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Essay / A review of the character of Fielding and Aziz in Em Forster's book, A Passage in India
Emotional Unorthodoxy in Personal Relationships Among Forster's many statements in his essay "What I Believe", the More salient is that personal beliefs or beliefs “stiffen” a person and make them less open-minded about anything that challenges that creed. The budding friendship between the Anglo-Indian Fielding and the Indian Aziz in Forster's novel A Passage to India demonstrates the value of personal relationships over the value of the beliefs that typically hinder those relationships. Forster does so in a way that highlights the unorthodox emotional and temperamental qualities of both men, suggesting that, without these, a friendship between the two would be unlikely. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The relationship between Aziz and Fielding, while ultimately growing out of true friendship, is based on their shared effort to ignore prejudices about Anglo-Indians. and native Indians, respectively. However, claiming that they are able to create connections while ignoring prevailing prejudices is inaccurate; their ability to connect the way they do is mainly because they both have specific temperaments that allow them to be more emotionally accessible to the other. Fielding, according to the narrator, believes that "[t]he world...is a globe of men trying to come together, and who can best do so with the aid of good will, culture, and intelligence." " (62), and we are told that this is only because, unlike many of his comrades, Fielding has spent sufficient time away from the "herd" of the English. He is not without prejudices and assumptions regarding non-English peoples. However, even when the emotional connection between Aziz and Fielding is strained by an ignorant comment – as when Fielding implies that Aziz, "an obscure Indian, had no right to hear about Post-Impressionism" (66-67) – the underlying “goodwill” is obvious. to both of their intentions softens the blow of their escapes. Without this insight, or even the willingness to perceive the character of the other as opposed to the stereotype of the other, Fielding and Aziz could easily have easily viewed the other as just another Anglo-Indian or just another indigenous Indian. For his part, Aziz, who is generally unimpressed by Anglo-Indians, is eager to meet Fielding, because he perceives in Fielding a "true courtesy" and a "kind heart" (60). This is unconventional for Anglo-Indians, and it is the continued emphasis on Fielding's unconventionality and optimism about personal relationships that appeals to Aziz (67); Fielding is unconventionally willing to be vulnerable around Aziz – in subtle ways. Allowing an enthusiastic Aziz to help him with his collar button, for example, dissipates a tension that might otherwise exist in a new encounter between any other Anglo-Indian and Indian. Aziz, “such an emotional people,” appreciates and even idolizes this tendency in Fielding (65). While Fielding shows his prejudice in recognizing this tendency as a stereotypical action of Indians in general, he also recognizes that this tendency is useful in "[dispensing] with foreplay" and moving directly into the intimacy of friendship (65). . Aziz's openness to this unconventional Anglo-Indian and Fielding's appreciation of Aziz's ice-breaking emotionality pave the way for a friendship that might not exist if either the other had been willing to accept the prevailing prejudices regarding the other's "type." This is just a sample. Get..