IGNOU Solved Assignment: MEG-3

Que: discuss major themes in tom jones

Ans:

Contrasts in varieties of life

Henry Fielding's work presents a 'slice of life' and in doing so, it naturally presents all the natural varieties of living too. This becomes a major theme because it is apparent at more than one place. Not only are characters contrasted but also - situations, human reactions and even predicaments. It is through these contrasts that Fielding manages to paint a realistic picture of life. This picture is believable and exciting all at once. And, owing to these contrasts, we are better able to appreciate the positive and deride the negatives. This theme is carried forth to the very end, when Tom Jones and Blifil are contrasted yet again.

Human Nature

This is an obvious theme of all novels, but even more so - of this one. And, Fielding states this purpose very plainly and clearly. Human Nature is depicted in its many forms with its strengths as well as weaknesses. It is this aspect that enriches the novel and contributes to its enjoyment. It also leaves the reader with the view that he has learnt much-learning that might enable him/her to understand his/her environment better. It is this very theme that drives home the lesson that it is not advisable to repress instincts all the time. Ideal human nature should be a balance of instinct and intellect.

Pursuit motif

Contributing to the humor in the novel, is the pursuit motif. This is built very ably by Fielding, who depicts how people chase one another till the final resolution. And, at the center of all this chasing is Sophia and Tom's pursuit of each other. Most of the other pursuits are centrally linked to this crucial one. And, with the ending of this pursuit, the others reach a conclusion too. This motif adds pace and interest to the narrative. It is integral to the very backbone of the story and it is handled extremely well.

Tom's curious innocence

This too is central to the plot. It is Tom's naivete and strange sense of honor that often gets him into trouble. It is this same aspect that leads him into amorous affairs with women, other than the one who he truly loves. It is this very instinctive innocence that, Tom has to overcome in order to strike the ideal balance in human nature - that of intellect and spontaneous instinct. And, when this balance is struck. Tom attains the two things that build his fortune - his love - Sophia and Squire Allworthy's estate.

Minor

Mrs. Fitzpatrick's story

Mrs. Fitzpatrick is Miss Western's cousin Harriet. While Sophia flees her father to go to London Mrs. Fitzpatrick too flees her husband. The two cousins meet on the way by pure coincidence and strike up their friendship again. Mrs. Fitzpatrick's story is contrasted with Sophia's own; this contrast exhibits Sophia's qualities of endurance and her own chastity. Mrs. Fitzpatrick's story then assumes the mantle of a minor theme in the novel.

Mr. Square and Mr.Thwackum's hypocrisy

Both these characters are examples of false intellect claiming surreptitious superiority over instinct. The hypocrisy of both these characters is revealed at once. The revelation of Square's false values is the most dramatic. In contrast to them both, is their pupil, Tom Jones, who claims no false pretensions to intellect and whose instinctive goodness can be trusted more than their pretended virtuousness. Mr. Square and Mr.Thwackum together make a minor theme for what they stand for - stilted pretence.

The question of Tom's parentage

Since Tom Jones is a major protagonist, the question of Tom's parentage too becomes a question of concern. It turns into a minor theme of the novel as it is bears relevance from the beginning, till the very end. And, when this question is finally resolved it comes as a major revelation to us. Those who were considered to be Tom's guilty parents are in reality innocent of the crime.

MOOD

The mood of the novel is that of a satiric bawdy romance. While in main, the story is about Tom and Sophia and how they finally get together; there is also much intended satire on the false conventions of society. A vivid Hogarthian panorama Tom Jones thus becomes both a romance and a comedy.

While the basic plot of the story may be founded on romance; the treatment of the theme is not merely romantic. It is much more than that - the narrative spans adventures, love affairs, seductions, wars; in short-life in all its richness and variety. And that is the reason - the mood never becomes melancholic. The pace is always a fast one and the mood is never really downcast even if the events are disappointing, the novel can make you laugh, grin and even smirk - but rarely does it enable you to cry. The novel remains a comic, entertaining romance worth a read and entertaining in its taste.

Que: discuss the pip estella relationship in great expectations

Ans:

  Philip ‘Pip’ Pirip, around whom the structure of the greatest English novelist Dickens’soutstanding work Great Expectations has been constructed, does not firmly have in mindthe so called ‘great’ expectations until he meets Estella. He is exhilarated to make up hismind to be a true gentleman by this strange meeting. His relationship with Estella does notgrow naturally as is expected by the reader: rather he is every time rejected, ridiculed and istreated crudely by the young woman with an icy heart.

Being scoffed at on the very first meeting, Pip finds himself an orphan in a new worldwhere he has no one to confide in, no mentor to guide him and most important, he has nomoney to realise his dreams. He finds no way out to escape from what he has come to think of as ‘the common life’.

This idea has been sown in Pip’s mind as a result of Estella’s scornful remarks towards himas regards his lifestyle: “...why, he is a common labouring boy!” and, “And hat coarsehands he has! And what thick boots!” This disdain and later ill treatment from Estella whohe has infatuated with, rouse a sense of grief and depression in Pip’s mind, and a very lowidea about the commonness of the labouring class that he belonged to. He is treated like adog and is ‘so humiliated, hurt, spurned, offended, angry, sorry’ that tears started to hiseyes.

In response Pip can not abominate Estella nor can he avoid her attraction. He wants tobecome a gentleman just worthy of Estella. That is, he gets an enthusiastic approbationfrom Estella’s maltreatment. This is affirmed by the conversation between Pip and Biddy— another young lady presumably in love with Pip—as to Pip’s eagerness for Estella: “... andI admire her dreadfully, and I want to be a gentleman on her account. ”

At the very moment he apprehends that Biddy is a good woman and that Estella, at anygiven moment, might make him miserable. Yet he can not help loving Estella. Hisconfession to Biddy is charged with self-pity: “If I could only get myself to fall in lovewith you.” In fact he could never do so, for he has no ability to free himself from theglowing attraction of Estella.

Now, when Pip learns that his ‘great expectation’ might be a reality, it dazzles him. Hetakes it to be an angelic deed on the part of Miss Havisham, who has taken Estella for anadopted child; and thinks that Miss Havisham would expect to marry Estella to Pip infuture. He does not have the slightest doubt that she has toyed with him.

In reality, Miss Havisham cherished a severe hatred for men and to avenge her brokenheart has made a heart-breaking machine of Estella. Pip is her suitable target whom she cantrap with the help of the unavoidable lure of Estella’s physical beauty, her queen like prideand gesture. So it was easy for Miss Havisham to entice Pip by Estella and make him love her.

Que: What does Tom in Tom Jones symbolizes? Discuss some of his relationship with other character in the novel?

