WOMEN HAVE NO COLOR: MULTICULTURAL PHILOSOPHIES AND CONFLICTING MULTIETHNIC IDENTITIES IN ZADIE SMITH’S WHITE TEETH

Abstract

This research attempts to explore the real picture of Britain after World War Second. In White Teeth, the novelist shows the cultural conflicts between three different families (the Iqbals, the Jones, and the Chalfens) from different cultural backgrounds. In the novel, Zadie Smith tells the story of the characters' problems and the resolution to those problems while living in contemporary British society. Immigrants cannot find favourable circumstances to prove themselves who they are. The novel attempts to point out the misinterpretation and consequently offers advice to correct the problem of intercultural miscommunication in the west. White Teeth also draws upon the changes in social space in terms of the evolution of a multi-ethnic society. There is a gap in understanding between the different families and also within a family. This research is qualitative in nature. This gap is filled by acknowledging the differences through harmony and mutuality. For this purpose, the theoretical concepts of Chris Barker and Conrad William Watson, Keith Banting, and John Horton are used as theoretical insights for the analysis and explication. The researcher comes to a finding that multicultural philosophies are formed through understanding others to form one's cultural identity. The major finding of this research is that toleration and accommodation are multicultural ethos in contemporary multicultural society.