Small Island

1.  Page 19, “Me can believe what me ear is hearing. You a man. She just come off the boat – You mus’ show who boss. And straight way so no bad habit start. A wife must do as her husband say. You ask a judge. You ask a policeman. They will tell you. Everyt’ing in that trunk belong to you. What is hers is yours and if she no like it a little licking will make her obey.”
2.  Page 33, “Mr Philip told me that it was not godly for girls to lift themselves into branches as a monkey would. Or come home wet from the stream, our bellies full of star apples, raspberries and mangoes, my skirt clinging to my legs with Michael running behind me dangling a wriggling fish from his hand. I was not supposed to hunt for scorpions, tipping them from their hiding-place, tormenting them with a stick. Or dress the goat in a bonnet and attempt to ride her like a horse.”
3. Page 37,”It is for the poor people that we have been sent to do this” “Someone must help these poor negro children. Education is all they have.”

• There were 3 things that stood out in the reading so far: firstly there is a lot of gender stereotyping present (gender schema). This is seen in the quote on page 33 where Mr. Philip prescribes a certain role to Hortense.
•  Secondly, the book also shows the disconnect between members of ‘first world countries’ and ‘third world countries’. This can be seen with the Ryders.
•  Thirdly, there is a strong presence of the patriarchal structure in the book, which is indicative of the time period. This is seen not only on the quote from page 19 but also in Michaels return when Mr. Philips stamps his authority and raises his voice.

4.       I really appreciate how Levy uses the appropriate language for the characters because it adds to the story’s authenticity. Also, I noticed that Levy points out some of the racist ideas/aspects that were around. She displayed this in a way that was not completely overblown or overly dramatic which was cool.