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„Loose change“

The short story - „Loose Change“

The short story “Loose change” written by Andrea Levy published in 2005 tells the story of a female narrator, who meets Laylor, an unusual looking girl in the National portrait Gallery, as she is the only one who offers the narrator some change for a much-needed tampon.

Plot

The narrator, who is a Londoner, visit the National Portrait Gallery. Unexpected she got her period unprepared two Days earlier. After she recognized that she has no loose change. She asks in the restroom for some change. But typically all Londoners left the room, just one person stayed. It was Laylor, a young woman from Uzbekistan. She took a whole handful of coins and would even give them all to her. But the narrator just nodded 3 coins. As the narrator later learned it was the last money Laylor had. Laylor does not expect the narrator to come back with the change, so she left. The narrator finds her in front of the portrait of Darcey Bussell and soon they both find themselves in a conversation about art. The narrator looks pretty closely on Laylors features and recognized “ the most spectacular eyebrows”(line 14) or “ her black eyes and round face”(line 21) And she didn’t really recognized how she was starring at Laylor. Further in the story the narrator buys both of them a cup of tea, to give Laylor her money back. But even their Laylor wanted to pay for herself. But the narrator insisted on paying. After getting the two cups of tea, they take a seat in a café and started taking.In the course of the conversation the narrator learns more and more about Laylor’s story. But suddenly Laylor’s brother appears to ask for some money and to get to know where they are going to sleep that night. But as quickly he appears he disappears again. Laylor tells the narrator that she is homeless. Suddenly the narrator notices dirt under Laylor’s “chipped fingernails” (line 122), her “crumpled and unironed” blouse (line 122 -123) that must have “been cut with blunt nail clippers (line 123-124) therefore the narrator feels nervous and uncomfortable. The narrator gets lost in her thoughts and things about Laylor and how or whether she should help her at all. She remembered her grandmother who was in the same situation as Laylor when her grandmother came to England, she was homeless too. A stranger took her and offered her a warm bed which kept her alive at that time. Now it was the narrators turn to provide Laylor and her brother with a warm bed for at least one night however she decides against it and leaves her behind and simply leaves at least the café.[1]

Characters

The story revolves around two main characters. The narrator is an unknown middle-class British woman who lives a relatively comfortable life in London. She’s a single mom with a young son. She was at a museum at the beginning of the story, symbolising her detached, introspective lifestyle. Her personality is introspective, selfish and often conflicted. While she initially appears kind and willing to help Laylor, her actions reveal a hesitance to engage deeply with the realities of other’s suffering. She also sees herself as the victim in that situation. She asks herself the question:”But why me? Why pick on a single mother with a young son?”(line 154-155) The narrators internal struggle drives much of the story. Through the first-person perspective, the reader just get to know about the narrators feelings and thoughts. She represents the broader societal challenges of confronting privilege and extending meaningful compassion of those need. Her ambivalence and helping Laylor highlights her internal biases and her reluctance to step out of her comfort zone. She is in a moral dilemma and doesn’t see a way out. On the one hand she would help a person, who helped her too, and who is also in an extremely difficult situation. And since there had been such a case in her family, she should help her all the more. Because if no one had helped her grandmother back then, she wouldn’t be alive. But on the other hand she doesn’t want to let strangers into her house, since she has a small child at home, that she wants to protect. You never know if people are up to no good.[2][3]

The other main character is Laylor. Laylor is a young immigrant from Uzbekistan who recently arrived in London as a refugee with her brother. This country was like a safe place. Their parents “were arrested” (line 135-136) “their friends acquired passport for them and put them on the plane” (line 137-138). They have only been there for three days and had absolutely nothing. Despite this she gives a stranger her last coins. This shows how good hearted Laylor is and that the people who have the least give the most, without asking for anything in return.That is also what makes her stand out the most in the story. Since the parents “were journalists”(line 136), it can be assumed that they didn’t live badly in Uzbekistan. Nevertheless she gets by without the affluent life and even helps other people, which shows that she has a very strong personality and believes in herself that she can get back on her feet without outside help, for which she even puts up with sleeping on the street. Because nowadays there are enough facilities where you can get help.[4]

Relationship

The relationship between the narrator and Laylor is initially marked by curiosity and empathy but ultimately becomes emotionally distant. At first, the narrator feels sympathy for Laylor, a refugee from Uzbekistan, and is drawn to her tragic story. Laylor is open and shares her difficult past, creating a superficial connection, especially as the narrator sees parallels to her own family’s immigrant history. However, as their conversation continues, the narrator becomes more aware of the big contrast between their lives.

It is also defined by an imbalance of power: the narrator is in a privileged position and has the choice of whether or not to help Laylor, who is entirely dependent on the kindness of others. Despite feeling empathy, the narrator hesitates to get further involved and justifies her reluctance. In the end, she chooses to leave Laylor alone in the café, which leaves her with a sense of guilt and self-reflection about her failure to act.[5]

Minor Characters

Minor characters are Laylor’s brother and the narrator’s grandmother. You don’t learn much about the brother. He only appears briefly at the café to ask where they’re going to sleep this night and to ask for some money after he tries to take all the coins she she slaps his hand away, but it’s strange that she hold out all the money to the narrator, but wouldn’t gave it to her brother. Perhaps she did expect something in return. As quickly he appears he disappeared again. The scene gives the impression that they don’t have such a good relationship and struggling to get back into life on their own. The narrator’s grandmother is just mentioned when the narrator reflects on her grandmother who was also an immigrant. This memory really briefly connect her to Laylor’s experience but remains a distant intellectual connection rated and a deeply emotional one.

