Systemic racism is a prominent theme in Small Island. While it is shown to have the strongest negative effects on the numerous black characters, the author also shows how it shapes society overall.
In Jamaica, Michael's affair caused a scandal because he was black and she was white. The military offered him an option to leave and took him to England, where he met and had an affair with Queenie, a white Englishwoman. In restaurants and movie theaters, they face public discrimination.
The idea of finding greater opportunity propels Gilbert, who is black, to move to England from Jamaica. There he meets Queenie and takes a room in her boarding house. She is criticized for accepting black boarders.
The most heart-wrenching aspect of racism presented is Queenie's rejection of her child. When her baby is born, she decides she cannot raise him, because he is black, being Michael's son; Michael is now MIA. Gilbert and his wife, Hortense, who is black and also Michael's mother, agree to raise the child.
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