Zadie Smith’s “White Teeth”: Identity, Structured trauma and Double alienation
Keywords:
nationality, racism, structured trauma, identity, double alienation, British identity, postcolonial and Marxist theories.Abstract
The paper analyzes White Teeth (2000) by Zadie Smith as a critical
investigation of nationality, racism, and diversity in modern-day Britain. It argues that the
novel examines postcolonial and British identity politics through the unique experiences of
its immigrant protagonists. The first part of the analysis is on Irie Jones's life path, showing
how her shift from assimilationist aspirations to self-acceptance challenges the idea of
"structured trauma" and promotes a culturally unique definition of identity. The article then
explores the Iqbal family's battles with "double alienation," a conceptual synthesis of
postcolonial and Marxist theories, describing the ways in which Samad Iqbal and his sons,
Millat and Magid, use a variety of inward and outward coping strategies to deal with their
alienation in the colonial center. In this study White Teeth is concluded by offering a
reflection on the shortcomings of liberal multiculturalism and the enduring effects of
racism, class, and colonialism on people's lives in Britain.
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