In the 20th century, the world wars led to the collapse of the imperial system, leaving behind massive global inequality, as well as the interconnected “modern world”. global system” that still exists today. This process led to large-scale immigration from former colonies to Europe, a trend that raised fears that immigrants from "foreign cultures" would not be able to integrate and could alter the national identity of these countries. an undesirable way. The philosophical concept upon which this belief is based is "cultural determinism", the belief that "culture rather than nature or biology determines who we are on emotional and behavioral levels." Although some leading scientists believe that this notion lacks "scientific validity", it appears to be widespread, as it forms the basis of the "growing success" of anti-immigration populism in Europe and elsewhere. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayCultural determinism is arguably the main theme of Zadie Smith's debut novel, White Teeth, published in 2000. Although earlier With the latest wave of xenophobia in the West, his exploration of the phenomenon of cultural determinism has become more relevant than ever. Spanning most of the 20th century, this postcolonial family drama depicts the life stories of three generations of immigrants in London, intertwining them with those of non-immigrants. Throughout the novel, the protagonists must navigate the prejudices and identity conflicts that result from the cultural deterministic mentality of their environment. They come to realize that their struggles define their identity and not their culture; the struggle between assimilation and loyalty to their roots creates a new hybrid identity. Smith notably uses the literary device of irony to make entertaining yet meaningful comments on this issue. Specifically, Zadie Smith uses irony to show the falsity and wickedness of cultural determinism, suggesting that rather than being predetermined by culture, identity undergoes constant transformation and that many factors influence it. Analyzing the use of irony in the novel requires a precise definition of irony. When defining irony, it is important to recognize that “literary critics have proposed many names describing different types of irony and different ways of using irony. The uses of irony change over time.” The analysis will mainly examine three types of irony: verbal, situational and cosmic. Researchers define verbal irony as "expressing what one thinks using language that normally means the opposite, usually for humorous or emphatic effect", while situational irony refers to "actions of 'a person based on an expectation that leads directly to the outcome they want'. to avoid”, and the cosmic irony “blame God or fate for having a hand in our struggles”. Perhaps the bitterest irony of the situation lies in the fact that immigrating to Britain, which Hortense Bowden and the Iqbals saw as a chance for a better life, comes at a high cost: the loss of cultural roots. of their children. Hortense Bowden attempts to raise her daughter Clara in a deeply religious way, which leads to her becoming the target of bullying at school. Perhaps in an attempt to fit in, she resists her mother's intentions to become a Jehovah's Witness by marrying an English secular war veteran named Archie Smith. SamadIqbal has a similar experience, lamenting that "these days it feels like you make a devil's pact when you enter this country...it drags you down and suddenly you're not fit to come back, your children are unrecognizable, you belong nowhere." This irony calls attention to a conundrum that many immigrant families face. Avoiding ostracism from non-immigrant peers requires a certain degree of child assimilation immigrants, but this sometimes forces them to change, and therefore sacrifice part of their identity. As they move further and further away from their country of origin, their host societies still consider them “mixed in.” 'their parents' immigrant identity as the Other'. A poignant example of this occurs when the British Chalfen ask Millat (Samad's son) and Irie (Clara's daughter), who have virtually assimilated into the British society, where they “originated” from. The ironic image of hopeful immigrants who don't fit in anywhere illustrates how defining immigrants through their often visible migratory background often causes exclusion, identity crises and mental anguish. Additionally, Smith uses situational irony to expose how some people justify cultural determinism with falsified historical accounts. As part of the Harvest Festival, Millat, Magid and Irie visit the home of an elderly veteran named Mr. JP Hamilton, who initially greets them politely. However, the situation deteriorates when he scares the children with racist and brutal war stories from the Congo, saying that the only way he "could identify a nigger was by the whiteness of his teeth." And they died because of that… with their stomachs cut open, their guts on their feet.” But above all, he accuses them of lying about Samad's military service. When Millat proudly declares that his father also fought in the British army, the former responds that he “must be wrong.” There certainly weren't any wogs if I remember correctly...what would we have fed them? Clearly, Mr. Hamilton is revising history to fabricate historical evidence to support his racist and colonial attitudes. For his story to be valid, he must deny all the facts that undermine it, which means denying the children's connection to England and accusing them of rewriting history. This irony denounces the (perhaps deliberate) logical error of deducing "facts" from a preconceived narrative, rather than constructing a story based on facts. Smith suggests that many proponents of cultural determinism succeed. Likewise, the ironic circumstances of Samad's decision to send one of his children back to Bangladesh suggest that Smith is parodying the notion of cultural determinism. Samad is understandably unhappy with the course his life has taken, having gone from an overachieving young man from a respected Pakistani family to a crippled immigrant in an unhappy and abusive relationship. As a result, he takes refuge in pleasant sins, violating the Islamic religious laws that are dear to him. At first, Samad only begins drinking, but eventually he begins an adulterous affair with his sons' attractive music teacher, which even many secularists would consider immoral. Interestingly, as Samad “becomes more and more immoral, he wants his children to be traditional.” He concludes that his recent sins are "symptomatic of what the West is doing to his character, and that is what he wishes to save his children from." He explains that “it is the roots that save, the ropes that we throw to save drowning men, to save their souls. And the more Samad himself moved away towards the sea,… the more hebecame determined to create roots for his boys on the shore, deep roots that no storm or gale could move.” As a result, he decides to send one of his