Abstract: A Passage to India, written by E. M. Forster, is universally recognized as the last successful traditional realistic novel of the 20th century. This thesis, by analyzing the occurrence of the incidents and changes of the relationships among different characters, tries to probe into the causes of the collapse of the culture bridge between the East and the West from the standpoints of both the colonizer and the colonized. It points out that British colonization and racial discrimination, the differences of cultural customs and religious beliefs, which make Indians’ lives filled with untold sufferings, are the main causes that rule out the possibility of the establishment of friendly relations between Britain and India. The thesis also holds that India itself is to blame for its backwardness, compromise and flabbiness, which are the roots of the confrontation and the separation.

 Key words: E.M. Forster; A Passage to India; colonization; racial discrimination

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

1.1 Introduction to E.M. Forster

1.2 Introduction to A Passage to India

2. Literature Review.2

3. The Collapse of the Cultural Bridge between the East and the West 3

3.1 Communication and Friction

3.2 Conflict and Confrontation

3.3 Collapse and Separation

4. The Causes of the Collapse of the Cultural Bridge. .6

4.1 External Causes

4.1.1 British Colonialism

4.1.2 Racial Discrimination

4.2 Internal Causes

4.2.1 Backwardness of India

4.2.2 Compromise and Flabbiness of Indians

5. Conclusion11

Bibliography.12

Acknowledgements13