As human beings there are certain rights we believe we have. It is not uncommon for one group to believe itself superior to another, or for each group to believe it has certain rights and the other group disagrees. This was the case when large numbers of non-Caucasian individuals immigrated to England from the Caribbean believing that the homeland would welcome them and provide them with more opportunities than they had at home on the islands. Some of these individuals had also helped fight with England in World War II and were now in the country they had fought for. Others who made the journey had family members who had moved to England before them and now came to meet them, believing that the transition would be smooth and that a place to call their own would be waiting for them as another had somehow paved the way . road to their arrival. With all these newcomers came anger and frustration among London's previous residents. They felt threatened and thought this group was intruding on their space. In both Small Island by Andrea Levy and The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon the characters struggle to find in London the place in which to fit in and the spaces in which to be welcomed and accepted. In this article I will examine the importance of having a space to belong to, regardless of the color of one's skin, and argue that, while England may not have been ready to have a place for everyone upon arrival, those who made a effort could make room for themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay There was a clear power struggle in England between the whites who already resided in London and the newcomers who were making the journey in search of better lives. This struggle is amply represented in a quote by George Lamming: '…imagine waking up one morning to discover a stranger asleep on your living room sofa? You wake up this person and ask them “what are you doing here?” and the person responds “I belong here.”' The white population, already residing in England, felt that there was a whole group of uninvited people now showing up and intruding on their space. No one had bothered to ask the native English how they would feel about these foreigners having earned a place in the city and therefore felt that the foreigners had no right to what had been theirs. Meanwhile, the non-white individuals who undertook the journey did not see themselves as outsiders; this was the motherland. Rather, they considered themselves welcomed to make a place for themselves and start their lives over. They were so sure they belonged on this sofa, which is a metaphor for England. Each group believing in something different leads to increased tensions between them. Some of the native Englishmen saw the need to declare their control over the foreigners and the land they had come to make their own, making it clear that they did not belong to London. The native English wished to keep their space the same as before the war and the mass movement of people of other ethnicities, while the newcomers sought to create a place for themselves to live the life they had come to England for in search of for .In the novel Small Island by Andrea Levy there are many examples to reinforce the idea behind Lamming's quote. The idea is that some people coming to the country believed that England had a space waiting for them and that they would be accepted with open arms, on the sofa where they would sleep. This is the case of Hortense who travels from Jamaica to Englandafter her husband had made the trip a couple of months earlier. Before her arrival, Hortense had an image of England in her mind that included a large house with a doorbell and being welcomed at the docks by her husband Gilbert. After disembarking from the ship there was no sign of welcome from her husband, and she soon realized that life in England would not live up to her expectations. After struggling to communicate with the taxi driver and finally finding home, her place in England, the welcome she received was anything but warm. When the door opened to reveal Hortense standing there, Queenie, the owner of the house, was "perplexed" to see this woman waiting outside with a large piece of luggage. Queenie was the person who would wake up and see a stranger, Hortense, sleeping on her couch. Queenie was baffled by the women who stood there with her luggage and claimed that she belonged in that house. Once all the confusion was cleared up, Queenie said to Hortense, "I hope you don't bring anything into the house that might stink." Queenie wasn't actually trying to be rude, she was welcoming Hortense into her home and helping her make her place in London. But at the same time she didn't want to be disturbed in her home by the smell of something coming from Hortense's house. So while Hortense was welcome, and even belonged in this house, she should not expect to make it completely hers. There were rules set by the native white English woman that Hortense would have to obey. While a large amount of the native English represented on Small Island were not welcoming towards the country's new residents, other individuals were open and ready to welcome them and help find their place as Queenie. Queenie opened her home to rent rooms to anyone who needed them, including those of color. His relationship with people of color offered them a safe space while in his presence and in the privacy of his home. Just because Queenie accepted individuals of color didn't mean others would tolerate it. Simply allowing individuals of color to take up space in her home strained Queenie's relationship with her neighbors who did not want their neighborhood undermined. An example of the conflict of having a space in private but not in public was when Gilbert accompanied Queenie to the movies. When he attempted to sit next to Queenie in the theater, the usher stopped him and told Gilbert he would have to sit in the back because of the color of his skin. Gilbert was shocked by this example of segregation, stating that: "This is England... This is not America... I will sit wherever I please" referring to the Jim Crow laws in force in the United States. Gilbert thought he knew England as a space without segregation, especially after being taken in by Queenie, a white English woman. But the events at the cinema demonstrated that segregation was very much alive in England. Although Queenie had no problem making room for Gilbert in the seat next to her, the theater had designated her seat to be in the back, separate from the white crowd and the white soldiers who were seated in front. Gilbert was the individual who claimed to belong there, sitting next to Queenie, while the rest of the theater saw him as an intruder into their space. Not only were there no segregation laws in England, but Gilbert was also a soldier who was fighting to help England during the war. None of this mattered in the eyes of the native English, who were unwilling to share their space with Gilbert's type. They considered themselves the rightful residents and therefore had the right to say nothey wanted to sit next to a black individual. Both groups, white