Identity, culture, and history are three elements which shape Marshall's second novel, The Chosen Place, The Timeless People (1969). It is set in the Bournehills area of Bourne Island, an imaginary island in the Caribbean that serves as a metaphor for the Third World. The inhabitants of Bournehills are largely uneducated, poor, and the descendants of slaves. But they are proud of their past and their independence, which was secured by an uprising led by Cuffee Ned. Bournehills remains poor, undeveloped, and seemingly frozen in time.

Various economic development projects have experimented with ways to "bring the people into the twentieth century," but these efforts invariably fail. These efforts to transform Bournehills symbolize the intrusion of the Western world, namely the U.S., which seeks to impose its own standards, ideals, and will on the inhabitants.

They operate by throwing money at the "problem" with little regard...