Multiculturalism in "NW" by Zadie Smith

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Multiculturalism
2.1 Cultural studies
2.2 Literary studies

3 How is Multiculturalism depicted in Zadie Smith’s NW? 3
3.1 Leah Hanwell and Michel
3.2 Keisha/Natalie Blake and Frank
3.3 Felix Cooper and Annie

4 Conclusion

5 Workscited

1. Introduction

„The world is now multicultural the same way the world is round. It's not a selling point, it's not a 'quirky' feature, it's not a cynical marketing ploy, it's not an artistic statement, it's not even a plot device. It's a fact, like seedless grapes.“ - Zadie Smith (AZQuotes)

Multiculturalism has always been and will probably always be a far-reaching and simultaneously hotly debated issue. It is notjust about the choice whether to eat at a Chinese or Italian restaurant but is also prevalent in the every-day communication with people. For many people, like for Zadie Smith, multiculturalism is a matter of course but for others it still represents a critical subject.

Due to globalization and the concurrent improvement of transport and communication technologies migration processes have become faster and easier than ever. People constantly change their place of living and working and consequently relationships have become not just international but also multicultural. The composition of different cultural communities in the countries of destination are constantly being transformed and diversified which thus can result to discrimination and prejudice.

London has consistently been a popular destination for immigrants from all places and is by far one of the world’s most diverse cities. People who define themselves as “mixed race” are the fastest growing ethnic group (Perfect, 4). There are many theories that attempt to describe the emerging diverse societies. Popular concepts are the “melting pot” or the “salad bowl” theory. According to Berray the “fusing of individualities, including any traits of immigrant religion and race” (143) is the melting pot’s core idea. Immigrants adapt dominant norms regarding culture, politics and economics which leads to the reduction of linguistic and cultural differences between different ethnic groups (cf. Berray, 143). On the contrary the salad bowl theory implies the maintenance of unique identities and cultural differences. Ethnic minorities live side-by-side with the dominant culture and share their cultural and identical practices (cf. Berray, 145).

This paper examines how multiculturalism and its impact is depicted in Zadie Smith’s NW based on the experiences of three leading characters and their partners. Apart from that it aims to conclude whether or not NW’s diverse society can be characterised according to the melting pot or the salad bowl theory.

2. Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is an extremely wide-ranging term and can therefore be understood and used in numerous ways. Regarding this paper’s purpose multiculturalism is explained in the following referring to its cultural and literary meaning. Nonetheless one has to be aware of the fact that there are many more areas in which the term multiculturalism is used.

2.1 Cultural studies

According to the OED multiculturalism is defined as “the characteristics of a multicultural society, also the policy or process whereby the distinctive identities of the cultural groups within such society are maintained or supported”.

The term itself surfaced in the 1960s as a result of the cultural interests of the immigrates that came to Europe (cf. Aydin, 3). As stated by Aydin multiculturalism means “people having different religions, languages, races and traditions living together” (3). Not just the cohabitation but also working, dealing and political participation by people with multiracial backgrounds are crucial when it comes to defining the term “multiculturalism”. Multiculturalism also intends to include every member in society regardless their ethnicity while still emphasizing their differences and for the compensation of discrimination and oppression (Britannia academic).

2.2 Literary studies

As aforementioned multiculturalism cannot exclusively be understood in terms of cultural studies but is also a leading matter when it comes to the study ofliterature.

The oversea mass immigration which started in the middle of the 20th century resulted in the “emergence of British “ethnic” fiction” (Wiemann, 107). Waves of Caribbean, Western African and South Asian immigrants have sculpted Britain’s cultural structure. Since then it developed a variety of issues that refer to multiculturalism, pluralistic identities and hybridity which provide a nearly inexhaustible source for contemporary British novels. Multicultural fiction addresses the experiences people with multicultural backgrounds encounter as well as the ways in which the current place of living is affected by multiculturalism (cf. Perfect, 11). The appearance of multicultural literature has brought society one step towards transcultural interaction and tries to raise awareness against oppression and separation (cf. Wiemann, 126). The characters in multicultural fiction are typically members of a minority group and represent its culture, beliefs lifestyle and also difficulties they encounter in their everyday life (The League of Extraordinary Librarians). Notjust the characters themselves but also the authors of multiethnic novels are immigrants or descendants ofimmigrants.

As the daughter of an English photographer and a Jamaican immigrant Zadie Smith represents hybridity, multiculturalism and discrimination in her works according to her own experiences (cf. Meyer, 481). She was born in 1975 and grew up in Willesden in North-West London where the story of her novel “NW” is situated as well. She is known as one of the most famous “Black British” authors of the 21st century (cf. Meyer, 481). In her books she draws attention to the “conflicting ideas of cultural identities, differences and hybridity within and between characters” (Meyer, 481) and achieves to project some of her own encounters onto her fictional stories.