Settings

The settings of loose change place a significant role in shaping the story’s atmosphere and themes. The story takes place in London, a bustling, multicultural metropolis. This setting highlights the sharp contrast between the narrator’s comfortable life and Laylor’s struggles as a refugee. The city’s busy, impersonal nature underscores, the narrator’s reluctance to engage deeply with Laylor’s situation.

The narrator and Laylor meet in the restroom of a museum, a place often associated with culture and history. The museum symbolise the narrator’s privileged lifestyle - she has to leisure to engage with art and history while Laylors faces immediate survival concerns and is searching for a warm place. The museum’s clean, structured environment contrast with Laylor’s situation as a refugee but also her unkempt appearance:”dirt under each of her chipped fingernails” (line 121 - 122), “the ugly gap to gap when she smiled” (line 148)

Also the café is part of the setting. Much of the interaction between narrator and Laylor takes place in this public space, which provides a neutral ground for their conversation. While the narrator and Laylor share a space ,their emotional and cultural divides remain significant. [6]

Themes & Symbols

Andrea Levy examines the intersection of privilege, cultural identity, and displacement in contemporary London. Through the encounter between the narrator, a settled immigrant, and Laylor, a homeless refugee from Uzbekistan, the story explores themes of empathy, social responsibility, and isolation. Laylor’s struggles as a refugee highlight the harsh realities of displacement, while the narrator’s reluctance to help her reflects societal indifference toward marginalized groups.

Symbols in the story, such as the titular “loose change,” represent acts of generosity and moral responsibility, contrasting with the narrator’s privileged position. The art gallery restroom, where the two meet, juxtaposes cultural privilege with basic human needs, while the café becomes a space where their social and economic differences are starkly revealed. The narrator’s brief reflection on her grandmother, also a migrant, underscores generational ties to migration, challenging her to acknowledge shared histories and confront her biases.

About the author

Andrea Levy, the author of the story, was born in 1956 in London to Jamaican parents who arrived in the UK in 1948 as part of the Windrush generation. This post - war migration shaped her understanding of cultural identity, belonging and racism in Britain, themes central to her work. Growing up as a second-generation immigrant, Levy experience the struggles of navigating to cultures. This personal conflict is mirrored in her character who often face identity dilemmas.

Although Levy's heritage differs from Laylor's Central Asian background, her sensitivity to the immigrant experience informs Laylor's characterization. Levy's exploration of the narrator's internal conflict mirrors broader societal attitudes toward refugees and immigrants in Britain. [7]

Historical & social context

To put the story into the historical and social context, the three biggest events:

1.The post- war immigration (1948 - 1970s). This generation also includes her parents. After the Second World War, Britain encouraged immigration from Commonwealth nations ( for  Example: Jamaica, India, Pakistan) to rebuild the country. Immigrants faced racism, economic hardship, and identity struggles. By 1970s, anti-immigration rhetoric was on the rise, including Enoch Powell’s infamous Rivers of Blood speech (1968). Levy’s works frequently critique the racism and exclusionary attitudes of this era.[8]

2.Rise of Multiculturalism (1980s-1990s).By the 1980s, multicultural Britain began to take shape, but tensions remained. There was greater visibility of immigrant communities, but also continued prejudice and inequality.Literature from authors like Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, and Andrea Levy began exploring identity and the immigrant experience in modern Britain.[9]

3.Refugees Crises (1990s-2000s).Global conflicts, such as the wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, led to waves of asylum seekers and refugees entering Europe.The UK saw debates over immigration policy, asylum laws, and the treatment of refugees, with many refugees being marginalized or stigmatized. These debates are central to Loose Change, which explores the interaction between a native-born woman and a refugee.[10]

Levy’s work often critiques British attitudes toward race, identity, and colonial history. Loose Change reflects how these issues intersect with global migration, revealing both solidarity and alienation between individuals from different cultural and economic backgrounds.

The creation of this story was shaped by various aspects.The story is set in a bustling city (London), yet the characters experience isolation and disconnection. This reflects the paradox of urban life, where proximity does not always lead to meaningful connections.

The big differences between the narrator's middle-class life and Laylor's precarious existence underscore the economic and social disparities in contemporary Britain.

Britain's history of colonization and its multicultural society form the subtext of Loose Change. The narrator's fleeting reflections on her immigrant grandmother suggest a complicated relationship with her own heritage, mirroring Britain's broader struggle with its post-colonial identity.

The story examines how privileged individuals (like the narrator) navigate encounters with less privileged people (like Laylor). This dynamic reflects societal attitudes toward marginalized groups in a globalized, post-colonial world.

Loose Change was written in a period when immigration was a contentious topic in the UK. The story critiques the tendency of individuals and institutions to offer superficial support to refugees without addressing deeper systemic inequalities.

The background of Loose Change-from Levy's personal experiences to the broader socio-political context of multicultural London-shapes its exploration of identity, privilege, and the immigrant experience. The story invites readers to confront their own biases and responsibilities in an increasingly interconnected yet divided world.

External Sites

[1],[4]https://knowunity.de/knows/44829365-ee57-42e7-b4ce-be64ad97bc2b?referrer=share&sid=wcpnFcd33I

[2]https://abipur.de/

[3]https://knowunity.de/knows/4f437f5a-fc96-437b-bcae-462af8ffd29d?referrer=share&sid=9ZW6iQzJEi

[5]https://knowunity.de/knows/9f51d265-37f8-4a00-a6b5-c429cbd262ec?referrer=share&sid=Lql4Ja7Wzl

[6]https://graduateway.com/analysis-of-loose-change-by-andrea-levy/

[7]https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/novelists/andrea-levy/

[8]https://search.app/f2HuyKvsoZAdcZuE7

[9]https://search.app/FQwxJQw5mVzs5axw6

[10]https://search.app/zkR7ma6LpydMJCSU8