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A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

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A Passage to India (1924) is a novel written by English author E. M. Forster. This novel was set against the backdrops of the British empire and the Indian independence movement either politically or socially in the 1920s. It won the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. In addition, the Modern Library has chosen A Passage to India novel as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English literature. Moreover, it was included in ‘All Time 100 Novels’ list of Time magazine. Thus, this paper attempts to review three particular articles on Forster’s works. The first article displays the way that Forster wrote his novels which is analyzed by Mohammad Shaheen in his ‘E.M.Forster and The Politics of Imperialism’ (2004). After that, I consider some opinions mentioned by Vasant A.Shahane in his book ‘Forster’s Inner Passage to India’ (1982). Finally, my report sheds light on the ideas suggested by Benita Parry in his book ‘The Politics of Representation in A Passage to India’ (1995). Mohammad Shaheen is Professor of English and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Jordan, Amman. His book ‘E.M.Forster and The Politics of Imperialism’ (2004) examines the way that E.M. Forster, with honesty, intelligence and compassion, presents a complex, cultural engagement of colonial Britain and colonized India in his works. Shaheen (2004) believes that Forster's experience in Egypt during the First World War had a profound impact on his life and writing. He also explores Forster's use of raw materials, including his journalistic writings, essays and letters in his work, demonstrating how Forster's fiction can be read in the wider context of culture and imperialism. Shaheen has claimed that “ before and after A Passage to India, Forster maintained his affection for the personal element” which is proved by his representation of imperialism which intends to show how negative influence has affected “the personal life of the individual rather than to expose its external life, or to show the futility which results from any contact made by or through imperialism.” In addition, according to Forster’s perspective, Shaheen has defined ‘imperialist’ as “a member of society who happens to lose the grace of personal relations or, in specific terms, private life, that is, an individual who is betrayed from within and consequently survives with a soul worn away.” Shaheen has pointed also that Forster’s life becomes ‘a trap of betrayal’ for anyone who comes to him which indicates that imperialism “becomes a kind of infection in the absence o

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