“Born and bred, almost” – Mimicry as a Humorous Strategy in Zadie Smith'sWhite Teethand Hanif Kureishi'sThe Buddha of Suburbia

Abstract

This essay aims to show that Hanif Kureishi's and Zadie Smith's dbut novels The Buddha of Suburbia and White Teeth employ Homi Bhabha's concept of colonial mimicry to great humorous effect, turning it into the imitation of a perceived dominant discourse via the strategic use of perspective. Although some-what different in tone, both novels centre the most effective use of mimicry on characters blissfully unaware of their subversive potential. The essay will give some examples of such unintended subversions (on the level of character) of the Orientalist gaze, after setting the scene for some of the particular problems that Smith's and Kureishi's protagonists have to face.