The war had been a huge bomb blast. Everything rose, toppled, turned over and scattered high into the air. Now it was over; everyone went back to shore. But everything was settled in different places. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay – Andrea Levy, Small Island (London: Tinder Press, 2006) (page 497) Small Island was written by Andrea Levy and published in 2004, the plot of which is set in 1948, when England is still recovering from the effects of World War II and rebuilding. Events such as the inauguration of the New Health System (NHS) and the arrival of the passenger ship Empire Windrush from Jamaica helped define the start of the post-war situation that changed British society. It is possible to link these events and many other transformations that occurred in England to the effects of the war. Considering the aftermath of the war and its crisis period, I limit my analysis to the narrative structure and actions of Queenie and Bernard during this critical period. The story contains a particular structure that reflects the issue of war. Instead of being constructed in chronological order, the plot is separated in two ways. First, the narrative is divided into the voices of the four characters. Second, the plot is divided, after a short prologue, by time. The plot unfolds in a flashback style, in which the nine main units of the novel are labeled with "1948" or "Before", going back to 1924. In addition to this change in time and perspective of the four characters, the reader is also taken to different locations, across national borders and cultural moments, including the 1924 British Empire Exhibition at Wembley; London before and after the outbreak of the Second World War; Jamaica, England and the United States through Jamaican airmen; and Calcutta after the Victory over Japan. By exposing the reader to this analeptic story, Levy conveys the feeling of chaos caused by the war in the lives of the characters. The lack of precision of the previous time, simply named "Before", ends up making the past rather intangible and causes the opposite effect in the plot's present. By focusing on this period, named "1948", the story focuses on the post-war period and its consequences. Wartime ends up becoming the only reference point for the characters, who are sometimes attached to the past, sometimes projecting their future (Hortense and Gilbert) and trying to escape the chaotic present. An example of this connection to the past is Bernard, whose Queenie tries to change houses when she moves in, saying: "[i]t could become a real house again [...] [m]ut most of the things she suggested were greeted by Bernard's tremors. chief” (217), he therefore refuses transformations because his house is passed down from generation to generation. Bernard's presence in the story is limited to Queenie's description of him in her story during the first half of the book, as if the narration was trying to reproduce his taciturnity. Before his narration, the other three characters narrate the plot in a way that constantly moves through time, in a random sequence. However, the chapters concerning Bernard are grouped into a sequence of ten chapters, all of which are included in the "Before" time zone. Only the last three unfold like the others at the end of the novel in the "present" part of the plot, in 1948. This structure of the story can represent the idea that Bernard, traditional andresistant to change, is stuck in the past. However, unlike Queenie, the war imposes new events on Bernard without asking his permission. Bernard's stable, even apathetic, personality is disrupted by the events of the war. Aside from Queenie, his father Arthur and superficial discussions with the neighbors, Bernard does not seem to maintain any other relationships. His statement that "[he] didn't want a war [...], he never wanted to be in India. But ([he] admit[s]) it put a bar on the back and a spring in the step of this middle-aged bank employee who thought his life was sorted” (289) sums up his structured personality. The opening sentence of the second chapter that introduces his story is organized with rhyme and rhythm. The war took Bernard out of England and forced new elements into his life, giving him different experiences, he "even started whistling (nothing out of the ordinary) now [that he] was part of 'a team' and was proud of it. (ibid.) Supporting this idea of ​​Bernard's social life being broadened by the events of the war, during his stay in India, he becomes very close to Maxi. Friendship and affection seem to be a new thing for Bernard, and their friendship is rather appreciated by him. So esteemed by him that in his description some erotic tension seems to arise between the two in the episode in the Dark Forest, as they heard a supposed teammate calling for help and realized it was 'a trap made by Japanese men. Hidden from them, Maxi and Bernard come closer to share the only blanket they have: Two vigilant heads that swivel, our bodies wrapped as one, stuck where the bare flesh presses. […] Our rifles rose quickly, pointing through gaps in the fabric, pointing in different directions. […] His hot breath on my cheek, which smells of tobacco. Body odor wafted from the blanket. Rough fibers that scratch