Thursday, March 22, 2012

White Teeth by Zadie Smith Ch 9-11

These chapters were more background than anything else. We got a background on the bar, the school, and the school’s benefactor. I liked the background of Glenard. It resonated with the story of Samad. Glenard wanted to do something for the future, but he wanted to do it for himself, to make himself feel good about his life. He wanted to be able to say that he did good deeds. Samad has done the same thing with sending his son back to his roots. He wants to do something to “save” his children, so he splits up his family and sends his son to be taught by someone else how to be a good Muslim. The irony of both situations is that, even though they did these actions for selfish reasons, both actions seemed to have turned out well, so far. Glenard, although his factory did not work out as he had planned, inadvertently made way for a school to be born, which, theoretically, enriches the lives of students in the community. Samad’s decision, again so far, seems to have panned out well for Magid. While learning a lot, Magid appears to be enriching his life in many aspects by winning awards, such as the essay contest. Also similarly, Glenard’s school while professing the enrichment of students is a breeding ground of pot-heads and junkies; Samad’s decision to allow Magid a better life backfires in the fact that the more educated Magid becomes the less faithful he seems to be.

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