Zadie Smith Swing Time Sparknotes

Zadie Smith was born to an English father , Harvey Smith, and to a Jamaican mother, Yvonne Bailey, who emigrated from Jamaica , Where she grew up ,to England in 1969. As a daughter to parents from two different cultures, Smith has the effect of that difference which reflect on her writing starting from White teeth to Swing Time. Smith literary works seem to have African American Criticism. This was so clear in her Swing Time. From the starting point of her dedication to the book at the first page to her mother who is Jamaican not American. This dedication gives us , as readers, a hint to how her mother culture and background affected her. Turning to the next page and her chosen quote from a Hausa Proverb. Hausa is defined as the afro-Asiatic language spoken by Hausa people in northern Nigeria which is a part of Africa. Her choice of a proverb from Africa reflects the strong effect of African culture to her. One of the most dominant topics on African American writers is dancing. Smith quote from Hausa language and about dancing at the same time is a great choice. Besides, it give the reader a good hint about the main theme of
Novel which is tap dancing ( her old passion ). Turning to the first pages of Prologue , Smith started with the unnamed main character or unnamed heroine who describes her new apartment with words reflect the feeling of oppression such as ( humiliation, warned, endurance and stoicism).
Do not forget that oppression is the most important topic for African American writers. Describing the apartment referring to the Buddha pictures tell the reader about Asiatic heritage. Buddha is the founder of Buddhism teachings which refer to enlightenment. This points to Smith appreciation to the thought of Asiatic heritage. The picture of an Indian boy kneeling beside an elephant reminds me with the spiritual part Elizabeth Gilbert wrote about in her Eat Pray Love which was in India too. Those two pictures of Buddha and the Indian boy reflects a Psychic side of Smith and her main character
too. Using Colloquialism language such as ( bloody- circus) by the doorman and then (Phooey) by the unnamed heroine is so prominent. One of the outstanding characteristics of African American writers is to use colloquial words or black vernacular beside standard white English in their style of writing. The Scene between the doorman and the woman asked him about dry cleaning and the thought of the unnamed heroine to the way the woman treats the doorman with rude way reflects the idea of marginalization. The idea of marginalization due to being different from the other either your color, nationality, religion, origin, culture or even your different class. Smith makes it so clear on the tongue of her main character when she compared the manner of the woman to the door man as if she looks at a gray calendar on the desk! Not choosing a name for the main character itself could be deliberately done by Smith to highlight the idea of marginalized people too or it may mean the suitability of the unnamed character to any girl in any place in any time!

Reaching to the moment of the unnamed heroine entering to the Royal Festival hall to attend an event about films discussion only to distract her own disappointing thought to the point of watching Swing Time movie which she really knows, is a prominent moment. Smith is so smart in her choice. Swing Time is an old movie to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, talk about Tap dancing. This choice is great one for many reasons. First because it gives the reader allusion about the relation between the movie and the novel as it is named after the movie. This is the moment when the reader falls in love with Tap dancing through the unnamed heroine description to the effect of Fred Astaire moves and the effect of Tap dancing itself with moves to three shadows which affect her a lot to the point she forgot about her disappointed ideas about work and life. This is may be the turning point in the unnamed heroine thought. The shadow of three figures to Fred Astaire was significant to her. She watched the movie many times when she was a child but this is the first time to realize that Fred Astaire represent the three shadows. May be everyone has two sides or more than two sides of himself/herself. Realizing that the three shadows belong to the same person makes the unnamed heroine realize the fact that she was only a shadow to the others during her life. She never had her own light of herself. Again dance is a part of African American writers and with Zadie Smith the old fond of tap dancing and the old jazz singer during studying in university, the description comes in a wonderful way full of expressions and imagery of joy and happiness.