What impressions do you receive from this passage Essay Example

shown to be a sheep-blinding himself to other choices and possibilities, his entire scale on which Indians were measured not a matter of 'innocent or guilty', but rather 'how guilty', to follow the herd. This herd of white woolly-brained animals huddles together in the face of threat, a role reserved for the Indians in the novel, and protects itself by avoiding them as far as possible, and pretending they do not exist or matter.

Ronny in the extract behaves like this in his unwarranted prejudices against Godbole and Aziz, almost as though considering them sub-human in his reference to Fielding's having left Adela "alone". The fact that he, as does most of the Club, refers to Indians usually as a race rather than as individuals seems somehow to reinforce this idea, at times as though speaking of another species entirely. Individual personality is superfluous, transcended by race consciousness.

He suspects them of wrongdoing, despite the fact that he had never met either man before; Aziz, especially, to whom Ronny "never even spoke" and obviously did not intend to is proclaimed "a bounder". Ronny's ignoring of Aziz here not only reflects the supposed general convention of the British here in India: that they "don't come across [the Indians] socially", but also the surety with which they make completely empty claims. These claims, as in other instances, are taken to be fact despite any lack of understanding of the people or situations, and like the unseen 'hyena' in the later car accident, taken to be undisputed fact.

Ronny, like Callendar's summoning of Aziz in an earlier scene, is supremely oblivious to the negative impact he might have on Indians as

a result of his high-handed behaviour. Thus he divests himself of all responsibility of Aziz's nerves, which had begun as a result of Ronny's exceedingly rude neglect of admitting Aziz's presence, much less conversation. It would seem in this extract, therefore, that Ronny characterizes the typical Anglo-Indian in his adoption of the 'party-line' in terms of attitude and behaviour.

In contrast, the other side of the conversation appears to hold opinions entirely at odds with Ronny's. Fielding here comes across as a fairer, more logical character. He treats the Indians like equals, 'not seeing' "the harm" in Adela's interaction with the Aziz and Godbole, notices Aziz's discomfort, and tries to be polite despite Ronny's offensively officious pompousness. Curiously, he does seem to give Ronny a little of his own back in an apparently ironic tone ("... old man", line 6) that suggests his having taken offense to either Ronny's words or tone.

This could perhaps be the same manner in his tone that earlier had caused offense to his own mother. Fielding here is shown to be less reliant on society than Ronny is by declining the invitation to the polo-where the latter likely wishes to herd the lost sheep back to the fold, the former apparently sees beyond the shallow snobbery of it all. This is, of course, contradicted later in the revelation that Fielding does not truly see beyond shallow emotions, but rather has problems being affected by them in the first place.

At this point in time, however, we see Fielding affected by what Forster occasionally refers to as "irritation exuded from [India's] very soil". His references to the odium of the surrounding people show

the breaking up of the party along tensions that were highly superficial and petty-the bad temper directs both inwards and out in bitter comments about people he had been speaking to quite happily only moments before. Even in seeming compliment of Godbole's tranquillity in the face of the visible lack elsewhere carries within it a tone of annoyance, almost resentment.

It might even be that Fielding is shown here to be annoyed with what theoretically ought to be good, reinforcing the idea that there is no logic or justification to his unkind opinions and therefore reflecting the pointlessness of tension built up as a result of such trivial distinctions. Forster's choice to put into the third person Fielding's feelings and thoughts manages to distance them from him, and rather puts the perspective into the general. It is as though the heat has burned away the polished surfaces of people, and allowed a glimpse into the characters' peace of mind and attitudes.

Fielding with his shadowed views is playing with perspectives of people, illusions that could easily allude to the characters to whom they belong, if one did not take in the entire meaning of the characters' actions. As Mrs Moore had once considered of Aziz, "Yes, it was all true, but how false a summary of the man; the essential life of him had been slain". So it is to regard Fielding's sudden slant of the picture, so it should be to weigh that summary up against what is evident.