our cheeks. […] Maxi's arm muscles pumped against me (tense again) His knee rubbed mine nervously. (294-5)In the passage, their physical proximity is evident. What followed was their plan to become partners in a rabbit farm in the countryside in England. Eventually, Maxi dies in an alleged arson attack in the erks' cabin. At the end of the war in India, Bernard believes he is infected with syphilis because of his sexual relations with a prostitute there and, ashamed, he avoids returning to Queenie. Perhaps to cling to Maxi's existence, he chose to go to Brighton, his friend's town, and check on his children and wife, who "quickly got used to seeing him sitting in the cemetery [and] nodded at him. » (351) If the lines open space for considerations of Bernard's sexuality and his flexibility, this is surprising for the reader who has been introduced to a very intransigent and bigoted Englishman. Another episode, a few pages before the one with Maxi, seems to reinforce the idea of ​​the discovery of this aspect of Bernard. In this passage, Bernard falls into a trench crowded with men that Japanese planes are flying over. When the planes disappeared and they began to exit the trench, “[he] lost his balance and fell back. That's when he noticed an unmistakable bulge in the front of his shorts. [He] had an erection” (285), which is curious to say the least in such a situation. We are also shown the ongoing consequences of war through Arthur, Bernard's father, who returns from the First World War with shell shock - a disorder that left him mute. Bernard seems to internalize many of his father's characteristics and suffer the consequences of losing interaction with his "pa" (father), who is thus infantilized– he does not speak and is cared for by his own son and his wife. When Arthur returned from the First World War, “he was never [his] father again. […] Before, he carried [Bernard] on his shoulders” (331), to teach him to play, etc. Arthur's shock affects Bernard's personality, as he seems to have absorbed this trait from Arthur. Queenie often complains about the parsimony of her husband's words, which can also be read into the plot as the representation of British coldness in relation to the Jamaican people. Queenie learned at school that an apostrophe existed to show that something was missing and "that's how she always saw Bernard's father, Arthur: a human apostrophe", because he "never spoke "He shook his head, nodded, he groaned, he sighed, he even whispered. But no words came from his lips" (238). she was pregnant and he was not the father illustrates the relationship between Arthur, the mute father, and his son Despite the intense events, “[t]here are some words once spoken that divided the world in two. Before saying them and after” (412), and Bernard chooses not to change their relationship situation: He listened to me until the end. Never interrupting or wanting clarification. never made a sound, he shook his head […] And for the first time, I was grateful that Bernard Bligh could be counted on to have absolutely nothing to say. (ibid.) The war also brings situations into Queenie's life in which she can develop her self-knowledge and put her alertness into practice. Marrying Bernard allows her to escape the boredom of the countryside and settle in her house in London. However, she may have discovered that she had just moved from one kind of trouble to another. At the start of the war, "the raid was the most exciting thing that ever happened in that house, [t]o imposing with life... [she] looked forward to this war" (220), which would turn her life upside down. Additionally, due to her husband's unyielding absence, Queenie is set up to experience enormous transformations, first opening the house to tenants, then eventually meeting Michael as one of them. The reader can think of Queenie as the one who unites the other three characters who tell the story. history. She serves as a conflict softener between her husband and the other couple formed by Gilbert and Hortense, as well as an important person for their installation in England. Queenie can be considered the most enlightened character in Small Island, as she is one of the few British people depicted as accepting of racial differences. She has an inquisitive mind (in the prologue regarding her teacher), is able to leave her family and the countryside (even if because of an emotionless marriage), she goes to work in the rest center helping the war wounded and even helps some of them. they gave them his furniture and accommodation. After Bernard left for India, Queenie needed to fend for herself and rented out certain rooms in the house. Michael was one of the people who stayed briefly there during his visit to London. He is described earlier in the plot as Hortense's infatuation since childhood. He became involved with Mrs. Ryder, the married American teacher at the Jamaica school, and Hortense saw them kissing, which broke her heart. Experienced Michael arrives in England and soon attracts Queenie's attention, having traits that Bernard lacks. Michael is adventurous, talking, telling her stories and making her feel special, or at least wanted, leading to their erotic encounter: It wasn't me. Mrs. Queenie Bligh, she wasn't even there.