Welcome to Your Study Notes on Andrea Levy's Small Island

Hello future English Literature expert! This guide will help you master the crucial concepts of Place in Andrea Levy’s magnificent novel, Small Island. Don't worry if this seems tricky at first; we are going to break down how the places in this story – from sunny Jamaica to foggy London – shape every character and theme.

In Unit 2, we look at how setting is more than just a background; it’s a living part of the text that influences identity, class, and politics. Let’s dive in!

Key Focus: Place in Literary Texts (Unit 2)

For Small Island, "Place" is the central engine of the narrative. It’s not just *where* the characters are, but how they are defined, welcomed, or rejected by that location.

  • Core Conflict: The idealized perception of the "Mother Country" (England) versus the reality of the "Small Island" (London).
  • Dual Settings: We must analyze the geographical, emotional, and social meanings of both Jamaica and England.

1. Geographical Locations and Their Potential Significance

1.1 Jamaica: The Promised Land and the Homeland

Jamaica in Small Island is presented primarily through the memories and early experiences of Gilbert Joseph and Hortense Roberts. This location signifies stability, warmth, and a recognizable social order.

Key Features of Jamaica:
  • Natural World: Levy uses vivid, sensory language to describe the Jamaican landscape – the heat, the sun, the vibrant colours. This contrasts sharply with the gloom of London. (Example: Hortense’s descriptions of the beautiful house she grew up in, representing status and respectability.)
  • Social Identity: In Jamaica, characters like Hortense have a clear social standing. Gilbert, despite his poverty, has a sense of belonging and community. Place confirms their identity.
  • Motivation: Jamaica is the place they leave because of a sense of duty, adventure, or ambition tied to the 'Mother Country' ideal.

Did you know? Jamaica, as part of the British Empire, was taught to revere Britain as the 'motherland', creating a powerful, often misleading, emotional attachment to a place many had never seen.

1.2 England (London): The Disappointment and the Reality

England, particularly post-war London (1948), acts as a stark counterpoint to the Jamaican ideal. It is the place of disillusionment, challenging everything the migrants believed about the "Mother Country."

Key Features of London:
  • The Fog and the Cold: The physical environment is a symbol of emotional and social coldness. The persistent fog is a motif of obscurity, confusion, and the inability to see clearly (both literally and metaphorically, as the English can’t 'see' the humanity of the migrants).
  • Cramped Spaces: Locations like Queenie’s small house in Earl’s Court (later Holloway Road) become physical manifestations of social constriction. The characters are forced into close, uncomfortable quarters, which heightens racial and social tensions.
  • Socio-Cultural Shock: For Gilbert, who fought for Britain, the hostility upon arrival is painful. The geographical location (the docks, the streets) immediately becomes a place of political exclusion.

Quick Review: Think of Jamaica as HEAT (Homeland, Expectation, Acceptance, Tradition) and London as COLD (Constriction, Obstruction, Loneliness, Disillusionment).

2. Place, Identity, and Social Class

One of the most powerful ways Levy uses place is to explore how location defines social identity and reinforces social class.

2.1 The Loss of Place and Status

For the Jamaican characters, moving to England means a severe downgrade in status and class, regardless of their background back home. This is a critical concept for analysis.

  • Hortense’s Trauma: Hortense, who was trained to be a teacher and valued respectability in Jamaica, is forced to live in a single, cramped room and is denied professional work in London. Her former 'place' in society is erased simply because of her geographical location and race.
  • Queenie’s Perspective: Queenie is white, but her social class is low (working class). Levy shows that while race provides her with initial advantage, her economic place means she also struggles, using her house as a desperate way to earn money.
  • Social Hierarchy: The spatial organisation of London (the separation of neighbourhoods, the hierarchy of who gets to use which room) mirrors the rigid social hierarchy that excludes the immigrants.

2.2 Place as a Political Space

The streets, the buses, and the workplaces in London are not neutral backgrounds; they are charged political spaces where power dynamics are enacted.

Levy shows the immediate post-war environment as a space under tension:

The bus journey, for example, is where Gilbert often faces outright hostility. The public space of the bus becomes a microcosm of national prejudice, reminding him daily that he does not 'belong' in this place.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't just say London is racist. Explain *how* Levy uses the physical setting (the cramped rooms, the queueing, the dirty streets) to represent and intensify that racism.

3. Home and Homeland: The Emotional Geography

The syllabus highlights the idea of home and homeland. This is central to the emotional journey of every major character.

3.1 The Illusion of the Mother Country

Gilbert and Hortense refer to England as the "Mother Country." This term creates an expectation of warmth, welcome, and familiarity—the feeling of coming home to a loving parent.

  • The Betrayal: When they arrive, they find the Mother Country is cold, restrictive, and rejecting. This psychological realization—that their homeland does not recognize them as its children—is profoundly damaging.
  • Finding a New Home: The novel traces the difficult, incremental process of creating a new sense of 'home' in a hostile environment. For Gilbert and Hortense, this home is eventually found not in the physical location of England, but in their mutual support and shared experience of displacement.

3.2 The Definition of the "Small Island"

The title itself, Small Island, is key. When Gilbert uses this phrase, he is referring not just to the physical size of Britain, but to the smallness, or narrow-mindedness, of the people and their attitudes.

In this sense, the physical location of the island becomes a metaphor for insularity and prejudice.

Memory Aid (H-O-M-E):
Homeland is a myth.
Only shared suffering brings connection.
Mother Country is cold.
England is the truly small island.

4. Language and Representation of Place

Levy uses specific literary techniques to help us understand how the characters perceive and represent their location.

4.1 Contrasting Descriptions (Juxtaposition)

Levy effectively uses juxtaposition (placing two contrasting things side-by-side) to highlight the difference between the two places:

  • Queenie's Voice vs. Gilbert's Voice: Queenie describes London with simple, often grim realism (damp, bomb sites). Gilbert describes Jamaica with poetic warmth but London with cynical detachment (e.g., the fog is "a dirty white handkerchief").
  • The Dialect: The use of Jamaican Patois when characters are speaking to each other reinforces their cultural place and sense of identity, offering temporary relief from the need to use Standard English, which symbolizes their constrained place in the British world.

4.2 Place as a Setting for Human Relationships

Levy demonstrates how the oppressive physical environment directly affects the relationships between the characters:

  • Queenie and Bernard: Bernard’s war experience changes him, and his return to the restrictive domestic setting of the house is difficult. The house, which Queenie used as an open space for connection during his absence, becomes a source of tension and alienation upon his return.
  • Hortense and Gilbert: The shared misery of their small, cold room in London paradoxically forces them to rely on each other, eventually transforming their practical marriage into a genuine human relationship. The lack of physical comfort fosters emotional connection.
Key Takeaway:

When writing about place in Small Island, remember that Levy treats place as an active force. It is not passive scenery; it is an agent that creates conflict, shapes identity, and forces characters to redefine what "home" truly means. Focus your analysis on the language used to describe the environments and the political and social outcomes of those settings.