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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter December 1, 2011

Born and bred, almost Mimicry as a Humorous Strategy in Zadie Smith's White Teeth and Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia

  • Anna Wille
From the journal Anglia

Abstract

This essay aims to show that Hanif Kureishi's and Zadie Smith's dbut novels The Buddha of Suburbia and White Teeth employ Homi Bhabha's concept of colonial mimicry to great humorous effect, turning it into the imitation of a perceived dominant discourse via the strategic use of perspective. Although some-what different in tone, both novels centre the most effective use of mimicry on characters blissfully unaware of their subversive potential. The essay will give some examples of such unintended subversions (on the level of character) of the Orientalist gaze, after setting the scene for some of the particular problems that Smith's and Kureishi's protagonists have to face.

Published Online: 2011-December
Published in Print: 2011-December
Downloaded on 19.3.2024 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/angl.2011.044/html
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