First-Generation Immigrants In Zadie Smith's White Teeth

Set in late twentieth century London, Zadie Smith’s novel White Teeth tells the personal stories of two families living through the drastic racial and social changes impacting England at the time. The novel focuses on conveying both the experiences of first-generation immigrants, who have a clearer sense of where they came from, and their off-spring—who must create their own identity as a conglomerate of their family history and childhood experiences. Smith traces the development of Irie Jones and Millat Iqbal's identities as they create their own personal stories by combining their family history and life experiences in England. Furthermore, Smith contrasts their experiences to those of Samad Iqbal, a first-generation Bengali immigrant. Smith

This is evident when he must constantly reaffirm his identity to Archie. One such scene occurs when Archie asks Samad who he will tell his children that he is, and Samad responds, “I’m a Muslim and a Man and a Son and a Believer,”(Smith 101). This quote is ironic because, while Samad seems confident that he is Bengali, here he is claiming identities that are not necessarily accurate representations of himself. Throughout the novel, Samad clings to his Muslim identity as proof that he is a good Bengali man, despite not being devout. Furthermore, Samad’s internal conflict is evident when he eventually chooses to immigrate to England after World War II because he feels that he is now too English to be accepted in Bangladesh. However, once he arrives in England, he yearns for his sons to know their roots. As Samad still clings to Islam as proof that he is Bengali—despite his utter lack of devotion, he is upset when his sons grow up to share his lacking devotion. Smith revels the depths of Samad’s internal conflict when he describes immigration to England: “But you have made a devil's pact... it drags you in and suddenly you are unsuitable to return, your children are unrecognizable, you belong nowhere,” (Smith 336). This quote reveals the extent to which Samad feels that he has no home. He knows that he is no longer enough of a Bengali to return to Bangladesh and fit in, but he will always be an immigrant and outsider in England. Smith does this to show how difficult it is to form an identity in a new nation as an immigrant. However, unlike Samad, Millat grows up in England and, without the cultural ties of religion, Samad worries his sons will lose their roots as they form new nationalities and identities as English