| White Teeth | |
| Author | Zadie Smith |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Publication date | 27 January 2000 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 480 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 024113997X |
White Teeth is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view For other uses of the name Hamish Hamilton please see Hamish Hamilton (disambiguation Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Zadie Smith (born 25 October 1975 is an English Novelist. To date she has written three novels It focuses on the later lives of two wartime friends - the Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and the Englishman Archie Jones, and their families in London. ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially The book won multiple honors, including the 2000 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, the 2000 Whitbread Book Award in category best first novel,[1] the Guardian First Book Award, the Commonwealth Writers First Book Prize, and the Betty Trask Award. Founded in 1919 the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English Language and are Britain's The Costa Book Awards are among the United Kingdom 's most prestigious literary awards Guardian First Book Award issued before 1999 as Guardian Fiction Prize or Guardian Fiction Award is awarded to new writing in Fiction and Non-fiction The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, organised and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation, is a leading award for fiction that The Betty Trask Award for a first novel given by the Society of Authors to citizens of the Commonwealth under the age of 35
Contents |
Plot summary
It is New Year's Day 1975 at the beginning of the novel, and we are introduced to Archie Jones, a 47 year old man whose disturbed Italian wife has just walked out on him. Archie is attempting to commit suicide by gassing himself in his car, nonetheless, a chance interruption causes him to change his mind. Filled with a fresh enthusiasm for life, Archie flips a coin and finds his way into the aftermath of a New Year's Eve party. There he meets the much-younger Clara, a Jamaican girl whose mother is a devout Jehovah's Witness. Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination They are soon married to each other and have a daughter, Irie, who grows up to be intelligent but with low self-confidence.
Samad, on the other hand, who has emigrated to Britain after World War II, has married Alsana. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Alsana is also much younger than him and their union is the product of a traditional arranged marriage, instead of one based on idealistic romance or personal choice. They have twin boys, Magid and Millat, who are the same age as Irie. The marriage is quite rocky, as their devotion to Islam in an Anglican life is troublesome. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Samad is continually tormented by what he sees as the effects of this cultural conflict upon his own moral character, and sends 10 year old Magid to Bangladesh in the hope that he will grow up properly under the teachings of Islam. From then on, the lives of the two boys follow very different paths. Ironically, Magid becomes an atheist and devotes his life to science (a grave disappointment to Samad). Whereas Millat, despite his earlier womanizing and drinking, eventually becomes an angry fundamentalist, and part of a Muslim brotherhood known as the Keepers of the Eternal and Victorious Islamic Nation (or KEVIN). Fundamentalism refers to a "deep and totalistic commitment" to a belief in and strict adherence to a set of basic principles (often Religious in nature a reaction
The lives of the Jones and Iqbal families intertwine with that of the Chalfens, a Jewish-Catholic family of Oxford educated intellectuals. The father, Marcus Chalfen, is a straightforward but socially inept geneticist working on a controversial 'FutureMouse' project. Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is The mother, Joyce Chalfen, is a part time housewife with an often entirely misguided desire to mother and 'heal' Millat. Although they wish to be thought of as intellectual liberals, the Chalfens often demonstrate complete cultural ignorance and a blindness to the changes happening in their own family.
Returned from Bangladesh, Magid works as Marcus' research assistant, while Millat is also befriended by the Chalfens. To some extent the family provides a safe haven as they (believe to) accept and understand the turbulent lives of both Magid and Millat. However this sympathy comes at the expense of their own son, Josh, whose own difficulties are ignored by his parents as he too begins to rebel against his background.
The strands of the narrative grow closer as Millat and KEVIN, Josh and a radical animal rights group (FATE), and Clara's mother (Hortense) and her religious connections all begin to oppose FutureMouse as an evil interference with their own beliefs and plan to stop it. Irie, who has been working for Marcus, briefly succeeds in her long hidden attraction to Millat but is rejected under his KEVIN inspired beliefs. Irie believes that Millat cannot love her, for he has always been 'the second son' both symbolically and literally; Millat was born two minutes after Magid. After losing her virginity to Millat, she makes Magid the 'second son' for a change.
Extraordinary consequences result as the seemingly divergent stories of the main characters coalesce in a stunning finale- the unveiling of FutureMouse, the revelatory actions of the warring groups, and of a long kept secret from the past of Samad and Archie.
Major themes
The story mixes pathos and humour, all the while illustrating the dilemmas of immigrants and second-generation immigrants as they are confronted by a new, and very different, society. Pathos (ˈpeɪːθɒs ( πάθος) is one of the three Modes of persuasion in Rhetoric (along with Ethos and Logos) Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term The reader can determine certain qualities and negativities about different cultures while they are contrasted in a different culture. Middle- and working-class British cultures are also satirised through the characters of the Chalfens and Archie. In an interview with Amazon, Smith explains "I just wanted to show that there are communities that function well. Amazoncom Inc ( is an American electronic commerce ( E-commerce) company in Seattle Washington. There's sadness for the way tradition is fading away but I wanted to show people making an effort to understand each other, despite their cultural differences. "[2]
This book also delves into the concepts of human relationship. Archie and Samad remain best friends despite the failed relationships of their families and culture. Magid and Millat, on the other hand, do not approve of each other's lives and never become cordial brothers.
FutureMouse is a central character and plot motivator in White Teeth. FutureMouse’s life has been programmed and designed by Marcus Chalfen, but once born it escapes, seemingly to map out its own life. In this sense FutureMouse has a similar journey to other human characters in White Teeth, namely Magid, Millat and Irie.
Film adaptation
A television film adaptation of the novel was made in 2002. It was directed by Julian Jarrold and stars Om Puri as Samad, Phil Davis as Archie and James McAvoy as Josh. Julian Edward Peter Jarrold (born 15 May 1960) is a BAFTA Award -nominated English film and television director Om Puri (born October 18, 1950) is an Indian Actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian Cinema films as well as Art films James Andrew McAvoy (ˈmækəvɔɪ born) is a Scottish stage and screen Actor known for his roles in Atonement, The Last King
Notes
References
- Squires, Claire. White Teeth - A Reader's Guide. (New York: Continuum International, 2002).
See also
- Hysterical realism
- Mangal Pandey
- John Simm - Mr. Hysterical realism, also called recherché postmodernism or Maximalism, is a Literary genre typified by a strong contrast between elaborately Mangal Pandey (c July 19 1827 &ndash 8 April 1857) (Hindi मंगल पांडे was a Sepoy (soldier in the 34th Regiment John Ronald Simm (born 10 July 1970 in Leeds, West Yorkshire) is an English Actor and Musician. Hero
- Historiographical metafiction
External links
- White Teeth at the Internet Movie Database
- Official website for film adaptation (with trailer)
- Random House Description of White Teeth at Random House
- Excerpted portion from White Teeth
- White Teeth Interview with Zadie Smith
- White Teeth by Zadie Smith Exploration of the cultural implications of Zadie Smith's debut novel by Stephen Moss. Historiographic metafiction is a term originally coined by literary theorist Linda Hutcheon. Stephen Moss is a British natural historian, birder, Author and Television producer.
- Review of White Teeth in the Guardian, by John Mullan. Not to be confused with John Mullane. John Mullan is a Professor of English at University College London.
- Article in the Guardian on the TV adaptation of White Teeth
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic