Study of Racism, Discrimination and Exploitation in Zadie Smith’s ‘On Beauty’
Keywords:
Racism, Discrimination and ExploitationAbstract
A very fundamental issue for the narrative of On Beauty is beauty, both physical and non-physical, therefore it should come as no surprise that the title of the book recognises this. In the story, the characters have a difficult time comprehending the foundation or predictability of human responses to beauty. The book also places a significant emphasis on the attractiveness of women and the effects that this beauty has on the men in their lives, on the people in their lives in general, and on the women themselves. As an illustration, the main character, Kiki Belsey, was once stunning when she was younger. However, as she has grown older and has gained a significant amount of weight, Kiki is aware that she will never be able to achieve her former weight or return to her youthful beauty. A young woman named Victoria Kipps, who is now enrolled in college, is so stunningly gorgeous that all men ever desire from her is sex. Furthermore, the only thing that she is able to provide and take advantage of from her own attractiveness is her sexuality. Carl is a young man who is stunningly gorgeous and, similar to Victoria, Zora is only interested in him because of his physical appearance. This situation may be considered an abnormality.
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