Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. What do Adela and Mrs. Moore hope to get out of their visit to India? Do they succeed?
2. What causes Adela’s breakdown? Why does she accuse Aziz? What qualities enable her
to admit the truth at the trial?
3. What purpose does Part III, “Temple,” play in A Passage to India?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. What is Forster’s primary critique of the British in India? What does he appear to think
of the Empire in general?
2. Evaluate the role of negation in the novel. Look for instances of the word “nothing,”
descriptions that use lack or negativity, and plot points in which “nothing” happens,
though characters think something does happen. What does negation signify and how is
it used?
3. What is the role of nature in A Passage to India?
4. What part does sexuality play in the novel? Consider any differences of opinion about
sexuality between Fielding and Aziz and between Ronny and Adela.
5. Compare Forster’s depiction of the English in Chandrapore with his depiction of Aziz’s
Indian community. Do the two groups have any similarities? Does Forster portray one
group more sympathetically?