Chapter 21

Fielding resigns from the British club and gives his allegiance to the Indians. Most of them are preparing for the Muslim festival, Mohurrum. There is much excitement, merry-making, and noise. Fielding merely observes the festivities.

The men gather to talk about Aziz's lawyer, who has accepted the case. Later in the evening, Fielding wishes to find Godbole, to ask if he has made a moral blunder in regards to Ronny, but Godbole has retired for the night.

This chapter is important because it reveals Fielding's character in a little more detail. Fielding, a man of principle, has resigned from the British club to protest the injustice and prejudice of its member. Although he misses the company of his countrymen, he is relieved to be away from the pettiness that surrounds it. It is ironic that Fielding, who has always succeeded in maintaining a neutral position in his relationship between the Indians and the British, now turns his back on his own to support the natives.

There is also irony in the fact that despite all of the tension that exists in Chandrapore, the Indians stick to tradition. They merrily prepare for a Muslim festival and are excited about the festivities. Appropriately, Fielding, the outsider, does not participate, but only observes. His isolation is a foreshadowing of how hard it is for an Englishman to function in Indian society, just as it is hard for an Indian to function in the British society. Event after event in the novel has proven this to be true.

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