Marginalization In The Lonely Londoners

This research paper explores the marginalised identities and marginalised condition of black immigrants in White dominated society, London. Samuel Selvon was one of the early West Indian immigrants to Britain that began in 1948. Selvon classical novel, The Lonely Londoners is a novel of realism and it depicts the lives of the marginalized black immigrants in London. The novel The Lonely Londoners deals with issue of migration of the Caribbean to England between 1930 and 1950. It focuses on the large body of working class immigrants and the issue of marginalization. There were more than 40,000 West Indians in London. The novel reveals the existence of fellow immigrants like Moses and Galahad from Trinidad; Captain (Cap) from Nigeria; Mahal

Describing the effects of the London city, Ralph Singh, the narrator and protagonist, speaks of the people being “trapped into fixed postures”, of “the personality divided bewilderingly into compartments”, and of “the panic of ceasing to feel myself as a whole person.” Selvon’s third person narrative voice sees London as a place which is “divide[d] up in little worlds, and you stay in the world you belong to and you don’t know about what happening in the other ones except what you read in the papers” (The Lonely Londoners, 58).
The Lonely Londoners is a novel of realism and it depicts the lives of the immigrants in London. Selvon clearly explains about the real experience of life in London. He says:
I believe in trying to capture the realities of what exists, and in The Lonely Londoners, almost everyone of the experiences and the characters were drawn from real life... What really motivates and interests me is the behaviour of the people and the reasons why they behave as they do. I also like to record the reality of their lives and experiences which I think is enough to spark interests and curiosity and the desire to know more. (Interviews by K.T. Sunitha, 27)
Marginalised and Black Identity in The Lonely

It focuses on the large body of working class immigrants and the issue of nostalgia. It begins with Moses Aloetta receiving the newcomer Henry Oliver, known in the novel as Sir Galahad, who is coming from the Caribbean to London. Moses is waiting at the “Waterloo station to meet a fellar (Oliver) who was coming from Trinidad on the boat train” (The Lonely Londoners, 7). There, he meets Tolroy, “a Jamaican friend” (The Lonely Londoners, 10), who came to receive his mother, and finds himself “nervous and frighten” (The Lonely Londoners, 10) to welcome his mother Tanty, an elderly lady, who came along with Lewis and Agnes, a couple. Moses experiences nostalgia and alienation when he waits for his friend at the waterloo station. He feels, “… a feeling of home sickness that he never felt in the nine-ten years. Feeling a nostalgion hit him and he was surprise (The Lonely Londoners, 10). Moses meets a reporter at the tube, assuming that Moses has just arrived at London and starts asking him questions. He explains about the realistic situation of