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Example research essay topic: Passage To India Rudyard Kipling - 2,969 words

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East vs. West Amar BalikaiMrs. HeyleEnglish 11 April 12, 1999 The popular quote, The sun never sets on the British Empire, refers to the vast territory that the British government controlled either directly or indirectly. During the Age of Exploration, European powers struggled for as much foreign land as possible. The desire for more land was driven mostly by their greed for Eastern spices.

India was in a prime location for trading these spices, and almost all the major European powers were fighting for domination. Using their military strength to dissolve any opposition, the British had succeeded in occupying all of India by the late nineteenth century. Separated by nearly 5, 000 miles, a wide rift began to take form between the native Indian culture and that of the British. Written during the time of occupation, Kim, by Rudyard Kipling, and A Passage to India, by Edward M. Forster, depict the cultural rift between the British and Indians, as well as showing how it is possible to cross it. The cultural rift that formed between the Indian and the British cultures was not coincidental, but inevitable.

The development of cultures is influenced by geography, and the 5, 000 -mile separation between England, and the Indian subcontinent only meant that the ideas of both cultures would be far apart. Large, and highly organized, cities, and a strict monarchy characterized the British. Small, but disorganized, towns and a more refined feudal system identified the Indians. E. M. Forster truly harnesses the distinct split between the British and the Indians when he illustrates the city of Chandrapore.

Edged rather than washed by the river Ganges, it [Chandrapore] trails for a couple of miles along the bank, scarcely distinguishable from the rubbish it deposits so freely. There are no bathing-steps on the river front, as the Ganges happens not to be holy here; indeed there is no river front, and bazaars shut out the wide and shifting panorama of the stream. Beyond the railway which runs parallel to the river the land sinks, then rises again rather steeply. On the second rise is laid out the little civil station, and viewed hence Chandrapore appears to be a totally different place. It is a city of gardens. It is no city, but a forest sparsely scattered with huts.

It is a tropical pleasaunce washed by a noble river, (1 - 2). Forster uses the geography of Chandrapore to depict the wide cultural rift between the British and the Indians. Rather than try to integrate themselves with the existing Indian culture, the British begin to colonize on the other side of the railway. Moreover, their push for dominance is only stimulated their occupation of the higher ground. By the time most of the British have arrived, the only thing common between them and the Indians is the sky (Bradbury 90 - 92). In order to bridge the gulf between East and West, Mr.

Turton, the British collector, decides to throw a bridge party. The idea is to bring the British and the Indians together in a common location, and hopefully form some mutual bonds. The idea of throwing a bridge party is encouraged by the desires of Mrs. Moore, the city magistrate s mother, and Adela Quested, the city magistrate s fianc. Mrs. Moore and Ms.

Quested want to see what the real India is like, but the city magistrate, Ronny Heaslop, was against the idea of traveling around India. A bridge party, as the British elite thought, was the only solution. The bridge party, as it always was, is an utter failure. To describe the scene without exaggeration, the British and Indians divide the tennis lawn in halves with a large distance between the two.

Only one man seems out of place in this dichotomy. Cyril Fielding, the British headmaster at the government college, talks freely with the Indians on the opposite side. The party accomplishes nothing, but putting Indians on display for those who would like to view them. In this case, the intended audience was Mrs. Moore and Ms. Quested.

Their attitudes toward the party, however, differ from the majority of British Society. Both, Mrs. Moore and Ms. Quested, are aware that the goals of the bridge party were misguided, if not hypocritical. One might ask why a majority of the British remained segregated from the Indians, especially since some of the socially elite try to join the two cultures together? The answer lies in the British military.

As in any enforced occupation, a country s military plays a crucial role, and the same holds true of the British Empire. In addition to maintaining civil order, the military excised an eminent role in the separation of the British and the Indian cultures. Rudyard Kipling makes use of the role the military plays in his book, Kim (Gilbert 116). Kimball O Hara, Kim for short, is the son of a deceased British general. However, Kim isn t like other members of British society. Kim has grown to live with the Indians.

In fact, he has become so accustomed to the Indian way of life that Kim exerts almost no British characteristics. Even his skin is, burned black as any native, (1). Unlike Mrs. Moore, or Mr. Fielding, Kim has had the freedom to roam astray from the rest of the British colony. Kim s freedom comes from a lack of a strong acquaintance with the British army.

Unfortunately, that changes when Kim is forced to face his British roots while on his voyage with his idol, a lama. The role of the military is more influential in Kim s childhood than it is with others. This can be attributed to Kim losing his British parents at a very young age. On top of that, Kim s father was an officer in a British regiment, the same regiment that Kim and the lama encountered on their voyage across India. Upon discovering that Kim is the son of a former British soldier, the commanding officers of the regiment feel that it is their duty to make sure that Kim grows up on the other side of the cultural rift.

