Individual and social conflicts in multicultural England: Zadie Smith's white teeth and Monica Ali's Brick Lane

In this study, in general, the individual and social conflicts of the societies that have experienced ?multicultural? structure, which is a social and cultural formation having gained a new dimension and have been effective on many geographical regions, are examined by the model of England, which is defined as a multicultural society in the twentieth century. In particular, the aim of the study is to analyze the individual and the social background of the conflicts of today which are originated from the multicultural structure of England, related to the novels: White Teeth (2000) and Brick Lane (2003), respectively by Zadie Smith (1975) and Monica Ali (1967), two contemporary women writers who have come from multicultural backgrounds.In the introduction part of the study, firstly, it is inspected how and in which dimensions the ?multi-national? and ?multicultural? structure of today?s England has been formed, parallel to the process of the collapse of the British Empire and the immigration to England. Afterwards, the concept of ?multiculturalism? which has appeared as a new approach in the twentieth century brought about by multicultural social structure, the point of views which are supporting or rejecting that approach, and the reflections of that approach in England are investigated.In the first chapter, as the novels which will be examined in this study are the writings reflecting the multicultural formation, ?multicultural literature? being the product of multicultural point of view and also being named as ?post-colonial literature? is dealt within the dimension of England and English literature; and the place of Zadie Smith and Monica Ali in this literary approach is observed.In the third and fourth parts of this study, ?individual and social conflicts? which intersect with each other and result from the multicultural social structure of England are analyzed related to the certain novels. In the first dimension, ?individual conflicts? originated from that kind of social structure are evaluated in relation to the immigrants and minorities, who have been exposed to the difficulties in the society on a large scale. It is argued that being considered of those groups as ?the other?, being humiliated frequently, not gaining approval in the society, and because of those reasons not being adopted in the society in which s/he lives by having the dilemma of feeling torn between create significant identity problems and inner conflicts for them.Afterwards, in the second dimension, the ?social conflicts? whether resulting from the problematic individuals experiencing inner conflicts or appearing totally out of those people are analyzed within the certain novels. In our day, the prejudices, racial and religious discrimination, xenophobia, racism which are common in great deal in the multicultural societies, and polarization comprising all of these are the main social conflicts. England as a country, which includes many citizens of diverse racial and religious origins, has been exposed to that kind of polarization on the social base and has entered into a process of social conflict ranging from racist to terrorist attacks. Consequently, the multi-national and multi-cultural social structure of England has brought many conflicts within itself, and in this study, Zadie Smith?s White Teeth and Monica Ali?s Brick Lane are explored as being two significant novels mirroring those conflicts in multicultural English society.Key Words: England, Multiculturalism, Individual and Social Conflicts, Immigrants, Minorities, Zadie Smith, Monica Ali