The Sun Will Set On The British Empire

~12 min read

Note 02/25/2026: I wrote this essay for a class back in CC. I think this essay is good, and I am especially liked my hook. For what it’s worth, the agreement between the UK and Mauritius did occur, though at a later date, May 22nd 2025.

On Friday March 21, 2025, at 02:50 UTC, the Sun will set on the British Empire for the first time in 200 years. Despite relinquishing a majority of its major land ownership over the past 250 years—particularly in the last 80 years post WWII—the British still held enough territory to span the Earth so that at any time, some small shard of soil was covered by sunlight. That is until March 21, about a month away from the time of writing this paper, when it will finally set due to a rare purported changing of ownership for Britain’s East-most territory: The Chagos Archipelago. The land, which is being used as a military base for American Soldiers, will soon be given back to Mauritius, whom the land was separated from in 1965 prior to its independence in 1968. While this might seem like a technicality, due to the lack of permanent citizens in outlying territories, it goes to show that even when the British Empire is the weakest it’s been territory-wise in a quarter of a millennia, it still has influence reaching across the entire globe. This modern nation is only an echo of a once grand Empire—for better or worse—which undoubtedly tainted the lives of millions of individuals across a rapidly evolving world. The experience of the late British Empire into the modern day is perhaps best expressed through the writings of Claude McKay and Jean Rhys. Both McKay and Rhys were offspring of the Empire, though one was better placed on the side of the colonizer and one on the side of the colonized. Born in 1889 and 1890 respectively, their stories are windows into the unfulfilled promises, isolation, and myth of colonial idealism. However their similarities end here. While both argued the same themes, their methods of doing so vary. Their perspectives influence not only their subject, writing style, and narration, but also the credibility of their knowledge, and social status. Jean Rhys, a white creole writer born in Dominica of the then British Caribbean, wrote “The Day They Burned The Books,” (1968) a short excerpt from her longer work “Tigers Are Better Looking,” (1968). It follows a white Anglo-Dominican girl—much like the author—and her friend Eddie who is of mixed race as they interact with Eddie’s Mother and Father. Claude McKay, a Jamaica-born Black writer and activist, lived through an expanse of worlds, from Late 19th century Jamaican Colonialism, to the Harlem Renaissance, to Communism in the Soviet Union. Yet his poem “Old England,” (1912) shows us a young and poor McKay living in Jamaica as a policeman. In it he romanticizes and reveres England, showing the influence a British colonial education system had on colonized peoples in shaping their identity. Both writers use their contrasting differences and narrative focus on identity to expose the false hope and fraudulent image of the British Colonial Empire.

When one reads Claude McKay’s “Old England”, the first thing that stands out is the dialect. The whole thing is written in Jamaican English, and he takes special care to showcase the speaking style and vocabulary of native Jamaicans. He exchanges certain words for terms used by Jamaicans, such as t’o’t for ‘thought’, and ‘steamer’ for steamboat (McKay, 2-4). Not only does he modify a few select words, but his writing adheres to a ‘phonetic’ style over a purely grammatical one, showing a resemblance to the pronunciation of Jamaican English, particularly by a lower class colonial subject. For example, McKay writes, “I’d go to de City Temple, where de old fait’ is a wreck. An’ de parson is a-preachin’ views dat most folks will not tek;” (McKay, 13-14). While this is understandable for an English speaker, the spelling is abnormal and the grammar is sometimes incorrect. This helps place the reader in the cultural context of the text. McKay portrays not a wealthy, white, colonial individual, but a native black Jamaican under the British Empire. He was heavily affected by racial discrimination, class division, and improper education in a time where Jamaica’s economy was still partially composed of plantations. Despite this subjugation, there is a dramatic irony in the opinions of the speaker, who notably represent McKay’s own early opinions on England and colonial rule. In the opening lines, McKay writes, “I’ve a longin’ in me dept’s of heart dat I can conquer not, ‘Tis a wish dat I’ve been havin’ from since I could form a t’ot’… …Just to view de homeland England, in de streets of London walk,” (McKay, 1-5). We’re immediately presented with the wishes of a native Jamaican to visit England. The language used shows the intensity with which he wants to go to England, stating that he’s had these thoughts nearly his whole life, and that he views England as “the fatherland”. The choice of fatherland here is crucial to McKay’s argument. A fatherland is meant to indicate an origin of significance, usually of a culture, a people, a language, etc. To Jamaica, England offers nothing in the way of cultural infusion. Instead, it actively worked to assimilate the local people into British culture and to disregard their own culture and history. This was done through the poor education system imposed by the British at the time, which is portrayed through the style of dialogue.