One might argue that the British army wanted Kim to grow up outside the slums of India, but Kim s words to the lama seem to point the other way. Holy one [the lama], the thin fool who looks like a camel says that I am the son of a Sahib. Oh, it is true. I knew it since my birth, but he could only find it out by rending the amulet from my neck and reading all the papers. He thinks that once a Sahib is always a Sahib, and between the two of them they purpose to keep me in this regiment or to send me to a madrassah (a school). It has happened before.

I have always avoided it. The fat fool is of one mind and the camel-like one of another, (115). In this brief speech Kim tells the lama of the commanding officer s intentions, and that nothing that can be done about the situation. The phrase, once a Sahib is always a Sahib, substantiates the claim that the British regiment is more interested in segregating the British and Indian cultures. Although the rift between the British and Indian cultures may seem very wide, it is possible to cross it. A Passage to India presents two examples of those who have completed the expedition across the cultural barrier.

E. M. Forster picks Cyril Fielding and Mrs. Moore as examples because they all have one thing in common. Both characters have open minds, a crucial trait in order to accept new cultural ideas.

Cyril Fielding, the government college headmaster, is what a British conservative might call a true radical. Throughout the novel, Mr. Fielding does some remarkable things that one might not expect of any Englishman at the time. For example, Mr. Fielding makes connections with the Indians attending the bridge party at the expense of alienating himself from the British community. Even more outrageous, to a British conservative, is Mr.

Fielding s invitation to Aziz, an Indian doctor at the government hospital, to attend a tea party at his house. In addition, Mrs. Moore is also invited and the tea party contrasts the bridge party significantly. By bringing together Mr. Fielding and Mrs. Moore Forster depicts how life in India could be if everyone in the British community had a broad mind.

Everyone at the teach party, either a British or an Indian, is treated with an equal amount of respect. In fact Aziz, unlike many Indians, feels no vengeance's toward Mr. Fielding on the account that he is an Englishman. While preparing for the tea party, Mr. Fielding realizes that he doesn t have an extra collar stud to replace the one that broke earlier. Aziz removes his collar stud, sacrificing his appearance in the process, and claims that it was an extra one in his pocket.

One might contend that Aziz s action is in response to Mr. Fielding s superiority. However, this claim can be rendered false by taking into account Aziz s reaction to seeing Mrs. Moore at the mosque. Aziz reacts without judgment at the mosque, but after realizing his mistake, Aziz looks upon Mrs. Moore as a friend, rather than just another ignorant Englishwoman.

Both of Aziz s actions show how he views others based upon warrant, a characteristic trait he shares with Mr. Fielding. This common trait is the root of their deep friendship throughout the novel Mrs. Moore, like Mr. Fielding, is fortunate to also have an open mind with foreign cultures. In fact, Mrs.

Moore goes far beyond just understanding other cultures than most other women do. She primarily follows a policy of noninterference, and, out of fear of offending anyone, treats foreign cultures with great respect. Forster uses a mosque, one of the holiest places during the time, to portray Mrs. Moore s tenderness.

While visiting the mosque, Mrs. Moore is startled by Aziz s boisterous calls to remove her shoes. Aziz, however, is unaware that Mrs. Moore had removed her shoes prior to entering the mosque and he soon apologizes after realizing his mistake. Although Aziz expects a swift scolding from the Englishwoman, Aziz receives just the opposite. He is surprised to see that Mrs.

Moore isn t like other Englishwomen, and he soon makes the judgment that she hasn t been in India very long. Removing her shoes is just one of many instances in which Mrs. Moore shows respect for other cultures. She even displays this attitude in front of her son, Ronny Heaslop. Ronny Heaslop, the city magistrate, is a true Englishman. Throughout the entire novel, Ronny reflects the imperialistic views the majority of the British community has.

His attitude towards the Indians is in direct contrast with his mother s. Mrs. Moore is gentle and open minded, while Ronny is strict and stubborn. He [Ronny Heaslop] wanted to enquire about the Mohammedan doctor in the mosque.

It was his duty to report suspicious characters and conceivably it was some disreputable hakim who had prowled up from the bazaar. When she [Mrs. Moore] told him that it was someone connected with the Minto Hospital, he was relieved, and said that the fellow s name must be Aziz, and that he was quite all right, nothing against him at all, (32). In the first half of the quote, Ronny s prejudice against Indians is clearly apparent. The thought of his mother consorting with an Indian by her own will is beyond comprehension, and Ronny, following the guidelines of a proper Englishman in India, immediately fears that this suspicious character had alternative motives other than an innocent conservation. Critics might argue that Ronny s attitude changes in the second half of the quote.

