The book The Lonely Londoner written by Sam Selvon tells the bittersweet story of a group of West Indian immigrants living in 1950s London. an evocative look at the city through the jaded eyes of a black man, Moses Aloetta, a veteran Londoner who somewhat reluctantly welcomes newcomers from his native land and shows them the ropes. One of these newcomers is Henry Oliver. Oliver, better known as Galahad, is a spirited Trinidadian who comes to London in search of economic opportunities. The book follows the struggles of Galahad and others who, like him, arrive in London thinking the roads are paved with gold but later discover that life as an immigrant is hard. Everything is expensive and the white population is wary of black faces (or "spades" as they are called throughout the book) despite the "open door" policy of letting citizens from the colonies settle in Britain . In an attempt to understand white attitudes toward Galahad and other Caribbean immigrants, Selvon further discusses dissociation from skin color. This further demonstrates not only a level of racism in the text, but it also shows how this discrimination made these black men self-conscious and question their self-esteem due to the discrimination they experienced from white Londoners. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn the book, Galahad experienced what can be considered skin color dissociation or splitting of oneself. This theory suggests that the self fragments into “me as human” and “me as black.” In Galahad's case, he sees the color of his skin as the main cause of all his pain. Thus, it begins to dissociate “itself from the skin”. He begins to think of and relate to his racialized self, represented by his skin, as a distinct being who could be blamed for the trauma and atrocities inflicted on him. The color black has become an object of hatred for him; something that has driven him out of the society he desperately wants to be a part of. For this reason, he would like to be something other than this color. He said very fiercely, "Why the hell can't you be blue, or red, or green, if you can't be white?" In this line, Galahad indicates that he would have wanted to be anything but black if he could not be white; because he knows the privileges granted to those who are close to whiteness even if they are not fully there. Ultimately, he longs to have white skin because those who display lighter complexions seem to be treated fairly and lead advantageous lives because of it. This is observed through Bart, the light-skinned immigrant who uses his proximity to whiteness for economic and social advancement. Bart refuses to take menial jobs like most immigrants and instead finds himself in an office job that he is extremely proud of. He is also dating a white woman and is tired of being seen with people he considers “too black.” Indeed, there are better job prospects, opportunities for financial stability, access to higher education, better living conditions and health care for whites or close to whites. The idea of ​​being treated unfairly is another effect of this dissociation from skin color, revealing the perfidious power of racism. A common definition of racism is the belief that "race is the primary determinant of traits and abilitieshuman beings and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. “Racism is the unequal treatment of a population group solely because of their possession of physical or other characteristics socially defined as denoting a particular race” (Sociology Oxford Dictionary, 2005). Particular attention is paid to the words “socially defined”. Because racism is not a natural phenomenon, as some might believe, and it does not always exist to the same extent for the same reasons. Racism exists when people create and enable it. This can vary between countries, between different nations and within different societies. In the text, Selvon strategically set up scenarios that display racism, in a way that reflects the era in which the text was written. Given that it was written at a time when it pointedly exposed the plight of black immigrants in London. One of the scenarios that shows evidence of racism is the scene where a little girl shouted "Mommy, look at that black man!" referring to Sir Galahad. This shows how segregated this society is, because if there had been regular cohabitation between whites and blacks in the same community, the girl would not have been so inclined to emphasize the color of her skin. Accordingly, the mother responded by telling her that she should not say that; trying to address her child's behavior. Galahad excused the incident and said that she was such a nice child, causing the mother to react by displaying a sort of sick smile, implying that she was disgusted by the exchange. She was particularly conscious of those around her and didn't want anyone to see her with a black man. This racial discrimination portrays Galahad as unpleasant and unworthy. He is prejudiced based on the color of his skin and is never given the opportunity to correct these negative premonitions of his character. Combined with the act of racism and the splitting of the self, the question of self-acceptance arises throughout the text. Because Galahad is unable to understand the concept of racism, he tries to distance himself from the color of his skin. Black being a major part of his identity. Galahad is a Trinidadian, and one of the Trinidadians' most prized possessions is their dark, sun-kissed skin. This skin which represents their origin and creates links with their history. Black Trinidadians are a “creation” of Europeans who destroyed Native Americans during the colonial period. In fact, their existence is historically marked by violence, slavery and destruction; that's who they are. This is Galahad. Yet he so easily despises his skin because of the mistreatment it has inflicted on him while forgetting that this darkness is what symbolizes the struggle his people have had to face throughout history. This color being precisely what allows him to be part of a communion, that is to say between him and Moses and the other men mentioned in the text. He blames color as if it can take responsibility for its own actions. Without realizing that the same speaking with such passion is part of him, it is part of his identity, part of what identifies him as being from the Caribbean, as part of the brotherhood that exists between him and Moses and the other men mention in the text. The color is him and he is this color. Therefore, they are both equally responsible for each other. In a society where racism is so prevalent, it is much wiser for Galahad to try to win on his own merits rather than focusing on his color. Instead of trying to find a problem in itself to.