Characters
This character is the central “anchor” who helps new arrivals navigate London.
Moses
This is the main way most characters make money or get by in London.
Hustling, Unstable factory work
The main setting of the entire novel.
London
he narrative voice often blends standard English with this type of speech.
Caribbean dialect, Creole
The contrast between what characters expect London to be and what it actually is.
Expectation vs. Reality
This character represents the experience of a new arrival in London and depends heavily on Moses.
Henry Oliver (Galahad)
The main problem most characters face when they first arrive in London.
Finding housing
The season that creates a sense of change but does not actually improve conditions.
Summer
The character who connects most of the separate stories together.
Moses
London being a place of both opportunity & disappointment is an example of...
Duality
This character is known for performing respectability and trying to appear “proper” in London society.
This character shows how overcrowded and unstable housing can affect families.
Tolroy
True or False: The novel presents the idea that London is less a place of opportunity anymore a system immigrants must navigate.
True
True or False: The novel is linear.
False. The novel is non-linear because we see episodes or glimpses in their lives and do not see one single plot throughout.
The way characters rely on each other to survive in a hostile city.
Community, or dependency
This character buys a coat to improve his appearance and sense of identity.
Henry Oliver (Galahad)
The relationship between the men in London is mostly based on this.
Survival/Necessity
This phrase describes how time feels in the novel.
Cyclical or Repetitive
The technique Selvon uses to make the characters’ voices feel authentic.
Dialect narration (Using Caribbean dialect/Creole in the narration)
This theme is shown through the characters’ physical separation from home, lack of stable community, and feelings of being unseen or disconnected in London.
Loneliness & Isolation
This character is associated with hustle, schemes, and survival strategies in the city.
Cap
True or False: The novel suggests that stability is an illusion.
True
The novel suggests that London changes in appearance but not in this.
Structure, Reality, Conditions
The structure of the novel is best described as this rather than a traditional plot.
Episodic (It has episodes)
This theme is shown through the men’s emphasis on toughness, sexual reputation, and emotional restraint, often masking vulnerability in how they act around each other.
Masculinity