sons away. Cultural determinism clearly fails when applied to Samad, who grew up in Bengal but has little respect for its culture. Ironically, Samad subconsciously believes that raising a son in Bengal will automatically imbue him with enduring traditional values. Moreover, the situational and cosmic irony of the contrast between Samad's intentions for his sons and the actual results has the effect of ridiculing Samad's cultural determinism. When Samad sends Magid back to Bangladesh, he hopes that he will develop a comfortable, traditional identity, convinced that he is acting in his best interests. Unexpectedly, Samad's decision endangers Magid's safety. The 1985 ethnic violence in Bangladesh, where "body parts were taken from Muslims by Sikhs, from Sikhs by Sikhs" "Hindu" and "a thousand people died" in a few days, as well as A cyclone that destroys the town where Magid lives, leaving "bodies floating in the Bay of Bengal... ten thousand" means he lives in constant danger. There is a poignant irony in the fact that Samad's good, but unrealistic, intentions put his son in danger. At the same time, Samad idealizes him, saying that he is “capable of anything, a natural leader, a natural Muslim, a natural leader.” His opinion of Millat is equally clear: he is the second son, late as a bus, late as a cheap courier, the slowcoach, the catch-up kid, who lost that first race in the birth canal, and now simply a follower by genetic predisposition. , by the complex design of Allah, the loser of two vital minutes which he would never regain, neither in these parabolic mirrors which see all, nor in these glassy globes of the divinity, nor in the eyes of his father. However, contrary to Samad's initial assessment, and to his horror, Magid becomes an atheist intellectual who strives to be as English as possible. He becomes so English that others consider him an "Englishman in white pants", a stereotype of the Englishman. Although both twins are successful in their own ways, ironically, Millat fulfills his father's expectations of Magid by doing something traditional and religious. He becomes a natural "leader", well respected by his comrades, takes an interest in Islamic scriptures and takes over the leadership of KEVIN, an Islamic fundamentalist group (Samad disapproves of this, but it nevertheless shows that Millat feels some form of obligation to follow. re-appropriate what he perceives as his roots). Therefore, Samad's attempt to influence his sons' lives by immersing them in different cultures backfires. They develop this way because they take different paths in life, not because one was raised with clearer roots. This cosmic irony shows how viewing people's identities primarily through the prism of cultural determinism, as Samad consistently does, is too reductive. The allegory of the so-called FutureMouse, which dominates much of the final section of the novel, reduces the anti-cultural-deterministic essence of the novel to an ironic image. Marcus Chalfen, a prominent geneticist who "came close to winning the Nobel Prize", genetically engineers a laboratory mouse to develop a brain tumor and die after a certain period of time. This experiment is the embodiment of determinism, inspired by the vision according to which we can predetermine "each stage of the development of an organism: reproduction, eating habits, life expectancy", and that if "weeliminate chance, we govern the world.” At the end of the novel, all the major characters gather in the room where Chalfen presents the project, either to watch or to protest (notably Millat organizes a demonstration with some of his colleagues from KEVIN). Understanding the complex events that follow require some context. While Samad and Archie are soldiers in World War II, they find themselves stranded in a Bulgarian village with a group of Russian soldiers. Determined to prove their heroism after effectively deserting, they participate in the capture of a doctor named Ferret who had conducted medical experiments for the Nazis, "choosing who will be born and who will not be born, raising people as if they were acted like chickens, destroying them if they were not born.” the specifications are not correct.” After some arguing, they decide to kill him and Archie reluctantly agrees to do it himself. He gets him out of sight, but because of his hesitation and distraction while tossing a coin, the doctor grabs his gun, wounds him, and escapes. Samad, who heard the gunshot, believes Archie's lie that he killed the doctor. More than fifty years later, he recognizes the same man on stage with a panel of geneticists involved in the FutureMouse project, and he realizes that his lifelong friendship with Archie was built on a lie. He begins to curse Archie, while Millat, who has introduced a concealed weapon into the building, aims at the doctor. Archie throws himself into the path of the bullet, is injured a second time in the thigh and falls on the display case containing the FutureMouse, shattering it. In the general chaos that ensues, the mouse escapes. The irony of the situation lies in the fact that the mouse was bred to prove that life can be predetermined, but ultimately circumstances set him free, altering the course of his life in ways not intended by its creators. Another interesting level of situational irony appears in Archie saving the life of Ferret, whose job it is to predetermine life, by randomly modifying the experiment whose goal was to eliminate chance. Total predetermination therefore seems impossible. By extension, with this grand analogy, Smith describes as fallacious the belief that cultural education predetermines human social behavior. Furthermore, the ironic and improbable inspiration for Millat's attempted assassination of the doctor highlights the complexity of the effect of his environment on the formation of his identity. One of Iqbal's ancestors was Mangal Pande, a leader of the 1857 Indian rebellion against the British (a figure who remains little known in Britain, despite Samad's continued efforts to disseminate his story). As Millat prepares to shoot the doctor during the presentation of the FutureMouse, the narrator explains that "Millat does not follow instructions, at least not those that are passed from mouth to mouth and are written on pieces of paper . It is an imperative secreted in his genes and the cold steel in his inner pocket is the answer to a statement made against him long ago. He's basically a Pandy. And he has mutiny in his blood.” This scene therefore marks the end of Millat's long search for self. He discovers or decides, according to his philosophy, a rebellious identity, a return to his sources. Ironically, his inspiration is Al Pacino from The Godfather. He recalls that "no matter how long you stop Pacino's split-second thinking, no matter how often you replay the doubt that crosses his face, he never does anything other than what he was always going to do ". Something unrelated to his roots inspires him to live them. If the formation of the identity of.