Small Island Chapter Summary

“Men in suits and bow-ties and smart hats, dark scruffy coats with hand-knitted scarves”. This is a fascinating and emotional quote told by the characters Hortense, a very strong mannered Jamaican woman who arrives in the city of London for the first time to pursue her dream as a teacher. The quote briefly covers most parts of the story in the book Small Island, because it sketches a picture of England between 1948 and de situation before the wars, when the Jamaican immigrants were arriving in England. The unexpected welcoming shows the disparity between the white and black people. This was her first impression of the English people. Moreover, with this quote she describes the differences between their living conditions and income to their

It is not a surprise that the novel won both the Orange and the Whitbread prizes when it was published in 2004, because it is a book full of rich characters each person has a splendid story. Levy has Jamaican-born parents. She now lives in England. Readers might think that the story is about her parents’ experiences arriving in England for the first time, but this book is a fiction and describes a much broader story. This novel is for all ages and is to inform and aware the readers about the horrible time period for the Caribbean immigrants in Britain before the wars. The book takes the reader back in time and portrays not only the struggle of the black folks, but also the white folks in Britain. The title Small Island is cleverly conceived and fits very well with the book, because England and Jamaica are both an Island, but yet the Jamaicans are considered inferior. Moreover, Levy, added no photos in the book, but the front cover is quite interesting. Queenie and Hortense are in the front picture and both ladies are dressed quite British and chique. Even though, Hortense dressed and talked exactly like the British people, she was still jugged by her skin color. Moreover, on the front cover the readers can see a broken wall. This wall explains a lot, because during 1948 Britain was recovering from the war against Hitler. Furthermore, Levy, has

Also, more about the horrible time period before and after the wars. Moreover, the profound strength of the black people, because they survived one of the most terrible life I can imagine. Despite the hard times, the Jamaican immigrants keep themselves alive and positive. Finally, it also clarified how the class structure was divided in England. We cannot deny the fact that racial prejudice has been diminishing since 1948 till now in England. Recently more British people have now black or Asian neighbors and friends. Besides, there are many black upper class