At the Root of the Teeth: An Investigation of the Healing Power of Interpersonal and Familial Relationships in Zadie Smith's White Teeth

Abstract

<p>This thesis considers how Zadie Smith's novel White Teeth contributes to contemporary debates on immigration, race, gender, and identity. The focus is on Smith's character Irie Jones and how her feelings of instability and displacement are negotiated in post-war Britain. Essentially this thesis considers the characters' inabilities to feel a sense of belonging in their lives as a result of the political and cultural climate in England during the late 20th century. The characters' struggles are explained and dissected in three chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the role that diaspora and travel theory play in a desire to belong; chapter two investigates the second-generation immigrant children's familial relationships and the conflict between the generations; and chapter three focuses on how gender and femininity function in regards to Irie's difficulties. This thesis investigates the ways that Irie diverges from her matrilineal heritage and negotiates for herself a place that she can call home in contemporary Britain.</p>