A Study Of Aziz’s Cultural Identity In A Passage To India From The Postcolonial Perspective

E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India came out in1924, which is a popular andcritical success in literary history. Since the publication of A Passage to India, criticshave interpreted it from different perspectives, such as religion, philosophy, politicsand race. However, Forster stated clearly that the political moral is not the onlypurpose in A Passage to India:“In writing it, however, my main purpose was notpolitical, was not even sociological”. Forster wrote this novel with the issue whetherthe British people and the Indian people can become good friends under thedomination of colony. This thesis mainly talks about this topic through employing thepostcolonial theories and demonstrating the changes of Aziz’s culture identity.The first part is the introduction to E.M. Forster’s life, his main works, APassage to India, postcolonial theories and the related theories utilized in this thesis—Said’s Orientalism and Homi Bhabha’s Hybridity. The second part is the presentationof Aziz’s cultural hybridity, which discloses that the hybridity of Aziz’s culturalidentity is the product of colonial domination. The third part states how Aziz’s culturalidentity is deconstructed. It attributes to Adela’s vicious accusation for Maraba CaveEvent and the help from the countrymen and good friends. The author proclaims theBritish are arrogant, cruel and prejudiced. It implies that the personal relationshipunder the colonial hegemony is unhealthy as well. The fourth part is thereconstruction of Aziz’s cultural identity. After being free from accusation, initiatedby the colonial pressures and the revival of rationality, he begins to revolt against the colonial domination. In the conclusion part, the author deems that it is impossible forthe Indians to make friends with the British under the colonial hegemony. Colonialismnot only destroys the interpersonal relationships but brings tortuosity of human nature.