Research Paper on:
The Trial Scene in A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
The trial scene in Forsters A Passage to India is, in effect, the centrepiece to the novel, exploring as it does the limitations and flaws of the judicial system and  the way that justice is not served without the intervention of personal morality. Even before the trial begins, we are made aware of the way that the system supersedes genuine  concepts of right and wrong: when Adela confesses that the attack never happened, and wishes the trial to be cancelled, she is told that this is impossible: the process must  be gone through until it reaches its conclusion.  In the trial itself, we see examples of injustice and wrong priorities from both sides. The British are obsessed with the seating arrangements, demonstrating their preoccupation with  social order and doing the right thing: we can see that this takes precedence over the concept of justice itself. The prosecutor makes wild and inaccurate generalisations about Indian men  and applies them to Aziz, when there is in fact no evidence that he has ever behaved in the way; his actions, in reality, have been as proper and gentlemanly  as those which the British themselves aspire to. Mahmoud  Ali, for the defence, accuses the British of sending Mrs Moore out of India solely because she could have given evidence in favour of Aziz. Both sides become embroiled in  a debate about the caves which displays both their obsession with unimportant details, and their lack of genuine knowledge of the history and geography of the region.