterious, profound and detached Hindu. He was Aziz's friend and a professor in Fielding's school. Compared to Aziz, Godbole's characterization is not so detailed, but his position in the novel is irreplaceable. Because it is in him that the readers can find the unspeakable mystery and abstruseness of Otherness.

The very first presence of Godbole leaves readers a weird impression. Feeling at his wit's end, Aziz was nervous in his plan of the Marabar Caves for Mrs. Moore and Adela. Fortunately, the arrival of Godbole, a knowledgeable professor calmed him down.

It seems he tries to combine the essence of the East and the West in himself. However, his dressing style is hard to describe. It is not suitable either in the East or in the West. In Hinduism, this kind of dressing style has a very strong symbolic meaning. Hinduism itself is a very inclusive religion for it has absorbed many ideas and teachings of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Therefore, it is hard to find the sense of separation, which is very clear in Aziz.

The ladies are interested in him, and hope that he would supplement Dr. Aziz by saying something about religion. Instead of continuing with the conversation to save Aziz from embarrassment, the polite and enigmatic Brahman applauded Aziz's seeming eloquence. He "only ate—ate, and ate, smiling, never letting his eyes catches sight of his hand" (Forster 89). Besides, the song sung by him is entirely mysterious to the Westerners.

Although Professor Godbole can well tolerate cultural and religious difference, his detached status made him take an indifferent attitude in face of reality.

He always seemes to be an outsider. Because of Ronny's unexpected interruption, the fun conversation at the tea party came to a sudden stop. Everyone was embarrassed except Godbole who was "observing all three, but with downcast eyes and hands folded, as if nothing was noticeable" (Forster 94). He believed reality was full of all kinds of fantasy and illusion; a serious attitude would only make him suffer. Only relief from the pain can take him to achieve bliss. Therefore, life, to him, was just a trip for relief. And the only thing worthy of pursuit is the eternal spirit.

Professor Godbole's indifference to reality can also be embodied in the trial of Aziz. Anxious to help Aziz through the accusation, Fielding turned to Godbole for help, hoping to find something helpful in their conversation. To his great surprise, “this section of the day concluded in a queer vague talk with Professor Godbole” (Forster 183). Every time Fielding started to talk about Aziz's arrestment, Godbole just diverted from the topic. Fielding considered “really, Indians were sometimes unbearable"(ibid). When Fielding finally referred to the arrestment, he gave the answer to Fielding's every question, but no solid or useful information could be acquired each time. In such a crucial time, the main concern for him was a name for a school he would start soon. In his view, the truth of Marabar Cave was insignificant, because good and evil were not simply a binary opposition. He said: “in my own humble opinion, they (good and evil) are both of them aspects of my Lord. He is present in the one, absent in the other.”(Forster 198).There is nothing good or evil, guilt or innocence in his world. He is concerned about the eternal spiritual world, turning blind to everything around him. Therefore, he is not a humanist. In face of Indian's suffering, he felt futile to fight against the British rule. Hearing Adela’s talk about the emptiness and boredom of clubs in Britain, he “was silent, perhaps feeling that it was unseemly of her to criticize her race, perhaps fearing that if he agreed she would report him for disloyalty" (Forster 78), but Aziz agreed to Adela's point of view immediately.

The purpose for Forster to create such a character Godbole is to show that the Orientals are beyond the comprehension of the Westerners. However, some critics find it hard to accept such a character and they question Forster's intention of creating Godbole as a representative of Hindu.

Forster's description of Godbole as an incomprehensible character suggests that he could not avoid the stereotyped depiction of an Easterner. The image of Professor Godbole is exactly an imaginary Oriental in Western people's mind, an inscrutable, indifferent and mysterious person. And the words used to describe Godbole's speech and behaviors show Europeans' superiority over Indians. From the description, it is easy to see that Western people identify Indians as the Other, and it also implies Forster's stereotyped view of Indian culture through his inaccurate description of Hindu in India.

3.2 The Oppressed Muslim--Aziz

Forster's in-depth and detailed observation of the Indian people, appreciation of Indian culture and the sympathy for the Indian people are concentrated on Aziz. Forster applies a number of perspectives in shaping the image of Aziz. In the eyes of Ronny, a typical British colonialist, he is a motivated Indian with spirit of independence who is seeking to win appreciation of the British people and “the spoilt westernized"; in the eyes of Major Calendar, he is an questionable Indian subordinate; in the eyes of Fielding, he is a noble man; in the eyes of Mrs. Moore, he is an educated young man; in the eyes of Miss Adela, he is basically a fun person. With so many different perspectives for the evaluation of Aziz, Forster also shows his ambivalent attitude towards Aziz,“Aziz liked to hear his religion praised. It soothed the surface of his mind, and allowed beautiful images to form beneath" (Forster105). This is Aziz's national and religious pride as an Indian. Therefore, with strong patriotism and love for his country, he could not turn a blind eye to the British colonists' discrimination against and oppression for the Indian people.

As he arrived at the British residential areas, the depression is the outbreak of his hatred towards the British rule and sense of humiliation. He felt humiliated extremely, because living up in such a dirty and chaotic atmosphere, he could not believe that the colonizer, the foreign residents had established a far better residential area than the Indians who are the real owners of the land. Therefore, in discussion about the possibility of establishing friendship with the British, Aziz firmly denied: “Why talk about the English? Brrrr . . .! Why be either friends with the fellows or not friends? Let us shut them out and be jolly,”(Forster 9). His instant response shows his deep-down hatred for the colonizer.

