From Colonial Legacy to Urban Struggle: Racial Dynamics in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth
Mohammad Iqbal Lone
Research Scholar of English, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, TN.
The study examines the pervasive theme of racial discrimination in Zadie Smith’s acclaimed debut novel White Teeth, exploring how the narrative illuminates the lived realities of multicultural Britain. Set in postcolonial London, the novel follows the intertwined lives of immigrant families from Jamaica and Bangladesh, as well as their descendants, to reveal how historical legacies and systemic inequalities continue to shape identity, belonging, and social mobility in a diverse urban society. Through a close textual analysis of key characters such as Samad Iqbal, Irie Jones, and Archie Jones, this study investigates how racial discrimination manifests at both institutional and interpersonal levels, including microaggressions, cultural alienation, and structural exclusion. The paper also delves into coping strategies employed by characters to navigate the racialized space they inhabit—ranging from resistance and cultural assertion to identity reconstruction and intergenerational conflict. By situating White Teeth within the broader framework of postcolonial literature and multicultural studies, this research analyses how Smith deconstructs the myth of racial harmony and challenges essentialist notions of British identity. The study argues that White Teeth offers a powerful and nuanced commentary on the intersection of race, history, and hybridity in shaping the multicultural experience in contemporary Britain.
Keywords: Racial discrimination, multiculturalism, identity crisis, systemic inequality, postcolonialism, cultural hybridity, immigrant experience, social justice.
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