Despite England offering no cultural heritage, the speaker still discusses the sights he wishes to see in mainland England. His writing is detached, emphasizing his outsider status; It’s as if a British citizen were to write a poem about the wonders of China: its cultural systems, its landmarks, its language, without having been to China. And while the locations are explicit to England, it is clear from the dialogue that McKay is writing from the perspective of an outsider. Concerning London, he says he wishes to, “see de famous sights dem ‘bouten which dere’s so much talk”. Later he continues, “I would ope me mout’ wid wonder at de massive organ soun’, An’ would ‘train me eyes to see de beauty lyin’ all aroun’” (McKay, 6-12). His writing is reminiscent of an individual unfamiliar with his subject. His knowledge appears to consist of rumors and beliefs passed down by their British education, which seeks to portray England as a land of wonder, intellectualism, and beauty. Never in the poem is there any mention of Jamaica or its culture, accomplishments, or beauty, showing the cultural detachment of natives under colonial rule. We only get a glimpse of Jamaica at the very end in an ironic twist, where McKay revels that none of this relates to the speaker personally, showing the absurdity of his beliefs. He writes, “[After I visit] I’ll rest glad an’ contented in me min for evermore, When I shall sail across de ocean back to my own native shore.” (Rhys, 27-28). What is perhaps most compelling about “Old England” is that at the time of writing, the sentiment of the story was entirely genuine. McKay not only expressed but embodied the ideas of a colonized Jamaican who upheld the same ideals that subjected him. It would be years later, after Claude McKay became an activist in the Harlem Renaissance and his beliefs changed, for the full dramatic irony of the text to be actualized.

Unlike McKay, Jean Rhys is not so explicit in her perspective as the main character. Instead, the main character of her story “The Day They Burned The Books”, is a white creole girl whose story somewhat mirrors Rhy’s own upbringing and experiences on the Caribbean Island of Dominica to a creole family. Her father was a white welshman, and her mother was a white creole mother. Thus while she was raised in a predominantly black community, she was somewhat lost, ostracized from both social and intellectual isolation that would continue until she moved to England for schooling in 1907. Characterization is an important technique used by Rhys to convey the state of affairs in the British Caribbean colonies of the late 19th century. Despite the perspective of the story, the main focus of the story is perhaps better attributed to Eddie, a meek mixed-race child who is the main character’s friend. His upbringing is particularly confusing, being the son of Mr. Sawyer, an almost archetypal English setter, and Mrs. Sawyer, a quiet but later fierce creole woman. Rhys uses the Mr. and Mrs. relationship as a metaphor for Britain’s relationship to the Caribbean colonies. The dynamic is one of disrespect and discrimination. Rhys writes, “When Mr. Sawyer was drunk—this often happened—he used to be very rude to her. She never answered him. ‘Look at the n***** showing off,’ he would say; and she would smile as if she knew she ought to see the joke but couldn’t. ‘You damned, long-eyed, gloomy half-caste, you don’t smell right,’ he would say; and she never answered, not even to whisper, ‘You don’t smell right to me, either.’ (Rhys, 1-2). Rhys’ choice of language was probably not hard to choose. It was likely inspired by real remarks and real verbal abuse Jean Rhys witnessed firsthand. Mr. Sawyer is portrayed as an arrogant, racist individual. He berates his wife, calls her slurs, and accuses her of uncleanliness and inferiority. To modern ears Mr. Sawyer might appear comically racist, but this speech is an apt metaphor for the real state of colonial behaviors. Mrs. Sawyer’s inaction and perhaps silent disapproval is representative of the behaviors of native people, who were powerless in some cases to colonial rule, and even to their own spouses.

The story continues to describe the interactions of Eddie and the girl. Eddie is described as being in the middle of a crossroads between cultures, not fully accepted by the settler or colonized class. Rhys shows through the impact on the speaker that Eddie, like his mother, occupies a liminal space of alienation. In one direction he has his British roots, which are idolized by the children similarly to the way England is idolized in McKay’s “Old England”. In the other direction he has his local roots which he shares with his mother. His handling of the matter affects the other children. Rhys writes, “It was Eddie with the pale blue eyes and straw-coloured hair—the living image of his father, though often as silent as his mother—who first infected me with doubts about ‘home’, meaning England.” (Rhys, 2). Additionally, Eddie dislikes daffodils and strawberries, which are loved by his father and associated with the English. Rhys showcases Eddie’s opinions to explore his sense of identity—and the identity of many colonized individuals who connected with multiple cultures and likewise never perfectly fit in anywhere.

