Dream And Reality

E.M Forster is one of the greatest novelists in English literary history. In his masterpiece A Passage to India, symbolism is extensively used. Settings, characters, and various images all carry symbolic meanings in the world of A Passage to India. Besides, the diversity of the theme also arouses heated discussions among critics. The thesis aims at finding out how the theme of male friendship in the novel is represented through the employment of symbolism.Through a systematic study of the novel, the paper suggests that the symbolic settings, characters and details serve to express Forster's exploration into the issue of male friendship from three perspectives: dream beyond reality, reality, and dream in reality. The novel creates for male friendship a new and more fulfilling social organization free of the racial, class and gender divisions by depicting three symbolic places, and expresses the yearning for the Utopia dream through Persian poetry, Godbole's song "Come" and his summons to " Tukaram". Meanwhile, the novel explores the racial, cultural, political and social barriers for male friendship set up by conventions including women and marriage presented through the symbols of Marabar caves, Adela and the boating scene. Besides, the parting scene of Aziz and Fielding, the character Mrs. Moore and three embodiments of Apollo, sun, punkah wallah, and the man in the temple at Mau, can be seen as symbols of the glimmer in the blackness of reality, showing that the author continues to pursue hope for male friendship with slight optimism. What deserves attention is that Forster does not give up desperately, and is exploring imaginatively the fulfillment of his dream in the reality.In conclusion, symbolism in A Passage to India contributes greatly to its vivid presentation of the theme of male friendship. Symbolism is a technique but not an aim. Symbolism discovers the hidden and unknown truth. The process of creating and perceiving symbols with multiple readings is an integral process that characterizes our knowledge of the world. Thus, to describe the contradictions of reality and Forster's personal inquiry into the cult of friendship, symbolism is Forster's necessity.