Marxism in WT

Reading the section on pg 198 of Marxism devoted to the ideas of Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, connections to White Teeth come to mind.

Gramsci uses the term hegemony to define the assumptions that define reality for the people of a particular culture. He says, "The working people themselves give their consent to the bourgeoisie and adopt bourgeois values and beliefs. As sustainers of the economic base, the dominant class enjoys the prestige of the masses and controls the ideology - a term used synonymously with hegemony - that shapes individual consciousness" (198).

Reading that made me look back in the text to Samad's breakdown to Irie about his complete disappointment with his sons. Not being able to identify culturally with his sons destroys Samad inside, as he wanted only the best for him and their choices in life disappoint him on different levels. He says, "These days, it feels to me like you make a devil's pact when you walk into this country. You hand over your passport at the check-in, you get stampedlllbut you mean to go back! Who would want to stay... it drags you in and suddenly you are unsuitable to return, your children are unrecognizable, you belong nowhere" (336). Samad equates England with the force that ruined his plans for his sons' futures, and would understand Gramsci's idea that "the majority of people forget about or abandon their own interests and desires and accept the dominant values and beliefs (of the country) as their own" (198).