




































 

 

    ISSN : 2693 6356 

 2019 | Vol 2 | Issue 2 

 

The novel by Andrea Levy called Small Island is rife with 

hybrids. 
B.Mary Judy Nicoma ,Dr.T.Senthamarai 

B.Mary Judy Nicoma, Research Scholar, Department of English, Mother Teresa Women’s 

University, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. 

Dr.T.Senthamarai, Associate Professor, Department of English, Vels Institute of Science, 

Technology and Advanced Studies, Chennai. 

 

 

Abstract 

 
Cultural conflict is the focus of "Hybridity in Andrea Levy's Small Island," an academic paper 

that analyzes the book. In the story, a cultural clash occurs between the characters Hortense 

and Gilbert. It's about how the spherical characters struggle with their own sense of identity 

and feel alone in an alien setting. The essay delves into the ways in which Hortense and 

Gilbert's migration to England fell short of their expectations. It sheds light on why 

confronting racism and cultural marginalization is so important. In this paper, the author 

makes an attempt to learn about the problems immigrants face. 

Keywords: hybridity, uniqueness, mobility, cultural friction, and social exclusion. 

 

 
 

 

 

Introduction 

 
Merriam-Webster defines a hybrid as 

"someone whose ancestry reflects elements 

of two or more cultures or traditions." A 

few examples of fields and issues where 

the concept of hybridity has been used 

include postcolonial studies, identity 

crises, anti-racism, and immigration. 

Hortense and Gilbert, a young immigrant 

couple, arrive in Great Britain hoping to 

start a new life free from persecution. Due 

to their inflated expectations, the 

possibility of a comfortable lifestyle was 

never realized. The blending of Jamaican 

and English customs is thus stated by 

Levy. after Queenie is a tolerant person 

and Bernard has changed after having a 

black child with his wife, there is hope that 

things may improve. This is significant 

because it highlights the story's central 

theme: how encounters with individuals of 

other races and cultures may alter one's 

own identity and perspective. In light of 

this, this essay will analyze how foreign-

born Jamaicans interact with natives. 

 

Background to Small Island 

The Empire Windrush sent thousands of 

British troops to Jamaica during World 

War II. The result was widespread job 

loss and unemployment in Jamaica, 

prompting many to enlist in the Royal Air 

Force (RAF) in support of the British 

cause. The immigrants' hope of serving 

England as civil servants as they traveled 

from Jamaica to the Mother Land was 

dashed when they found themselves 

instead working as taxi drivers and other 

low-skilled jobs. In a similar vein, many 

Jamaican women tried to find work in the 

new country, but were turned down 

because of their color, culture, accent, 

and place of birth. The novel's 

overarching goal is to demonstrate how 

native British citizens have mistreated 

Jamaican immigrants. 

 



 

 

Types of Hybridity 

Cultural blending is one definition of 

hybridity. However, it does not explicitly 

signify the variety of ways one can 

manifest a mixed or balanced identity, 

nor does it differentiate between those 

who have deliberately sought to achieve 

such an identity and those who 

unintentionally reflect it. In his piece 

"Mimicry and Hybridity in Plain 

English," Amardeep Singh explains the 

many literary hybrids that are 

commonplace. Racial, linguistic, literary, 

cultural, and religious hybridity are the 

five forms he identifies. What follows is a 

description of  

The given hybridities: 

1. “Clearly based on the premise that 

racial difference is an 

experimentally verifiable fact, a 

legacy of nineteenth-century race 

research, the concept of "racial 

hybridity" now looks 

uncomfortable. 

2. Second, the term "linguistic 

hybridity" describes the 

incorporation of words from other 

languages into a native tongue. 

This may include the introduction 

of English terms into Asian or 

African languages, or the reverse. 

3. Third, a phenomenon known as 

"literary hybridity," which is often 

associated with modern 

postcolonial writing that employs 

non-traditional forms of 

storytelling like "magic realism." 

Writing styles that combine 

elements of local heritage and 

traditional culture with 

experimental (postmodernist) 

concepts have been explored by 

authors such as Salman Rushdie 

(India) and Ben Okri (Africa). 

