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Aaron Fountain
Professor Glazier
ENG-111-03 MWF 10:00AM
February 17, 2016
The Corrupted Power of the Organization Man
Throughout the course of E.M. Forsters A Passage to India, many conflicts and themes
emerge as one twisted and gigantic mass. In the novel, the British imperial power is a machine
that has control over every native Indians life one that is deeply despised. The hierarchy of
the Anglo-Indian elite are quick to enforce the rule of racial dominance, which creates an
opening of hatred and mechanical submission amongst the natives. An idea known as the
organization man (Fromm 332), shows that humans bind together for prejudiced or obedient
intent to create false security.This idea was created by a German-born philosopher by the name
of Erich Fromm, and he believed that blind obedience would end the human race. Overall, the
organization man idea prevents any social good to come around in India; any step forward
always leads to a dead end.
The trial set against Dr. Aziz is wholesomely faulty. In the novel, the reader is treated by
the omniscient narrator of the innocence of the man in connection to the assault on Miss
Quested. In the English viewpoint, however, any Indian had to be guilty to make the machine
function, and the victim chosen happened to be Aziz. In the perspective of Erich Fromm, the
institution of people being part of a large machine that consists of cogs (Fromm 331) means
that people have a natural sense to join in a group that stands in obedience and strict order
without any reasoning deviance. In the context of the novel, Indians have been regulated as
incompetent and incapable of anything useful to the Anglo-Indian presence. Therefore, it was

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deemed necessary of the British race to construct a system of order amongst themselves to create
a false security from the natives. This system also produced a side effect. This was that if any
people of the English influence were to align themselves with the Indians, then entrance to social
and political life was denied. Overall, the idea of false, prejudiced security is a blunder that does
not benefit well in a changing culture.
The organizational machine that the British impose at Chandrapore ensnares every
civilian, which no one is exempted from. Cecil Fielding takes the side of Doctor Aziz during the
time of the looming trial, which stuns both arguing parties. This is exemplified when he is booted
from the club, but a far greater example exits during the trial. As part of the organization, the
main goal is to survive, without being adventurous or risky (Fromm 331). Ms. Quested
revoked her accusation, which meant that she had basically turned against her own people
(Forster 257). The whole combination of leaving a comfort zone, taking a risk, and sacrificing
exclusive rights lead to a freeing of a human being from the net of Anglo-India. Even though Ms.
Quested may have faultily accused Aziz, she broke the well-polished and artificial mechanism of
the European elite. The blindness of the British to the plight of the Indian people was reckless,
and they still refused to believe the innocence of Aziz even though the charge was released. In
total, the security and stubborn effects of the organization man show a trap that can never be
lifted, unless many change the tide.
The emotions that the Indians feel towards the English are created by their own
organization machine, and relations between the conquerer and the conquered remain strained.
In the novel, Mahmoud Ali used an ill-judged irony to enforce his protection over Aziz, even
though this meant that he made a fool of himself in court (Forster 245). This can be explained
that Mr. Ali had no substantial evidence to help Aziz in any way; all that he could do was to rant

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and rave with at least some scrap of hope that the British might be at least be sympathetic. In the
sense of being in an organization, the badly fought fight against Anglo-India led to a slight
disobedience, in which the conflict only led to a sudden halt and could not change the slightest
opinion (Fromm 332). The disobedience toward the British court led Mahmoud Ali into a dead
end, yet his own people were disappointed with his unruly actions that ultimately led to nothing
positive for the freedom of Aziz. Consequently, the socio-political machine of the British
bolstered its own self-protection so that the possibility of letting a native break the system would
not happen.
The illusions common to India are obstacles that show the rejection of change and
disobedience. The cause of this is the fact that neither party in India has the capacity for social
and political progression, due to the fact that hatred and bitterness permeate everyones lives.
The resistance to change is brought on by multiple factors, but the most prominent one being
that none of the Anglo-Indians could trust the natives, even if they seemed to be civilized
(Forster 184). This relates to the ideology that the European race has limited patience with
Indians. These are so strained, in fact, that the act of initiating a relationship would desecrate the
sacred organization machine, thus it would begin to integrate a whole community. This would
have led Chandrapore to a state of being in a stable harmony, yet due to the stubborn nature of
man, the idea of progress is constantly clouded. Conflicts arise in the city due to the harsh nature
of the organization man, which is believed by that specific group to be rational and practical
(Fromm 332). This relates to the knowledge of the stalemate in India; the natives and English
power constantly fight to believe in a warped idea of their own practicality, even though readers
of the text might reason otherwise. In reality, the situation would never improve in Chandrapore
due to the fallible beliefs of the British in racial dominance, and the Indians apprehensiveness to

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combat the foreign enemy. In total, the organization man philosophy creates illusions of false
progress in India, yet any attempt to expose the truth and form good terms are maliciously ripped
apart.
India is more than just a place where organizations are always the polar opposite and
enemies; it is a setting of irreversible regression. The British imperial power beat the native
people of Chandrapore into the dust with the false assertion of assuming the dominant race on
the subcontinent. The natives formed for themselves an idea of false hope, which would not
prove to be anything useful for social progress. This leads to a conflict of opposite ideas of the
organization man, since both sides are pushing for different things. This ultimately leads to a
stalemate of progress, where any attempt at inclusion and improvement lead to nowhere. Overall,
Chandrapore is a hotbed of activity for the organization man to thrive; social progress will
always be unachievable for all.

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Works Cited

Forster, E.M. A Passage to India. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984. Print.

Fromm, Erich. The Individual in the Chains of Illusion. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings
for College Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 328-337.
Print.

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