"Why can 't we be friends now?", Fielding asked of Aziz. The friendship between Dr. Aziz and Cyril Fielding was almost destined to implode. In E.M. Forster 's A Passage to India, the relationship between the British and Indians is explored, as well as British interaction within a foreign land. As the British imposed imperialist policies on India, the dynamic of the racial and social tension between the two groups heightened, as expressed in the novel. It is essential to note this perspective comes from a white English man, and the evaluation of British colonialism is offered through a narrow lens, and may not articulate the actuality of the situation. Regardless, A Passage to India reflects upon the entanglement between British and Indian cultures,
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There is no harm in deceiving society as long as she does not find you out, because it is only when she finds you out that you have harmed her; she is not like a friend or God, who are injured by the mere existence of unfaithfulness." (89) This passage expresses how Aziz 's morality is chiefly based on others perceptions of his actions. According to this view, an Englishmen does not factor others within their morality, which may explain the behavior they exerted towards the Indians. The British seem to have no concern over their blatant display of disrespect towards Indians, or the corrupt nature of extending British rule to a foreign land, along with a fundamental lack of understanding cultural differences. When Aziz is imprisoned, Fielding askes one of his Indian colleagues, Professor Godbole, if he believes Aziz to be innocent. Professor Godbole claimed " Good and evil are the same...nothing can be performed in isolation. All perform a good action, when one is performed, and when an evil action is performed, all perform it." (159) Fielding is searching for a simple answer, as opposed to Godbole, who analyzes actions with a more open, ambivalent mindset. This differences portrays a different understanding about what constitutes as good and evil. Another misunderstanding between the English and Indians is shown through a conversation with Adela and Aziz. While having a discussion about the various former rulers of India, Adela asks Aziz "But wasn 't Akbar 's new religion very fine? It was to embrace the whole of India. ' 'Miss Quested, fine but foolish. You keep your religion, I mine. That is the best. Nothing embraces the whole of India. '" (129) Adela feels as if there is something universal within India, despite her lack of understanding of the land, and her own religious views giving her a narrow
There is no harm in deceiving society as long as she does not find you out, because it is only when she finds you out that you have harmed her; she is not like a friend or God, who are injured by the mere existence of unfaithfulness." (89) This passage expresses how Aziz 's morality is chiefly based on others perceptions of his actions. According to this view, an Englishmen does not factor others within their morality, which may explain the behavior they exerted towards the Indians. The British seem to have no concern over their blatant display of disrespect towards Indians, or the corrupt nature of extending British rule to a foreign land, along with a fundamental lack of understanding cultural differences. When Aziz is imprisoned, Fielding askes one of his Indian colleagues, Professor Godbole, if he believes Aziz to be innocent. Professor Godbole claimed " Good and evil are the same...nothing can be performed in isolation. All perform a good action, when one is performed, and when an evil action is performed, all perform it." (159) Fielding is searching for a simple answer, as opposed to Godbole, who analyzes actions with a more open, ambivalent mindset. This differences portrays a different understanding about what constitutes as good and evil. Another misunderstanding between the English and Indians is shown through a conversation with Adela and Aziz. While having a discussion about the various former rulers of India, Adela asks Aziz "But wasn 't Akbar 's new religion very fine? It was to embrace the whole of India. ' 'Miss Quested, fine but foolish. You keep your religion, I mine. That is the best. Nothing embraces the whole of India. '" (129) Adela feels as if there is something universal within India, despite her lack of understanding of the land, and her own religious views giving her a narrow