Celebrating the Ambivalent Britishness: Reading Andrea Levy’s Small Island (2004) from Bakhtin’s Carnival Theory

Abstract

Small Island (2004) is British Jamaican writer Andrea Levy’s representative work. By focusing on two British White and Black couples’ experiences before and after WWII, the author reexamines the so-called canonical Britishness and subverts the myth of the British Empire. Based on Bakhtin’s carnival theory, this paper analyzes the process of the Windrush generation’s identity construction after the 1948 British Nationality Act. This paper argues that Small Island is a post-WWII carnival celebrating the ambivalent national identity wherein the traditional Britishness is challenged through the characters’ ridiculous experiences, the mocking language toward self and other, and their efforts into claiming space in Mother country. By doing so, the Windrush generation breaks the homogeneous national identity while endowing Britishness with new meanings and celebrating the forthcoming exclusive society.