Fosters Use of Symbolism in "A Passage to India

"A passage to the India" contains different types of symbols. The principal symbols are the mosque, the caves and the temple. The subsidiary symbols are the ceremonies connected with the birth anniversary of Sri Krishna the figure of Mrs Moore the Punkhawallah the image of the wasp and the collision of boats.

In the first part of the novel we are brought to a mosque where an English old woman and a young Indian meet together. Being all treated by the Anglo Indians Aziz the Muslim doctor enter the mosque to get peace of mind. Similarly Mrs. Moore bored by the dull entertainment at the British club has escaped into the mosque. Thus both of them have entered the mosque to seek shelter from the oppressive surroundings. After conversation Mrs Moore finds that Aziz is a warm and sensitive man and ultimately an understanding of each occurs. This understanding of the heart in other words friendship is the dominant urge at this stage and expresses the most general meaning of the mosque symbol of the novel. The mosque with its serene beauty its combination of light and shade represents a belief in the oneness of God as well as oneness of India and therefore comes to symbolize a possibility  of understanding and friendship between people  of different races and colour. But this friendship established between the east  and the west as represented by the friendship between Aziz and Ms Moore is undercut by the ironical message of the bridge party which proves to be a failure.

In the second part of the novel the Marabar caves stand for chaos darkness, mystery and evils. The dark and empty caves reveal the hollowness of life and the vaccum produces an echo that is  frightening. The echo suggests a unity but it is a unity which does not have any qualities of love, goodness and understanding. It negates all their values.

The temple the last section containing the essence of the novel, stands for love, harmony and happiness. It opens with Godbole presiding over a festival the celebration of the birth of Sri Krishna in a temple at Mau during the monsoons. Amid all the noise and confusion of celebration the god is born, symbolically, and love celebrated. In celebrating the birth of the god the Hindus led by the wise Brahmin Godbole assume that all creation is one and shares in joy. It is a vision of god as a universal friend who embraces all the people and things of this earth in his divine love.

To sum up, "A passage to the India" is a complex work of art based on the evil of the British imperialistic rule in India. In it the symbolic devices are very much important because they heighten the meaning of the novel.