https://padlet.com/gavperry/e3rht8fxjrz7 Identify how your themes are represented in Small Island. Provide quotes where possible. en-us 2017-03-21 17:28:40 UTC 2019-03-18 12:22:36 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/gavperry/e3rht8fxjrz7/wish/342332711 Family and the conflicts within them are a very common theme in the novel and it includes every narrator.

Hortense lives with Michael (her cousin) and his family. Michael, after going to boarding school learns to question his father and religion which leads to a falling out between the family [quote]. He later brings shame to the family by dating a woman who he knows to be married. Hortense partially gets the blame for this since she discovered what he was doing and told people in the town [quote]. This leads to the family breakig apart with both Michael and Hortense leaving.

There is conflict within Queenie's family between her and Gilbert and her mother. Queenie's mother always wanted Queenie to stay and work on the farm but Queenie has done whatever she can to avoid this, including working for her aunt and marrying Bernard, [quote].

There is conflict between Queenie and Gilbert due to their personality differences, [quote]. However the major conflict arises when Bernard returns from Brighton after the war. Queenie has become a different person, is angry that Bernard abandoned her, [quote], Bernard is racist and hates that there are black people living in his house and has cheated on Queenie, [quote]. All of these factors create serious conflict which eventually leads to Queenie giving up her only child.

Hortense has further conflict when she marries Gilbert. She treats it purely as a plan to get to England and does not love Gilbert at all. Gilbert attempts to treat it like a real marriage. This inevitably leads to conflict and comedy. The conflict gets worse when they arrive in England due to their conflicting personalities and views of England, [quote]. However unlike many other characters in the novel, Gilbert and Hortense manage to overcome their differences and their relationship comes out better at the end of the book allowing them to have a real family, [quote].]]> 2019-03-18 11:42:16 UTC https://padlet.com/gavperry/e3rht8fxjrz7/wish/342332711 https://padlet.com/gavperry/e3rht8fxjrz7/wish/342344494 The fantasy of life in England is sold to Jamaican men to persuade them to fight for the allies in the war but the fantasy is far from what the reality is. The lies lead to many Jamaican people travelling to England only to find their lives no better or in many cases worse than before.

This theme is a key element in the characters of both Gilbert and Hortense who both have dreams of a better life in England.]]> 2019-03-18 12:16:52 UTC https://padlet.com/gavperry/e3rht8fxjrz7/wish/342344494