Analysis

In what follows, is a summary of what we wrote about in the analysis of “Salaam Brick Lane” by Tarquin Hall.

An interesting element of the excerpt’s structure is the introduction of several passages from Jack London’s book “The People of the Abyss”, which is about life in the East End of London in 1902: “The streets were filled with a new and different race of people, short of stature, and of wretched or beer-sodden appearance, wrote Jack London of his first impressions” (p. 82, ll . 42-44).

The main characters in the text are the narrator and Abdul-Haq. However, we recommend you also pay attention to the collective character represented by the people in the East End, as they are presented by both Jack London in 1902, and by the narrator and Abdul-Haq in the present day.

The social setting is intertwined with the physical setting, as the text focuses on the differences between the West and the East, more specifically on the rich and the poor.

The author is also the narrator of the story; the first-person narrator is visible through the multiple uses of the personal pronoun “I”, like in the following examples: “I had been living away from England” (p. 80, l. 1), “I was also broke” (p. 80, l. 17), “I reached Whitechapel” (p. 81, l. 41), etc.

The language employed by Tarquin Hall in the excerpt from the story is easy to understand. For example, metaphors and imagery add to the atmosphere created in the text.

To understand the text better, read our full analysis in the next pages!