The story reaches its climax when Mr. Sawyer suddenly dies. After his death and the funeral, Mrs. Sawyer’s personality changes. Instead of the mild, passive character she previously was, she suddenly becomes angry and resentful of her late husband and his identity. Mr. Sawyer’s book collection, which is stated to hold the poetry of famous British poets such as Byron, Milton, and Rossetti alongside Encyclopedias and History Books, stands as a monument to the British identity. Mrs. Sawyer begins ripping up, selling, and burning the books. During this process, Rhys describes her as, “beautiful, too—beautiful as the sky outside which was a very dark blue, or in the mango tree, long sprays of brown and gold.” (Rhys, 4). This description, unshackled from her English identity, portrays her as actively beautiful and reminiscent of the local environment. This contrasts heavily with her description from her husband, where she is stated as being “very pretty once but, what with one thing and another, that was in days gone by”. Here we can see Rhys’ argument on the effects of British colonialism. While the children are influenced by their education and their culture to revere England, Colonialism offers them nothing but subjugation, false promises, and stripped identities. Due to his mother’s actions, Eddie is further confused in his identity. While he does not blindly believe in the supremacy of British rule like the other children, he does identify with the knowledge of his fathers books. Angered, he pushes his mother down and steals a book. The girl, likewise, takes a book from the clutches of destruction. Eddie’s mother laughs, and responds, “Now I’ve got to hate you too. Now I hate you too” (Rhys 4). The dialogue of the characters exemplifies the struggles of both characters—Eddie and his mom—in trying to secure their identity. Even though both are negatively affected by colonial rule, they nevertheless become outsiders even to each other.

Lastly, there is symbolism in the books secured by both the girl and Eddie. Each book is highly symbolic of the identity imparted onto each character by their exposure to colonial rule. “What’s your book?’ She asks him, “It’s Kim,’ he said. ‘But it got torn. It starts at page twenty now. What’s the one you took?”. She does not have an answer, but later recalls, “I was very disappointed, because it was in French and seemed dull. Fort Comme La Mort, it was called…” (Rhys, 5). The differences in books are highly representative of the paths of the character. Fort Comme La Mort is a French romantic novel, about an artist living in France who struggles with creativity while falling in love with a woman. This book is symbolic of her colonial inheritance, which to her is passive, dull, and unfulfilling. Like Eddie’s book and his search for identity, she expects to embrace the book as a part of her cultural identity. Instead, it represents a path in a society that doesn’t completely reject her like it does for Eddie. Kim, on the other hand, is a famous imperialist adventure novel following an Indian-Irish boy who has to navigate the two cultural worlds of British-ruled India. The book is portrayed through a British lens, but it relates to Eddie’s mixed heritage and identity. Kim is about finding an identity, something that mirrors Eddie’s own search for identity in a collapsing colonial system. The lack of the first twenty pages also suggests that Eddie’s path may not be entirely complete, and that he is forced to walk his own path. Rhys is masterful in her use of symbolism in portraying the effects of colonial rule on disturbing the identity of all the people caught up in its influence.

Jean Rhys and Claude McKay were born a year apart within British Caribbean colonies. And through their unique perspectives, choice of dialogue, and symbolism they portrayed the effects of colonialism on individuals under its influence. McKay’s story represents a longing for an identity that doesn’t truly exist, while Rhys’s represents the confusion of having no identity. Both writers would eventually find their identities. McKay would stay close to his heritage and fight to dismantle colonial and unjust ideals, and Rhys would eventually find connection late in life in England, though always identifying with her Caribbean roots. Nevertheless both writers dealt with themes of identity, systematic cultural subjection, and power. Their efforts to reassert identity and dismantle colonial systems that continue into the modern day. And perhaps in a few weeks, for the first time in 200 years, the Sun will finally set on the British Empire.

Works Cited

Rhys, Jean. Tigers Are Better-Looking: With a Selection from The Left Bank. W.W. Norton & Company, 1968.

McKay, Claude. Songs of Jamaica. Aston W. Gardner & Co., 1912.