It is here that Ronny's prejudice is shown to be the folly it is, to label people according to category rather than as individual the way the Englishmen

do at the Club. The tensions here come to a head, and it is here that the cracks in camaraderie are most clearly visible in this passage. More jarring than the cracks, however, is the superficiality that has caused them-the differences in rank, social standing, class, gender, east or west... all show themselves remarkably trivial beside the loss of collective emotional warmth.

It is disconcerting to note that where Forster earlier implies that an Englishman would be able to keep company with both Englishmen and Indians but have to sacrifice one or the other in the case of Englishwomen, here it is the Englishman who spoils the harmony of the gathering. Before Ronny's arrival, the party had appeared to get along without problem. After, however, the shallow peace is broken, and tranquillity lost. Ronny had single-handedly shoved minor distinctions into crevices with his behaviour, isolating each member from the group and removing their sense of belonging, making a farce out of the cordial farewells.

He separates Adela from the Indian men as different, his mother he keeps apart by telling her not to "trouble to come", Fielding as the only Englishman and therefore the only one worth speaking to, and so on. His unintentional success is initially revealed in Fielding's disgusted "take your ladies away", leaving one to wonder if the reason Englishwomen would not "last" "six months" as pleasant people in India were not themselves, but rather a result of blind obedience to the official attitude set down by the men.

Adela Quested somehow comes across in this extract as a foolish character. Ronny, the very person she had in light of her later statements, evidently decided

not to marry, is still protecting her in the first conversation with Fielding. It is interesting to note how the passage recounts the evident slip she had made about staying in India to Aziz and her flustered reaction to his mentioning it in his effort to elicit a reaction from anyone in general.

While the comment in general reflects to a greater part on Aziz's motives, there is the reminder here that Adela, for all the rationality she displays at other points of the novel, has spontaneous, impulsive moments too, and in one such moment of unthinking realization provided Aziz with his opening. The reader is reminded of her 'later' thought that Ronny 'should' have been the first one told in that instance, and is therein reminded of Adela's clinical nature.

She believes things ought to be done a certain way, in a certain order, and therefore is suddenly agitated by Aziz's deliberate provocation, which revealed her mistake in the process of how her life 'ought to be' conducted and therefore changes the subject almost immediately. Not only does she reflect her disapproval of 'straying from her course', as it were, there is also a hint of the fact being a private one that unlike the customs of the generally open Aziz, is an intimacy that Adela is reluctant to share.

The illustration of Adela Quested in this passage generally puts one in mind of youth and pampering, the impression of inexperience and yet of someone trying to be her own person beneath rules and stereotypes that she feels obliged to maintain. Thus is she able to maintain the balance between smoking with Indians and watching polo with

Ronny. Mrs Moore, on the other hand, is little mentioned in this passage. Taken on its own, Mrs Moore and Adela both are reflected in a rather disappointing light-despite the time spent together, they murmur no more than a few social inanities in farewell, and even then only to the English Fielding.

Where later her gentle, sensitive nature hopes for a joyful ending to the song in which Godbole had called for Krishna, it seems that the silence in the wake of Godbole's reply to the negative suggests her inability, as well as that of the others, to truly comprehend his meaning. However, within Godbole's answer to this very question a little more is revealed about the interaction between East and West: significantly the confusion in meaning behind words, as interpreted on the basis of two different cultures.

It is disappointing to see Mrs Moore being simple in this extract since her character had often displayed better feeling; yet this too serves to reinforce the unpleasant, uncomfortable antagonism in the surroundings. The choice of phrase "Thanks so much; what was that? " reveals much about Fielding's character. Coming at the close of Godbole's religious song, we see his polite, rational mind verbally appreciating a song without truly understanding the value of the gift-he does not appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the song, nor is he emotionally stirred by it.

The succinct words convey an impression of polite academic interest without appreciation beyond the technical, the phrase like the impersonal question of any piece of music performed, the usual situation in which the title of the music in question would have been obtained and promptly forgotten. Here lies the

first hint that Fielding's logical, technical mind is geared towards rational thought, but is unable to comprehend the muddle of emotional and spiritual logic.

