Orientalism , the Magic of East , and its Inspiration on E. M. Forster's A Passage to India

Abstract

No doubt that western scholarly works keep debt to the eastern culture .Tales ,stories and traditions all embody oriental ideas from the most distant east . It is the world that influenced much on English literature and literary writers who are , with respect to this influence ,allured of the magic of the oriental thoughts and meanings . Love , passion , magic , imagination , fancy, and other lovely expressions are the main meals in the menu of orientalism that most western writers crave to tackle in their works that consequently opened the way for further studies in the inspiration of orientalism throughout the ages . This paper aims to shed light on Orientalism as the inspiration of east to westernwriters and how they function this inspiration with its rich material in presenting their own works without distortion or falsification for the oriental ideals . Actually , to clarify this aim , the research is divided into three sections. The firstsection deals with the morals ,values ,and the identity of Orientalism . The second section tackles orientalism as an inspiration of humanistic relations , while the third section is about the reflection of orientalism on E. M. Forster's A Passage to India . Section One : Morals , Values , and Identity of Orientalism . The medieval Arabic literature displays most exalted moral ideas, the deepest reverence for all things connected with its religion and identity . This literature is proud of fate and fortune to include them in its fields even in days of comparative degeneration and local decay. In fact, it is shaped with unlimited humanity and charity for the poor, unconditional forgiveness, generosity and liberality which all exalt kindly deeds of oriental base. These features are considered the foundation of the Arabic society and indeed the very purpose of its existence. Values of such a culture influenced the stories and even the folktales of other cultures. Courage, honesty, honor, hospitality, generosity, and loyalty are all emphasized. Moreover, the hero is defined by characteristics such as pride , bravery in war, protecting the weak , and helping the poor . The supernatural element is a very important aspect in oriental literature. Jinn, Ifreet , Giants and Angels are some of the supernatural creatures that appear frequently and sometimes suddenly as in the example of this research A Passage to India . Mostly in oriental tales , there are two kinds of forces that control human beings ; good forces including God and angels , and evil forces as jinn . In addition, oriental narratives lack elements of logic. Events might be clearly presented, but sometimes little details that clarify parts of the story are missing. For instance, in The Arabian Nights, the tale of The Clever Hassan the hero suddenly possesses a magic ring that helps him in his troubles. There is no mentioning where the ring came from or why Hassan did not use it before. On the other hand, oriental stories have morals that teach the reader lessons. They present common morals as patience is the key for success, satisfaction and contentment keep out of troubles, loyalty is always rewarded , and stealing is usually discovered and punished . These lessons are meant to enhance and preserve the set of values that comprise oriental culture and make it distinctive. However, any serious academic attempt to deal with orientalism and its influence on English literature is bound to Edward Said's Orientalism (1977) that shows there is no more doubt that western scholarly works in almost all fields of study particularly literature keep debt to the eastern culture . In early times and later, the east had a lot to offer to the west perhaps the greatest gift of all was Christianity that pulled England and the west in general from ages of darkness .