Ans:

Tom Jones %  -  Tom Jones, a "bastard" raised by the philanthropic Allworthy, is the novel's eponymous hero and protagonist. Although Tom's faults (namely, his imprudence and his lack of chastity) prevent him from being a perfect hero, his good heart and generosity make him Fielding's avatar of Virtue, along with Allworthy. Tom's handsome face and gallantry win him the love and affection of women throughout the countryside. His dignified, though natural air induces characters to assume that he is a gentleman—which ultimately turns out to be true.

Sophia Western %  -  Sophia Western is Fielding's beautiful, generous heroine and the daughter of the violent Squire Western. Like Tom, Sophia lavishes gifts on the poor, and she treats people of all classes with such respect that one landlady cannot believe she is a "gentlewoman." Sophia manages to reconcile her love for Tom, her filial duty to her father, and her hatred for Blifil through her courage and patience. Sophia's natural courtesy can be contrasted with her Aunt Western's artificial manners.

Mr. Allworthy %  -  Mr. Allworthy is just what his name implies - all worthy. Allworthy has a reputation throughout England because of his benevolent, altruistic behavior. The moral yardstick of the novel, Allworthy's only fault (which ironically propels much of the plot) is that—due to his goodness—he cannot perceive the evil in others.

Master Blifil  -  Blifil is antagonist to Tom Jones and the son of Bridget Allworthy and Captain Blifil. Although he appears at first to be a virtuous character, his hypocrisy soon exposes itself—Blifil pretends to be pious and principled, but greed governs him. The fact that Blifil has few redeeming qualities makes Tom compassion for him at the end of the novel—after the revelation that Blifil kept the secret of Tom's birth to himself—even more commendable. Blifil's dearth of natural human appetites—he at first does not desire Sophia—does not distinguish him as a virtuous character, but rather provides a depressing picture of what humanity would be like if devoid of passion.

Squire Western %  -  Squire Western is a caricature of the rough-and-ready, conservative country gentleman. Affectionate at heart, the Squire nevertheless acts with extreme violence towards his daughter Sophia, by constantly incarcerating her, and even verbally and physically abusing her. However, since the Squire is a caricature, Fielding does not intend for us to judge these actions too harshly. Similarly, the Squire's insistence on Sophia marrying Blifil has less to do with greed than with his stubbornness and adherence to tradition. Squire Western's speaks in West Country dialect, and peppers his speech with curses.

Mrs. Western %  -  Mrs. Western, the foil of her brother Squire Western, is a caricature of the artificial city lady who always acts out of expediency. Mrs. Western prides herself on being adept at all intellectual pursuits—from politics to philosophy to feminism to amour—yet her ignorance reveals itself on numerous occasions (she thinks that Socrates lectured to students instead of engaging in conversational debate). Mrs. Western's sole aim in the novel is to improve the Western name by marrying off Sophia to the richest, most prosperous man she can find.

Partridge  -  Partridge is the teacher whom Allworthy accuses of being Tom's father. He is a kind of comedic Harlequin character (Fielding even compares him to Harlequin). Although pathetic, bumbling, and cowardly, Partridge remains a loyal servant to Jones and deserves his reward at the end of the novel. Partridge has a passion for speaking in Latin non sequiturs. Although Partridge creates problems for Tom and Sophia by boosting Tom's reputation and defiling Sophia's to all and sundry, Tom cannot help forgiving Partridge, who always has the best of intentions.

Jenny Jones %  -  Jenny Jones (Mrs. Waters) is the student of Partridge whom Allworthy banishes for being Tom's mother—at the end of the novel we learn that Jenny is not Tom's mother. Jenny reappears as "Mrs. Waters" at Upton, where Tom saves her from a robbery. Although Jenny does not possess the beauty of a Sophia, her very white breasts attract Tom to her. Although she protests to Mr. Allworthy at the end of the novel that she has led a virtuous life, her seduction of Tom in Upton suggests otherwise. She eventually marries Parson Supple, a friend of Western.

Bridget Allworthy %  -  Bridget Allworthy is the mother of Blifil and Tom. An unattractive lady who resents beautiful women, Bridget marries Captain Blifil because he flatters her religious views. Although Bridget's affection wavers between Blifil and Tom as the boys mature, she becomes devoted to Tom before her death—largely due to his good looks and gallantry.

Lady Bellaston  -  Lady Bellaston is a London lady, and a relative of Sophia, whose passionate, lusty personality leads her to dabble in intrigues. The stem of her last name "Bella-", meaning "war" in Latin, points to her malicious nature—she thinks of no one but herself. Lady Bellaston carries out a vengeful battle against Tom and Sophia with the utmost glee.

Harriet Fitzpatrick %  -  Harriet Fitzpatrick is Sophia's cousin and the wife of Mr. Fitzpatrick. Pretty and charming, she is nevertheless selfish and contrives against Sophia in order to improve her relationship with Squire Western and Mrs. Western.

Mr. Fitzpatrick %  -  Mr. Fitzpatrick is a rash Irishman whom Harriet Fitzpatrick casts in the light of an ogre chasing her across the countryside. Fitzpatrick becomes admirable, however, when he admits to initiating the duel with Tom at the end of the novel.

Mr. Dowling  -  Mr. Dowling is a shrewd, shifty lawyer who becomes a friend of Blifil. Always operating out of expediency, when Dowling realizes that Blifil will not be able to reward him for his efforts, he defects to Tom and Allworthy's side.

Mrs. Miller  -  Mrs. Miller is a faithful friend to Tom and the most caring and concerned of mothers to Nancy and Betty. Feisty and active, Mrs. Miller carries through on her promises and becomes Tom's biggest advocate to Allworthy. She is trusting and loyal.

Nightingale  -  Nightingale, although a foppish city gentleman, possesses the laudable traits of loyalty and compassion—although not always in affairs of love. It takes a little time for Tom to convince Nightingale not to abandon Nancy, since Nightingale is caught up in his image in London. To his credit, Nightingale transforms and follows Tom's principles of Honour—that is, fulfilling verbal commitments.

Lord Fellamar  -  Lord Fellamar is a suitor of Sophia who, though he has a conscience, easily allows himself to be manipulated by Lady Bellaston.

Square  -  Square is a philosopher who lives with Allworthy. He justifies his questionable behavior (such as making love to Molly Seagrim) by contorting his philosophical notions. Square, although a foil to Thwackum, is less sinister than the latter. Indeed, Square's virtuous transformation at the end of the novel allows Allworthy to forgive Tom.

Thwackum  -  Thwackum is the vicious tutor of Blifil and Tom who constantly beats Tom and praises Blifil. Thwackum, who claims to value Religion above all else, seeks only his own good.

Molly Seagrim  -  Molly Seagrim is the rugged, unfeminine daughter of Black George who seduces Tom. Feisty and aggressive, Molly enjoys the company of men, and fights fiercely for her rights.

Black George  -  Black George is the servant who is favored by Tom. Although of dubious moral tincture (Black George steals and lies), Black George's loyalty to and love of Tom nevertheless emerges.

Nancy Miller  -  Nancy Miller is the daughter of Mrs. Miller who becomes Nightingale's wife.

