In, "My Girl and the City", by Sam Selvon, the author exerts pathos to express to the reader the social reality of London. The historical background is during the Windrush Generation; the immigration of Caribbean inhabitants to the England. Furthermore, Sam Selvon's sets the story in Waterloo, the main character partner he names "my girl", which is a platform in revealing London's society.
Sam Selvon begins the story of the man waiting for a figure he calls "my girl", "One day of any day it is like this. I wait for my girl on Waterloo bridge," (Selvon 146). He then goes on to express, "We used to wait for a 196 under the railway bridge across the Waterloo Road. There were always long queues and it looked like we would never get a bus," (Selvon 146). This alludes to the fortuity that the city was very populated and alive.
The main character never hesitated in vocalizing his emotions and found himself in constant jargon towards other people. He states, "Still, it was important to talk. In the crowded bus, as if I wooed three or four instead of one. I shot words over my shoulder, across seats...," (Selvon 146). The fact that there were constant dissentients shows the common level of stress from the working life that filled the aura. Moreover, gives the impression that the city is a place where one must stand up for themselves and be assertive of their opinion, "All these things I say...I say them because I want you to know, I don't ever want to regret afterwards that I didn't say enough, I would rather say too much," Selvon 147).
There is a beauty to the city that the main character truly appreciates and saves the moments by spending it with his girl. He quotes, "...When the moon shines, it shines on her face, and I look at her...and I think many things. Suddenly we are kissing and I wish I could die there," (Selvon 148).
As the main character continues through the London lifestyle he finds himself on a green train after waiting for his girl meeting her by chance. On this green train he analyzes the outside world, "I look out of window into windows of private lives flashed on my brain. Bread being sliced, a man taking off a jacket, an old woman knitting," exposing the manifest that one in the city could receive just by heeding the occurrences on the streets of London.
In, "My Girl and the City", by Sam Selvon, the author exerts pathos to express to the reader the social reality of London. Setting it in Waterloo, it is used as a platform in revealing London's civilization.
Sam Selvon begins the story of the man waiting for a figure he calls "my girl", "One day of any day it is like this. I wait for my girl on Waterloo bridge," (Selvon 146). He then goes on to express, "We used to wait for a 196 under the railway bridge across the Waterloo Road. There were always long queues and it looked like we would never get a bus," (Selvon 146). This alludes to the fortuity that the city was very populated and alive.
The main character never hesitated in vocalizing his emotions and found himself in constant jargon towards other people. He states, "Still, it was important to talk. In the crowded bus, as if I wooed three or four instead of one. I shot words over my shoulder, across seats...," (Selvon 146). The fact that there were constant dissentients shows the common level of stress from the working life that filled the aura. Moreover, gives the impression that the city is a place where one must stand up for themselves and be assertive of their opinion, "All these things I say...I say them because I want you to know, I don't ever want to regret afterwards that I didn't say enough, I would rather say too much," Selvon 147).
There is a beauty to the city that the main character truly appreciates and saves the moments by spending it with his girl. He quotes, "...When the moon shines, it shines on her face, and I look at her...and I think many things. Suddenly we are kissing and I wish I could die there," (Selvon 148).
As the main character continues through the London lifestyle he finds himself on a green train after waiting for his girl meeting her by chance. On this green train he analyzes the outside world, "I look out of window into windows of private lives flashed on my brain. Bread being sliced, a man taking off a jacket, an old woman knitting," exposing the manifest that one in the city could receive just by heeding the occurrences on the streets of London.
In, "My Girl and the City", by Sam Selvon, the author exerts pathos to express to the reader the social reality of London. Setting it in Waterloo, it is used as a platform in revealing London's civilization.