The Intended

David Dabydeen's novel, The Intended, is clearly autobiographical.  Dabydeen examines how immigrants from British colonies often led a messy life once they come to the 'motherland'.  They are not fully accepted into English society and are forced to live on the fringe of society. The idea that in Britain "everyone who is not White is Black" flows though the work. The boys in the novel unite in to a family.  They do not always get along but they rely on each other for support.  The narrator's school friends, Nasim, Shaz, and Patel are described as "the regrouping of the Asian diaspora in a South London schoolyard".  It is clear that the boys struggle to determine their identity.  This struggle at such an impressionable age would greatly effect an individual.  Dabydeen representation of each of the boys struggles shows how people who identify each other often express their feelings and struggle differently. 

The following charts highlight the ethnicity of the English and how its changing

2007 ethnicity of the English population

The change in England's ethnic minority population (2001 - 2007)