Abstract
The argument of this study revolves around the crisis of reconstructing identity as a manifestation of cultural resistance in White Teeth by British writer Zadie Smith and in Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss. This study will focus on how Zadie Smith and Kiran Desai attempt to build a culture of resistance in their respective nations' consciousness through their works. As colonialism has proven its influence on the histories of colonized nations, the colonized have infiltrated the colonialists' claimed justifications for imperialism. One of the controversial issues of post-colonialism is the question of identity, which has become very prominent in the modern age. This has led most writers, especially those with cultural diversity, to emphasize the idea of identity. The study will also examine how and why writers of resistance emphasize the need to free colonized societies from the cultural and political domination of imperial powers. It will demonstrate how both Smith and Desai strive to build a culture of awareness by interrogating the past, as illustrated in their novels. In these two novels, East meets West as a form of 'cultural resistance' within the context of imperialism. At the end of this study, the importance of conducting such research and the mutual resistance employed by these writers in constructing a culture of resistance will be highlighted. In each of these novels, the central tension revolves around the encounter and opposition between deeply rooted cultural factors, codes, and values in the East.
Recommended Citation
Haddad, Suzan
(2025)
"The Theme of Conflict Between the East and the West in Zadie Smith’s Novel White Teeth and Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss,"
Jordan Journal of Applied Science-Humanities Series: Vol. 42:
Iss.
1, Article 1.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.aaru.edu.jo/jjoas-h/vol42/iss1/1