Small Island: Freedom/Opportunity

Question 1

‘_____________ _______ in England as ________ as the _____ on ________ trees’

Answer 1

‘Opportunity ripened in England as abundant as fruit on Jamaican trees’

• Use of simile to compare/ highlight contrast between England and Jamaica
• Shows hopes and dreams in host country
• Gilbert describes England positively + seems restless

Question 2

‘I would soon be ______ in _________ and able to ____ ___ above these people’

Answer 2

‘I would soon be living in England and able to rise far above these people’

• Hortense associates sense of superiority with mother country + looks forward to her new home
• She will be able to look down upon those she views as inferior

Question 3

‘I will ____ the ____ in this ______ when I am in ___________’

‘When I ________ this _________ I did not hear a ____’

Answer 3

‘I will ring the bell in this house when I am in England’ (Celia)

‘When I pressed this doorbell I did not hear a ring’ (Hortense)

• Recurring motif of doors/doorbells throughout whole
• Bell = represents freedom, opportunity/gains
• Newcomers stand at the door/threshold willing to integrate
• Ringing the bell allows newcomers to enter the threshold of British society through the door

Question 4

‘A _________ between fixed identifications opens up the ___________ of cultural hybridity that entertains _________ without imposed __________’

Answer 4

‘A passage between fixed identifications opens up the possibilities of cultural hybridity that entertains difference without imposed hierarchy’

• Opening doors removes hierarchies, everyone can move between locations/cultures

Homi K Bhabha

Question 5

‘England became my _______’

Answer 5

‘England became my destiny’ (Hortense)
ppg101-101
- Aligns herself with England and its existence
- Believes she is bound to England/that it is her fate

Question 6

‘I was a ______ living on _____ no bigger than the ______ of my _______’

Answer 6

‘I was a giant living on land no bigger than the soles of my shoes’ (Gilbert)

• Outgrown/disillusionment with Jamaica
• His hopes and dreams do not align with what Jamaica offers

Question 7

‘The ______ out there is _______ than any ______ you can ________’

Answer 7

‘The world out there is bigger than any dream you can conjure’ (Gilbert)

• Fascination with the world beyond Jamaica
• Optimistic view of the world
• Desire to widen his horizons/seek new opportunities

Question 8

‘It ______ to all the ______ like a ___________ castle’

Answer 8

‘it looks to all the world like a fairytale castle’ (Gilbert)

• Description of the house of parliament
• Romanticized/storytale depiction of England
• Fascination with a new world

Question 9

‘__________ walked on a ________ of _____’

Answer 9

‘everyone walked on a blanket of gold’ (Gilbert to Celia)

• Recurring motif of gold/the ‘blanket of gold’
• Associates England with status/superiority
• England covered/veiled in prestige