The Shifting Positions of Enunciation: Exploring the Tripartite Cultural Presences in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth

Abstract

The given study explores Hall’s concept of tripartite presences, which shape Caribbean identities and influence the characters’ positions of enunciation in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. The research traces the predominance of these presences in the cultural identity of three Caribbean women: Hortense, Clara, and Irie. The study elucidates how these three presences shape the positions of enunciation of Caribbean individuals while shaping their identities and positions of enunciation. The study further explores the manifestation of hybridity and its eventual rejection or acceptance by Caribbean women of different generations. The research argues that the older generation is less open to assimilation and hybridity by clinging more to the African presence of their cultural identity. Meanwhile, the younger generations reluctantly embrace multiculturalism by allowing the dominance of European and American presences in their cultural identities. The research explores the gradual shift in positions of enunciation of the three characters, exploring the fluid nature of their identities. The research concludes that the dominance of each presence shapes the worldview of each character, reasserting Hall’s concept of identity in production, which is never complete but ever-evolving. These presences ultimately set their positions of enunciation through which they understand and interact with the world.