However, his underlying prejudice is what guides Ronny, even though his mother disapproves, and it is apparent when the discussion about Aziz continues. Ronny is upset when his mother tells him that Aziz doesn t like Major Calendar, and Ronny states that he will inform the Major immediately about Aziz s disloyalty. Even though Ronny may not approve of Mrs. Moore s respect for the Indian culture, she continues to show her respect in other ways as well. Mrs. Moore s deep respect for other cultures proves that she has crossed the cultural rift even though she has been in India for one day.

Mrs. Moore not only shows appreciation for foreign customs and traditions, but also for religion. Although she is a Christian, and has lived in England her whole life, Mrs. Moore looks to other religions for guidance as well.

Her visit to the mosque is one example. Mrs. Moore, tired of watching the play Cousin Kate at the British club, needed a break from the British lifestyle for a few moments. In addition, Mrs. Moore s reverence towards a wasp sleeping on her coat hanger shows her love of all creatures, a strong belief of Hinduism. Forster use of a wasp is the only way to accurately describe Mrs.

Moore s deep feelings. The wasp is one of India s lowliest creatures, and Mrs. Moore s views of the wasp compliment her views on Indians as a whole (Brander 166). Unlike Mr. Fielding or Mrs. Moore, Kim O Hara had a much easier time crossing the cultural rift.

Losing his parents early in his childhood, and growing up in India from a very young age, allowed Kim to venture on his own easily, without being hounded by British officials. In addition, being alienated from the British community meant nothing to Kim because he had never lived inside it for very long anyway. Analyzing the different ways Kim has crossed the cultural rift is much easier after taking these factors into account, especially since Kim associates with someone no other Englishman would give a second look to. Upon speaking to an old lama, Kim is immediately touched by his wisdom, and desire to seek out mystical goals.

The lama, fearing that he would die soon, descended from the mountains in Tibet in order to search for the Four Holy Places on Earth. Acting on his desire to stay with the lama, Kim chooses to accompany the lama on his quest for the river of immortality. One might argue that Kim s decision to join the lama is just an excuse to follow a prophecy his father had left him, but Kim s devotion to the lama isn t comparable to an ordinary friendship. Kim s prophecy is just as vague and mystical as the lama s. In both instances, neither Kim nor the Lama is aware of how to go about meeting their goals, let alone decide which direction they should travel. The father s prophecy stated that, should anything go wrong, a Red Bull on a green field would help Kim.

Rudyard Kipling answers the critic s accusation against Kim by describing Kim as, boyle, he [Kim] had really thought for as much as twenty minutes at a time of his father s prophecy, (23). Kipling describes Kim s behavior as boyle. By doing so, Kipling suggests that Kim s desire to accompany the lama is based on a child s sense of adventure, rather than his impulse to find the truth of a prophecy left by his deceased father. In addition, an analysis of Kim s actions after meeting his prophecy indicates that Kim really did have a desire to be with the lama.

For example, Kim expressed strong discontent when the commanding officers of the British regiment told him of their plans to send Kim to a British school. Although Kim fails in his attempt to stay with the lama, Kim tries his best to keep in touch with the lama. Separation forces Kim and the lama to write letters to each other. This was the only way both could communicate now that the military stood between them. However, Kim s drive to be with the lama is so strong that even the military is unable to hold him back. During the long vacations from St.

Xavier, the school in which Kim is forced to attend, Kim chooses to travel across India with the lama rather than spend that time with his classmates. He clearly prefers the Indian world over the British one that is forced upon him (Mason 179 - 180). This type of devotion to someone isn t a result of any ulterior motives. It comes from a boy s passion to follow his own path, not one that has been laid out for him. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Kim O Hara are all clear examples of individuals who have crossed the deep cultural rift.

Unlike the rest of the British community during their occupation of India, they projected themselves into the foreign land without animosity toward the natives. Although all three of them had different barriers to cross, they overcome them in the same way. It is certain that Mrs. Moore and Kim would agree with Mr. Fielding that the only way to cross the rift is to, Try seeing Indians, (26). 59 b Bradbury, Malcolm, ed. Forster: A Collection of Critical Essays, Mr.

E. M. Forster as a Symbolist, by Frank Kermode. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1966. Brander, Laurence. E.

M. Forster: A Critical Study. Cranbury: Associated University Presses, 1968. Forster, E.

M... A Passage to India. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1924. Gilbert, Elliot L. , ed. Kipling &# 038; the Critics, The Young Kipling, by Henry James. New York: New York University Press, 1965.

Kipling, Rudyard. Kim. New York: Doubleday, Doran &# 038; Company, 1901. Mason, Philip. Kipling: The Glass, the Shadow, and the Fire.

New York: Harper &# 038; Row Publishers, 1975.


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