Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Download 140.31 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- 1.5Sour Sweet
1.4The Final PassagePhillips’s debut novel The Final Passage, published in 1985, tells the story of the first Caribbean generation migrating to the United Kingdom in large numbers. The story is inspired by Phillips’s real life experience, and although the author did not mention the exact location of the novel’s setting, it remains an unspecified, small island, it is highly probable that Phillips relates to his birthplace, the island of St. Kitts (Goddard). The novel is divided into five sections ‘The End’, ‘Home’, ‘England’, ‘The Passage’ and ‘Winter’ which do not cover the course of events in the lives of the characters chronologically, but provide a series of flashbacks. The story begins with ‘The End’, as Leila and her baby son Calvin are preparing for their departure from the Caribbean, waiting for her husband Michael and the ship that is taking them to England. The ‘Home’ part focuses on Leila’s miserable life on the island, she is disappointed and unhappy in her marriage and abandoned by her ill mother who had migrated to England in order to recover. Michael, an irresponsible husband and father, neglects Leila, leaves her on their wedding day to live with the woman who he already had a child with before he met Leila. While Leila is pregnant with Michael’s child, her mother suddenly leaves for England, which makes her fall into a deep depression. These factors persuade Leila to leave and make a fresh start in the UK. Phillips’s West Indians consider the mother country to be a land of opportunity, however, upon arriving in ‘England’, they are bitterly disappointed by views of decay and poverty in which coloured immigrants live. Their high expectations are smashed when they observe racist slogans all over London and dilapidated coloured neighbourhoods separated from the white ones. Leila finds her ill mother and keeps visiting her in hospital, but when she eventually dies, Leila finds herself lost and abandoned again. Reversely, ‘The Passage’ gives insight into the transfer of Caribbean migrants to England, and the clash of their colourful past and gray future becomes evident as they find the new environment gloomy and hostile. The migrants encounter white people and hope to be accepted, but are discriminated against instead. Explicit signs in the streets “No vacancies for coloureds. No blacks. No coloureds” (Phillips, Final Passage 156) make the white hostility towards the coloured immigrants obvious. As they are only offered inferior housing, Leila and Michael have no choice but to move into a rented house, “small, clearly cramped and uncomfortable” (160), on the outskirts. Michael finds a job in a paper clip factory, where he fills the “coloured quota” (167) and makes friends with Edwin, who warns him against the cruelty white people treat the black immigrants with. Meanwhile, Leila meets their white neighbour Mary and is initially not sure how to behave towards her because she does not trust whites. ‘Winter’ is marked with the funeral of Leila’s mother and Leila’s facing poverty for the first time in her life. Michael gives her no money, their marriage is over and she is left to her own devices. When Leila ends up pregnant with his second child and finds out that he is cheating on her with a white woman, she is hopeless and resolves to leave England and return to the Caribbean. Now that she understands what the colour of her skin means, but still does not understand the mother country, she feels to be betrayed and sees no future in England anymore. 1.5Sour SweetSour Sweet is Timothy Mo’s second novel, published in 1982, which follows the daily life of a Hong Kong Cantonese migrant family in London and illustrates how each of them experiences culture shocks and reacts differently towards British society and culture (Suprajitno 78). The title of Sour Sweet embraces the Cantonese national dish, sweet and sour pork, which was exported through Cantonese and Chinese migrants to Britain in order to meet the post-war demand for ready prepared food, the importance of Chinese national cuisine as a cultural marker (Manferlotti 193) as well as Chinese sour sweet experience in England. The novel covers two parallel plots, one concentrates on Chen and his family, who came to Britain in the early 1960s to make money, and the other deals with the Triad society controlling the Chinese community in London. While Chen works as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant in London, his wife Lily looks after their household and son Man Kee, and manages to secretly save money in order to set up their own take away business. By that time, the Chens had been living in the UK for four years, but still do not feel comfortable in the new society and environment. Mui, who came to Britain to help her younger sister Lily after she gave birth to Man Kee, becomes addicted to watching English TV programmes and is alarmed by “the composite picture she was able to glean of the British population” (Mo 10). She initially suffers from xenophobia and refuses to come out of their flat and mix with the white British community. The Triad society, also known as the Hung family, represents the old ways of Chinese society, and so the Chinese, who do not trust white people or British police, and characteristically prefer dealing with persons of Chinese origin, turn to the society when asking for help, protection of their food businesses and money. In this manner, Chen who regularly sends remittance money to his parents in Hong Kong gets involved with the Triad. When his father falls ill and needs special treatment, Chen has to secure a large amount of money in a short time, and thus he approaches the society. The Triad takes charge of the transaction and Chen ends up owing a large sum. Shortly after, as he tries to escape the influence of the society, he approves of Lily’s idea to open their own food business, and they move into “suburban wilderness” out of London (86). Their restaurant and their home in one lies in a poor neighbourhood and the Chens work long, unsociable hours to make money. They mostly deal with young white British customers, whom Lily finds ill-mannered and annoying, and calls them foreign devils. As their small restaurant business expands, they cheat the government of taxes, earn enough money to buy a second hand car and start exploring the English surroundings. Man Kee starts going to an English school, which disturbs Lily who wants him to attend Chinese classes as well. In accordance with Man Kee’s English education, the Chens start celebrating English holidays, but keep celebrating the Chinese ones as well. Meanwhile, the Triad discovers Chen’s whereabouts and he has to repay his debt. Mui gets pregnant and as she refuses to reveal who the father is, Lily assumes it must be an Englishman and resolves to keep her shameful sister’s pregnancy in secret. After she gives birth to a girl, Mui leaves her illegitimate daughter in the care of a well off family friend, Mrs. Law. Later on, Chen’s dependent father migrates from Hong Kong and comes to live with them. In the end, Chen disappears, is killed by the Triad, and Lily and Mui, free of his influence that kept them isolated from the British society, succeed in integrating into it. Mui gets married to Mr Lo and though they are both of Chinese origin, they open a fish and chip restaurant.
Download 140.31 Kb. Share with your friends:
|