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.
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