4. Four, a blending of cultures. 

Hybridity may be thought of most 

easily and most broadly in the 

context of culture, which here 

includes art, music, fashion, food, 

and so on. The rise of fusion 

restaurants, fusion bands, and 

fusion music attests to the 

pervasiveness of cultural blending 

in modern society. 

5. 5 One of the most common 

themes in colonial and 

postcolonial writing is religious 

fusion. Culture, religious beliefs, 

and social contexts all contribute 

to a person's sense of who they 

are and how they identify 

themselves, although some 

contribute more than others. 

(Singh) 

6. The following study will focus in 

part on notable hybrid kinds 

within the aforementioned 

categories identified by the 

researcher. 

 
Analysis 

 

The plight of Jamaican immigrants in 

Britain is examined in Small Island by 

Andrea Levy. This work shines a light on 

the post-colonial, imperial, and post-slavery 

eras in England's history. Through the 

perspectives of the Jamaican characters 

Hortense and Gilbert, Levy shows the 

colonial side of England. English nationals 

Queenie and Bernard also play significant 

roles. The author skillfully weaves together 

the dream world and the actual world that 

these folks inhabit. 

Hortense, a Jamaican lady, boards the 

Empire Windrush for her maiden trip 

outside of the country to teach at a 

university. Hortense marries her best 

friend's fiance, Gilbert Joseph, so that she 

may go to England and help her advance in 

her chosen field. Since Hortense is eager to 

help Gilbert financially so that he may go to 

England, she manages to convince Gilbert 

to marry her. Despite the fact that he does 

not love her, Gilbert agrees. Hortense thinks 

Gilbert's leased room at Queenie's residence 

is too cramped and tiny. Hortense is 

reminded of her affluent Jamaican family's 

mansion in Kingstown, where she was born. 

She was nurtured by different relatives of 

her father, who hoped that she would use 

their wealth to make a successful life for 

herself. 

Queenie, the landlady, would like to take 

Hortense shopping if Hortense is interested. 

Queenie is certain that Hortense has never 



 

 

been to a supermarket or eaten bread. 

Hortense, meantime, is shocked to see that 

English ladies wear rumpled clothing that 

would make them blush in Jamaica, and 

that stores are frequently dirty and 

disorganized. As a result of this, Hortense 

cries out, "My mind could not believe what 

my eyes had seen." This is how the English 

would shop for bread if they could" (Small 

Island, 332). 

 

Hortense helps Queenie give birth to a son 

at the end of the story. Hortense, on the 

other hand, is shocked to learn that the child 

is assumed to be an illegitimate black child. 

After learning about the hardships faced by 

Black people in England, Gilbert and 

Hortense decide to adopt the baby. Hortense 

tries to adjust to the new ways of life she 

encounters in England. 

 

Queenie Bligh, a main character, is married 

to RAF officer Bernard Bligh. Her 

birthplace was a little town in northern 

England. Queenie sneaks away from the 

family business to join her Aunt Dorothy in 

London, where she opens a candy store. 

There, she meets Bernard Bligh, who she 

eventually marries because she believes he 

can provide a stable life for her. 

 

Queenie helps a refugee organization and 

also opens her house to anyone in need. 

When Bernard enlists in the RAF, he is 

sent to a foreign country. Queenie takes 

care of Bernard's father, Arthur Bligh, who 

is nonverbal but kind and patient, while 

Bernard serves in the RAF. A mutual 

acquaintance suggests that Queenie let 

three RAF officers spend their holiday at 

her place. She fell for Michael Roberts, a 

soldier from Jamaica who is both attractive 

and nice to Arthur. A child is born 

illegitimately as a consequence of Queenie 

and Michael's relationship. Shara Jamal 

Shahoyi and Juan Abdulla Ibrahim provide 

an explanation for hybridity on Small 

Island. The arrival of Queenie and 

Michael's baby is being heralded as a 

representation of London's evolving 

multiethnic culture. The Black immigrants 

were given a voice via their kid. The dread 

was real, but the acceptance of the 

youngster who represents diversity was 

not. After giving birth, Queenie pleads 

with Gilbert and Hortense to accept the kid 

because "the child, as multiculturalism, 

should be brought up without fear and 

prejudice in a safe environment." 

