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BRAC University Journal, vol. I, no. 2, 2004, pp. 149-152

WHITE TEETH & BRICK LANE: PERSPECTIVES IN DIASPORA LITERATURE

Easmin Haque Department of English and Humanities BRAC University, 66 Mohakhali C/A Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh

Zadie Smith’s White Teeth and Monica Ali's religious backgrounds living in London. Not Brick Lane are two recent major contributions to only that it captures the fierce battle between the Diaspora Literature. Both the novels deal with old and young generation immigrant and bearing immigrant Londoners- the gap between their European inheritance through her father, is quite aspirations and achievements, the clash between at ease in portraying North London – a racial native cultures and foreign ambiences, the need hotchpotch. for assimilation and the fear of dissolution, the reaction of the nationalists and the emergence of In White Teeth, she powerfully and vividly the religious fundamentalists. White Teeth, with recreates the day-to-day life of the scrubby its North London setting, presents a multiracial London Society. She picks up the vernacular society with immigrants from different cultural English common in that part of London and and religious backgrounds, whereas Brick Lane instills them here and there in the novel quite having East London as it setting recreates the effortlessly. She brings up such buzzing issues life of Bangladeshi immigrants living there. like identity crisis, displacement, assimilation, Though these novels have articulated some and racial hatred, cultural integration. In her common immigrant issues, they substantially finely tuned ironic depiction, she shows how the differ from each other in their narrative reality of a multicultural society is glossed over perspectives, which in turn have influenced their by introducing pedantic and impressive ideas as tone, characterization, use of language and are mentioned. As the novel shows, one can dealings with contents. The narrator in White hardly overcome cultural differences and racial Teeth is a neutral outsider observer always prejudices. Though Archie and Samad are keeping her tongue in cheeks; she takes a bird's friends for a long time, they can never think eye view of the North-West on and finds the alike or appreciate one another's decision. Even impossibility of meaningful communication at the end of the novel Samad expresses doubt among the people of different racial about Archie's good intention towards him. backgrounds. In Brick Lane, in contrast, the Millat or Irie's association Joyace family is narrator is more than a neutral photographer; she another example of impenetrable barrier. These is an experiencing consciousness. To see things people mix with each other with entirely from a female perspective, the narrator takes on different reasons in the back of their minds. As a Nazneen's point of view most of the time; she result, a real connection among them seems to be appropriates the English language to incorporate impossible. words and idioms from native language to bring a regional tonality to the novel. In this article I Affirming itself as belonging to the group of will compare these two novels to show how postcolonial Diaspora Literature, White Teeth Monica Ali's microscopic view going deeper into arranges its subaltern figures in a non- personal relations of migrant population, and hierarchical way keeping none in the center or Smith's wide-ranging perspective capturing the creating everywhere microcenters. - interaction among people from diverse racial Juxtaposing all kinds of things from Irie's false background, present us a composite picture of teeth and synthetic hair to Chalfen's experimental contemporary London society. rat, from Samad's masturbation to the end of the world campaigns in a strikingly non-privileged Zadie Smith's White Teeth is a well-written saga manner, the novel champions plurality and of three families of three different racial and diversity in a world of mass exodus. Not only Easmin Haque this, amidst the extravaganza of multiethnic predicaments of only Bangladeshi immigrants groups, the novel tries to add regional color and clustered in apartment complexes like Tower taste to create ethnic idiosyncrasies. Even it Hamlet, it can present the lurking problems in a takes care to incorporate the marginalized very intense and precise manner. This empathy peoples’ version of history, such as Jamaican brings a homely tonality in the novel, which is very earthquake or 1857's Sepoy Mutiny in India. much aware of the feeling of homelessness. Moreover, Archie and Samad's experience of Though the reality is made no less harsh, the WW2, which is something very anticlimactic, narrator's virtual participation in the suffering of can be found only in subalterns' history. displaced existence makes it more humane. Thereby the novel resembles the story "How I was Even though the novel White Teeth tries to do Left to Fate" told by Nazneen, which contains in it away with imperialistic hierarchy, it creates a all human emotions as well as reality. In contrast, center - periphery relation between the White Teeth's preoccupation with the various omniscient narrator and the characters As the attitudes and conflicts of multi- cultural society narrator takes a distanced and noncommittal where there are people from different cultural and position to capture the racial diversity of North- religious background makes the living experiences West London, she seems at times to be far from of immigrant generation sound like impersonal and the characters - from their views and emotions, far off things their joy and torment. She laughs at the characters instead of with the characters. Following the Again, if we compare the character of Chanu in European literary tradition of objective Brick Lane with that of Samad in White Teeth, we representation, White Teeth's omniscient narrator will see the impact of narrative perspectives on quite easily records the notso-easy life of the characterization in these two novels. Both Samad immigrant population in a very playful manner. It and Chanu are middle-aged expatriates with may be very post-modern to take things lightly frustrated aspirations. Both are suffering, in when you can't change them, but Smith seems to be Dr.Azad's term, from ‘going home syndrome'. rather Europeanized than post-modern in choosing Rather eccentric in keeping alive their own racial a privileged all knowing third person narrator to and cultural identity, they overdo their roles as tell the story of a multicultural society. If the novel parents. Consequently, they end up creating is a cauldron of ethnic hotchpotch - where Samad, misunderstanding in their offspring. Being unhappy Archie, Irie, Millat and the likes are being cooked, in their conjugal life, these unlucky men retreated our writer is nowhere with them. Perhaps, the to their own personal worlds. In spite of these narrator would not sound too privileged if she fundamental similarities between these two could bring a more empathetic and less comic tone characters, we view them in quite different lights in in her voice. their respective contexts.