Narrator  -  The ironic, intrusive narrator can be assumed to be Fielding himself since he reflects on his process of creating Tom Jones.

Que:

Do you think the title of Dickens' Great Expectations is appropriate? Justify your response.

Ans:

You might want to relate the choice of title to some of the key themes of this excellent novel, in particular that of class consciousness and transformation. One of the crucial stages of the novel is when Pip goes to Satis House for the first time and experiences the rather uncomfortable epiphany that he is nothing but a "common labouring boy" who "calls the Knaves Jacks." He comes back home with the ambition of becoming a gentleman and winning Estella. Thus his great expectations come as something of a dream come true.
However, the transformation that these great expectations bring is critically presented by Dickens from the very first. The new clothes that Pip wears, for example, change the way that characters such as Pumblechook and Trabb treat him, but those that love him are not so impressed. Although Pip in London learns the mannerisms and habits of being a gentleman, in his character he is shown to act in a very un-gentlemanlike fashion when Joe comes to visit him in London, for example. In addition, his great expectations seem to be based around a life of idleness, corruption, moral vice and dissolution as he lives off the wealth of a convict. Dickens seems to use the phrase "great expectations" to ironically comment upon the way in which a sudden injection of wealth and status does not automatically equate with "great expectations" and, in fact, we might argue that Pip would have been better off and happier had he stayed in the marshes. Throughout the novel, then, Dickens uses the phrase to comment upon class and the impact of money by showing the way in which it is moral character and maturity that gives one truly great expectations.

Ans 2:

It seems a well-chosen title to me. The rise and fall of Pip revolves around his great expectations from the largess (he thinks) of Miss Havisham relating to money, social life, and the love of his life, Estella. The contrapuntal beat of the novel is that the one who provides for Pip's great expectations is so wholly different from what Pip expected. The decrescendoing note in the story is that the power Estella expects to enjoy from her training turns out to not meet expectations. Rising from her pianissimo, she is led to a great reunion she had not expected. I think the title is an apt thematic representation for the novel that covers all the threads and makes Dickens' great thematic point in two words, add a third word, and it is more explicitly clear: "Ahhh ... Great Expectations."

Ans3:

Absolutely!  Pip had great expectations of a good education, good marriage (his hopes lay with Estella), and a good life due to his secret benefactor.
Miss Havisham had great expectations--for her marriage which sadly ended at the alter--and also for her adopted daughter, Estella.  Of course, she did not realize at the time that her actions sabotaged those hopes for Estella.
Joe had great expectations for Pip--his only true friend, and then again for himself and Biddy after Mrs. Joe passes away.
So many characters in the book had expectatons for their lives, their marriages, their families, their futures.  Not all of those expectations were realized, but they were expectations, nonetheless. 
The title is appropriate.

Ans 4:

I love how the title is suggestive to the reader from the beginning. It certainly fits as the above posts suggest. My students place great wonder in the word expectations because they see it as something placed on a person by an authority. For example, I have the expectations that when I assign an essay, students will turn it in. What they find so intriguing about the book is that these are the expectations of the characters. Then, the connection to real life becomes so much more relevant. Students realize that as children, they expected they would play NFL football or become president. Now, their realities as high schoolers are starting to set in. They didn't even make the football team, or they never got a grade higher than a C and doors begin to close. This book's title suggest much about what occurs in the text, but even more, it demonstrates an overwhelming truth about life that is important for readers to grasp.

Ans 5:

More than anything, the title Great Expectations connotes anticipations that are well beyond one's ken.  It is, indeed, an appropriate title as the various characters have grand hopes: Pumblechook aspires to the frivolous aristocracy that he admires, Mrs. Pocket reads books of titles in her desire to attain one herself, Orlick hopes to possess Biddy and be the better journeyman for Joe, Miss Havisham has unrealistic expectations for Estella, Magwitch, too, is unrealistic in his hopes for Pip and himself, and Pip has the most grandiose plans of all as he expects to marry Estella, become a gentleman of wealth and position, and live happily for the rest of his life. 
While Mr. Jaggers announces "great expectations" to Pip, he is only one among many who have expectations.  And, as a criticism of an England that had a corrupt justice and social system, Dickens's novel has an apt title, indeed.

Que: Explain the term picaresque. In what ways is Tom Jones a picaresque novel

Ans:

“Picaresque” is an eely tag. The Spanish word picaresca came from picaro, first used in the early 1600s and which in English can mean rogue, bohemian, adventurer, rapscallion. We took picaron, the augmentative of picaro, and made the accusatory-sounding “picaroon,” a lovely synonym for “picaro” that Merriam-Webster will tell you also means “pirate,” although Picaroons of the Caribbean doesn’t have the ring it should. The picaresque novel—the term wasn’t coined in English until the early nineteenth century—has shape-shifted since its first known incarnation in Spain, the anonymously authored Lazarillo de Tormes, published in 1553. But most picaresque novels incorporate several defining characteristics: satire, comedy, sarcasm, acerbic social criticism; first-person narration with an autobiographical ease of telling; an outsider protagonist-seeker on an episodic and often pointless quest for renewal or justice.

Those traits set a broad trap certain to snag many a novel that never thought of itself as a picaresque; minus the satire, they very well could describe Kerouac’s On the Road. The road novel, like the quest epic, is a genre unto itself, but it just so happens that the terms of the picaresque require travel, which might have something to do with the title of what is sometimes cited as the first picaresque in English, The Unfortunate Traveller by Thomas Nashe, published in 1594, a miserable and barely readable book. Tweak the traditional traits of the picaresque just a pinch and think of all the titles that might apply. My own novel, Busy Monsters, has two direct ancestors I can name, both of which contain elements of the picaresque among the manifold traits that constitute their genius: The Odyssey and Don Quixote.

The term “picaresque novel” is often bandied around, especially when one is studying eighteenth-century British literature. That’s because the Eighteenth Century saw the birth of the novel, which was quite possibly based on the picaresque. Other cultures have forms of the picaresque, but British literature seems to have taken most of its cues from Spain, where the picaro, or rogue, is the anti-hero who travels around and lives by his wits.

But we generally use the term picaresque these days to describe elements of works. We say things like “Tristram Shandy has elements of the picaresque.” We sound smart when we say it, right? But does anyone really know what we mean? Let’s try to figure it out.

There are two basic elements of the picaresque. If we say there are elements of the picaresque in a work, what we mean is that the work uses these two things:

1. A character who is a rascal who gets into trouble and finds his way through life by using his wits.
2. A disjointed plot held together by the presence of the main character.

It’s easy to have a novel that combines these elements. Think of the great Henry Fielding novels like Joseph Andrews or Tom Jones. Sure, Fielding says he was copying Cervantes, but then Cervantes uses elements of the picaresque, as well.

