“An Unfailed Entertainment: Zadie Smith’s White Teeth from Mimesis to Hysterical Realism”.

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the work of the British writer Zadie Smith, with special regard to her first and most well-known novel, White Teeth, from a realist perspective, in particular considering James Wood’s definition of “hysterical realism”. Beginning from an outline of how the concept of mimesis has changed throughout the centuries, in the first chapter I offer an explanation of the different historical meanings that realist literary works have acquired in different ages, including our days. In the second chapter, I examine White Teeth from various perspectives, to explore the concept of hybridity and multiculturalism, as well as the idea of a cross-bred society. The third chapter considers Zadie Smith’s literary and stylistic purposes, also focusing on her relationship with the work of David Foster Wallace, the forefather of the so-called “hysterical realism”, and discusses White Teeth as a realist work, attempting to explain why it represents the emblem of the hysterical realist novel and why it perfectly suits the needs of the contemporary reader.