In contrast to White Teeth, Brick Lane has a more White Teeth's distanced an personal narrative empathic narrator. As the novel looks closely into perspective presented Samad as an unworthy, the family relations of the migrants from a similar pathetic, and ridiculous figure. Though there is a racial background, an intimate narrator is the first lot of truth in the depiction of the character, thing it requires. Though the narrator in Brick sometimes exaggeration and sometimes Lane, not very unlike the one in White Teeth, is carelessness have left the character incomplete and an omniscient one, most of the time her point of lifeless in the end. Samad's preoccupation with view seems very close to that of Najneen's, the Mongle Pande is drawn to such an extent that it subaltern protagonist of the novel. Here we discern becomes tedious and unnatural. Samad's character the presence of a central consciousness, which is an is made to be constant source of fun. Considering experiencing soul, sharing the sense of the novel's over all comic ethos, this could be displacement and alienation of the diaspora overlooked, if the comedy was seasoned with a bit existence. Brick Lane's narrator sounds as an of sympathy. In contrast with Samad, Brick Lane's inmate of the Tower Hamlet spinning a chronicle Chanu is a more remarkable character. Chanu is of lst generation immigrants coming from portrayed as a pathetic, ridiculous, cruel, and Bangladesh. The problem of emotional conflict is hopeless character, but the narrator's perspective felt more acutely and immediately here than in does not fail to surface his subliminal good White Teeth. As the novel focuses on the qualities as well. As we view him apparently

150 Perspectives in Diaspora Literature through Nazneen's eyes, our opinion of Chanu Nazneen, as a married women experienced double gradually changes and we come to know the fine migration. She leaves not only her native land to shades of his character, and we cannot but settle in England, but also her parental household sympathize with him in his struggle to retain his to live with her husband in his claustrophobic dignity. Not only Chanu, Brick Lane presents us apartment. Nazneen's feeling as an immigrant, other living characters who develop over time therefore, is quite different from that of Chanu. whereas White Teeth shows us a charade of static Being always in an inferior position in patriarchal figures who remain same through out the novel. society, Nazneen does not care for social status as Brick Lane begins with a Nazneen who was sold Chanu does. Rather her feeling of deprivation to the pawnshop of fate and ends with a Nazneen comes mainly from the sense of bondage, lack of who is enterprising enough to attempt iceskating moving space in both literal and metaphoric sense. wearing a saree. Freedom is the thing she values most and aspires for. Once she comes to know her power to choose Besides its influence on characterization, a her own destiny, she just cannot leave a country, personalized narrative perspective goes well with which gives her the opportunity to do so. Thus for the recreation of regional vive in the novel Brick Nazneen, England is not a place to earn money or a Lane. With its focus on the immigrant population degree or take historical revenge, it's a place where coming from a particular country, Brick Lane she can exercise her power to choose her own creates a strong regional tonality by appropriating destiny. the language. There are a number of words and proverbs from the native language (Bengali). Most Both the novels bring up the issue of religious of the time the meaning in not given, but is fundamentalism. However, the difference in their recognizable from the context. Besides, there is a presentations is that White Teeth shows it in a very whole parallel depiction of the story of Hasina, a narrow light, whereas Brick Lane attempts to garment's worker living in Dhaka, written in the fathom the underlying factors that have given birth manner of letters, and here we see the classic post to such radical groups. In White Teeth, we only colonial problem of representation. For, how can find the religious fundamentalist~ groups like one translate the demotic form of native language Kavin, which are keen on creating anarc y and boys and still make it sound demotic? Isn't it the same like Millat joins them just to use up their pent up problem of translating native experiences in a energy. Brick Lane, in contrast, shows us that it is foreign language? Monika Ali tries to solve her often nationalist and racist uprising against problem by abrogating the Standard English and which these Islamic groups take their positions; using glaringly wrong English in Hasina's letters. and in such groups, we have different kinds of voices-not all are for radical change. Brick Lane How far she succeeds in her attempt to appropriate presents reality as complex and problematic; we her language can be subjected to further scrutiny, need to go beyond the surface to see the intricate but on the whole, Brick Lane manages to create workings of various factors, which determines the spaces for the native land and language in a tale of social and psychological make up of a migrated migrant people. Though female writers have population. authored both the novels, Brick Lane takes a clearly feminist perspective whereas White Teeth To see the subliminal factors behind the behavioral fails to see reality through a woman's eyes. Female patterns of the immigrants, it is better to have a characters in White Teeth consist mainly of very intimate and empathic narrator, who will not Aslana, Clara, Irie, Joyace Chalfen and a lesbian be far more privileged than the characters in his/her couple. None of the characters can stand apart with knowledge of reality. As loss is a permanent trace their own merits, without any reference to their of Diaspora existence, we need a sympathetic voice husbands. Throughout the novel they remain either with whom the immigrants can make an emotional eccentric like Aslana or passive like Clara. connection. For, it is about uprooted people who Preoccupied with history, genetic engineering and have migrated to an alien society for political or fundamentalism, the novel entirely fails to address economic reasons. Till now, the immigrants are any serious feminist issue. In Brick Lane, on the socially and politically marginalized. The feeling contrary, the reality of the diaspora existence is of homelessness, together with the sense of being viewed primarily from a feminine perspective. The cornered, makes the Diaspora experience very doubly marginalized protagonist of the novel, unique, and Brick Lane tells the story of such

151 Easmin Haque experience. On the other hand, in an era of mass these two addition to the realm of Diaspora migration, interaction among the people coming literature compliments each other; one with its from diverse cultural background is an unavoidable microscopic vision and another with its all- reality, and to represent this reality, we need a embracing wide view, give us a whole picture of broad perspective as White Teeth gives us. Thus, the multi-cultural London.

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