Here’s the point: don’t get confused when people use the term. They’re not talking about the bildungroman, although a picaresque novel could also be a bildungsroman, I suppose. What they’re referring to is an anti-hero and a rather disjointed or episodic plot.

Que: Explain the Fairy tale elements in dickens's Great Expectations?

Dickens's use of Fairy tale elements in Great expectations was almost like a cinderella story. When Pip was younger, he had a tough life, with Mrs. Joe, who was almost like the stepmother in Cinderella. Estella, you can say was the princess in the story. Magwich was like the fairy god mother in situation, giving pip expectations and giving him more of a prince life.

references to such moral children's tales as Sandford and Merton indicate that, in his mind, there was no serious distinction between adult and adolescent morality, and that, like his acquaintance, Hans Christian Andersen, he used one to reinforce the other. . . . [At times] the fairy tale is of structural importance, as the Cinderella fable is for Great Expectations. Pip starts his career in a low state before a forge (if not a hearth), and, by the aid of a supposed fairy godmother, achieves a high station. Because Dickens means to convert the fable to a Christian purpose, Pip must relinquish the glass slipper of pride (a showy, but impractical item), and return to ordinary, but ennobled circumstances, freed from the fairy-tale illusions that have so long misled him. It is worth noting that Great Expectations is also a Christian tale, opening on Christmas eve, partly located in a manger-like forge, and progressing to a symbolic crucifixion (Pip's wounded hands, symbolic illness, and resurrection). The child's fairy tale has been merged with what Arnold described as the adult's fairy tale, and the models of Cinderella and Christ confused, with all the aesthetic fascination of the storybook figure, but also with the moral power of the divinity. Biblical parable and child's tale become coequal in instructive power, though both are subordinate to the secular and esthetic purposes of the novel. [p. 31]

Is Dickens's combination of Christ and Cinderella religious or blasphemous? See if you can determine how Reed conducts his argument and what are the strong and weak points in it.

One of the main reasons why resembles a fairy tale is due to its
characters

Great Expectations has many characters that reflect the
characteristics of those in fairy tales.

Some of these fairy tale characteristics are found in Miss Havisham.

In chapter eight, when Miss Havisham first appears, she seems to take
on the aspect of a fairy godmother, but yet, she still seems to come
across as a distorted figure.

In chapter eleven, Pip tells how she placed her hand upon his
shoulder,

“…She looked like the witch of the place.” This shows Miss Havisham to
be the wicked witch of the story.

Chapter fifteen, in this chapter of the book we learn about the
‘morose journeyman’ and the sort of tales he told Pip.

“…the devil lived in a black corner of the forge, and that he knew
the fiend very well: also that it was necessary to make up the fire,
once in seven years, with a live boy, and that I might consider myself
fuel.”

The horror stories Pip was told throughout his childhood are threaded
into the texture of the novel through various images, and at this
point in the book, Miss Havisham represents the witch, but she is also
fulfilling the role of the fairy Godmother.

Another witchlike character in the book is Mrs. Joe.

Estella is another character ‘type’ that you would find in a fairy
tale.

She comes across as the princess of the story.

When we first meet Estella she comes across as mean, and cold hearted
which is due to being brought up by Miss Havisham. As we get further
into the story we begin too fell sorry for Estella, as she has lived
all her life with a ‘witch’. She now seems to be the doomed princess;
however, in chapter 29, it seems as if Estella will no lunge be the
doomed princess.

”… in short, do all the shining deeds of the young Knight of romance,
and marry the princess.”

This chapter shows that Pip believes he can rescue Estella from Miss
Havisham and live a happy life with her.

Orlick and Magwitch represent the ogre type character that you would
find in a fairy tale.

In chapter fifteen we learn how Pip feels that Orlick dislikes him fro
some unknown reason. “…Drew out a red-hot bar, made at me with it as
if he were going to run it through my body,”

In Great Expectations, Joe comes across as the loyal, servant type
character that will always be faithful.

In chapter thirteen, Joe invents a tale to put Mrs.Joe in a good mood,
and he is also and he does not want her to fell left out.

Joe is the type of character that will put others before himself as he
is always aiming to please.

Great Expectations contains many fairytale like themes, such as Pip
receiving riches when he reaches a certain age.

Pip believes that Miss Havisham has given his riches to him, however
later on in his life he realises that they actually came from
Magwitch, the escaped convict that he helped.

The themes in this part of the book are the thought of a poor
boy/person becoming rich and that helping others or the less fortunate
you will be repaid in the future when you least expect it. Another
theme in this part of the book could be the thought of there being
lots of surprises and coincidences.

Pip falling in love with Estella is also another theme in Great
Expectations.

This gives the impression that Pip has fallen in love with someone
above and someone that it’s almost impossible for him to get with.

Miss Havisham purposely makes Pip fall in love with Estella so that
she can break his heart and make him feel worthless

The first impressions of Wemick and Jaggers are also a theme in Great
Expectations.

They are both made out to be mean, hard hearted people, but as we read
more into the book, we soon learn that they are ordinary human beings
and that they do take into consideration the thoughts of others.

The theme in this part of the book is the idea that looks can be
deceiving and you shouldn’t always judge from first impressions.

Great Expectations is narrated by Pip himself as an adult looking back
on life.

The book takes us through all the stages of Pip’s life, and maybe
Dickens naming him Pip was supposed to be ironic, because a pip is
something that grows over time and turns into something beautiful, and
we get to see Pip growing and flourishing.

We are told of his everyday encounters and so by the time he has grown
up, it’s almost as if you have become attached to him.

At the beginning of the book, Pip seems to spend a lot of time
daydreaming and reminiscing, and it’s almost as if he was wishing he
could travel back in time and change things.

Over time, we see how Pip’s expectations change. In the beginning, Pip
has no expectations of life, as he wishes to do is work alongside Joe
the Blacksmith.

Never the less, this all changed when he met Miss Havisham. Pip
believed that he would marry Estella and become heir to Miss
Havisham’s money. Although, at this point in the book, Pip did not
marry Estella, he still believed that he had received her riches and
it was not until he had moved and settled into the city that he learnt
his riches came from Magwitch.

Throughout the book, we see Pip move from the sinister country his
hometown where he had lived most his life, to the city, a dangerous
rough and ready hard place to live in.

Great Expectations shows that not all stories have a need to have a
happy ending to make it a good book.

Although Pip doesn’t obtain what he really wanted he gains wisdom
through his suffering.

In the Charles Dickens book of Great Expectations, Pip and Estella do
not get together and they both go their separate ways, however
Dickens’s friend Wilkie Collins thought that Great Expectations should
have a happy ending and so he helped him to write a new version of the
ending in which Pip and Estella get together.

Pip and Estella also get together in the 1948 film version of Great
Expectations.

The ways in which I think Great Expectations resembles are fairy tale
are due to, the moral, themes, characteristics and names of the
characters, such as Jaggers, - hard sounding name, which fits in with
his character.

