Tuesday, October 29, 2013
A Passage to India concerns the relationships between two very different cultures of India and Britain. Britain has moved to India to take power over the Indians who are "unable to rule themselves." However the story more pertains to the cultural experiences characters have that drive them towards what they really want from life, ultimately leading to happiness.
Aziz is an Indian doctor who has three kids but lost his wife a few years ago. He works for some of the British folk and struggles with finding joy in life; then he meets Mrs. Moore. Mrs. Moore and Aziz meet in a temple and realize they have many similarities. The similarities between cultures help create a common ground for them. Aziz teaches Mrs. Moore much about the indian life, and vise versa. As the novel develops, Mrs. Moore comes to the realization that God created everyone equal. She feels united, not only with people, but with the whole world. Without this cultural experience, she would not believe whole-heartedly in equality and discovers happiness in her new unity with the world. In return, Aziz develops a new perspective on British people. Instead of believing they are all snobby, he realizes that stereotypes cannot be placed upon a whole culture, because there will always be someone who defies it. Aziz overcomes his prejudice against the British and develops a friendship that will last his whole life. He develops happiness through his friendship. Contrarily, Mrs. Moore's son, Ronny, refuses to interact with the Indian culture. Instead of gaining a new cultural perspective, he maintains his negative outlook on the Indian culture. Ronny ends up losing his fiance and after sending his mother home after his rage in her new unity with the world, she dies. Ronny refused to give India a chance and instead got rejected from happiness.
As characters within A Passage to India accepted cultural experiences, they gained greater knowledge on the world and got closer to true happiness. Those who refused, however, had their happiness taken. The cultural experiences within the novel guided characters either away or towards happiness, depending on if they accepted the cultural differences of not.
Aziz is an Indian doctor who has three kids but lost his wife a few years ago. He works for some of the British folk and struggles with finding joy in life; then he meets Mrs. Moore. Mrs. Moore and Aziz meet in a temple and realize they have many similarities. The similarities between cultures help create a common ground for them. Aziz teaches Mrs. Moore much about the indian life, and vise versa. As the novel develops, Mrs. Moore comes to the realization that God created everyone equal. She feels united, not only with people, but with the whole world. Without this cultural experience, she would not believe whole-heartedly in equality and discovers happiness in her new unity with the world. In return, Aziz develops a new perspective on British people. Instead of believing they are all snobby, he realizes that stereotypes cannot be placed upon a whole culture, because there will always be someone who defies it. Aziz overcomes his prejudice against the British and develops a friendship that will last his whole life. He develops happiness through his friendship. Contrarily, Mrs. Moore's son, Ronny, refuses to interact with the Indian culture. Instead of gaining a new cultural perspective, he maintains his negative outlook on the Indian culture. Ronny ends up losing his fiance and after sending his mother home after his rage in her new unity with the world, she dies. Ronny refused to give India a chance and instead got rejected from happiness.
As characters within A Passage to India accepted cultural experiences, they gained greater knowledge on the world and got closer to true happiness. Those who refused, however, had their happiness taken. The cultural experiences within the novel guided characters either away or towards happiness, depending on if they accepted the cultural differences of not.
Mrs. Moors and Dr. Aziz chose happiness.
Ronny did not.
The Battle Between Power and Happiness
The royal highness King Henry IV prides in his power. A wedge is driven between King Henry and his son, Prince Harry, when the Prince places himself into a different "culture" within the kingdom, where he is happy. Instead of being a power-driven war-god like Hotspur, he is instead a thief, which is shameful to the King. As the play goes on, many of King Henry's followers turn against him because of his disloyalty, yet in the end it is his son who helps maintain family power over the kingdom. Furthermore, it is proven that choosing a happy environment for oneself is an advantage over attempting to place oneself in a powerful environment.
The happy environment seen in the play is when Prince Harry is with the robbers, thief's, and whores, a unique culture, at the bar. There are many laughs shared between the criminals and the Prince of Wales. While many perceive Prince Harry as an underachiever as a leader, he secretly has a plan to become powerful. Yet, he manages to give himself happiness along the way. Meanwhile, his father King Henry has many struggle, such as being unable to invade the crusades, worrying about his son, and maintaining a good control over his kingdom. Eventually, it is seen the King Henry is not respected because of his disloyalty to many of his followers and abuse of power. Prince Harry then becomes the more powerful and well-liked leader between the two. Each had very different approaches to their time of power. Henry faces a series of serious events and deceived many of his followers, while Harry enjoyed laughs, happiness, and drinks with the criminals in the kingdom. Prince Harry lived a happier life with a unique culture, the criminals, than his Dad lived. Harry's culture taught him to be a good leader, and that power is not the goal, but instead to better what you have power over. In fact, through out the whole play Harry is the only leader in the play who never says the word "power".
Without Harry's unique cultural experience, he would not have found happiness yet also discovered how to be a good leader. King Henry, instead, lived a life full of deceit and revenge and did not experience happiness. If King Henry had not been caught up in his strive for power, he may have had the opportunity to experience a different culture. This would have opened up the opportunity for him to discover his own happiness.
The happy environment seen in the play is when Prince Harry is with the robbers, thief's, and whores, a unique culture, at the bar. There are many laughs shared between the criminals and the Prince of Wales. While many perceive Prince Harry as an underachiever as a leader, he secretly has a plan to become powerful. Yet, he manages to give himself happiness along the way. Meanwhile, his father King Henry has many struggle, such as being unable to invade the crusades, worrying about his son, and maintaining a good control over his kingdom. Eventually, it is seen the King Henry is not respected because of his disloyalty to many of his followers and abuse of power. Prince Harry then becomes the more powerful and well-liked leader between the two. Each had very different approaches to their time of power. Henry faces a series of serious events and deceived many of his followers, while Harry enjoyed laughs, happiness, and drinks with the criminals in the kingdom. Prince Harry lived a happier life with a unique culture, the criminals, than his Dad lived. Harry's culture taught him to be a good leader, and that power is not the goal, but instead to better what you have power over. In fact, through out the whole play Harry is the only leader in the play who never says the word "power".
Without Harry's unique cultural experience, he would not have found happiness yet also discovered how to be a good leader. King Henry, instead, lived a life full of deceit and revenge and did not experience happiness. If King Henry had not been caught up in his strive for power, he may have had the opportunity to experience a different culture. This would have opened up the opportunity for him to discover his own happiness.
Prince Harry chose Happiness.
King Henry did not.
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