Compare and contrast the narrative structures in 'White Teeth' and 'Beloved' and how the past affects the present.

Sarah Lister 13KW

Compare and contrast the narrative structures in ‘White Teeth’ and ‘Beloved’ and how the past affects the present.

The novels ‘White Teeth’ by Zadie Smith and ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison both explore many different issues. However, a principle theme that appears to be common in both is the way in which the past influences the present profoundly and both authors use the narrative structures of the books to present this idea to the reader. The exploration of the relationships between characters through time, the past haunting the present and the way in which history and culture is revealed through the past are important devices used to show the emotions and further the plot. Each author does this in a very different way though and this is the power of the narrative structure and the way in which it can be used in a variety of different manners in order to achieve a similar effect.

The narrative structure of ‘White Teeth’ is very logical. The novel is divided decisively into sections in order to present the reader with the emotions and views of the main characters. The four sections ‘Archie 1974, 1945’, ‘Samad 1984, 1857’, ‘Irie 1990, 1907’ and ‘Magid, Millat and Marcus 1992, 1999’ provide the reader with a clear cut structure to the novel, with the past and present accurately intertwined. The separate ‘books’ in the novel help the reader to understand how each character feels about the others, and therefore explores their relationships between time. The main example of this is the fact the Archie and Samad have been best friends since the Second World War. However, their friendship is based on a lie that Archie killed a Nazi scientist who was helping to develop the Master Race. The separate books help the reader to understand this and the links with the present become clearer. Magid works with the scientist Marcus on a mouse which could revolutionise human sickness. The use of this device, one action in the present, reveals actions of the past with FATE, the animal rights organization which Joshua is a member of, KEVIN the extreme religious cult which Millat joins and the Jehovah’s witnesses that Hortense, Clara’s mother is a part of. These sections of society stretch over the past in the book ‘White Teeth’ where the quest for religion and preservation of culture plays a key role and therefore, Smith uses one event in the present to reveal several events of the past. It almost appears that her aim is to remind her reader that events in the past are not necessarily to be kept in the past. Throughout her debut novel she ensures that the past plays a significant role in the present to ensure that it is not forgotten.

This same theory is used in the novel ‘Beloved’ that is used in ‘White Teeth’. Past events hold the key to what happens in the present. However, the narrative structure of the novel is looser than that seen in ‘White Teeth’ with time almost ‘flowing’ from present to the past. Therefore, the links are more direct and the reader is able to see the effect of the past on the present more immediately whereas, in ‘White Teeth’ the reader has to create links over time to see how the events that occur in the present day actually stem from the past. Throughout the novel, words like ‘forgotten’ are not used, the past is not forgotten, simply ‘disremembered’ and this accentuates it’s importance in their live. Beloved relies on the past, it is the only link that she has with Sethe as her mother and the only way that she can learn how to live. She is a child in a woman’s body: ‘Beloved sat with her fingers in her mouth’ and her actions are reminiscent of Sethe’s actions once she had escaped from slavery:

‘Sethe drank it all and begged more’

The same actions were seen when Beloved arrived at 124: ‘watching her drink cup after cup of water’. The past is therefore essential, not only for the plot and it’s development but also for the characters in order for them to have an understanding of the life that they live in their contemporary society. Although it is necessary there is evidence that the characters in ‘Beloved’ do not want their past to influence what they do in the future:

‘Working, working dough. Nothing better that that to start the day’s ...

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‘Sethe drank it all and begged more’

‘Working, working dough. Nothing better that that to start the day’s serious work of beating back the past.’

Therefore, the narrative structures of both ‘Beloved’ and ‘White Teeth’ are significant in showing how much the past influences the events that happen in the present. There are visible links between the two in both ‘White Teeth’ and ‘Beloved’ and it is evident how much the past means in creating the future. It appears that, two novels, which principally discuss the theme of racism and culture in society, actually express matters of the past and present, perhaps symbolic of the change that the characters want to see.

