"The Lonely Londoners"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how "The Lonely Londoners" is the story of the West Indian immigrants who struggle to survive on "the diamond pavements of Caribbean London." It looks at how the constant skimping and scraping for a living which Selvon depicts throughout the book seems to suggest that he does not approve of large numbers of West Indians trying to settle in England and how they would have more fun and be happier if they lived in their country.

From the Paper:

"The novel starts with the arrival of Henry Oliver, Galahad, from Trinidad. Moses, the main character, goes to Waterloo Station to meet him. It is a very important place, because it is the point through which all the West Indies enter England. " With the opening scene, Selvon introduces readers to a nondescript public space that was fast becoming a Caribbean gathering site and that was serving in the 1950s as the smaller-scale, British equivalent of New York's Ellis Island." Thus, it has become the symbol for West Indian immigrants, and it is a place of not only arrivals, but also departures. Some people go there just to see familiar faces. "They like to see the familiar faces, they like to watch their countrymen coming off the train, and sometimes they might spot somebody they know." Moses feels homesick when he arrives at the station. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Selvon Sam, The Lonely Londoners, (London: Penguin Books, 2006) P. vi, Introduction by Sushelia Nasta
• http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistant-essential-windrush.htm
• Rebecce Dyer, Cultural Critique, No. 52, Everyday Life. (Autumn, 2002), pp. 108
• Ali Monica, Brick Lane, ( London:Black Swan, 2004)
• Kincaid Jamaica, Lucy, ( New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002)

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