The Angry Youth:A Post-subcultural Study Of Zaidie Smith's Three Novels

Zadie Smith is one of the most influential female writers in contemporary Britain.She is concerned about the living conditions of the non-white,particularly the young generation of the ethnic minorities.In her first three novels — White Teeth(2000),The Autograph Man(2002)and On Beauty(2005)—Smith portrays all kinds of young people in England and America.Based on Zadie Smith's noted three novels,the thesis analyzes the young generation from the perspective of post-subculture,trying to reveal the reasons behind their deviant behaviors and violent actions.The thesis is comprised of five chapters.Chapter One gives an introduction to Zadie Smith and her works,a literature review and a summary of the post-subcultural theory which acts as the theoretical framework.Chapter Two examines the neo-tribes exploited by the youth in White Teeth and finds that different from their parent generation,who are mostly troubled by the cultural dilemma between the western and eastern cultures,the new generation pursue the unfixed and fluid identity.Chapter Three focuses on the young people's performance of the multicultural identities in The Autograph Man and discloses the artificial boundaries between the racial identities,which are not ontologically decided.Chapter Four reveals that through describing the young people's antagonistic rebellion against the injustice in terms of class,race and gender,Zadie Smith discloses various disconnections in On Beauty.Chapter Five concludes that the angry youth questions the notion of historical roots and identity and exposes the disconnections in the multicultural society,expecting for more justice so that they can freely develop themselves.