The relationships between the characters in ‘White Teeth’ appear to be based concretely on the past, even when the past may not in fact be the truth. They symbolize many of the themes that exist in the novel: youth is symbolized by Archie’s marriage to Clara and the repressive force of culture in Hindu society is seen in Alsana’s forced marriage to Samad. These aspects of their lives in the novel are relevant to both their past and their present. The relationship that Archie forms with Samad in the war appears to be based on the fact that Archie killed the Nazi scientist. Their relationship is one of opposites with Samad’s philosophical, pensive attitude, ‘Our children will be born of our actions. Our actions will become their destinies.’ placed in direct comparison with Archie’s indecisive nature and his ‘tossing the coin’ in order to make important decisions. These aspects of their characters and oppositions in their relationship are reflected throughout time. Whilst the rest of the world is changing, the relationship between Samad and Archie remains constant. They continue to visit ‘O’Connell’s’, where ‘It is necessary to earn one’s position in the community’, the interior and their relationship never changes and this symbolizes how there are elements of the past which do not effect the present, they simply the remain the same. This is an important literary device used by Smith, which shows the importance of time with the past and present. The use of this constant whilst Irie, Millat and Magid grow up and culture around them changes is used as a reminder of the way that the relationship between Archie and Samad is never changing.

Similarly, the relationships of the past and present in ‘Beloved’ are essential to the plot of the novel. Without them, the impact of the return of Beloved would not be as profound. When Paul D returns to 124 the relationship between him and Denver is tense. There is a hint of jealousy, which comes from the strength of relationship, which has formed between Sethe and Denver due to their lone solidarity. Paul D is a symbol of another part of Sethe’s life, he represents Sweet Home and a life of slavery before freedom. Morrison weaves the main theme around the history of slavery in the US. Although slave history is covered in textbooks, it is most often presented from the point of view of white males. The intimate lives of slave people are rarely discussed, for the historian has no insight into this side of slavery. Since slaves seldom knew how to read or write, there are no written accounts of their history, instead, the ex-slaves and their descendants passed down the tales of slavery through storytelling, which have been largely ignored in history books. In this novel, Morrison gives slave history from the perspective, especially from the point of view of Sethe. The relationship that exists between Paul D is a part of this perspective, which Denver is unable to comprehend. This is an important narrative device used by Morrison as it creates exclusive parts of time, which are only relevant to certain characters. This strengthens the bond that exists between characters like Sethe and Paul D but it is also part of the role of Beloved. She is somehow aware of all of these parts of time:

‘Diamonds? What would I be doing with diamonds?’ ‘On your ears.’

The past is not exclusive with Beloved, she knows parts of history that she was not part of. This is part of her superhuman qualities, which expose that she is not a real part of this life and the present. This adds to the haunting aspect of the novel, an important theme, which shows how the past does not die, it remains with the characters even in the present as a reminder of actions in history. The past haunts this family, isolating them from society when their house is possessed: ‘The house itself was pitching’. The house is an important device in showing how Sethe’s dead daughter affects the present. Sethe had four children, yet she killed the third and the house number misses out 3: 124. This literal haunting is important but there is also a sense of metaphorical haunting in the novel. Paul D endured a difficult past with a cycle of running away and being caught for eighteen years. His past is too horrible to bear and so he stores it in the ‘tobacco tin’ of his heart, leading a sort of half life. Whilst staying with Sethe, Paul D manages to confront his past in the form of Beloved, and also learns what it means to finally lay down his load to rest.

The idea of metaphorical haunting also plays an underlying role in ‘White Teeth’. Archie continues to be bothered, haunted by the lie that he told to his best friend fifty years earlier. It is the basis of their friendship and this is shown by Samad’s reaction when he discovers:

‘…realizes that he had been lied to by his only friend in the world for fifty years. That the cornerstone of their friendship was made of nothing more firm than marshmallow and soap bubbles.’

Archie is constantly aware of this lie that he has told and when the topic arises quickly tries to avoid it. Hortense is also haunted by religion throughout the novel. A fear installed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses that the world was ending: ‘The end of the world was nigh. And this was not-the Lambeth branch of the church of the Jehovah’s witnesses was to be assured-like the mistakes of 1914 and 1975’. This haunting of the end of the world consumes the childhood of Clara and spurs her to leave Hortense and her radical religion. The fear and haunting of religion is also echoed in the culture of Samad where he constantly worries about his judgment day and whether he has disobeyed the laws of Allah. The chapter ‘The temptation of Samad Iqbal’ discusses the fear that Samad lives with and consequently his conclusion that it is the fault of Western culture, ‘I GIVE YOU A GLORIOUS NAME LIKE MAHFOOZ MURSHED MUBTASIM IQBAL…AND YOU WANT TO BE CALLED MARK SMITH!’ hence why he sends one of his sons back to Bangladesh.