and black, were fighting to define and protect their place in England at this time. While the newcomers tried to create a place for them that was close and equal to the white population, the white natives tried to keep their space separate and sent a message that the colors were just visitors to their space. This fight between the two groups was a type of war fought. As previously stated, the biggest struggle for "place" on Small Island was between those who already resided in England and those who had just arrived. Bernard, Queenie's husband, was a person who had previously resided in England and at returning from the war he thought he knew what was waiting for him at home. But when he returned home Bernard had a nice surprise. While he was gone, Queenie had rented rooms in the house to anyone who needed a place that included more black residents. When Bernard answered the knock on the door he was not prepared to come face to face with Gilbert who asked Bernard, "Who are you?" to which Bernardo replied: "Who are you?" it's more the question'. This was Bernard's house and when Guibert, a guest, asked him about it, he made Bernard feel like an uninvited and unwanted stranger. This meant that Bernard now had to declare his dominion over the house and make it clear that this place was his. However, Gilbert believed that the house was his place in England as he had been living there for months. Bernard was now the one intruding on a structure that had been built. The conflict came to a head when Bernard asked all residents to leave the house. But the tenants had made a place for themselves in the house and felt that, having been absent for so long, Bernard had no right to that place nor the right to tell them to leave. Both Bernard and Gilbert believed they had a place of their own in the house, only to have that idea challenged when they met. It was once again a fight between a white man and a mestizo. Whose job really was it and how would they decide? There is no right answer to this conflict. Both individuals had a right to space, but neither would have been satisfied to reach that agreement, so they instead found themselves in the hostile and uncomfortable environment that was now their England. While all newcomers to England struggled at some point to find their place in the big city, some adapted better than others, like the characters in The Lonely Londoners. Each of the characters in this novel fought hard for a place and space in the big city to call their own, and in the end their dedication to this proved triumphant. James Procter points out that at the beginning of the novel, the narrator is picking up a newcomer to London and describes the fog covering the city as an "alienating territory". This can be seen as how the newcomer will initially experience London, as as they are new to the city they will not yet feel at home or know their way around. And since this is only the beginning of the book, readers are also newcomers to this narrator's London. Procter then points out that the way London is described changes as we see the city not as a newcomer, but as the narrator Moses. Procter states that “this shift between alienation and belonging is most clearly articulated through the naming of the landscape.” Because Moses is no stranger to the city and knows exactly where he is going and what he is doing, his descriptions are more detailed than the first description of London and include the specific bus he is traveling on and exactly where he is headed. These details cement the idea that Moses is not a newcomer and that insomehow he has mastered London. Moses has found his place and become a Londoner and is now trying to help others do the same. Procter highlights how important the naming of places is in the novel as it really represents the boys' settlement in the city. When he tells the newcomer that they are heading to the place where Moses lives, Moses himself refers to it as the Water but informs the newcomer: "Bayswater to you until you live in the city at least two years." The slang is reserved for those who have worked for it, those who have successfully earned a place in the city, and those whom the city has accepted. It seems that the characters in Small Island had a harder time making a place for themselves in London than the characters in The Lonely Londoners. I think this is because the characters in Small Island didn't fight that hard for their place in England and rather expected it to be there for them. An example of this is the character Hortense, instead of trying to make her own place she attempted to fit in. She thought that by making a change in herself she would be accepted by the city. Hortense thought she would gain respect and even more if she spoke with her accent which had "... brought her to the top of her class in Miss Stuart's English pronunciation contest". He did not realize that a change in his dialect would do little for acceptance by the native English if he could not change the color of his skin. Unlike Hortense, characters like Tanty in The Lonely Londoners decided that instead of changing the way they fit in, they would fight to create their own unique spaces. An example of how Tanty has created its own space is when it introduces the use of credit in some shops in London. Tanty was unhappy when a shopkeeper in London did not accept credit as a payment method as they would at home in the islands. Instead of adapting his way of life and making a small change to fit the already set structure, he worked to change his surroundings to suit his needs. Tanty didn't give the shopkeeper much choice when she took control and told him to write down her name and the amount she owed him and that she would be back on Friday to pay. After keeping his word and shocking the owner, the shopkeeper began accepting credit as a way to handle his business with all his customers, entirely thanks to Tanty working to make himself comfortable. She made a space for herself because she didn't have to change her path, and at the same time she was accepted by the shopkeeper. Instead of trying to fit into London's preset structure, Tanty acted in sensible ways that demanded attention and admiration. She was respected and accepted by the city and those who knew her. She created a space for herself in London that was similar to her space at home and this made her feel comfortable, confident and like she belonged almost entirely in London. Although it has made changes to the London shops, some things had to be big and structured to change in the way that suits them. That didn't stop her from creating her own space within them. Tanty felt that he could not truly belong to the city until he had mastered all of its means of transportation. Although she initially felt uncomfortable with both the subway and bus systems, she tried both and felt triumphant after her successful trips. Instead of expecting the city to welcome her, she committed to respecting what already existed. So even though it took effort and she wasn't able to change the transportation system to her liking, Tanty didn't give up simply because it intimidated her or her..16.