Although at first glance the chapter numbers of Visitation, the first section of NW by Zadie Smith, seems almost arbitrary, there is an underlying intent behind the chapter-nomenclature intended to draw specific focus to how Leah thinks, and her desire to stay firmly planted in a position in the past.

            When Zadie Smith came to speak at Bryn Mawr, she discussed how we as people are able to view others and see who they are as a person, but when we look back on ourselves, we are unable to place who we are as a person, which can be frustrating and disconcerting to those who are unable to accept this as a general fact of existing. This struggle with identity can be seen in Zadie Smith’s novel NW, through the characterization of Keisha/Natalie, who throughout the novel battles with who she is as a person, who she wants to be, and how she wants others to view her. Keisha’s first battle with her identity develops from her being ashamed by her background in the low-income area of north west London, where her decision to change her name is representative of wanting to leave her previous life behind and start anew, however, the new Natalie is never able to leave Keisha behind. Another identity crisis that Natalie struggles with is her need to create an identity that she can see, rather than being content with who she is as an individual. She has grown up trying to become the ideal model of a person that she has created based on her perceptions of other people and what she views as fitting for a successful life, and she unsuccessfully does this by taking fragmented bits of other peoples lives and trying to build a life of her own.

Sorry for the late post, with all of the lantern night hype it completely slipped my mind. I wanted to comment on the class discussion we had on Thursday. I thought that it was healthy for people to get a little bit heated and share their thoughts on the silence or lack of silence in our class. Good suggestions were made on how to rearrange the class structure as far as conversation. I thought it was interesting that as soon as we began the 5 second rule it seemed as though everyone had more to say than they ever have. Personally I know that I spoke more that class than I have in a while and that felt good for me. I think the 5 second rule is going to be difficult though, the pace of the class has never been the issue for me personally so I think it will mess with our dynamic a little bit if we keep it around. Overall I think we had a healthy class discussion and I feel closer and more comfortable with everyone in the class now because of it. 

            How does one define their own identity? Is it by the way that they wish to be seen and the person they want to be or is it something more than that? In “NW” by Zadie Smith, Natalie (formerly Keisha) struggles with these questions as she moves through her life trying to find who she really is.

            In existentialism it is though that a person defines their essence through their actions rather than being governed by some greater human nature. Every action a person does is a part of that identity, even if it is done unconsciously. (Crowell) In her youth, Keisha had already begun to feel the identity crisis that would plague her adulthood. Around the age of ten she realized “In the child’s mind a breach now appeared: between what she believed she knew of herself, essentially, and her essence as other seemed to understand it.” (Smith 208) She alone saw the inner workings of her own mind, though that is not what defines her identity, or, more accurately her essence. In the existentialist perspective the way in which others understood her essence was much closer to her identity because that view was based much more heavily on her actions rather than her private thoughts.  

I decided to take this post to consider the changes we made to the classroom structure.  After deciding on the idea of the 'five second pause', it become obvious that the system had its certain flaws.  The system was put in place to inhibit people jumping onto the end trains of others' comments.  Clearly, it only created a five second buffer before the inevitable 'jump' occured.  From what I could see, the point of the 'five second pause' was to encourage a moment of self reflection before the class continued the dialogue, to PREVENT the jump.  Here is where I found the issue; it's not a question of rule or law in the classroom. Ironically, it is about self limitation or self censorship.  Although it's important to voice your opnions and participate in the classroom, the only way to ensure a fair environment for all the student in the class is for those who speak more often to limit THEIR speech to make room for the comments of others.  Everybody just simply needs to be mindful of themselves, how often they are speaking, and whether there might be other students who want to express themselves as well, and whether their excessive speech is hindering that experience for them.  It really might be as simple as that, which no class-wide rule can inspire.

Zadie Smith’s novel NW contains multiple stories composed of social, familial, romantic, and marital interaction. Surrounding several of these interactions are performances of economic activity, behaviour, and mentality. The stories of Leah, Michel, Natalie, Frank, and Natalie’s and Frank’s children all raise ideas of economic behavioural influences in non-economic aspects of their lives. This analysis leads to the notion of how self-interest and tendency for self-serving fundamentally drive our performance and behaviour in life.

When I started reading NW, I was confused about the entirely different actions by Leah and Michel. And I decided to focus on their difference caused by economical influences.

The story keeps comparing their differences: Leah wants to stay wherever she is, and Michel is always trying to push things forward. Their conflict comes from their different plans for future: as a well-planned man, Michel wants a child but Leah has a fear for having a change. But that difference didn’t occur for Leah hates her husband----she always likes being with Michel when alone, but she got socially embarrassed all the time by his poor English and social awkwardness in public. When they were in Natalie’s house, Leah kept correcting Michel and they came to a little fight which ended soon when they went back home and had time alone. This show that they actually are very harmonious without the society interrupting. Their social life seems to be one interruption to their relationship. And what made the differences?

                When does friendship begin? When can you say that you’ve made an acquaintance?  It might be after a dinner conversation, or even a long walk back to the dorm from classes, but what really marks the start of any kind of relationship is names.  Knowing another person’s name is what differentiates them from a person seen across the hallway or a face you recognize in a crowd, as if knowledge of names equates to familiarity and knowledge of another’s identity.  In NW by Zadie Smith, names are critical to understanding the identities and personalities of the characters.  In particular, the dichotomy between Keisha and Natalie as two different aspects of the same individual causes an incredibly complex identity crisis that drives much her story in the novel.

coauthored with Amy Ma