Lakhasly

The Importance of History in the Construction of Identity It is clear that history cannot be overlooked for creating identity.Smith, in order to solve this struggle in her novel, touches upon the problem of root and culture in the migrant families" life who settle in a multiracial London. Carefully, she focuses on the significance of history in her novel, WT, where she starts with engraving the so-called statue Washington museum "What is past is a prologue" (WT: iv).Despite those two histories being intertwined, in WT, their racial history is essentially mirrored by the first generation immigrants while the personal history and historical records are reflected by the immigrants of the second generation who struggle to construct their personal identity and history.Smith, in WT, portrays a clash between individuals in their society as far as the first and second generation migrants in multi-ethnic Britain.Besides, those migrants attempt to connect with the societies in which they do not share their standard values and regional beliefs because they feel they are estranged and different.

The Importance of History in the Construction of Identity It is clear that history cannot be overlooked for creating identity. Smith, in WT, portrays a clash between individuals in their society as far as the first and second generation migrants in multi-ethnic Britain. Besides, those migrants attempt to connect with the societies in which they do not share their standard values and regional beliefs because they feel they are estranged and different. Despite the fact that the parents of immigrants experience many difficulties in a multicultural society, it can be seen that their children face difficulties twice. Smith, in order to solve this struggle in her novel, touches upon the problem of root and culture in the migrant families‟ life who settle in a multiracial London. Carefully, she focuses on the significance of history in her novel, WT, where she starts with engraving the so-called statue Washington museum “What is past is a prologue” (WT: iv). Moreover, Smith changes the matter of root and history into personal history and racial history. Despite those two histories being intertwined, in WT, their racial history is essentially mirrored by the first generation immigrants while the personal history and historical records are reflected by the immigrants of the second generation who struggle to construct their personal identity and history. The next details concentrate on the personal history of the second generation immigrants, and how it helps them to form their personal identity. It can be noticed that the second generation immigrants who grow up in another country are not acquainted with their past, ancestral culture and their motherland.