Lance Huang Professor L. M. Yang English Literature: The Victorian and Twentieth Century May 27th 2011 The Colonizer’s Identity Problem in A Passage to India After finishing the novel, readers can easily figure out the conflict between the British colonizers and the Indians in the book, A Passage to India. From the very beginning to the end of the story, the British people who stay in India live in better conditions than the local people they govern; their snobbish and discriminated attitude toward the Indian people is also prominent. It is hard to speak for the colonizers in the book, because their acts show their guilty potential. However, I think that the struggle between the British colonizers and the Indians, has an underlying reason that is easy to be ignored—Identity Recognition. Ahmad M.S. Abu Baker, an assistant professor in the English Department at Al al-Bayt University/Jordan, mentions the identity problem in his essay— Rethinking Identity: The Coloniser in E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India. He pointed out that in the book, although they come from the same country, British people can be separated as, the new comers and the Anglo-Indians. The characters like Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore are new comers, whereas, Adela’ s fiancé, Ronny, is an Anglo-Indian. In India the word Anglo-Indian doesn’t only mean what is defined on the Webster Dictionary “a person of English citizenship born or living in India,” and furthermore, Baker defined it as an identity, “the experienced colonialist.” (Baker, p.6) As an Anglo-Indian, Ronny doesn’t belong to the British identity anymore. In comparison with his fiancée Adela and his mother Mrs. Moore, who have fresh experiences in this oriental place and posses a traditional gentleman-like politeness to the Indians, whereas, Ronny keeps his distance with the local people and intends to treat them as antagonists. In chapter eight, which is about Adela’s image of Ronny, the narrator describes in the beginning how readers can discover Ronny’s change after he left England to go to India—“India had developed sides of his character that she had never admired. His self-complacency, his censoriousness, his lack of subtlety.” (Forster, p.85) Baker points out this discovery of one’s character’s change and says, “The colony changes the personality of the colonizer in almost every aspect even aesthetic appreciation.” (Baker, p.8) He says that Adela discovers that Ronny used to scorn the play Cousin Kate but now Ronny pretends it is a good play. There are two factors needed for the change from one’s identity from Brit to an Anglo-Indian: for the colonizers’ ease to govern the place and to deal with India’s hostility towards the foreigners. The colonizers build up an Anglo-Indian identity so the Indian people recognize who is the authority and beneficiary of the colonial system and also to improve the legitimacy of governing the Indians. The group of Anglo-Indians will directly or indirectly force the newcomers to be one of them, just like Ronny does to Adela and Mrs. Moore. They do this because if the identity of Anglo-Indian is not accepted by any the British living there, the legitimacy of the political position will be challenged and become illegal. It is why Mr. Fielding, who is British and decides to support his Indian friend Aziz, is scalded by other Anglo-Indians because his deed is dangerous to Anglo-Indian’s authority structure. Moreover, the colonizers rely on this identity recognition, because they need strong power to overcome the hostile environment in India. Abu Baker says, “Forster's India is hostile to foreigners and attacks its colonisers ferociously, so as to force them to leave. Despite the British attempts to 'tame' India, it remains a 'wild' country.” (Baker, p.3) The Marabar Cave is the symbol of this hostility. In the story Mrs. Moore and Adela visit the cave and they both are stricken by the super natural power the cave generates. Mrs. Moore’s Christian beliefs collapse after visiting the cave and Adela is too frightened to make a wrong accusation damaging Dr. Aziz. Actually, the British foreigners think India is not friendly because India tries to make them become a part of it. In the chapter eight, the narrator says, “But nothing in India is identifiable, the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or to merge in something else.” (Forster, p.91) India is as a whole and is still desires to absorb and merge more elements into it. Marabar Cave’s supernatural power is the expression of this desire, and is successful because Mrs. Moore losses her Christian belief and becomes a part of the supernatural power. Whereas, Adela combats with it and loses, she ends up escaping to England. This potential threatens the colonizers’ authority system, because their identity as “Anglo-Indian” will ultimately be a part of India. Then they will have no advantage from this colonial relationship. By preventing themselves from becoming a part of India, these Anglo-Indians proclaim their identity’s uniqueness again and again. Citation: Ahmad M.S. Abu Baker. " Rethinking Identity: The Coloniser in E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India " Rev. of: The Weekly Standard 22 Oct. 2007: 68-85. Chen-chi University Taipei, Taiwan. 14 May. 2011 http://www.nobleworld.biz/images/Abu_Baker.pdf E. M. Forster. "A Passage to India Passage to India " Rev. of: Harcourt, Inc.1924 Chen-chi University Taipei, Taiwan. 14 May. 2011 -- ◢ ◣ ⊙ ⊙ ── Untrodden Path: http://blog.roodo.com/s3300750 ◤ ◥ --

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