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Summary Of Back To My Own Country By Andrea Levy

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Navigating Two Worlds: A Comparison of Contemporary society Habonne Abdi University of Ottawa ENG 1100 ZE John Coleman, Ph.D 15 April, 2023 The essay "Back to My Own Country" by Andrea Levy offers an exploration of the challenges faced by immigrants and minorities in 20th-century England. From a personal perspective, the essay provides an analysis of the author's intricate upbringing in a culture rife with many social obstacles. It emphasizes the difficulties encountered by people who are caught between two cultures and who must endure the challenges of residing in a biased society. Referring to Andrea Levy’s essay, this paper will evince the intricacies and problems immigrants experience, …show more content…

This essay argues that by demonstrating correlations between the struggles of the disparate individuals depicted in the essay and situations prevalent in contemporary society. Further, it will analyze, the complexities of racism and discrimination, and explore the interdependence between language and identity. Moreover, it will expound on the tribulations faced in one's sense of belonging and will proclaim the importance of recognizing and valuing diversity. At the outset, it is evident that racism and discrimination are persistent issues, as shown by the encounters the author faces throughout the text. To examine these instances, parallels between the piece and those in modern cultures are explored. The statement, "… Front waved one of their leaflets in my face … started laughing, I felt I owed them some sort of apology," for example, emphasizes the ubiquitous feeling of being racially targeted, causing someone to feel inferior (Levy). The encounter with Front, a far-right political group, exemplifies the broader issue of implicit systemic racism and discrimination that persists today. The author feels the need to apologize for the colour of her skin and her sensation of inferiority, which …show more content…

Social isolation concerning ethnic identity is a perplexing and diverse concept examined throughout Levy's paper. In her essay, the claims put forward is reinforced by her own experiences living in England and feeling alienated amid both the black and white races. Levy’s statement “This isolated them from other black Caribbeans who came to live here – they wanted nothing to do with them”, reflects the alienation of classes by skin colour and exemplifies her attempt to reconcile her British identity with her Jamaican ancestry (Levy). In addition, it represents the social structures and hostilities between black Caribbeans in the United Kingdom. Because of her family's status in society, the author found it difficult to assimilate into the black Caribbean subculture in Britain. Her family belonged to a black high working-class environment that distinguished them from other black Caribbeans of lower social standing because of the fairness of their skin. This resulted in an interpersonal conflict involving Levy's relatives and other black Caribbeans, who perceived them with presumptions. Subsequently contributed to the complex nature of her identity formation and caused an impediment in her endeavour for acceptance. Correspondingly, in the present time, many components contribute to foreigner's challenges in integrating into

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