Samad’s obsession with his own culture and the legacy of his great-great grandfather consumes him and presents to the reader the negative influence of the past on the present. Samad constantly criticizes the society in which he lives and the way in which the West corrupts what is left of his culture. He idolizes the image of his great-great grandfather and in fact forms him into a hero that he was not and the language, which Samad uses reflects this:

‘…it would be a dishonour, it would cast into ignominy the memory of Mangal Pande to have him placed here in this-this irreligious house of shame!’

This narrative device of Samad’s idolizing language towards his own culture and family is an important way of presenting the importance of his culture and elements of the past. Samad tries to preserve the past, making references to the war and the way in which society changes. This negarive influence of the past is also seen in ‘Beloved’ when Sethe appears to be untouched by the past. She is happy to see the elements of her past like Paul D but there is very little evidence in the novel to show that she is profoundly affected by Beloved’s return to 124. She appears to be the opposite of Paul D who holds his memories in his ‘tobacco tin’ but it says that she spends time doing the ‘serious work of beating back the past. Instead of using the words ‘remember’ and ‘forget’, Sethe uses the words ‘rememory’ and ‘disremember’. To Sethe, the past is alive in the present, and thus the word ‘remember’ is substituted with the more organic ‘rememory’ reminding us that everything is held in memory. Similarly the word ‘forget’ lacks the conscious effort that the characters must employ to commit such an act. Thus, they ‘disremember’ things, with the implication that they force them to the back of their minds.

There are very few times when the past seems to negatively and profoundly affect Sethe. However, when visiting the circle in which Baby Suggs used to preach the power of the supernatural and the past grabs Sethe:

‘Sethe was actually more surprised than frightened to find she was being strangled.’

This haunting of Sethe is an essential element to the novel to show how the past may affect Sethe and how she appears to be emotionless to the haunting and the horrific things she has experienced:

‘Years of haunting had dulled her in ways you wouldn’t believe and sharpened her in ways you wouldn’t believe either’

Therefore the past is always a part of Sethe but the experience and the way in which she carries it with her has created a character, which appears to be both a part of the present and the past. The narrative structure is and aid in helping to create this character as the past and the present interweave almost seamlessly. It is a story encompassing levels of past, from the slave ship to Sweet Home, as well as the present. Sometimes the past is told in flashbacks, sometimes in stories and sometimes it is plainly told, as if it were happening in the present. The novel is, in essence, written in fragments, pieces shattered and left for the reader to piece back together. The juxtoposition of past with present serves to reinforce the idea that the past is alive in the present, and by giving fragments to work with, Morrison meld the entire story into one inseparable piece to be gazed at. In forcing the reader to put back the pieces, Morrison forces them also to think about them, considering the worth of each. It appears ironic that at the end of the novel Beloved is seen as a story ‘not to be passed on’, a piece of their past that they wish to remain in the past, that they will no longer carry with them. They break the cycle of the ‘baggage’ that they carry with them as they are able to leave something as part of history.

‘White Teeth’ and ‘Beloved’ both uses incredible narrative structure in order to convey the idea that the past has an enormous effect on the present. The seamless structure of ‘Beloved’ in contrast with the logical structure of ‘White Teeth’ presents to the reader that the past is an important factor in the present. The ‘books’ in ‘White Teeth’ are titled with a date reference from the past and one nearer the present as the story develops. The conscience of characters like Archie and Paul D are essential to the reader’s understanding of the effect of the past and the way in which mistakes and horrific events can consume the mind. Two novels, which primarily appear to be about the struggle of races and racism in society are in fact also about the importance of time. Smith writes at the beginning of the novel: ‘What’s past is prologue’ from ‘The Tempest’ perhaps suggesting that the novel is in fact based upon the idea that the past and the present are essentially intertwined and play an important role in modern day life.

The way in which the past can haunt the present, have a negative and positive influence on the way in which characters react and the plot develops in both ‘White Teeth’ and ‘Beloved’. It is an essential element of both novels which helps to create a layered structure and give depth to the plot so that the events of the present have a past: a basis which creates a more profound effect of the reader.