A Passage To India: Additional Information Flashcards
What is imperialism?
This is a policy of extending a county’s power and influence. It usually refers to political or economic control over one nation from another.
What is colonialism?
This is the policy of acquiring full or partial control over another country, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically. It is often interchangeable with imperialism.
What is the British Ran and Viceroy?
British Raj - British ruler (raj = means reign/rule)
Viceroy - vice = deputy and roi = king (therefore vice king)
Key elements for context writing and developing a response to the prompt.
PROMPT/STIMULUS provides ⬇️ FOCUS FOR YOUR WRITING ⬇️ You draw on ⬇️ CONTEXT IDEAS, you include ⬇️ RELEVANT IDEAS FROM SELECTED TEXT/S/STORIES, you develop your ⬇️ WRITTEN RESPONSE, this is assessed on ⬇️ ⬇️ QUALITY OF IDEAS ⬅️➡️ QUALITY IF WRITING
Explain how A Passage to India engages extensively with the ideas of the imaginative landscape.
It particularly looks at landscapes holding different meaning for different people.
At its heart, A Passage to India depicts the powerful effect landscapes can have on an individual’s and the subjective nature of these places.
What is A Passage to India?
It is a film adaption of the English author E.M. Forster’s 1924 novel by the same name.
It is set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920’s, the film portrays the tensions inherent in Colonial India and the changes taking place within that environment.
What does A Passage to India focus on?
It focuses on the British colonial administration of India, the racism of the Western colonial empires, and the concept of the ultimate hostility of nature. The story revolves around fourth characters (Dr. Aziz, Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore and Miss Adela Quested).
What part in A Passage to India brings to boil common racial tensions?
During a trip to the Marabar caves Adela realises that she is alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the faces, panics and flees. Or os assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz’s trial, and it’s run-up aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between indigenous Indians and the British who rule India.
Historical perspective.
The Western colonial empire justified their subjugation of the colones through the concept of racial superiority and the doctrine of “The Just Rule.” Imperialists claimed that because of the moral and technical superiority of the West it was preordained that Westerners would rule the less developed countries.
What is considered the ultimate goal of colonialism?
The adult image goal of colonialism, according to its proponents, was to lift the “natives” out of savagery.
When did the British begin trading with India?
The British began trading with India in 1600, focusing on cotton, indigo, pepper, yarn, sugar, silk and other commodities. At the time, India was ruled by a decaying Muslim empire.
What does Lean/Lean’s film do?
. Lean’s A Passage to India depicts the corrupting influence of imperial powers in a colonial setting.
. Lean’s film of Forster’s novel A Passage to India questions the possibility of true connections of people in differing social landscapes.
. Lean’s A Passage to India derides Anglo-Indian colonial society for its sham representation of “home” in “tropical suburbia”.
. Lean’s film A Passage to India condemns colonial thinking an practices, beliefs and attitudes by exploring their costs.
. This film A Passage to India shows how different cultures, when forced to intermix, misunderstand each other, and what consequences stem from those misunderstandings.
. The film deals with the failure of humans being able to communicate satisfactorily and their failure to eliminate prejudice to establish possible relationships and an understanding of social and physical landscapes.
Natural features in landscapes - beliefs, views, values, ideas conveyed
Water - life and death (Mrs Moore), has brought people together (Adela, Aziz and Godbole), cleanses (eg. Feet), rain is uncontrollable, monsoon, train over river (shows how Indian landscape is further touched by the British)
Cave - realisations/epiphanies, darkness, unknown, intriguing,
Remember to:
Shift to the film and then flick back to experiences (own, family and others’ experiences).
Discuss the echo.
Adela
- tells her she does not belong there
- she will never understand the landscape
- she is destined for a cold loveless marriage under the heat of the Chandrapore sun
Mrs Moore
- her religious beliefs begin to crumble
- she doesn’t belong here
What should you do when you have a promote in front of you?
Try to turn the prompt into a question/contention.
Comparisons.
Ronny’s home (nicely decorated, neatly cut grass, manicured)
VS
Aziz’s home (dust, little house, plaster coming off walls)
Turtons car (impatient, horn beeping, not afraid to barge through people) VS Aziz and Mahmoud Ali simply trying to get from A to B on their bikes
Sleeping quarters for Adela and Mrs Moore (nice beds, warm, comfortable looking, lots of room, luxurious)
VS
Indians in slums (piled on top of each other, cold, dirty, uncomfortable)
Calm river with a train that carves its way through the landscape.
British walking through (Turtons look disgusted, bland clothes)
VS
Indians (many of them, like an ocean, loud, colourful clothes)
British (viceroy walking at start - choreographed, structured)
VS
Indians (free, chaos)
England at the beginning with Adela (rain, cold, dark, dreary, bland) VS India (exotic, hot, intriguing, mystical, colourful)
What does A Passage to India suggest?
A Passage to India suggests that different people can have opposing imaginative connections to landscape and that adjusting to changed landscapes is difficult, not only for those who impose changed but also for those upon whom unwelcome change is inflicted.
How are the inner landscapes of Indian inhabitants transformed?
The inner landscapes of Indian inhabitants are radically transformed by encounters with British culture.
. Indians such as Aziz become ashamed of their modest homes when compared to the grandeur of British residence and public buildings.
. While the British transformation of Chandrapore creates a superficial familiarity for expatriates, the relentless Indian sun beats down and the mysterious Marabar Mountains dominate the distant horizon.
. The imaginative connection made by the British in Chandrapore creates disharmony with the landscape, both for themselves and the alienated Indian population.
What do the powerful symbols of the natural world reflect?
These powerful symbols of the natural world reflect a growing Indian resistance to the British presence, made explicit when the Indian women mock Mrs Turton at the “bridge party.”