In Fielding, one is likely to see the armchair adventurers, the young British who initially reach India with high ideals and aspirations before they actually arrived, and became another 'one-of-them'. It is entertainingly ironic to see that part of the reason Fielding is able to communicate with the Indians is that he does not see things on the same level as the other Anglo-Indians-as can be seen by a previous reference to him as "not pukkah", or in other words, "not one of us". The disappointment in the ruination of a good day is tempered by the communication of greater disappointments in life.

Thus some kind of level is obtained even the disturbing peace at the end of the passage, in which the source of discontent was out of earshot, and all else was linked in empathy and distress. Godbole's singing, however, serves more to illustrate the desire for unity than all else-unity with God, as well as with one's fellow man. God is a friend, a companion and one who eases loneliness. Intimacies are real versions of the fantasy to unify with the wholeness of the universe and through that achieve harmony. The song of an unknown bird", "a maze of noises" with the "illusion of a Western melody", is understood only by the Hindu servants, despite their lower origin. There is the suggestion that harmony could have been achieved to the extent of relationships with people being "not unpleasant" despite incomprehensible differences. The importance of this is revealed in the poetry

that Aziz later recites while convinced of being terribly ill. Forster writes "Less explicit than the call to Krishna, it voiced our loneliness nevertheless, our isolation, our need for the Friend who never comes yet is not entirely disproved".

The gap between the cultures of East and West could be understood and easily accepted, people communicating freely and without distinction, unlike the eventual way this outing had turned out. Here the passage suggests the impossibility of achieving inner peace and mutual tranquillity when self-centred prejudiced people are unable to perceive beyond their individual worries, fretting about personal grievances despite holistic problems with society and the world. This idea is in a way reinforced by the description to the song of hope and longing as that of an "unknown bird".

The creature is a natural part of the world, not subject to human pattern and control-yet one is unable to further investigate this because the bird remains unknown. The obscurity of the bird prevents any duplication of the beautiful song, and the listener is left to recreate it in his/her heart and make it their own. This extract sums up the final moments of a meeting of all the peoples in India with their tenacious acceptance and understanding broken up and taking a turn for annoying by one who will not see the other point of view.

The uncompromising, idiotic stubbornness is enough to turn comfortable feelings sour, and spoil the relations of others. Everyone is linked to everyone else, this says, so that when one acts insensitive and boorish, good feelings are lost and all are forced into remembering their specific roles in society. The world appears increasingly

to be no more than a matter of perception, created of accord and contradiction. Forster contrasts the cooling feelings with the hot weather, invitation with the neglect of appearance.

His choice of speech varies with his message, narrating at times from his own point of view, and at others from Fielding's, Aziz's, and so on, achieving a kind of balance amongst all. It is a description of all and nothing at the same time, hinting around every action much like the vagueness in Godbole's song. The aspect of Krishna's being driven to stay away from the selfish milkmaids is like God being driven away from one's peace of mind (specifically Mrs Moore's).

Due to the inability of man to avoid much the same selfishness of wishing to be distinguished from all others in superiority, everyone is kept at a distance from unity with God and people. The changes of rhythm in this passage are fascinating. Here, the first half of the extract involves a dialogue with increasingly tense and abrupt diction, the impatience of the people begin to be felt in the snappish retorts under the cover of polite speech.

The listing of the goodbyes especially contrast the distanced veneer of civility with the rising emotions of personal heat, and the later increase of emotional warmth, reflecting the boundaries set by people between themselves and others. Even the longer sentences convey a tone of barely concealed impatience degenerating into frustrated mutterings, unlike the second half, where there is art, meditation, and a flowing rhythm with a calm slowness that stands out from the immediately preceding part.

There is no petulance or fretting here, no barely concealed toleration. All stand

together in a mutual lack of understanding, a common appreciation, perhaps, of the disillusioning quality of Godbole's explanation of his song. This extract thus illustrates the unnatural social gulfs that alienate man from each other, together with the potential solutions of acceptance and a willing change of individual as well as societal perceptions.