Conversely, there are ways in which it doesn’t resemble a fairy tale,
for instance the length and structure of the novel and it has been
written in a more sophisticated manner than a fairy tale would be.

Que: Examine the relationship between Tom and Sophia in the novel Tom Jones.

Ans:
The relationship between Tom Jones and Sophia Western in Tom Jones isn't a very complex one, though it is an important one and central to the story. The reason it isn't complex is that psychological elements are not emphasized and their association is straightforward. Tom's and Sophia's fathers' estates neighbor each other and so Tom and Sophia have been friends since childhood. Tom loves Sophia, and she loves Tom.
The wrinkle comes into play because Tom, though possessed of a good and generous heart that values others above himself, is an adventurer and not morally opposed to immoral adventures with willing ladies. Sophia finds this trait and activity less than appealing and so tries to keep Tom at arms length.
When Sophia runs away from home to escape being forced to marry the despicable and underhanded Mater Blifil, circumstances conspire for Sophia and Tom to be brought back together. Events show her that Tom has learned the lessons Squire Allworthy has tried all through the years to teach him and, once all circumstances have been resolved in Tom's favor, she consents to marry him.
Tom for his part has always felt that he can never be happy without Sophia, she is all his heart thinks of, but when fate lays opportunities at his energetic and attractive feet, he takes advantage of them. Tom shows that he is intrinsically worthy of Sophia and that he will ultimately partake of the virtue of her namesake because, though good at getting into trouble, he endangers himself to save and help others who are in need and of whom higher authorities are dismissive. The meaning of the name Sophia, derived from a Greek word, is "wisdom." Tom's innate qualities and his steadfast love of Sophia show that he will in the end be united with Sophia in person and in name.

Que: What is the significance of Jaggers and Wemmick in Great Expectations?

Ans:

In Great Expectations Jaggers' character is significant in developing several thematic threads. Jaggers is significant in the theme of overbearing people who keep Pip feeling that he is in a fallen condition that requires constant repentance and moral cleansing. Jagger is one of the overbearing people Pip has to deal with, as Jaggers chew his finger and then throws it at Pip accusingly.
Jaggers is significant in the theme of guilt and corruption. Jaggers deals with underworld people and therefore lives in an environment of guilt and corruption, which he habitually attempts to wash from his hands with scented soap. Further, the central characters are all connected in guilt and corruption as the betray each other and are betrayed, for example, Miss Havisham's corruption of both Pip and Estelle.
Finally, Jaggers is also significant in the theme of destiny and its symbolic representation. Dickens' symbolizes the thematic element of destiny in this novel by chains. Jaggers represents and reinforces this theme by the presence of his watch chain. Pip acknowledges the mechanization of fate by alluding to a long chain that begins on one memorable day.
Wemmick is similarly significant in developing the theme of imprisonment. Pip always feels shut off from others everywhere he goes. Wemmick symbolizes this experience of being shut off because he only feels safe when he shuts himself up at Walworth.

Que: how does the novel tom jones represent marriage

Ans:

Throughout Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, there are many examples of marriage. There is Squire Western's marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick's marriage, the mentions of Allworthy's wife, the marriage of Nightengale and Nancy, and the marriage of Nightengale's cousin and the clergyman, and finally the marriage of Tom and Sophia. Some of these marriages end with a happy ending and some do not and we, the reader, are supposed to look at these marriages and see why they went wrong or why they are good. Through all these examples of marriage, Fielding is urging us to question the current institution of marriage and what it is based on.

Marriage in Henry Fielding's The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, is a rather convoluted affair (no pun intended, although there were more affairs in marriage than there was fidelity in marriage). Marriages were undertaken (no funereal pun intended there, either) in Tom Jones for a variety of reasons. Marriages were undertaken for necessity, as in Bridgett's baby being born eight months after her marriage to Blifel, and, yes, the customary time of pregnancy is nine months, which is particularly interesting because Bridgett met Blifil one month before the marriage.
Marriages were also undertaken for money, as was the case when Mrs. Arabella Hunt proposed to Tom and he was tempted, though he finally declined. Marriages were sometimes undertaken for love and necessity together as when Nightingale and Nancy were married. This brings up the point that marriages very often went against parents' wishes and that parents' wishes were not always honorable ones as in the insistence of Western insisting that Sophia marry young Blifel even though she plainly detested him and he only consented to aggrieve Tom.
Marriages were sometimes not undertaken because they were deemed to be odious. A woman of beauty and independent means, with her pick of paramours, might very well loath the thought of marriage and attempt to do away with suitors as was the case with Lady Bellaston who refused Tom's mock proposal (no sincerity in that one at all) and attempted to have him shanghaied into the navy (which means conscription would have been decidedly against his will and without his choice). Additionally, marriage was unfavorably viewed by virtuous young women who knew that a suitor had too much "experience" with liaisons, as was the case in Sophia's eventual reaction to Toms' "experience" (of which he had waaay too much).

Que: How is "Pride and Prejudice" mostly related to love and marriage?

Ans:

Though, marriage is the end of Jane Austen?s novel, yet it evolves more than the conclusion of a simple love story. There is a depth, variety and seriousness in Jane?s treatment of these topics.Marriage was an important social concern in Jane Austen?s time and she was fully aware of the disadvantages of remaining single. In a letter to her niece, Fanny Knight, she wrote: "Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor - which is a very strong argument in favour of matrimony." The only option for unmarried woman in Jane Austen?s time was to care for someone else?s children as Jane Austen herself did; as there were no outlets for women.The novels of Jane Austen?s ? especially ?Pride and Prejudice? ? dramatize the economic inequality of women, showing how women had to marry undesirable mates in order to gain some financial security.The theme of love and marriage is one of the major themes in ?Pride and Prejudice ?. Through five marriages, Jane Austen defines good and bad reason.

Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" raises important moral issues concerned with the institution of marriage. The opening sentence of the novel announces the central theme of the novel:
IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
The opening sentence also links this theme with the most important aspect of the institution of marriage, namely, money. In "Pride and Prejudice" Jane Austen's main concern is to try to answer the question as to how much money is necessary for a happy and successful marriage:"Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial affairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does discretion end and avarice begin?" (Ch.27)
In Ch.33 Col Fitzwilliam Darcy the younger son of an earl and obviously a very rich man hints to Elizabeth that he can't marry her: "Our habits of expense make us too dependent, and there are not many in my rank of life who can afford to marrywithout some attention to money."   Was he beingprudent or avaricious in not marrying Elizabeth? Jane Austen leaves it to the readers to decide.
On the contrary, Darcy also a very rich man overlooks Elizabeth's impoverished financial status and goes out of the way to ensure that Wickham marries Lydia so that the Bennet's  family honour is intact. His love  for her compels him to virtually bribe Wickham his worst enemy into doing so. This clearly establishes that he is a noble and generous person and Elizabeth readily accepts his second marriage proposal in Ch.58.
Another important theme is the contrasting lifestyle of different social groups which is structurally central to a Jane Austen novel. In "Pride and Prejudice" the landed gentry represented by Darcy  is contrasted with the newly rich trading class represented by Bingley.
But most importantly the harsh reality of a bleak future  for a dependent unwed old woman is hinted at when Charlotte Lucas' brothers are relieved that Collins  is going to marry their sister, for otherwise they would have to look after her in her old age.
'Romantic love' is the central theme which unites all the incidents and the characters in "Pride and Prejudice." But there is nothing 'romantic' about Jane Austen's treatment of 'romantic love' in the novel. 'Romantic love' is checked and controlled by the incomes and financial freedom of the partners involved. In this manner Jane Austen is able to blend 'romance' and 'realism.' For example, Lydia and Wickham who elope 'romantically' have to be rescued by the generosity of Darcy before they are married.
The restraining power of money on 'romantic love' is spelt out in the thematic statement found in Ch.27, "Where does discretion end, and avarice begin?", when Elizabeth replies to her anunt's query concerning Miss King the latest lover of Wickham. Her aunt is relieved to know that Elizabeth is not in love with Wickham who has virtually no income at all and is only employed temporarily in the Militia.
Another important consideration in love and marriage was the social classto which the characters belonged:
At that time, ownership of land and not money was the single most important criterion which determined the social status of an individual. Lady Catherine tries unsuccessfully to dissuade Elizabeth from marrying Darcy,because she is poorer than him but Elizabeth angrily retorts: "In marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter: so far we are equal."(Ch.56).

Que: Does Jane Austen address the theme of gender injustice in her treatment of love and marriage in Pride and Prejudice?

Ans:

Austen's implicit questions in Pride and Prejudice are: How can women exist within the economic institution of marriage, and how can women and men achieve emotional balance (re: love) under these socio-economic realities?

The injustices against women in Pride and Prejudice are mainly socio-economic.  Women could not control their own marriages, money, property without help from the male (fathers, husbands, or government).

Mr. Bennet is in a predicament: he has no male heir.  Therefore, how does he protect his daughters and family through his daughters' marriages.  Women, as was common, were seen as akin to property, a means to an end (wives of husbands, mothers of sons, keepers of dowries).  If unmarried, women became outcasts.

But, Austen provides practical alternatives to these injustices instead of polemics.  According to Enotes:

In Pride and Prejudice, the stakes of the marriage plots are high because Mr. Bennet's estate has been "entailed away from the female line" - a common legal provision of the period whereby only men may inherit property. If the Bennet girls do not marry well, they will be almost penniless when their father dies. The fact that the heir of the estate, Mr. Bennet's nephew Mr. Collins, is a buffoon who already has a comfortable living of his own, might suggest that Austen considers entailment unfair.

And according to critic Julia Prewitt Brown's essay "The Social History of Pride and Prejudice":

• Women in the novel have less power and authority than men, but English matrimonial law did give power to and protect some of its women: they could retain money and property even in marriage.  She says, "Mr. Bennet cannot alter the entail requiring that his estate go to the nearest male relation, but he can settle money on his daughters that, if proper legal measures are taken, will remain their own after marriage."
• Many men, e.g., Mr. Collins, see marriage as the only salvation from "spinsterhood," the ultimate socio-economic death of a woman.
• Austen creates realistic women and a realistic hero in Elizabeth who is without exaggeration or sentimentality, who exists in society and marriage, not spitefully outside it.
• Austen uses her satirical artistry to subtely call out the injustices made against women by men without alienating men or romanticizing women.

Que: How does Jane Austen use wit and irony in Pride and Prejudice?

Ans:

A great deal of Austen's wit is actually seen through the use of irony. In Pride and Prejudice, we see all three types of irony displayed: verbal, situational, and dramatic.

The use of verbal irony particularly expresses Austen's use of wit. Verbal irony is usually recognized as sarcasm. It is the moment someone, such as a character or narrator, says one thing, but means the complete opposite. One perfect example of verbal irony can be seen in the very opening line of the book, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Ch. 1). The irony in this line is that, while the women of an English village in Austen's time might "acknowledge" the truth above, the wealthy men the line is referring to actually might not; therefore, the above is not really a "truth universally acknowledged." Instead, this opening line is a perfect example of sarcasm, or verbal irony, and a perfect example of Austen's wit.

Situational irony describes a moment when something occurs and the exact opposite was expected to occur. Either the audience or the characters can have the opposite expectations. One instance of situational irony can be seen early on in the novel at a party that takes place at Lucas Lodge. After Elizabeth is asked to play and sing, the party begins to dance. At the same moment that Sir Lucas is trying to convince Mr. Darcy to join in the dancing, Elizabeth begins walking towards them. Mr. Darcy so adamantly protests dancing to Sir Lucas, even insulting the activity, saying, "Every savage can dance," that when Sir Lucas sees Elizabeth and encourages Darcy to dance with her the reader as well as Elizabeth are very surprised when Darcy "requested to be allowed the honour of her hand" (Vol. 1, Ch. 6). Darcy's behavior in this instant is a true reversal of his earlier behavior, especially at the Meryton assembly. Hence, this is a perfect example of situational irony. In addition, the moment is also amusing due to the sudden change of behavior, also making it another example of Austen's wit.

Dramatic irony occurs when the reader is aware of something that the characters have no idea of. This scene is also a fine example of dramatic irony. The reader has already begun to get the impression that Darcy feels an attraction for Elizabeth, which the reader began to see when she was tending to her sister at Netherfield. Therefore, the reader knows that Darcy's sudden interest in dancing with Elizabeth is actually genuine while Elizabeth still believes that he dislikes her and is merely asking in an attempt to be well mannered. Again the situation is amusing due to both Elizabeth's and Darcy's reactions to the situation. Hence, again, this use of dramatic irony also demonstrates Austen's wit.

Que: Discuss the role played by Mrs Moore in A Passage to India.

Ans:

Mrs Moore acts as a bridge between East and West without even knowing it. While other characters make judgements and divisions according to race, colour, and creed, Mrs Moore  looks to make simple connections with other people. Her first meeting with Aziz in the mosque amply demonstrates this, when she talks to him simply and easily regardless of all the racial, social and cultural differences between them.

Other people among the English, most notably Fielding and Adela, also want to reach out to the Indians, but not quite on the same instinctual level as Mrs Moore. Fielding and particularly Adela engage in long intellectual discussions, but Mrs Moore doesn't. She has no need to rationalise what she does; she simply does it. She does not make a big deal of ‘seeing India’ as Adela does, rather she reacts to Indians simply as people, and espouses a simple religious/spiritual creed of unity. Adela remarks on her complete lack of pretension:

While we talk about seeing the real India, she goes and sees it, then forgets she's seen it. (chapter 3)

The sense of Mrs Moore's essential goodness does impress other people; both Aziz and Adela claim lifelong friendship with her, although she does nothing for them in practical terms (does not help out Aziz at the trial, for instance). Her breakdown, when faced with the apparent emptiness at the heart of all things in the caves, is disturbing. She eventually comes to function more as a symbolic rather than a literal character - transmuted, perhaps grotesquely, into a Hindu Goddess: ‘Essmiss Esmoor’ (chapter 24).

