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British Colonialism In Andrea Levy's Back To My Own Country

1133 Words5 Pages

British colonialism is regarded as a crucial period in world history due to having had a significant and long-lasting impact on how the world looked today. The colonial activities of the British Empire, which spanned several centuries, had a lasting impression on places all over the world. This essay gives a thorough history of British colonialism, emphasizing its causes, significant epochs, significant colonies, effects, and lasting legacies. Through a reading of George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" and Andrea Levy's "Back to My Own Country: An Essay," this thesis argues that British colonialism carefully and profoundly complicated the concept of home by examining the experiences of both the colonized and the colonizers. These narratives …show more content…

The enormous disparity between her parents' employment possibilities may be seen in Levy's story. While her mother had substantial challenges in pursuing her career in England despite possessing a Jamaican teaching certificate, her father had little trouble finding employment at the Post Office. “My dad did not have trouble finding work. He was employed by the Post Office. But my mom was not allowed to use her Jamaican teaching qualification to teach in England” (Levy 693). This difference is a prime example of the prejudice and unfair treatment that Caribbean immigrants endured, which undermined their sense of identity and exacerbated their relocation. Levy also examines the historical background of British colonialism, emphasizing the economic importance of the sugar business, which was highly dependent on the horrific exploitation of black Africans held as slaves. “Sugar was the main crop, as important to Britain then as oil is today. It was planted, harvested, and processed by the slave labor of black Africans” (Levy 696). By calling attention to this exploitation, Levy highlights the tremendous effect that England's colonial policies had on the Caribbean and the long-lasting effects they had on Caribbean immigrants' conceptions of

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