Bookclub-in-a-Box Discusses Small Island, by Andrea Levy by Marilyn Herbert

Author:Marilyn Herbert
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781897082362
Publisher: Bookclub-in-a-Box

Prejudice – British/American Style

Levy sees the racism in Britain, both during and after the war, as being fundamentally different from the racism in the United States. At the time this story takes place, segregation in the United States was pronounced and supported in some places by law. In Britain, by contrast, there were not many people of color, and their presence was not yet an issue that had to be addressed, despite the fact that bigotry did exist.

In her research for the novel, Levy came across newspaper accounts that she fictionalized into the scenes involving the American soldiers in the restaurant and in the movie theater. Britain had no firm segregation policies in place, but the Americans in Britain demanded that something be done to keep black and white soldiers separate from each other. One solution was to designate whole towns as being open to blacks and to whites on different days. What the Americans were not prepared for was the number of black Jamaican army personnel who wandered freely throughout the country. As a result, there were reported tales of West Indians being harassed by white American soldiers and street fights between the two groups. Levy realized at once that the West Indians were fighting the war on two fronts.

The British were uncomfortable with these solutions, not because racism did not exist—it did—but because American racism was so overt.

Everyone needs to picture the face of the enemy in order to fight effectively. For Gilbert, his declared enemy is the American soldier who cannot stand to see a black man who holds his head up and doesn’t know his place. “If the defeat of hatred is the purpose of war, then come, let us face it: I and all other coloured servicemen were fighting this war on another front.” (p.147)

But all of this is not to say that British racism did not exist. Gilbert comes to it head-on in his job. He is stronger than his fellow workers and could easily beat them up, but “what else could this Jamaican man do? I dropped my head.” (p.262) He goes on with his work, because what matters most to him is keeping his job.

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