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... antagonistic India, unfriendly to both native and foreigner. The image of a hostile land prevents comparison to the Western homeland of the reader and creates a boundary between viewer and viewed. Forster not only separates the land through describing it as actively hostile, but by portraying it as ugly and repulsive. The novel is set in the city of Chandrapore, and Forster constantly provides images of filth and squalor. "Edged rather than washed by the river Ganges, it trails for a couple of miles along the bank, scarcely undistinguishable from the rubbish it deposits so freely" (3). The criticism of the land extends to the city: "The streets are mean, the temples ineffective, and although a few fine houses exist they are hidden away in gardens or down alleys whose filth deters all but the invited guest" (3) By portraying India as hostile and unappealing, India repels and disgusts the ...