Mrs Moore's role in the novel, then, is to show what people can be like when they set aside all the relatively superficial distinctions made on the basis of race, culture, religion, age and gender. It might be said that she represents the essence of humanity. Her fate also shows, however, that even such innocence can be challenged and eventually overwhelmed by the complexities of life, society, and the universe.

Que: What's the plot summary of A Passage to India?

Ans:

This is a novel concerning British colonialism in India. It is the story of strained relationships and culture clashes. You can read the plot summary right nere on eNotes. There are also several study guides, sample essay questions, etc. that can help you review potential quiz questions.

A young woman, Adela Quested, travels to India to marry a man named Ronny Healsop. She has a difficult time adjusting to India and the Indians are not particularly fond of her either. She decides not to marry Ronny, but then changes her mind after they are in a car accident. In the meantime, Ronny's mother, Mrs. Moore, has also traveled to India to visit her son. She is respectful of Indian culture and the Indians consider her their friend, especially a man named Dr. Aziz. Dr. Aziz tries to make friends with the British, but he tries too hard. He arranges a trip to the Marabar Caves which turns into a disaster. Adela accuses him of sexually attacking her, which is not true. He is jailed and Mrs. Moore returns to England, not wanting to testify at his trial as a character witness. She dies on the way back to England. Adela admits in court that Dr. Aziz is innocent, that she was mistaken, and Aziz is released. Mr. Fielding, a teacher who is sympathetic to the Indians, protects Adela from the avenging mobs who go wild after Aziz is acquitted. Adela returns to England without marrying Ronnie. Mr. Fielding and Dr. Aziz try to maintain their friendship, but there are too many challenges.

Que: Mrs.Moore and Adela character in A passage to india.

Ans:

Adela Quested

Adela arrives in India with Mrs. Moore, and, fittingly, her character develops in parallel to Mrs. Moore’s. Adela, like the elder Englishwoman, is an individualist and an educated free thinker. These tendencies lead her, just as they lead Mrs. Moore, to question the standard behaviors of the English toward the Indians. Adela’s tendency to question standard practices with frankness makes her resistant to being labeled—and therefore resistant to marrying Ronny and being labeled a typical colonial English wife. Both Mrs. Moore and Adela hope to see the “real India” rather than an arranged tourist version. However, whereas Mrs. Moore’s desire is bolstered by a genuine interest in and affection for Indians, Adela appears to want to see the “real India” simply on intellectual grounds. She puts her mind to the task, but not her heart—and therefore never connects with Indians.
Adela’s experience at the Marabar Caves causes her to undergo a crisis of rationalism against spiritualism. While Adela’s character changes greatly in the several days after her alleged assault, her testimony at the trial represents a return of the old Adela, with the sole difference that she is plagued by doubt in a way she was not originally. Adela begins to sense that her assault, and the echo that haunts her afterward, are representative of something outside the scope of her normal rational comprehension. She is pained by her inability to articulate her experience. She finds she has no purpose in—nor love for—India, and suddenly fears that she is unable to love anyone. Adela is filled with the realization of the damage she has done to Aziz and others, yet she feels paralyzed, unable to remedy the wrongs she has done. Nonetheless, Adela selflessly endures her difficult fate after the trial—a course of action that wins her a friend in Fielding, who sees her as a brave woman rather than a traitor to her race.

Mrs. Moore

As a character, Mrs. Moore serves a double function in A Passage to India, operating on two different planes. She is initially a literal character, but as the novel progresses she becomes more a symbolic presence. On the literal level, Mrs. Moore is a good-hearted, religious, elderly woman with mystical leanings. The initial days of her visit to India are successful, as she connects with India and Indians on an intuitive level. Whereas Adela is overly cerebral, Mrs. Moore relies successfully on her heart to make connections during her visit. Furthermore, on the literal level, Mrs. Moore’s character has human limitations: her experience at Marabar renders her apathetic and even somewhat mean, to the degree that she simply leaves India without bothering to testify to Aziz’s innocence or to oversee Ronny and Adela’s wedding.
After her departure, however, Mrs. Moore exists largely on a symbolic level. Though she herself has human flaws, she comes to symbolize an ideally spiritual and race-blind openness that Forster sees as a solution to the problems in India. Mrs. Moore’s name becomes closely associated with Hinduism, especially the Hindu tenet of the oneness and unity of all living things. This symbolic side to Mrs. Moore might even make her the heroine of the novel, the only English person able to closely connect with the Hindu vision of unity. Nonetheless, Mrs. Moore’s literal actions—her sudden abandonment of India—make her less than heroic.

Ronny Heaslop

Ronny’s character does not change much over the course of the novel; instead, Forster’s emphasis is on the change that happened before the novel begins, when Ronny first arrived in India. Both Mrs. Moore and Adela note the difference between the Ronny they knew in England and the Ronny of British India. Forster uses Ronny’s character and the changes he has undergone as a sort of case study, an exploration of the restrictions that the English colonials’ herd mentality imposes on individual personalities. All of Ronny’s previously individual tastes are effectively dumbed down to meet group standards. He devalues his intelligence and learning from England in favor of the “wisdom” gained by years of experience in India. The open-minded attitude with which he has been brought up has been replaced by a suspicion of Indians. In short, Ronny’s tastes, opinions, and even his manner of speaking are no longer his own, but those of older, ostensibly wiser British Indian officials. This kind of group thinking is what ultimately causes Ronny to clash with both Adela and his mother, Mrs. Moore.
Nonetheless, Ronny is not the worst of the English in India, and Forster is somewhat sympathetic in his portrayal of him. Ronny’s ambition to rise in the ranks of British India has not completely destroyed his natural goodness, but merely perverted it. Ronny cares about his job and the Indians with whom he works, if only to the extent that they, in turn, reflect upon him. Forster presents Ronny’s failing as the fault of the colonial system, not his own.

