Dystopian Experience Essay
England - The Promised Land?: Utopian Expectations vs. Dystopian Experiences
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1
2
Theoretical Background
2
2.2 ‘Mother Country’
2
2.3 The Immigrant Experience
5
2.4 ‘Nation Language’ and its Use in Poetry
7
Analysis
9
3.2 Utopian Expectations
9
3.2 Dystopian Experiences
13
3
4 Conclusion
17
Bibliography
18
Plagiarism Statement
Appendices
Appendix A: “Old Slave Villages”, “Poverty Life”
Appendix B: “Colonization in Reverse”
Appendix C: “A Dream of Leavin”
Appendix D: “Empire Day”
Appendix E: “Inglan is a Bitch”
Appendix F: “Time Come”, “It Dread inna Inglan”
Appendix G: “Come Wi Goh Dung Deh”
1
1 Introduction
“However, England was the nearest thing we …show more content…
Reinforcing the factors that made many people from the Caribbean islands want to leave their country, there was a certain lack of national identity in the West Indies.
Recapitulating the history of Caribbean, the authors Phillips and Phillips put it even more radical by stating that “national identity was, more or less, a legal fiction” (11). Accordingly,
James Berry comments on his people’s quest for belonging when he states, “Despite the aftermath of slavery there was still a respect for England and a sense of belonging” (10). He also highlights the significance of origins and identity by saying that “origins are so important, people need a base of knowing where they come from” (10). Being a colony that belongs to another country, it was hard for its inhabitants to identify with, for instance,
Jamaica as their nation. Thus, it was Britain that had to fulfil that role since Africa was not an appropriate candidate to function as the country the Caribbean people can identify with even if most of the people have their roots there: “Africa was hopeless, there was no expectation that Africa could do anything for us. We felt a tremendous disappointment, even hatred, for
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1
2
Theoretical Background
2
2.2 ‘Mother Country’
2
2.3 The Immigrant Experience
5
2.4 ‘Nation Language’ and its Use in Poetry
7
Analysis
9
3.2 Utopian Expectations
9
3.2 Dystopian Experiences
13
3
4 Conclusion
17
Bibliography
18
Plagiarism Statement
Appendices
Appendix A: “Old Slave Villages”, “Poverty Life”
Appendix B: “Colonization in Reverse”
Appendix C: “A Dream of Leavin”
Appendix D: “Empire Day”
Appendix E: “Inglan is a Bitch”
Appendix F: “Time Come”, “It Dread inna Inglan”
Appendix G: “Come Wi Goh Dung Deh”
1
1 Introduction
“However, England was the nearest thing we …show more content…
Reinforcing the factors that made many people from the Caribbean islands want to leave their country, there was a certain lack of national identity in the West Indies.
Recapitulating the history of Caribbean, the authors Phillips and Phillips put it even more radical by stating that “national identity was, more or less, a legal fiction” (11). Accordingly,
James Berry comments on his people’s quest for belonging when he states, “Despite the aftermath of slavery there was still a respect for England and a sense of belonging” (10). He also highlights the significance of origins and identity by saying that “origins are so important, people need a base of knowing where they come from” (10). Being a colony that belongs to another country, it was hard for its inhabitants to identify with, for instance,
Jamaica as their nation. Thus, it was Britain that had to fulfil that role since Africa was not an appropriate candidate to function as the country the Caribbean people can identify with even if most of the people have their roots there: “Africa was hopeless, there was no expectation that Africa could do anything for us. We felt a tremendous disappointment, even hatred, for