“IS THIS THE WAY THE ENGLISH LIVE?”: THE DIASPORA IN REVERSE IN SMALL ISLAND BY ANDREA LEVY

Abstract

From the 90s, the main focus of postcolonial literature and criticism has become the “in-between” narratives, specifically those of the diaspora. In the case of African and Afro-descendant diasporas, that scope seems to acquire even greater importance because the diasporic narrative is often the means used to reconstruct a past obliterated by slavery and racism. Small island (2004) by British African-Caribbean author Andrea Levy seems to be a good example, as it reconstructs the African-Caribbean migration to Great-Britain after the Second World War. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the experience of diaspora makes the character Hortense become aware of her situation as a colonized subject and change her perception of her self-worth, seeking new strategies of survival and empowerment.