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I want to focus on Frank's death and how it relates to the theme of agency throughout the book. Frank's death helps Natalie's/Keisha's and Leah's stories move and is very important to the ending of the story (which involves both women). However, I want to know how Frank's death affects Frank's story. Frank is the character with the most agency throughout the story. He not only changes his life around by getting clean and becoming committed to the woman he loves, he recognizes that he needs to change internally in order to lead a happier life. What does the reader learn when Frank dies? Are we supposed to learn that a person with agency will die if they cannot escape poverty? I would prefer not to think so. However, to learn how Frank's death works with the theme of agency in the novel, I want to do a close reading of his death. I think once I understand why his murderers killed him, I will understand the consequences of his death much better.

While reading NW by Zadie Smith was a truly perplexing experience, I found the story of Felix to be the most curious part of the novel. For example, did Smith put him in the book simply for the reader to get attached to him and kill him off in the end (sounds like a tamer Game of Thrones)? It also seemed as if he had two romantic attachments: Annie and Grace, both of whom he was unsure about. That sparked an interest in the romantic attachments of the other characters, like Leah and Michel and Natalie/Keisha and Grace. The relationships in this book seem to be very complex and I'd like to read deeper into how they got together in the first place and how they manage to handle each other.

The separated parts of NW create the sense of separate stories that only come together at the end. They share some similar characters and settings, and even sometimes the same story, but yet they each have their own distinctive nature, made more evident by the structure. This makes it difficult to consider the novel as a whole, one way to examine the novel as a whole would be to look at the reoccurring themes and symbols throughout the novel. By examining the themes of identity, the need to the "good guy", and growing up we can see the similarities between the characters and their stories. The symbols of 37, the apple tree, Leah's dog, and many others, help to add more insight into the development of the characters. I hope to gain more understanding of NW and Zadie Smith.

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Throughout the novel, the continual theme of race and culture helped the novel's story grow and evolve. Race and culture also helped build Leah and Michel's unique relationship, which is what interested me most about the novel's many themes. The novel unfold's the relationships of the characters in a way society wouldn't define them as functional relationships, yet they manage to stay with their partner and continue the relationship. I'd like to look into more of the relationships between the characters and how race and culture play into effect, especially Leah and Michel's relationship.  

The romantic relationships in Zadie Smith’s NW sparked my interest.  The novel focuses mainly on ones between Felix and Annie, Leah and Michel, and Natalie and Frank.  Each is very complicated and filled with unique problems that revolve around common problems such as money and children.  These characters make impulsive mistakes, judgments, and decisions that only hurt them in the long run.  What confused me most was definitely Natalie’s listings and Leah’s relationship with Michel.  Many times Leah speaks down to Michel and seems embarrassed by his poor English especially when surrounded by others.  Their relationship is one of the most interesting ones as they are so different, not just based on race and culture.  Their interests are completely divergent and neither are honest with one another. 

I guess, like many others, I am curious about how Smith treated all the different characters who came from the same background, particularly with Natalie/Keisha. Her story really intrigued me the most; from the moment I met her in Leah’s section. What was most poignant to me was how Leah described the way Natalie would have had to really ignore or repress her origins in the neighborhood in order to truly be happy in the life she carved out for herself, which got me thinking about the ideas we’ve talked about with authenticity. I’m left wondering what Nat’s apparent inauthenticity is what left her feeling trapped, like she was always living her life for someone else rather than for herself, and how she’s seen accordingly. That idea also contrasts a lot with Leah, who’s living, for the most part, with only herself in mind, as shown when she gets an abortion despite Michele’s desire for a child. Nat is the “successful” one, and Leah is the one who never lived up to whatever potential she had, but both are rather unsatisfied with their lives.

This also comes back to the novel as a tool with which Smith explores existentialism with relatable characters in everyday situations, which lead me to think about the ultimate futility of the lives of these characters and, really, my own life.

What defines people more their cultural exposure or what they want to be? What was happening when Natalie yelled at the black man smoking the cigarette in the park on page (337)? What defines Keisha/Natalie more, her cultural identity or her drive to be on the so-called right side? As she argues with him she calls him “man” at the beginning of her sentences and points out that she grew up in Harlesdon. Throughout the argument she is worried that the crowd might perceive her as ridiculous. If I wrote about this I would focus on Natalie in this scene or maybe compare Natalie’s and Leah’s upbringing and drive and how they ended up being as adults.

**trigger warning**

Law and Order SVU, is one of my guilty media pleasures. Every week, I find an hour for me to indulge in this show. This evening, while catching up on last week's episode, I saw it through a directly feminist lens. SVU brings to light during prime time television (on a national network no less) many issues that face women in a  way that many may not be aware of. For example, one episode opens with a woman trying to purchase Plan B at a pharmacy because her husband had raped her. The pharmacist denies her the medicine, thus denying her the choice of pregnancy. Women are still forced to have their rapist's baby because other people, not involved in the situation involve themselves in the situation, indirectly making decisions for those involved. The ability of a pharmacist to deny a woman access to medicines she is entitled to have is an unfortunate way-of-life that many are not aware of. Plan B is an invaluable resource. And everyone who wants it should have access to it. Another episode shed light on the prevalent rape of women in the military. A female Marine was impregnated by a rape by an officer in a higher rank, which does occur in the United States military, and is usually swept under the rug. But the team at SVU fought to bring the rapist to justice. Also the main character in the series is Olivia Benson, a detective who has a personal connection to the rape victims at SVU because she, herself is also a victim.

Zadie Smith’s writing style throughout NW was varied. She seemed to change how she introduced ideas depending on which character in the novel was experiencing them. This made it somewhat more difficult to place a specific voice as the narrator of the book, but I overall liked how she did this. By changing her writing style, she also kept it interesting. 400 pages of any book can easily be turned into an overwhelming mess, but she, with sections like the one titled “some answers” keeps the reader engaged and guessing about significance.