According to (Shahoyi, Juan Abdulla 

Ibrahim, & 13), 

It is revealed that Hortense's husband 

Gilbert Joseph had a strong desire to join 

the Royal Air Force when he was younger. 

But when he settled in Virginia, he 

encountered racism there. After that, he'll 

be working as a driver and coal loader in 

Yorkshire. Gilbert has questions about the 

British knowledge of geography and 

culture since the British know nothing 

about Jamaica and mistake it for an 

African nation, notwithstanding the odd 

racist statements made by British persons. 

Gilbert's remarks reveal his heartbreak as 

his dream of joining an airplane crew is 

dashed. He explains, "You see, there is a 

list, written by the hand of the almighty in 

a celestial book, which details the rich and 

wonderful accomplishments his subjects 

might achieve here on earth: father of 

philosophy, composer of the finest music, 

ace pilot of the skies, paramour to lucky 

women now I knew: besides the name of 

Gilbert Joseph was written just one 

word—driver. It didn't matter how hard we 

tried, we couldn't change it. I was doomed 

to die at the hands of the internal 

combustion engine once again. Small 

Island, page 147 

Both Hortense and Gilbert are turned down 

for employment because of their ethnicity 

and culture in the book Small Island. 

Queenie has a difficult decision between 

the well-being of her family with Bernard's 

fortune and that of her kid in the face of 

societal discrimination. Hortense, Gilbert, 

and Queenie were notable for their socially 

complex, geographically and mentally 

overlapping lives. M. Sonia Priyadharshni 

writes, "Dreams of all these characters 

largely tell us about the gap between the 

myth of the mother country and reality" in 

her piece The Mother Country: A Dream 

for the Immigrants in Andrea Levy's Small 

Island, emphasizing the hardship of the 

immigrant's mistaken aspirations. It's 



 

 

widely accepted and evident thatWe see 

this vividly in the story, where the 

oppressed part of mankind is forced to 

dream yet has no choice but to be left 

alone in their pursuit of that ideal. (13) 

Priyadharshini 

 
Conclusion 

The author raises the problem of 

immigrants being denied access to 

resources in a new country. Levy views 

racial and cultural marginalization in 

England as a threat to the country's social 

fabric. I'd like to wrap up this paper by 

mentioning Usha Mahadevan's piece, 

"England of Andrea Levy's Small Island: 

Dreams and Realities," which focuses on 

the protagonist's optimistic development. 

Immigration, she argues, always results in 

interculturalism, which Levy describes as 

"both a clash and an accommodation." In 

the short run, she says, cultural variety 

causes shock and conflict, but in the long 

run, it creates richer, intelligent 

civilizations (Mahadevan, 9). 

In an effort to promote peace and 

unity among its readers, this book 

explores the concept of tolerance and 

acceptance of one another. There are still 

those individuals who refuse to let society 

pressure bring them down because of 

their race or culture. 

 

 
Works Cited 

 
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybri

dity 

2. https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/hybrid 

3. Levy, Andrea. Small Island. 

London: Headline Review, 2004. 

Print. 

4. Mahadevan, Usha.   “England   

of   Andrea Levy’s   Small Island: Dreams and Realities.” Indian Review of World Literature in English 6 (2010). 

5. Priyadharshni, M. Sonia. “The 

Mother Country: A Dream for 

the  Immigrants in Andrea Levy’s 

Small Island.” Electronic 

Research Journal of Literature 2 

(2020). 

6. Shahoyi, Shara Jamal, and Juan 

Abdulla Ibrahim. “Identity Crisis 

in Andrea Levy’s Small Island.” 

2004. 

7. Singh, Amardeep. “Mimicry and Hybridity in Plain English”, 2009. https://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2009/05/mimicry-and-hybridity-in-plain-english.html. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybridity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybridity
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hybrid
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hybrid
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hybrid
https://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2009/05/mimicry-and-hybridity-in-plain-english.html

