Cultural differences play a huge role in the modern society. Religion, belief, social norms, heritage, economy, and perceptions. The list of terms used to depict the cultural differences between nations is endless. History shows us that as time goes by, we humans tend to change, and with change comes new ideas. This is a natural part of life, but what do we as individuals have in common. How do these cultural differences separate us from one another? The short story ‘Flotsam and Jetsam’, by the Scottish author Alan Bisset, tells us of a Scottish woman visiting the East African country of Zanzibar. As she walks in the streets and visits the beaches, her experiences show us how different people actually can be.
The short story is about a Scottish woman named Kate who is on holiday in the African country Zanzibar after she has been laid off because of government cuts in the UK. The story starts in medias res, which is a typical device used by many authors to establish an early connection to the reader: ‘The sails of the dhows waved on the horizon, a lazy flotilla of canvas sharkfins. Kate shielded her eyes to gaze at them.’ Furthermore, the narration techniques used in the short story is a combination of both stream of consciousness and backstory. When on vacation, one would assume that the ultimate goal is to relax, enjoy the weather, eat some nice food and so on and so forth – however, the locals on Zanzibar, who intensely try to sell our main protagonist snorkelling trips, constantly irritate Kate, which makes her visit a restaurant in an attempt to wave them off. This is a clear example of rising action, which is used to intensify or dramatize a story. Kate is furthermore a classic round character. We can deduce this by the many insights and descriptions she gives us.
The short story has a couple of different characters, however, Mustapha and Kate are the only ones who properly interact with each other. Kate is not portrayed physically. We only know that she is a Scottish woman who is disappointed at life in Britain and is in search of an adventure. She is an idealist person and initially only sees the beauty of Zanzibar: ‘Kate shielded her eyes to gaze at them, the boats conjuring scenes from the fantasy novels of her youth. She had to remind herself that these were mere fishing boats.’ As she sees more of the country she becomes aware of the poverty and corruption existing in the East African country: ‘My god, thought Kate, he thinks these are decent living standards? She considered imparting her view of the shanty towns, of the crumbling roads, of the chaotic airport.’ She is also ashamed of being treated like a rich person in Zanzibar, as she does not see herself in that way: ‘I feel a bit guilty. As though I’ve floated in like this rich Westerner, even though I’m not’. Kate seems as an average tourist and person. This is based on her missing knowledge of the island’s political background and history. She represents the typical westerner visiting a ‘foreign’ society. Mustapha, on the other hand, is very different from Kate. Mustapha is the owner of a local restaurant. He initially appears to be a reasonable and polite man, helping Kate to avoid other boat trip sellers: ‘the owner would growl at them in Kiswahili and they’d troop moodily away. He bowed his head to Kate and she gave him the thumbs up.’ He is curious about Scotland and Britain but appears to have very little knowledge about the countries. He is a simple, uneducated man with poor English: ‘Scotland!’ he said, clapping hands together, ‘that is in Ireland, yes?’ The interesting thing about Mustapha is that he has different perceptions of poverty compared to Kate. While Kate sees the country as poor, Mustapha believes Zanzibar is rich. Kate measures the wealth of the country on the political situation and on money in general, where as Mustapha builds it on natural resources, culture, and tourism. In the end, even Mustapha offers a boat trip to Kate, suggesting that he is the same as the other local people, even though he initially appeared different: ‘He tapped at the leaflet with his forefinger and grinned at Kate. ‘My cousin run snorkelling tour. Very good price. You like?’
When talking about themes, the short story ‘Flotsam and Jetsam’ isn’t packed with various themes or underlying messages. In my opinion, the first and foremost theme is ‘clash of cultures’. Kate constantly compares herself with the locals, and Britain with Zanzibar. As she discovers new things or meets new people, she reflects upon it through a comparison with her own society and norms: ‘My god, thought Kate, he thinks these are decent living standards? She considered imparting her view of the shanty towns, of the crumbling roads, of the chaotic airport where she’d had to pay a bribe to receive her luggage. Not even the lowest paid people in Europe live like this. But she wondered if he might find it insulting, and held her tongue.’ This passage furthermore shows us that Kate’s behavior differs from that of the locals. She is more withholding and reserved, where the locals are more straightforward and open. Both Mustapha and the first man selling boat trips ask Kate questions about Britain and Scotland. One of the more eye-catching and humorous examples of the theme is where Kate and Mustapha talk politics. Kate sees the political situation in Scotland as very bad and gloomy, with a combination of bad politics and economy. This idea of a bad society is completely nullified when Mustapha describes the political situation in Zanzibar: ‘Zanzibar has not poverty. Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Malawi, very poor, yes. But not Zanzibar. We have tourist. We are island. We have clean water, lots of seafood, jobs, hotels, spices. Trade.’ The cultural differences in this part of the short story are made clear through the perception of a well-functioning nation. The setting equally describes the theme. The protagonist is in an unfamiliar place that she discovers step by step and which is very different from the city of Glasgow, the hometown of the protagonist. Overall, we can say that the setting is contradictory. On one hand, it looks like a natural paradise, on the other; it is full of ragged, poor places. The same goes for the atmosphere. The serenity of the landscape is contradicted by the locals’ insistence when selling Kate boat trips. Kate sees her own government as bad, due to the economic cuts, but Mustapha sees his country as great. Why wouldn’t it be? They have fresh water, lots of seafood and tourist. The title of this short story plays a vital role in the understanding of the text. For many short stories, the title is one of the most important aspects, and can be used to either connect endings or describe the message. This title is no exception. Flotsam and jetsam are Anglo French or old English words and they describe something that is unnecessary, useless or unimportant. In the context of the short story ‘Flotsam and Jetsam’, the title refers to ‘clash of cultures’. It is most striking in the way that Kate describes and compares Zanzibar to Scotland. We almost get the idea that Zanzibar is a fallen country, which should not be visited by westerners. A place where Europeans does not belong.