Topic > A review of the character of Fielding and Aziz in Em Forster's book, A Passage to India

Emotional Unorthodoxy in Personal RelationshipsOf Forster's numerous statements in his essay "What I Believe," the most salient is that beliefs o personal beliefs "harden" a person and make him or her less open to anything that challenges that belief. The budding friendship between the Anglo-Indian Fielding and the native Indian Aziz in Forster's novel A Passage to India demonstrates the value of personal relationships over to the value of the faiths that generally hinder such relationships. It does so in a way that highlights the unorthodox emotional and character qualities of both men, suggesting that, without these, a friendship between the two would be unlikely plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay The relationship between Aziz and Fielding, although ultimately born of a true friendship, is based on their joint effort to overlook prejudices. on Anglo-Indians and Native Indians, respectively. However, to say that they are able to connect while ignoring prevailing prejudices is inaccurate; their ability to connect in this way is mainly due to the fact that 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 reach each other and can do it best with the aid of good will plus culture and intelligence" (62), and we it is said that this is only due to the fact that, unlike many of his companions, Fielding spent a lot of time away from the "pack" of the English. It is not free from prejudices or assumptions about non-English peoples. However, even when the emotional bond between Aziz and Fielding is strained by an ignorant comment - as when Fielding implies that Aziz, "an obscure Indian, had no right to have heard of post-impressionism" (66-67 ) - the obvious underlying "goodwill" had it not been for this insight, or even the willingness to perceive the other's character as opposed to the other's stereotype, both Fielding and Aziz could easily have dismissed the other as just another Anglo-Indian or simply another native Indian. For his part, Aziz, who is generally unimpressed by Anglo-Indians, is eager to meet Fielding, as he senses in Fielding a “true courtesy” and a “good heart” (60). This is unconventional for Anglo-Indians, and it is Fielding's continued emphasis on unconventionality and optimism regarding personal relationships that appeals to Aziz (67); Fielding is unconventionally willing to be vulnerable to Aziz, in a subtle way. 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, of “so emotional a people,” appreciates and even idolizes this tendency in Fielding (65). While Fielding shows his prejudice by recognizing the tendency as a stereotypical action of Indians in general, he also recognizes the tendency as useful for “[freeing] oneself from foreplay” and arriving directly at the intimacy of friendship (65). Aziz's openness to this unconventional Anglo-Indian and Fielding's appreciation of Aziz's emotional ice-breaking pave the way for a friendship that might not have existed had either of them been willing to accept the prevailing prejudices against of the other's "type". This is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay While both men manage to put aside the prejudices and expectations of the..