Immigration In White Teeth Thesis

“The people in White Teeth are immigrants” (“An Interview With Zadie Smith”). Before introducing the topic of this paper it is important to understand a few terms and the history behind the novel White Teeth. Said herself; Zadie Smith claims that the characters in White Teeth are immigrants. With the topic of immigration comes the idea of assimilation, which is the “process by which a person or a group 's language and, or culture come to resemble those of another group” (PowerPoint). Characters in this book are from all over the world (Jamaica, England, Bengal) and while set in England all characters must in some way assimilate to the culture of the people around them. This book explores the history of colonization of India and its surrounding …show more content…
The most notable and the one discussed in this paper is one considering the Chalfens. Irie, being a young girl facing even then unattainable beauty standards, has an identity crisis. She sees herself as something undesirable by both Millat and the rest of the people around her. Before looking at the scene at the Chalfen home, it is helpful to look at her infatuation with Millat. Growing up Millat, Irie grows to have “feelings” for him, but ultimately knows that “…she was different…” (Smith 225). This relationship between Irie and Millat can go overlooked because they did grow up together and because they have known each other for so long that differences like their culture and religion are not a big deal. However this want, and infatuation with the ‘other’ shaped Irie’s feelings toward herself and toward others. The scene this portion will consider most important to Irie’s liminal state is the one within chapter 12. This makes it clear that Irie does not have the same root structure that the male characters have. Her fear of telling her parents about the Chalfens is not for any reason but the fact that she wanted to “…merge with them…” (Smith 272). Unlike Alsana, Irie does not have a fear of her or her future offspring merging with a culture unlike her own. While she had not “…intended to mate with the Chalfens…but the instincts were the same” (Smith …show more content…
The female characters like Alsana and Irie, struggle to find their place within society and within the groups, they are a part of. For Alsana it’s a primary focus on her children and in what culture they will grow up in, and how they may be influenced by outside cultures, thus determining which culture she herself belongs to. Irie lacks a sense of where she should belong. Not having a real sense of identity within her roots makes for confusion to which she belongs with. Interesting enough both of the female characters discussed in this paper are directly related in some capacity to the male characters in which they are compared to. This may have been intentional to create a balance within the novel between knowing their roots and identifying with them, and being stuck somewhere in the