3 How is Multiculturalism depicted in Zadie Smith’s NW?

Zadie Smith’s fourth novel “NW” is set in the area of Willesden and Kilburn and takes its title from the area’s Postcode. It is a particularly unique place of London’s periphery and is seen as rather unimportant by many and not representative enough for the UK, but others argue that the “area NW functions as synecdoche for the nation as a whole” (cf. Lusin, 254). Smith traces the lives of four main characters all living in NW who have known each other since childhood and suffer from exclusion, addiction and indigence (cf. Wang, 1). Just like all of her novels “NW” also features characters of mixed cultural and social backgrounds who are trying to improve their living conditions.

The reader is confronted with the topic of multiculturalism directly from the beginning with the description of the streets of Willesden as not being usually European (cf. Smith, 3). Moreover, it gets obvious during the reading that Willesden is not known as being a typical British area. For instance, when Leah, Natalie and her children are looking for the Willesden church they realize they’ve never noticed it before. When they finally spot it, the church is described as “out of time, out of place” (Smith, 71). Thereby Smith emphasizes the unlikelihood of the existence of such symbol for British culture in Willesden. Not just Willesden and Kilburn itself are affected by the predominance of different ethnicities, religions and cultures living together but also the inhabitants of London’s north-western region.

Most characters in Zadie Smith’s “NW” qualify as diverse. Shar is from the Indian subcontinent (cf. Smith, 17). The “church kids” are mostly “Nigerian or otherwise African” (Smith, 194). The Sweet Shop owner is Sikh (cf. Smith, 20). The guests at Natalie’s dinner party are multicultural. Five of the nurses at the hospital where Leah’s mother Pauline works are Nigerian (cf. Smith, 17). Of course, the leading characters Leah Hanwell and Michel, Natalie Blake and Frank and Felix Cooper and Grace also have multiracial backgrounds. How these characters are affected by multiculturalism is analyzed in the following chapter.

3.1 Leah Hanwell and Michel

Leah Hanwell is in her thirties and has been brought up in NW London by her mother Pauline who is an Irish Protestant from Dublin. She is married to Michel, a French hairdresser with whom she lives in a rented apartment. Michel is from Algerian and Guadeloupean descent. Their multiracial relationship represents NW’s multicultural image (cf. Zapata, 88). Leah works for a charity in a town office as the only white women among Albanians, Afro­Carribeans and South Asians (cf. Smith, 31f). She never lived anywhere else than in Willesden and thus the interaction with people from all kinds of different ethnic backgrounds has been an ordinary aspect in her life since always. Leah is known as being open towards everybody, regardless from their skin-color, wealth or origin. “She befriended everyone without distinction orboundary” (Smith, 182).

As opposed to Leah’s attitude towards other cultures her mother Pauline has a strongly generalized view. She doesn’t distinguish between French or Algerian but states that “[a]ll of them are Nigerian” (Smith, 16). In addition, she refuses to pronounce Michel’s name in a French way but simply calls him Michael (cf. Smith, 16). She also distances herself from Leah’s father’s descent by pointing out that Leah’s actions can be attributed to his origin because “no one who had her blood in them would fall for something so idiotic as that” (Smith, 16).

The general distance and unwillingness for interaction between different cultures is depicted by Smith through the relationship of Pauline and Michel. The omnipresence of “nothing but mistrust and misunderstanding” (Smith, 18) between those two can be projected onto the behavior of the general public. However, Leah’s relationship to Michel is not only seen as challenging by her mother but also by her colleagues.

“Although Leah has a blue tongue and a fancy degree and a hot husband and no offence, but for the women in our community, in the Afro-Caribbean Community, no offence, but when we see one of our lot with someone like you it’s a real issue.” (Smith, pp.33-34)

Leah’s Coworkers talk enviously about her relationship to Michel, claiming that she as a white woman should be together with a man of her kind. They also make Leah responsible for the fact that they’re single by stating that the “good brothers” are “all already taken [..] [b]y the white girls!” (Smith, 36).

Leah herself is unbiased and welcoming towards other cultures but yet she feels alienated as a white woman in Willesden. In this area it is unusual that somebody has to hide from the sun to not get sun burnt or to have freckles and red hair like Leah has. Apparently, Zadie Smith marks Leah’s whiteness in order to illustrate the obscurity ofbeing white and feeling foreign in parts ofLondon due to the dimension of migration and multiculturalism

Leah Hanwell can be interpreted as the most multicultural character in NW. She is the only one who is always attracted to difference and open to new ideas and beliefs. Furthermore, she is uniquely able to appreciate the multicultural cohabitation in her neighborhood. By pointing out her lethargy and underachievement Smith characterizes the stigmatized view of the immigrant culture through Leah’s character.

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