He is dissatisfied with the Indian’s oppressed status, but on the other hand, he is hopeful of the British colonizers' more respect for the Indian culture and religion. This is reflected in his association with the British people. When he saw a British woman walk in the Mosque in darkness, he mistakenly believed that she didn't take off her shoes according to the religious practice. Out of rage, he shouted: “Madam, this is a mosque, you have no right here at all; you should have taken off your shoes; his is a holy place for Moslems" (Forster 17). When a British woman offends the religious site honored by Aziz, he is very excited and denounces the white people from a perspective of Muslim. Even when he communicates with the British in a friendly and equal manner, he also directly expresses his dissatisfaction with the actions of the British colonists. He tells Mrs. Moore the humiliated treatment he suffers from: Mrs. Callendar took his “tonga without my permission" and Major Callendar interruptes him night after night, but once he gets there, Major Callendar is not there and not even leaves a message for him.

The centuries-old history, religion and culture makes Aziz a person with strong self-esteem, national pride and patriotism. He is proud of his country and his race. The strong desire to drive the colonizers away has rooted deeply in Aziz's heart. His consciousness and national pride make him a person who could not tolerate any discrimination and humiliation from the colonizers.

Although greatly proud of his country and culture, Aziz's sense of inferiority can also be recognized at the beginning of the novel according to the details about his going to Major Callender's house. His friend, Hamidullah reminds him to brush his teeth beforehand, but he firmly demonstrates: “if my teeth are to be cleaned, I don't go at all. I am an Indian; it is an Indian habit to take pan. The Civil Surgeon must put up with it" (ibid: 11). But when he get to the city, he brushes his teeth in a friend's house.

He initially wanted his tonga to arrive at Major Callender's yard, but he saw a man of Indian upper class being driven away. He was afraid of the similar treatment; he got off and walked into the yard. His behavior and fear of being treated with cold and arrogant attitude of the British clearly shows his servile manner. He is embarrassed to invite his friends from England, because his home is simple and unclean. Therefore, he arranges a well-planned trip to the Malabar Cave for the two British women and he carefully prepared everything for the trip. These well-planed arrangements were not meant to get the appreciation of the British, but to show his gratitude to the two British ladies. What Aziz believed here is more than what a friend may do. He unconsciously put himself at the inferior and servile position and the recognition and confirmation from the colonizers were so significant to him. He took it as a pride and prize. Here the image presented is a servile Indian intellectual and Forster's evaluation allows us to see Aziz’s unconscious inferiority that indicates that he seeks to get the recognition of the colonizer.

Conclusion

Forster himself is a British man who has inevitably been colored by the ideological and intellectual background of his native country. He lived in an era of contradiction. The period from late 19th century to early 20th century is a significant turning point for both the East and the West. The questioning of and challenge to the tradition and the conflicts of views lead to a great change of the social values.

On its vast colonized territory, India is also undergoing great changes for the good. The movement of national emancipation is developing in India. The desire for national independence is insurmountable, and English colonial regulation meets with a heavy blow.

In this modern classic, the image of the Other plays a significant role that no one can neglect. This thesis concentrates on three groups of the Other: racial other, feminine other and religious other. By studying the representations of “ the Other”, the focus is to reveal and highlight the novel’s embodiments of unequal treatment of the Other. Besides, the thesis also further excavates the origin of the Other in terms of race, religion and gender. The formation of the Other must rely on binary relationship; that is to say, there must be some unequal relationship between the two groups. In A Passage to India, the settling Englishmen intend to exercise hegemony over the Other, even dominate them. During this process, the Other gradually accepts the unequal treatment and show an inferiority complex.

However, in the construction of Other discourse in A Passage to India, Forster exerts great effort to unfold an objective and real exotic Other, hoping to reflect on Western society and the colonial behavior of the West. The Other in this novel presents more negative features because of mysterious atmosphere he describes and ingenious symbols he uses and also his exquisite writing skill and penetrating and detailed language. Through the interpretation of the text, we can find that both images of the Indians and India reflect Forster's prejudice against and rejection of the Other.

As an intellectual, profoundly influenced by the British culture, Forster conveys an inconsistent idea and awareness by constructing the discourse of the Other. His imperialist attitude and anti-colonialist emotion coexist and are complexly intertwined in the novel. On the one hand, he reflects on the justice of the British colonial behavior and identified with the ration and order of the Western culture; on the other hand, he sympathizes with the Indian people's opposition to colonial rule and unconsciously takes India as the chaotic and mysterious Other standing opposed to the West. Thus, sometimes, the deep-rooted recognition of Western culture made him unconsciously outpour his imperialist attitude and the sense of superiority of the West.

Works Cited

Bailey, Quentin. “Heroes and Homosexuals: Education and Empire in E. M. Forster.” Twentieth Century Literature 48 (2002): 324-27

Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature. Oxford: Oxford U P. 1995

Das, G. K. Forster’s A Passage to India: An Anthology of Recent Criticism. Delhi: Pencraft International. 2005.

Forster, E. M.A Passage to India. New York: Penguin. 2005.

Gilbert, Bart Moore. Theory: Contexts, Practices, Politics. London amp;New York: Verso. 1997.

Hawkins, H. “Forster’s Critique of Imperialism in A Passage to India.” South Atlantic Review. 1983(l): 112-15.

Majeed, Javaed. “Bathos, Architecture and knowing India: E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India and Nineteenth-Century British Ethnology and the Romance Quest.” Journal of Commonwealth Literature.2005(1).

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