"A Passage To India"

Analytical Essay # 53385

English > Analysis
Literature > English

An analysis of the effect of setting on the structure and tone of E.M. Forster's "A Passage To India".

1,314 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2004 | United States

Published on: Oct 25, 2004

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the physical, social, and chronological settings of E.M. Forster?s "A Passage To India" are vitally important to the structure and tone of this story. It looks at how the themes are artfully constructed through setting in early 20th-century India, where conflict inevitably arises between the Indian natives and the colonization-hungry British. Some background to each of the novel's three parts is given, and crucial settings are illustrated, along with their relevance to the central themes of this novel, namely, whether the imprisoned can be friends with their captors.

From the Paper:

"The novel is sectioned into three parts, each centering around a particular setting or location. The Mosque takes place in the city of Chandrapore, which was occupied by both the British and the native Indians; The Caves centers around the Marabar Caves, the site of Adela's supposed rape; and The Temple is set among the Hindu peoples during a religious festival, emphasizing again the contrast between these cultures. The sections of this novel can also be said to represent the three main seasons of India: respectively cold, hot, and rainy. The vast differences between each of these sections only emphasize the contrast of the seasons and the highlighted locations, once again underlining the importance of setting to this novel."