Anita and Me: Context (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Anita and Me historical context
The partition of India marked a significant moment in South Asian history and impacted millions of lives, causing mass migrations.
Partition of India
The novel refers to events taking place at the time of Meera Syal’s life, as well as during her parents’ and grandparents’ lifetimes
In Anita and Me, Syal refers to a significant historical event, the partition of India:
India was under British rule between 1858 and 1947
In 1947, as part of the agreement for an independent India, a policy was enacted whereby India was divided into two countries: India and Pakistan
The process also separated each country by religion; Pakistan was to become Muslim and India was to be Hindu
Simultaneously, in Britain, as a result of the destruction caused by World War II, the British government focused on rebuilding the country and replacing a labour shortage:
In order to do this, the government encouraged immigration from Europe and Commonwealth countries such as India and Pakistan
The British Nationality Act of 1948 granted citizens of British colonies the right to live in Britain
How this links to the novel Anita and Me | |
Partition | Syal’s novel explores the history of both India and Britain. The partition of India forced millions of people to migrate amid much violence. This is referenced by Meena’s father who describes a dangerous experience involving delivering a bomb to a Muslim man. The novel refers to the Indian diaspora and Meena’s mother draws attention to the reason for their move to England. She describes the better opportunities for education away from the corruption and devastation of India after partition. |
Anita and Me social context
The novel explores the experiences of a young girl of Indian heritage growing up in a predominantly white working-class community in the industrialised Midlands during the 1970s. During this period, there were notable developments concerning religion as British society was becoming increasingly secularised. The decade also saw growing religious diversity due to immigration from Commonwealth countries.
Industrial Revolution and class
During the 1950s and 1960s, a significant number of South Asians settled in industrial towns in the Midlands and the North of England:
Syal sets her novel in the fictional English town of Tollington
The town, like Syal’s own home town in Essington, is in the Black Country in the Midlands
The novel relates the way some individuals in England were resistant to changes occurring in their country:
The region had significantly changed during the Industrial Revolution due to its iron, steel and copper industries, as well as coal mining
However, by the 1960s industry was in decline
Many coal mines were closed, creating high unemployment
There were national pit strikes in 1974
These hardships led many to blame immigrants for the difficulties they were experiencing
Syal grew up in a predominantly white working-class West Midlands town called Essington in the 1960s and 1970s:
The town in the novel, Tollington, is similar to Essington as it has a disused coal mine
How this links to the novel Anita and Me | |
Industrial decline | The novel explores the problems faced by individuals struggling in the disadvantaged areas of the Black Country as a result of industrial decline in the 1970s. For example, the story relates how the planned building of a motorway disrupts the town and businesses. |
Disrupted home lives | Many of the characters deal with problematic home lives, such as Sam Lowbridge, who is the criminally-active son of a poverty-ridden single mother. |
Religion and immigration
This era witnessed a blending of traditions as immigrant communities forged their identity within a largely Christian setting in the UK:
This period also marked a shift towards secularisation
Syal’s novel describes the life of Meena’s parents, who are Indian immigrants:
Syal’s own parents were Punjabi immigrants from New Delhi who came to England two years before she was born in 1961
Syal’s own father was an accountant like Shyam Kumar
Her mother was Sikh and a school teacher like Daljit Kumar
How this links to the novel Anita and Me | |
Tolerance of all faiths | Meena’s mother, Daljit Kumar, often refers to her Hindu tolerance for all faiths. The Kumar family also celebrate the Christian celebration of Christmas and Meena understands that this is to help her fit in in England. Daljit tells Meena that all religions lead to the same god and she takes Meena to the gurudwara in Birmingham, a Sikh place of worship. |
Meena’s Hindu identity | Meena also learns about the Hindu faith from her extended family and she is told about her aunt’s shrines to the gods and about reincarnation and karma. Meena’s experiences during Diwali, a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of light over darkness and good over evil, help her understand religious divisions. |
Faith-based racism | Syal’s protagonist deals with racist bullies. Meena befriends both the town bullies, Sam Lowbridge and Anita Rutter, despite their intolerance of minorities. |
Attitudes to immigrants | Syal also shows how some characters perceive immigrants to be responsible for the lack of employment at the time. |
Anita and Me literary context
The 1970s marked a period of growing interest in multiculturalism and postcolonial literature in Britain. Writers from diverse backgrounds, including immigrants, began to explore themes of identity and belonging. This period also saw the rise of feminist literature and women’s voices in British fiction. The novel can be considered a Bildungsroman as it charts Meena’s journey from childhood to adolescence.
Meera Syal calls Anita and Me semi-autobiographical
The novel is a typical Bildungsroman as it shows the protagonist’s personal and spiritual growth:
The Bildungsroman genre originated in Germany and directly translates to a “novel of education”
It generally portrays the protagonist’s psychological and moral growth
The conventional structure of a Bildungsroman involves the following:
Loss: The protagonist experiences a profound emotional loss at the beginning of the narrative
Journey: Motivated by their personal tragedy, the protagonist embarks on a journey, either physical or metaphorical, to gain a better understanding of the world
Conflict and personal growth: The protagonist’s journey entails mistakes and often clashes with societal norms, though as the narrative progresses, the protagonist gradually embraces the values of society
Maturity: By the conclusion of the novel, the protagonist undergoes significant personal development, exhibiting a positive transformation which denotes maturity
Anita and Me has been compared with Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, which is also about a child’s growing awareness of discrimination in their community
How this links to the novel Anita and Me | |
Meena’s character development | The novel is a typical Bildungsroman as it shows the protagonist’s personal and spiritual growth. Meena learns to stand up for herself against bullies; she learns to understand her family’s motivations and she becomes humble and shows empathy to those who wrong her. The story depicts typical events marking teenage development: Meena gives up the “Twinkle” comic and reads “Jackie” magazine and this causes her to worry about boys, clothes and make-up. |
Comparison to To Kill a Mockingbird | The “Big House” in Syal’s novel, which the children fear for its frightening inhabitants, is similar to the old house in Harper Lee’s novel. Both protagonists find out that the residents of the respective houses are actually normal people who have isolated themselves from the community because of the intolerance they have felt. It is also significant that Meena sends a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird to Robert, her friend, despite finding it “dense”. Her lack of understanding could reflect her lack of full understanding of racial politics at this stage of the novel. |
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