Summary
The book picks up with Galahad's date. After the movie, he and Daisy go to a nice restaurant and drink a bottle of wine. Galahad invites Daisy back to his apartment, but feels nervous about showing her his small, basement room. They go back to his apartment and he makes Daisy some tea. They sit on his bed and talk about work for a little while. They end up sleeping together. The next day, Galahad tells Moses about it. Moses thinks to himself that this is not the first time he's heard a story like this, but pretends to be surprised.
The next section is about another of Moses's friends by the name of Big City. He grew up in an orphanage in Trinidad. When he grows up, he joins the army. He gets his nickname because he is always telling people that he doesn't want a "small time" village life but instead wants to be in a big city. After fighting in a war, Big City travels around on a ship. Eventually he stops in London and decides to stay there. Later, he buys a car, much to everyone's surprise and jealousy, but then gets in an accident. He complains bitterly to Moses about it, saying it will cost him a great deal of money to resolve the matter.
The narrator also says that Big City has a fondness for gambling, but frequently fills out the forms wrong. He bets on various soccer matches and constantly tells Moses he expects to win a great deal of money. Moses tries to show him how to complete the form correctly. He changes the team he bets on on several different occasions to no avail. He still says that when he wins, he will spend all of the money on travel and will go to another large city, like Paris or Brussels. Moses continues to try to dissuade him, although he too fantasizes about winning money from gambling.
The narrator adds that Big City has no clear employment but somehow always has money. Later, Galahad meets Big City. There is a large crowd of people talking about racism in London. Big City and Moses try to get Galahad to speak in front of the crowd, goading him incessantly. Galahad gets up to speak but Big City starts saying he can't hear him. Feeling mocked, Galahad stops trying to talk and charges at Big City. From that day on, Galahad treats Big City like an enemy. The narrator ends by noting that Big City frequently lies or exaggerates the details of his life, claiming to date wealthy women and attend fancy parties.
The section that follows is told in a stream-of-consciousness style, with associative, poetic language and no punctuation. The narrator describes London in the summertime, observing the beauty of its people and parks. City life takes on a different quality as the temperature rises. Moses encounters a woman in the park and they begin talking. He asks her to get a drink with him and she does. Then she comes back to his apartment and he becomes alarmed when she appears to have a seizure. Moses hears Daniel outside and asks for his help. When Daniel comes in, the woman has collected herself. Moses says what happened would have shocked him if he'd seen it.
Moses talks to Galahad about women and tries to tell him about the best way to ask them out. The narrator then describes various sexual encounters Moses has had in the park before noting that many things happen in the park that most Londoners would be scandalized by. Later Moses meets a woman at the train station and they flirt. The narrator says that, for men like Moses and Galahad, English women want them to conform to their preconceived stereotypes. They note that this objectification of Black men happens often in London. The narrator ends the section by mentioning that Moses watches summers like this go by and wonders what life is all about.
The narrator goes on to describe Five Past Twelve, a friend of Moses. He is from Barbados. He dates a number of women and often asks people like Moses for money. Additionally, he is very fond of parties. One of his friends, Harris, frequently organizes parties and ends up being embarrassed by Five's brash behavior. Harris is described as being very formal and serious. He wants very badly to assimilate into English society. He hosts a Saturday night party at St. Pancras Hall. Things quickly get out of hand, Five is involved in an altercation, Tanty cuts into Harris's dance with a young woman, and people drink heavily.
Analysis
Money is a primary theme in this part of the book. Big City's story reflects yet another way that characters can earn money, and the potential drawbacks of this method. Big City is drawn by the allure of flashy things and looks for the quickest ways to get them. He tries to encourage Moses to gamble on soccer matches, as this has the potential, however slim, to have a huge payoff. Moses ignores this suggestion, as he watches Big City lose over and over again, but finds himself still attracted to the possibility of a big win. In this particular moment, Selvon is able to reveal how these gambling ventures lure people in with the small probability of a huge score. He observes how they prey particularly on people like Moses and Big City, who are frustrated with their circumstances and dream of suddenly making a leap out of living precariously.
Race and sexuality are also prominent themes in this part of the book. The stream-of-consciousness describes a number of sexual encounters between Black and white people. The narrator notes that frequently these moments involve some degree of objectification. They remark that white women want men like Moses and Galahad to act like stereotypes. They don't want them to show any knowledge about Britain or speak with a posh accent. In these unsettling instances, these women only want them to be part of their fantastical image of West Indian men, reducing them to offensive caricatures. It is a disturbing part of the book that reveals how racism manages to creep into even this extremely personal and intimate context.
City life also plays a significant role in these pages. Selvon shows how London becomes radically different in the summertime, as people begin to loosen up in the warm weather. Unencumbered by the foggy chill of winter, Londoners, both Black and white, spend most of their days outdoors, having picnics and going for walks in the park. Moses and Galahad enjoy this transition immensely, as it becomes a chance to get out of the house and potentially spark romance. By offering this sharply contrasting portrait of London, Selvon once again demonstrates its complexities, as a place that initially appeared so dreary in the depths of winter suddenly seems to come alive.
Immigration is also central to this part of the novel. The characters Harris and Five offer two contrasting examples of immigrant life. Harris is concerned with assimilation. He has adapted to English society and tried to closely reproduce English manners and dress. For this reason, he is constantly anxious about his friends making a scene at one of his parties. Five has no concerns about assimilating and is only looking for a good time. He frequently tells stories about Trinidad, much to Harris's indignation. The book never seems to completely side with either character. Harris is relatively kind, but is in a constant state of worry and seems disconnected from the culture of his homeland. Five doesn't struggle with this disconnect, but is unreliable and unpredictable. Instead, these characters show what happens when one concedes everything and nothing, respectively, to appease the social norms of their new country.
As the book approaches its conclusion, Selvon portrays a different side of London. With summer in the air, the characters are now free to explore Hyde Park and attend raucous parties. This shift in mood gives Selvon the chance to examine London's culture in new contexts. He makes scathing critiques about the role race plays in the dating world, as the Black characters are often treated as objectified stereotypes. At the same time, he depicts the cultural divide present at a summer celebration, as Harris struggles to make a good impression on wealthy Londoners but is vexed by the boisterous behavior of his friends. As the previous parts dealt with arrival and transition, this section shows the characters seemingly settled in their ways.
