Good Vs Evil By Zadie Smith Analysis

Zadie Smith utilizes her writing to dismantle society’s simplistic views on life that she has internalized. Through anecdotes and contemplation of her daily life, Smith measures her understanding of the world against society’s conventional beliefs. She notes that society has a tendency to disregard the complexities of life and merely view life itself as a spectrum for the sake of clarity. Whether inspecting the difficult concepts of joy, the apathetic writer, or the hazy battle of Good vs Evil, Smith realizes that life is not always as clear cut as it seems.
Smith observes that the inferences that she has made about life due to her experiences, may not be in compliance with the common ideas. She realizes that she experiences more than the usual amount of pleasure on a daily basis everyday because “Small things go a long way” (Joy 1). This clashes with a society that with so many unreliable sources of pleasure “turns up [their] nose to [those] so readily available” (Joy 1). Narrating her daily encounters with delight, Smith observes that they range from food to “other people’s faces”. She characterizes them as small, simple, ephemeral aspects of life. She notes that “they have the general power to turn [her] day around”.

However, this feeling of pleasure only lasts “as long as [she] has the flavor of something food in her mouth” (1). Yet, Smith is fascinated by and admits that she understands how people could mistake pleasure for joy. Deliberating on her inability to fully characterize the difference between joy and pleasure, Smith observes that “a lot of people seem to feel that joy is only the most intense version of pleasure, arrived at by the same road. That has not been my experience” (1). Reflecting on her adventures of her life, she begins to discover the complexities between pleasure and joy. Referencing her escapades at nightclubs in her early twenties, Smith realizes that high on ecstasy in a dank nightspot feels remarkably similar to joy. When the high finally hits, a “strange mixture of pain, terror, and delight” arises from the adrenaline. Moreover, “falling” into the high feels a oddly similar to “falling” in love and becoming a new person. On the dance floor, Smith felt as if “[she] was joy.” However, the morning after, this sense of being ends because once again, it was built on a fleeting high.
Smith realizes that her source of true Joy rests with the people who make her who she is as a person; namely, her child. Synchronous to how she felt in the nightclub, Joy is a state of being. While discussing people or events that turn her life around, Smith recognizes that “the thing no one ever tells you about Joy is that it has very little pleasure in it” (4) The aforementioned “mixture of delight, pain, and terror” comes not from an adrenaline rush or any other external stimuli, but from the fact that pure Joy changes you as a person. Moreover, contrary to how people seem to constantly search for pleasure, Smith fears joy because “it would dement and destroy everything else” because the loss of Joy “hurts just as much as it is worth” (2,4). The societal belief of Joy as a simple extension of pleasure just does not resonate with her understanding of life. Rather, three disparate traits remarkably intertwine to form an elaborate state necessary for life.
In an attempt to demolish internalized concepts, Smith often asks herself and the reader simple rhetorical questions with complicated answers. In “Monsters” Smith continuously asks what enables children to be “neither mesmerized, nor especially frightened by their differences?” (1). She tries to reconcile her mind to a time when she had not yet complied with society’s beliefs about diversity. Though a school age child may be considered Naive, Smith considers her childhood self better able to grasp and accept perplexing situations in life. A common phrase is that “Hate is Taught”. Perhaps, this is true. When children are not directed to dislike or distrust others, they do not. However, when society causes them to internalize egregious biases against certain people. Similarly, as an adult, In “Monsters” she demonstrates how dangerous, naive myopic vision can be. Smith elucidates that in the wake of 9/11, the entire western world changed their stereotypical perspective of the Muslim boy from “a quiet, sexless, studious child to Public Enemy No. 1” (2). In simply judging everyone in the whole religion of Islam as Monsters in the fight of against Evil, the “heroes” become Monsters themselves. Smith even daringly admits, that she herself, fell into this frame of mind against the Muslims. However, as time passed and recalled her past experiences of living among Muslims, she noticed the importance of not falling into this trap. Smith determined that finding peace and common ground has been a struggle throughout all of mankind. The concept of Good vs Evil is not necessarily so simple, the main aspect of the battle is to strive to live with and appreciate all people, not obliterate or segregate the ideas we do not believe in. This recurring pattern of identifying symbiotically eating divergent truths of life, demonstrates Smith ability to trace and express the sophistication and nuances present all around her.
