Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew up… with "no aims, no hopes, no ambitions." An ordinary Englishman with an ordinary family, Archie was drafted into WWII with no great desire to serve or prove himself. And true to form, he didn't.
Living… in London, near his former war buddy, Samad Iqbal. Despite their differing backgrounds – Samad is a former Bengali scientist, Archie is as English as tea and the Union Jack – the two are best friends, having grown close during their service in WWII.
Profession… worker at MorganHero, where he helps design the folds on paper. It's "not much of an achievement, maybe, but you'll find things need folds." And if Archie is the person who has to design them, then by God, he'll design them.
Interests… a warm dinner, a good pint, and an hour at the pub after work. Archie's a simple guy, one "whose greatest pleasures were English breakfasts and DIY."
Relationship Status… married to Clara Bowden, his youthful second wife. Archie's first marriage ended disastrously, with Ophelia leaving him after being driven mad by boredom. But Clara, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, seems to know and accept what she's getting into it.
Challenge… finding a challenge, frankly. Not that he’s looking too hard. Archie's life may be uneventful and unexceptional, but that doesn't mean he's not content with it.
Personality… kind and friendly, if indecisive. Though he's easy to get along with, Archie is also very easy to forget. With few convictions of his own, he's always willing to go along with anything that'll make his friends happy – the more ordinary, the better. Still, amidst much more fiery friends and family members, Archie's easygoing nature makes him a welcome oasis of peace.
Get to Know him in...
-
At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England's irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn't quite match her name (Jamaican for "no problem"). Samad's late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal's every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith. Set against London' s racial and cultural tapestry, venturing across the former empire and into the past as it barrels toward the future, White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.
