“White Teeth” by Zadie Smith Essay Example for Free

White Teeth by Zadie smith EssayIn the novel White Teeth Zadie Smith depicts sophisticated society, its values and traditions, hopes and everyday life. This novel is full of different symbols which help to unveil the message of the story and force readers to interpret events and behavior of the characters in a grotesque way. Archie Jones, the protagonist of the novel, a war veteran who tries to stamp down depression and psychological pressure caused by war.Thesis Archie likes to flip a strike in moments of indecision which symbolizes his liberation and freedom from social norms and the second feel Life gives to him. A coin symbolizes circumstances and fate for Archie. The main change concerns his understanding of the chance and destiny as an invisible hand which rules his life. For Smith, a person has to obey to general rules and law establish on traditions and morals. The irony of indecision depicts the gap between expected, traditional, universal things and reality peo ple try to escape. Smith underlines that a coin has double meaning which can symbolize great expectations and hopes, but it can be taken as fate and death Archie wants to face. Smith changes this tradition depicting that a coin gives everyone a chance to try his destiny for the worse.Solemnly he flipped a coin (heads, life, tails, death) and felt nonhing in particular when he found himself staring at the dancing lion (Smith, 2000, p. 10). Smith leaves it to readers to decide the significance and relate of these manipulations on Archies life. To some extent, symbol of a coin underlines unimportance of life and Archies in divagation towards death.He had flipped a coin and stood staunchly by its conclusions. This was a decided-upon suicide. In fact it was a New Years resolution (Smith, 2000, p.3). It seems that subconsciously Archie is looking for a death which he has escaped during the war. Smith depicts that this is the well-nigh difficult time for on the whole soldiers to come to grips with changes occurred in their society. In death as he was in life and all that (Smith, 2000, p.4).The flip of a coin symbolizes total ignorance of the world and emptiness of the protagonists life. Probably, a coin itself is the same thing where a chance determines the destiny of every person. In practice, it is thinkable and desirable to create new law and values, because new environment forces people to change their personal priorities and morals. It is possible to say that the flip of a coin becomes a kind of religion preached by Archie which influenced life of all people around him.On the other hand, Smith underlines unimportance of the coin which confronted with eternal values and virtues Nor did it lie down in gender, faith, their relative ability to dance to a syncopated rhythm or open their fists to reveal a handful of gold coins. The real difference was far more fundamental. It was in the earth. It was in the sky (Smith, 2000, p. 305). Also, the flip of a coin cr eates a real mystery forcing readers to think over the situation and all decisions accepted by Archie.Smith depicts that Life can give a chance to a person to start a new life and overcome tension and depression. Archie meets his second wife the same day when wants to bear down a suicide. This situation depicts that a chance determines the life of Archie brining happiness to his wife Clare and future to their family. Smith writes Life wanted Archie. She had jealously grabbed him from the jaws of death, back to her bosom. Although he was not one of her better specimens, Life wanted Archie and Archie, much to his own surprise, wanted Life (Smith, 2000, p. 6-7). done the flip a coin the life gives Archie a second chance and peculiar marriage. To some extent, the flip of a coin has afforded readers the opportunity to explore the nose out of his unique character and soul at its most profound center. Involved in that is a certain amount of risk and challenge, of tension and attention, a certain presence that suggests how human beings might become as a people. Heads or tails mean necessity which is used by Archie as an explanation for capacity to research and achieve the approbation of fellow human beings, and hence to form moral norms and rules of justice as internal and external guides to conduct.It is important to note that indecision does not mean weakness or cowardice of the personality. The flip of a coin unveils true nature of Archie and his world views. War terror and tension have reign in the society for so long that people are afraid to change something even if their habits are useless. Archie can do nothing but commit himself to laws he mothers repulsive if the order of society demands it. Alsana characterizes the human experience as you go back and back and back and its still easier to find the correct make clean bag than to find one pure person, one pure faith, on the globe (Smith, 2000, p. 196).This phrase vividly portrays Archies thoughts and ho pes the flip of a coin helps him to find his faith and truth of life in a unique and peculiar way which seems strange to all people around him. Smith portrays that a chance plays more powerful situation than will or desire directing Archie and people around him. It is possible to say that Life sets certain limits on desires and whishes of Archie, and his role in lives of other characters Clare and his daughter Irie, Samad Iqbal and his family.Through the character of Archie and the flip of a coin, Smith goes beyond traditional structure interpretation of life and destiny based her work on imagery and superstition of the protagonist. The flip of a coin unveils that what humans needed is order, and that to achieve it they must rely on their destiny and chance. Archie has to hold in to reality using his own way and relying on fate and choice.He can blame nothing but his Life. The whole span of Archies development, from the explosive emotions of his youth to the skeptical mysticism o f his middle age, is encompassed by the desire to play a game with his life and death. Archie fits very closely in with these ideas he is a man trapped by a conventional notion of what is right and wrong. The flip of a coin is liberation from outside world trammel by traditions and stipulated norms, low morals and false values.ReferencesSmith, Z. White Teeth. Random House. 2000.