Upon reading ‘The Caves’ portion of the novel, A Passage to India, I realized my favorite aspect is the metaphorical imagery used. It is interesting to see how the physical description of the caves so closely reflects the emotional mindset of Dr. Aziz. This is why it is so Ironic, Dr. Aziz doesn’t take much interest in the caves, as it says on page 156, “…Aziz noticed nothing.” Dr. Aziz appears his old self showing the ladies around whilst initially behaving as the ultimate gentleman, paying for everything and even attempting to be somewhat of a tour guide even though it becomes apparent he knows nothing about the caves. As it says on page 156, “His ignorance became evident, and was really rather a drawback.” E.M. Forster describes the sky as being dominant as usual meanwhile describing its essence as being “unhealthy.” Dr. Aziz puts on a front for Adele but it is made obvious he has his own agenda the whole time. His sinister inner self is revealed upon sexually assaulting Adele. He is also oblivious to the day as he perceives everything is going excellently regardless of the fact that he is a terrible tour guide and Mrs. Moore and Adele express little to no interest in the caves. For example on page 156, Mrs. Moore refers to it as “A horrid, stuffy place really.”
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Dr. Aziz and the Metaphorical Caves
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Dr. Aziz does seem oblivious to the mindsets of his guests, as he does not notice their boredom or Mrs. Moore's discomfort. I attribute this to his acute single-mindedness, which is illustrated throughout the novel. Early on he gives Fielding his collar stud in order to be impressively polite, without stopping to realize the personal consequences. Later when Aziz has been falsely accused of assaulting Adela and is put in prison, he is completely devastated and can think of no possible remedy to his situation. Singlemindedness is a central piece of the character of Aziz, thanks for pointing it out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kristin about the fact that single-mindedness is definitely a defining attribute of Aziz's character, but I do not think that he is necessarily a 'sinister' individual. He is a genuine individual with honest intentions that are sometimes misguided, despite his efforts to connect with others.
ReplyDeleteAziz strikes me as being very naive, but not sinister. He is childlike, and, like a child, wants everyone to have fun and fails to consider the fact that the caves might be unpleasant.
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