Articles | Open Access | https://doi.org/10.37547/ijll/Volume06Issue01-47

Family, Memory And The Burden Of Cultural Inheritance In Zadie Smith’s Prose

Norbayeva NasibaSodiqjonqizi , Independent researcher at the Uzbekistan State World Languages University, Uzbekistan

Abstract

This article explores the intertwined roles of family, memory, and cultural inheritance in Zadie Smith’s major prose works, arguing that Smith uses familial relationships and mnemonic structures to examine how cultural legacies-especially those shaped by postcolonial migration and multicultural contexts-are transmitted, contested, and reimagined. Integrating narrative theory and postcolonial frameworks, the study demonstrates how Smith’s fiction portrays memory as both a personal and collective construct that mediates cultural inheritance, shaping identity formation across generations within families.

Keywords

family dynamics, memory, cultural inheritance

References

Johnston, J. O. (2021). Multiculturalism, Biotechnology, and Biopolitics in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. Contemporary Women’s Writing, 15(1), 90–104.

Bentley, N. (2020). Contemporary British Fiction. Edinburgh University Press.

Ismail, S. (2024). London’s Multicultural Dynamics: Family and Cosmopolitanism in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. KNOWLEDGE – International Journal, 64(5), 627–632.

Nazir, S., Akhter, S., &Akram, S. (2025). Hybridity and Fragmentation of Identity in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies, 3(1), 3922–3936.

Alnajm, A. L. (2024). Multiculturalism: Identity, Language and Culture in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 28(1), 311–325.

Assmann, A. (2020). Cultural Memory and Western Civilization: Functions, Media, Archives. Cambridge University Press.

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NasibaSodiqjonqizi, N. (2026). Family, Memory And The Burden Of Cultural Inheritance In Zadie Smith’s Prose. International Journal Of Literature And Languages, 6(01), 212–217. https://doi.org/10.37547/ijll/Volume06Issue01-47