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The main symbols in a passage to India

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Hanan Alshehri

The document summarizes three important symbols in E.M. Forster's novel "A Passage to India": 1) The Marabar Caves, based on real caves in India, represent the alien and empty nature and defy understanding. They unsettle visitors by making them confront parts of themselves. 2) The green bird observed by characters symbolizes India as elusive and undefinable, baffling those who seek Western rational understanding of it. 3) The wasp represents the Hindu idea of the oneness of all living things, even the lowest creature. Mrs. Moore feels affection for the wasp, showing her openness to Hindu mysticism, though it also shows the limits

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A passage to India by: E.M. Forster The main symbols in the novel
1- The Marabar Caves
The Marabar Caves are fictional caves. The caves are based on the real life Barabar Caves located in the Jehanabad District of Bihar, India. They serve as an important plot location and motif in the novel. Key features of the caves are the glass smooth walls and a peculiar resonant echo magnifying any sound made in the caves.
The Marabar Caves represent all that is alien about nature. The caves are older than anything else on the earth and embody nothingness and emptiness—a literal void in the earth. They defy both English and Indians to act as guides to them, and their strange beauty and menace unsettles visitors. The caves’ alien quality also has the power to make visitors such as Mrs. Moore and Adela confront parts of themselves or the universe that they have not previously recognized.
2- The Green Bird
The green bird that Ronny and Adela observe and try to identify but cannot (chapter 8) symbolizes India. India is elusive; it cannot be neatly categorized. Categorization is the Western, but not the Eastern, approach to understanding. It relies on rational understanding, and is part of the scientific approach. But as far as India is concerned, "nothing is identifiable, the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or to merge in something else." This is why India will always baffle and defeat those Westerners who seek to understand it. The Indians have a different attitude to understanding, as is shown in the following chapter, when Aziz recites poetry. The poetry reminds the Indians that India is one, a unity, but they grasp this at the level of feeling, not of intellect.
3- The Wasp
The wasp appears several times in A Passage to India, usually in conjunction with the Hindu vision of the oneness of all living things. The wasp is usually depicted as the lowest creature the Hindus incorporate into their vision of universal unity. Mrs. Moore is closely associated with the wasp, as she finds one in her room and is gently appreciative of it. Her peaceful regard for the wasp signifies her own openness to the Hindu idea of collectivity, and to the mysticism and indefinable quality of India in general. However, as the wasp is the lowest creature that the Hindus visualize, it also represents the limits of the Hindu vision. The vision is not a panacea, but merely a possibility for unity and understanding in India.
Early in the novel , Mrs. Moore returns from the club and sees a small wasp asleep on a coat peg. She does not disturb it. Indeed, she seems to feel quite affectionate toward it, addressing it as "Pretty, dear." The wasp is a symbol of the unity of all life, as understood in the Indian religious tradition. Everything, even an insect, is a manifestation of Brahman. Mrs. Moore does not know this intellectually, but she is sympathetic to the idea of the oneness of the universe. Her reaction to the wasp shows she is in tune with this way of thinking .
References : 1- Sparknotes http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/passage/themes.html 2- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marabar_Caves 3- Novel guide http://www.novelguide.com/a-passage-to-india/metaphor-analysis 4- E note http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/tell-me-about-wasp-this- novel-cant-understand-why-19671
Students names : Hanan AbdAllah Ali Alshehri . Mashael Sultan Albalwi . Amnah Khalid Awad. Mona Fayez Alshehri .

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The main symbols in a passage to India

  • 1. A passage to India by: E.M. Forster The main symbols in the novel
  • 3. The Marabar Caves are fictional caves. The caves are based on the real life Barabar Caves located in the Jehanabad District of Bihar, India. They serve as an important plot location and motif in the novel. Key features of the caves are the glass smooth walls and a peculiar resonant echo magnifying any sound made in the caves.
  • 4. The Marabar Caves represent all that is alien about nature. The caves are older than anything else on the earth and embody nothingness and emptiness—a literal void in the earth. They defy both English and Indians to act as guides to them, and their strange beauty and menace unsettles visitors. The caves’ alien quality also has the power to make visitors such as Mrs. Moore and Adela confront parts of themselves or the universe that they have not previously recognized.
  • 6. The green bird that Ronny and Adela observe and try to identify but cannot (chapter 8) symbolizes India. India is elusive; it cannot be neatly categorized. Categorization is the Western, but not the Eastern, approach to understanding. It relies on rational understanding, and is part of the scientific approach. But as far as India is concerned, "nothing is identifiable, the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or to merge in something else." This is why India will always baffle and defeat those Westerners who seek to understand it. The Indians have a different attitude to understanding, as is shown in the following chapter, when Aziz recites poetry. The poetry reminds the Indians that India is one, a unity, but they grasp this at the level of feeling, not of intellect.
  • 8. The wasp appears several times in A Passage to India, usually in conjunction with the Hindu vision of the oneness of all living things. The wasp is usually depicted as the lowest creature the Hindus incorporate into their vision of universal unity. Mrs. Moore is closely associated with the wasp, as she finds one in her room and is gently appreciative of it. Her peaceful regard for the wasp signifies her own openness to the Hindu idea of collectivity, and to the mysticism and indefinable quality of India in general. However, as the wasp is the lowest creature that the Hindus visualize, it also represents the limits of the Hindu vision. The vision is not a panacea, but merely a possibility for unity and understanding in India.
  • 9. Early in the novel , Mrs. Moore returns from the club and sees a small wasp asleep on a coat peg. She does not disturb it. Indeed, she seems to feel quite affectionate toward it, addressing it as "Pretty, dear." The wasp is a symbol of the unity of all life, as understood in the Indian religious tradition. Everything, even an insect, is a manifestation of Brahman. Mrs. Moore does not know this intellectually, but she is sympathetic to the idea of the oneness of the universe. Her reaction to the wasp shows she is in tune with this way of thinking .
  • 10. References : 1- Sparknotes http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/passage/themes.html 2- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marabar_Caves 3- Novel guide http://www.novelguide.com/a-passage-to-india/metaphor-analysis 4- E note http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/tell-me-about-wasp-this- novel-cant-understand-why-19671
  • 11. Students names : Hanan AbdAllah Ali Alshehri . Mashael Sultan Albalwi . Amnah Khalid Awad. Mona Fayez Alshehri .