Dr. Aziz

Aziz seems to be a mess of extremes and contradictions, an embodiment of Forster’s notion of the “muddle” of India. Aziz is impetuous and flighty, changing opinions and preoccupations quickly and without warning, from one moment to the next. His moods swing back and forth between extremes, from childlike elation one minute to utter despair the next. Aziz even seems capable of shifting careers and talents, serving as both physician and poet during the course of A Passage to India. Aziz’s somewhat youthful qualities, as evidenced by a sense of humor that leans toward practical joking, are offset by his attitude of irony toward his English superiors.
Forster, though not blatantly stereotyping, encourages us to see many of Aziz’s characteristics as characteristics of Indians in general. Aziz, like many of his friends, dislikes blunt honesty and directness, preferring to communicate through confidences, feelings underlying words, and indirect speech. Aziz has a sense that much of morality is really social code. He therefore feels no moral compunction about visiting prostitutes or reading Fielding’s private mail—both because his intentions are good and because he knows he will not be caught. Instead of living by merely social codes, Aziz guides his action through a code that is nearly religious, such as we see in his extreme hospitality. Moreover, Aziz, like many of the other Indians, struggles with the problem of the English in India. On the one hand, he appreciates some of the modernizing influences that the West has brought to India; on the other, he feels that the presence of the English degrades and oppresses his people.
Despite his contradictions, Aziz is a genuinely affectionate character, and his affection is often based on intuited connections, as with Mrs. Moore and Fielding. Though Forster holds up Aziz’s capacity for imaginative sympathy as a good trait, we see that this imaginativeness can also betray Aziz. The deep offense Aziz feels toward Fielding in the aftermath of his trial stems from fiction and misinterpreted intuition. Aziz does not stop to evaluate facts, but rather follows his heart to the exclusion of all other methods—an approach that is sometimes wrong.
Many critics have contended that Forster portrays Aziz and many of the other Indian characters unflatteringly. Indeed, though the author is certainly sympathetic to the Indians, he does sometimes present them as incompetent, subservient, or childish. These somewhat valid critiques call into question the realism of Forster’s novel, but they do not, on the whole, corrupt his exploration of the possibility of friendly relations between Indians and Englishmen—arguably the central concern of the novel.

Cyril Fielding

Of all the characters in the novel, Fielding is clearly the most associated with Forster himself. Among the Englishmen in Chandrapore, Fielding is far and away most the successful at developing and sustaining relationships with native Indians. Though he is an educator, he is less comfortable in teacher-student interaction than he is in one-on-one conversation with another individual. This latter style serves as Forster’s model of liberal humanism—Forster and Fielding treat the world as a group of individuals who can connect through mutual respect, courtesy, and intelligence.
Fielding, in these viewpoints, presents the main threat to the mentality of the English in India. He educates Indians as individuals, engendering a movement of free thought that has the potential to destabilize English colonial power. Furthermore, Fielding has little patience for the racial categorization that is so central to the English grip on India. He honors his friendship with Aziz over any alliance with members of his own race—a reshuffling of allegiances that threatens the solidarity of the English. Finally, Fielding “travels light,” as he puts it: he does not believe in marriage, but favors friendship instead. As such, Fielding implicitly questions the domestic conventions upon which the Englishmen’s sense of “Englishness” is founded. Fielding refuses to sentimentalize domestic England or to venerate the role of the wife or mother—a far cry from the other Englishmen, who put Adela on a pedestal after the incident at the caves.

Que: Why is the novel divided into three parts: mosque, caves and temple? What is the novel describing?

Forster uses the titles of the sections to foreshadow what is to come in each part. Each section focuses on a specific group of people, a specific season, and a certain kind of behavior in each of the three sections.

In "Mosque" the focus is on the Muslim characters. Recall that we meet Aziz and his friends in Chapter II; Aziz meets Mrs. Moore in a mosque. The season is spring, a time of cool weather in India; the behavior will be characterized by relative restraint and sanity.

In "Caves" the British are the major characters. The hot weather of summer is associated with irrationality, nightmares, hallucination, and visions of cosmic disorder.

In "Temple," the final section, the season is autumn, which is rainy in India. The setting focuses on a Hindu festival (the birth of Krishna); rains accompany revival and refreshment, a renewal of the earth and of life itself.

Que: Discuss cave episode in a passage to india?

The hills containing the Marabar Caves are older than anything else on earth. The rocky hills thrust up abruptly from the soil and resemble nothing else in the surrounding landscape. Each cave has a narrow entrance tunnel that leads to a large, dark, circular chamber. If a match is lit inside the caves, its reflection appears clearly in the polished stone of the cave walls. The caves seem to embody nothingness; their reputation spreads not just by word of mouth, but seemingly through the earth itself or through the animals. On the highest hill of the rock formations precariously rests a large boulder, which is thought to be hollow. The hill is called Kawa Dol.

Summary: Chapter XIII

Looking toward the Marabar Hills one day, Adela remarks that she would have liked to visit them with Aziz. Her servant overhears the remark, and exaggerated word of it travels to Aziz, who feels that he must make good on his earlier offer. The outing involves many details and much expense on Aziz’s part, but he organizes everything and invites Fielding and Godbole, along with the two ladies, to Marabar. Ronny gives permission for the women to go, as long as Fielding goes along with them.
The train that travels to the hills leaves just before dawn, so Aziz, Mohammed Latif, and many servants spend the night at the train station to avoid being late. Mrs. Moore, Adela, and the women’s servant, Antony, arrive early in the morning. Adela dislikes Antony and, on Aziz’s suggestion, orders him to go home. Antony refuses, however, on Ronny’s orders, until Mohammed Latif bribes him to leave.
Though Fielding has not yet arrived with Godbole, Aziz is not nervous because he knows that Englishmen never miss trains. Aziz reviews the details of the trip with Mohammed Latif, who is to oversee the railway carriage. Suddenly, the train starts to move just as Fielding and Godbole arrive at the station. Fielding yells that Godbole’s overlong prayers have made them late, and the Englishman tries unsuccessfully to jump on the train. Aziz becomes panicked and desperate, but Mrs. Moore and Adela reassure him that the outing will continue successfully without Fielding. Aziz suddenly feels love for the two women—Mrs. Moore especially—for their graciousness and blindness to race.

Mosque, Cave, Temple, and a few comments on the weather

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

You might have noticed that the novel is not only divided up into chapters, but it is also divided into three parts entitled "Mosque," "Cave," and "Temple." The parts are also organized by the three seasons in India: "Mosque" takes place during the cool weather, "Cave" during the hot weather, and "Temple" during the rainy season.

These part divisions set the tone for the events described in each part. In "Mosque," the first part of the novel, Aziz's reference to the architecture of the mosque as that of "call and response" harmonizes with the general tenor of this part of the novel, where people are meeting each other at various social functions. Like the cool weather, people are generally calm and friendly.

In contrast, the "Cave" section of the novel contains the climax of the novel. Taking place during the hot weather, emotions are inflamed, and nobody seems to be able to think coolly and rationally. Just as Mrs. Moore's hold on life was threatened by her experience of meaninglessness within the cave, the entire community of Chandrapore is turned upside down as riots and unrest surround the trial.

Finally, the "Temple" section attempts to wash away the chaos of the "Cave" section with its pouring rains. In keeping with the Hindu motif of the temple, the chapter celebrates the Hindu principle of the oneness of all things with Godbole at the Gokul Ashtami festival, and provides us with a reconciliation, though a tenuous one, between Fielding and Aziz.