Andrea Levy & Her Works
Back to My own Country - An Essay by the Author
I remember a journey I took on a London bus when I was a young girl. It was in the early 1960s. The bus was full of people and one of them was a black man. That was not a common sight in those days. I could tell from his accent that, like my parents, he was from somewhere in the Caribbean. He was talkative, smiling politely at people and trying to engage them in chat. But all the other people on the bus were white and they were looking at him askance. Nobody would be drawn into conversation; they clearly wanted nothing to do with him. But he carried on trying anyway.
I was embarrassed by him, but also overcome with pity for his hopeless attempt to be friendly on a London bus. I was sure that he was a nice man and that if those people on the bus could just get to know him then they would like him. My family also came from the Caribbean. I identified with him. He somehow became my mum and dad, my sisters, me. But to the other people on the bus he was more than a stranger, he was an alien. I felt a longing to make some introductions. I could sense the misunderstandings that were taking place, but I didn't know why, or what I could do. The man was different. He looked different and he sounded different. But how come people in England did not know him? Why was he, and why were all black people from Britain's old empire, so completely alien to them? This encounter is something I will never forget.
The full essay can be found here
An Outline of The Book
A book set in the 1940s, showing different viewpoints on a significant period of change in Britain, shortly after the war, a wave of migration, growth in poverty. The book captures the patriotism of the British and their colonies alongside the rife racism and discrimination in Britain. It provides a mouthpiece to the voices which were often neglected when we reflect on Britain during the war through the accounts of colonial soldiers alongside the Empire Windrush being a key part of the story.
1. How does the essay link to the description of the book we're about to read?
2. Why is book exploring this significant?
3. What do we know about the history of black people in the UK?
Reading & Discussion Points
Spend 10 minutes reading the prologue followed by a 40 minute discussion
1. Who do you think is speaking and why? How would you Describe them?
2. What techniques does Andrea Levy use to portray the narrator?
3. Do we find this effective, if so, why?
4. What does this prologue say about the mindset of British people in this time?
5. Why does Andrea Levy chooses to capture the views of Britain through the mind of a child?
Suggested Quotes For Analysis
Page 1
“I thought I’d been to africa”. The naivety of the statement expected of a child
“It’s the flag of Empire not a musical turn”
“Early Bird informed that Africa was a country”.
The confidence in this statement highlighting the ignorance of the British to their colonies
Page 3
“I can’t be bothered with a fancy name like that - I’ll call you Jim”. A common experience for migrants even though this is actually used in reference to a British working class boy.
Page 4
“Red dots in the middle of their forehead. No one could tell me what the dots were for”
Another clear example of ignorance used in reference to a South Asian woman, as well as showing us the time. We’re in a Britain ww’re in a time non-white British people are an oddity.
Page 5
“Mother said I shouldn’t in case the dots meant they were ill”
“We were in the jungle”
“A shadow come to life”
“They’re not civilised. They only understand drums”
A reflection of the racist views of a child, our perception of children are innocent but she is repeating the toxic racist slurs she hears everyday.
Page 6
“A monkey man sweating a smell of mothballs”
“Not pink like they should be”
“Would you like to kiss him?” “He nudged me, teasing, and pushed me forward”
“The big nigger man”
“He said in clear English”
“Graham’s smile fell of his face”
“Like anyone else” .
She shows the ridiculousness of these beliefs by showing the man acting contrary to their beliefs of him to be primitive and dangerous.
Page 7
“He had to wee behind some bins”
“When they speak English you know that they have learned to be civilised”
“You’ve got the whole world at your feet, lass” .
Yet, their views continue to persist and they take him to be one of the exceptions.