In The Souls of Black People, WEB Du Bois illustrates the very poignant image of a color line that separates the two races in his society . He introduces the term double consciousness to explain how African Americans perceive themselves, not as individuals but as a collective group; a perception made through the eyes of the society in which they lived. This perception produces what Du Bois calls a “duality” of black Americans. It’s that feeling of “always looking at oneself through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul against a world that looks on with amused contempt and pity.” (DuBois 3). The notion of double consciousness does not only apply to African-Americans but to humanity as a whole. EM Forster's novel A Passage to India both illustrates and complicates Dubois's notion of double consciousness. Through the racial misconceptions and cultural assumptions that plague interactions between British and Indians, we see an uncertainty that resides in each individual's sense of identity. Du Bois's theory of double consciousness is also complicated in this novel because he leaves no room for individuals who do not fit his strict black and white model. There is no gray area. Each individual can identify as part of a group located on either side of the veil. Can a human being exist in society as an individual or is their identity defined solely by the group they associate with?Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Double consciousness refers to the idea that we see ourselves through the eyes of others. Du Bois uses this term to describe the felt confusion that exists between social norms and the everyday experience of black people in this country. Throughout the book, it is evident that Du Bois's idea of ​​double consciousness has two manifestations. The first is the power that white stereotypes have over black thinking. He argues that despite knowing the truth, African Americans continue to prevail against a backdrop of false claims that are used to define their people. By submitting to these paradigms, Black people allow themselves to remain the inferior race. The second demonstration of double consciousness is the racism that excluded African Americans from the rest of society. Blacks struggled to identify, and for them, the internal conflict came from being simultaneously African and American. The question of authenticity arose in Du Bois's essay on "The Conservation of Races," where he wrote: "No Negro who has seriously thought about the situation of his people in America has failed, to a moment in his life, to find himself in these conditions. crossroads; failed to ask himself at some point: what am I, after all? Am I American or am I black? Can I be both? Or is it my duty to stop being black as soon as possible and be American? If I struggle as a Black person, am I not perpetuating the gap that threatens and separates Black America and white America? Isn't my only possible practical objective the submission of everything that is Negro in me to the American? (DuBois 233). Although they were originally from America, they were not considered American because their roots were in Africa. They were seen as foreign and distinct from the rest of the population, which is how they quickly began to perceive themselves. A Passage to India is a realistic documentation of the attitudes of British colonists towards the native Indians they controlled. Through the exploration of Anglo-Indian relations, Forster attempts to illustratehow everyone is perceived not according to their status but according to their racial or cultural origin. In the novel, Dr. Aziz embodies Forster's notion of the "confusion" of India. Dr. Aziz finds it difficult to identify with a distinct group of individuals. Even though his racial and cultural background characterizes him as Indian, he does not believe he can truly identify with this group because he is an exception. His higher education allows him to want to be more like the British, who refuse to accept him as anything other than Indian. Throughout the novel, the British continue to overlook Aziz's title and education and view him only as "one of the Indians", whom they portray as a group of selfish and ignorant individuals. A major example of this perception is when Dr. Aziz is accused of sexually assaulting Miss Quested. Through his vivid depiction of the accused crime and the British reaction to the situation, Forster satirizes the British overreaction, calling it not only stupid, but dangerously based on sentiment rather than truth. Many Englishmen took the assault on Adela Quested as an all-Indian attack on English womanhood. The English viewed this isolated incident as a threat to the British Empire itself. Their account of the assault is devoid of any recognition or sympathetic understanding of Aziz's honorable character. They simply see the situation as a revelation of Indian criminal tendencies. This idea is described through McBryde's theory behind the assault. “All the unfortunate natives are criminals at heart, for the simple reason that they live south of latitude 30. They are not guilty; they have no chance – we would be like them if we settled here” (Forster 184). McBryde explains that Indians have criminal tendencies because of the climate, so their behavior is inherent and justified. Dr. Aziz suffers from Du Bois's notion of double consciousness. Aziz knows he is different but allows himself to be a slave to the stereotypes associated with being Indian. He struggles to define himself as an individual in a society that views him simply as a member of a larger group. Because he knows that he is considered a "typical Indian" in the eyes of the British, he feels the need to prove that he is better than his counterparts, but he struggles to do so. Aziz's many acts of generosity are often perceived as fraudulent. In Chapter VIII, Aziz lends Fielding his last collar nail to replace the broken one. Although Forster makes it clear that Aziz's loose collar was a demonstration of his act of generosity toward Mr. Fielding, Ronny views the unscrupulous look as emblematic of the general laziness of Indians. “Aziz was superbly dressed, from the tie pin to the gaiters, but he had forgotten the button on his back collar, and there you have the Indian everywhere: inattention to details; the fundamental looseness which reveals the race” (Forster 87) Despite his friendship with Aziz, Fielding still makes generalizations about Indians based on one incident. Although Aziz is a character who illustrates a person's constant struggle with double consciousness, there are many individuals in the novel that Du Bois's theory does not account for. Dubois argues that being Black meant being deprived of a “true self-awareness,” as Blacks viewed themselves only through the widespread contempt of white America. This idea may be related to how Indians viewed themselves through the eyes of their superiors, the British. While this may be true for many individuals in the oppressed group, some are actually capable of achieving self-awareness. In his, 1965.