In “That Crafty Feeling”, Smith subtly acknowledges the common misconception of the “Macro Planner” writer as a crazed, paranoid author and the “Micro Manager” as a logical sane person. She cites her associations with Macro Managers and portrays then “obsessively exchange possible endings for one another, reverse the order of chapters and perform frequent radical surgery on their novels”(Crafty 1). Then, referencing her own personal experiences of a micro Manger, she illustrates the style of wring as rational, orderly writer who “starts at the first sentence and finishes last” (Crafty 1). However, both types of authors feel the full effects of paranoia, nausea and anxiety associated with writing. Similarly, there lies a rigid dichotomy between dependency and independency. Yet, Smith illustrates that in order to find a voice and identity of there own, some writers must first use “other people’s words as the bridge to cross from where [they] are to where [they] are going” (2). The works of other authors serve as training wheels or inspiration until the writer finds their own unique idea. An author goes from holding onto the words and ideas of others as their own, to trusting and knowing themselves enough to not be dependent on others.
Smith often sees life as a conglomeration of seemingly opposing forces. In “Contradiction and Harmony” Andrew Spirikin posits that “Opposites may come into conflict only to the extent that they form a whole in which one element is as necessary as the other” (2) This is clearly evident in Smith’s essays. In Joy, Smith realizes that Joy itself is a mixture of seemingly different properties coming together. Separately Pain, Terror and Delight give rise to three distinct features of life. Pain and terror are not emotions that most people strive to feel. Moreover, their negative connotation challenges the cheerful connotation provided by “delight”. Yet, when these three things come together they create a “harmonious whole” (Contradiction 2). Joy hurts because it is something one must strive for. Furthermore, the loss of joy causes great pain and sadness. Likewise, this fear of loss causes a person in Joy to somehow be locked in a state of constant terror. Yet, the main characteristic of joy is the happiness and gaiety it provides. However, without the other two seemingly contradictory elements,”there can be no awareness of expertise or gratitude” (Joy 1).
In the context of “Monster”, Perhaps the idea of the necessity of opposing forces means that the battle of Good vs Evil can never totally be won. When the West began to demonize all muslims in their fight against terror, they somehow became the very people they were fighting against. When one side tilts the balance too far, the effects are disastrous. Moreover, Smith realized that trying to find a middle ground between enemies does not mean wiping them out, but living with the fact that one might find another person’s way of life “amusing, irrational, beautiful and banal” (Monsters 3).
Similarly in Crafty Feeling, the need for both sides of the writing process is needed. Smith’s understanding is that writers need to hold on to the words of other writers greater then themselves until they find their own voice. Likewise, Writers also need to experience the insanity and self consciousness and fear of writing an awful piece of literature to gain the satisfaction, calm, and pleasure that comes from writing a great essay.
Conversely, perhaps the messiness of life remains why internalizing social norms are important. In his essay “Social Norms: Internalization, Persuasion, and History” Amitai Etzioni pointed out that life cannot always be lived in a grey area, at some point there must be a line drawing the distinction between good and bad. It stands to reason that “social norms serve as foundation of social order, hoping to ensure that people will act in ways considered prosocial in their society”. (Etizoni, 159) Without the internalization of social norms and belief there would be greater chaos.
With respect to pleasure, the societal belief that further down the road lies a state of long-lasting happiness ensures that the people will strive and work hard to reach that goal because social norms “also affect the direction in which an actor would channel his or her efforts” (Etizoni 161). Though incorrect, the idea that this goal may be achieved through success in the workforce, acquisition of luxury cars and homes, or frequent vacations benefits society. These ideals and the fact that people are working towards, make up the foundation of what our world values.
The idea that social norms influences what we strive for, leads one to conclude that “social norms help people form by profoundly influencing their identity” (Etizioni 163).

In the case of Monsters, If raised in a tolerant society, then a person may have understood that not all muslims were terrorists. However, in a society where anti-islam propaganda transformed the stereotype of the muslim male, all muslims were vilified. Smith admits that “[she] was for the war, at first. However, distinguishing what she believed against what she was taught to believe, she realized that the war as a whole does more harm then good. However, this simplistic idea of Islam as evil keeps the distinction between the heroes and villains superficially

clear.
In that Crafty Feeling, it is evident that the audience was searching for an optimal method of writing that would supposedly grant them the best chance of success. If Zadie Smith’s writing worked so well that she has published three novels, then it must be effective for all people. However, this idea that material success is the ultimate goal remains problematic because it causes others to strive for a type of happiness that they will never attain. No amount of goods will ever provide the satisfaction you think it will. Yet, this concept somehow perpetuates through society.