White Teeth Character Analysis Essay

In White Teeth by Zadie Smith, one character who has a transformative journey is Irie Jones. While at the beginning of the novel the focus is shifted onto Archie and Samad, by the end of the nove,l the attention shifts to Irie and shows the new life she can acquire outside of her family. In this paper, I will focus on the character of Irie and her transformation from the beginning till the end of the novel. The purpose of this examination is to display the metamorphosis of Irie from a girl who has low self-esteem and insecure to one who is confident and assertive. To do this, certain moments in the text will be further highlighted and elaborated to showcase the reconstruction of Irie Jones throughout the novel. For instance, Irie’s crush for Millat, living under the Jones’s roof, body image issues, being mentored by the Chalfens, desire to go to university, her relationship with her grandmother, relationship with her

Considering Archie’s friendship with Samad, Irie grows up with his children and develops a crush on Millat. However, the feelings are never truly reciprocated. This part of the novel highlights Irie’s beginning point: insecure, low self-esteem… she not only contributed to herself, but other characters as well such as her crush, Millat. When Millat confronts Irie telling her to admit she has feelings for him she tries to deny it and he doesn’t believe her and goes on to say “Imagine what our kids would look like… Browny-black. Blacky-brown. Afro-flat nose, rabbit teeth, and freckles. They’d be freaks!” (Smith 190). This only further aids to the low self-esteem Irie has already developed. In addition, she is influenced to change things about her to seek the approval for Millat. For example, when she has a hair appointment she had planned to go to Millat’s to show off her haircut and imagined him complimenting her at her attempt to look more English (Smith