It's MAN's work

I feel like this whole election process has revolved around the women on the scene. Michelle Obama profiled as a stylish woman in Vogue, finding out what size jeans Cindy McCain wears on CNN of all places. This is not to mention the very, very obvious difference of a female primary candidate, Hillary Clinton this time around. Superfluous as these instances may seem, I've seen in all this in passing as a woman in the United States. As well-spoken as Barack Obama is and regardless of John McCain's track record, people seem to be interested in the women behind them (or in Hillary's case, she seemed to have the most media attention of all).

I find in White Teeth that I am more interested in the women (because I'm a woman? Maybe). But, maybe because they are just far more interesting characters. Alsana has a distinct "survival" mode that makes me incredulous and Clara is more into experiencing new things in her life after being sheltered (although to me she still seemed out of place in the commune). The correlation I see between this book and the characters in this year's election-- as many surface ones come to light, which others have pointed out may only be shared because they are all human-- I see a correlation between Clara and Cindy McCain. Besides being their husbands' younger, more attractive second wives, one scene in the book sticks out in my mind to illustrate their similarity. On page 44, when Archie is straining himself moving things into the apartment, Clara easily picks up a "large armchair," even though Archie says, "It's man's work, love."

Well, is it really? She can do it, and easily, too. In my experience of people speaking about the McCains, they seem to be more excited at the prospect of Cindy being in the White House, period. I am not saying I agree with them, or with others that feel we need a woman President, either. I think we should elect the best person for the job, male or female. The similarity still stands, however. Clara didn't have to pick up the armchair. Cindy didn't have to work hard in college or start all those organizations overseas. She's a strong woman, capable of many things, who has experimented in life a bit.

Midlife Crisis

I can see a connection between the McCain family and the Jones. There are a few obvious connections to get out of the way. John and Archie both have had a failed marriage. Both men served their country. McCain was in the United States Naval Academy and Archie who served in WWII. And then they both took a turn………..

They both had controversial turning points in their lives. Archie and McCain reached a point where they needed a big change. You may even call it drastic. John McCain chose to marry Cindy who is a wealthy woman almost twenty years younger. Archie decided to marry Clara, an African American who is half his age. They really embraced this change because both married after such a short amount of time. Archie married Clara after 6 weeks and McCain waited only a year.

I am not entirely sure why either Archie or McCain were so eager to jump on the marriage wagon. You would think with both having a failed marriage under their belt that they would be a little more skeptical. Both men must have felt life slipping by. Maybe a midlife crisis took over or both were scared of dying old and alone. Taking on a younger partner would also create more life and excitement in what could be considered a dull unfulfilled life. That would apply more for Archie than McCain. I also feel a connection with the way they treat their new wives. McCain was working his way up Capitol Hill and leaving his beautiful wife way back in Arizona while Archie appears irritated and less loving to Clara once they move in together. They were looking for a change, found a change and then went right back to their old selves. It goes to show you how quickly you appreciate something and then take it for granted. They were on a new high but like most fixes it does not last forever. I am not one to judge McCains marriage but I am interested to see if Archie’s marriage will include as much separation. I am glad the McCain’s are still together but is Archie and Clara still riding on lust or is their any real love?

I used Wikipedia to catch up on McCain.

White Teeth Comparison

After beginning the reading of White Teeth, I made a couple assumptions to not just one candidate or prospective first lady, but saw many correlations to each. For example, on page eight Archie Jones states, “If it was broken, it was coming with him. All broken things were coming with him. He was going to fix every damn broken thing in the house, if only to show that he was good for something”. This can be related to how all presidential candidates try to propose to fix every thing wrong with our country. Every issue possible, they try to come up with a campaign to fix our nation’s problems; although in both Jones case and in all aspects in reality it is impossible to solve or fix every problem. I think the statement Jones was trying to make was ideal, because it seemed to be the more he could fix material things, the bigger possibility he would have on fixing his marriage. The whole fixing every broken thing was symbolic for his marriage, and is also symbolic to political issues and the candidate’s proposed solutions.

Another quote I felt was relative and obvious was on page 25 when Clara is trying to convert Ryan it is said, “Not even the Catholics would forgive them for it (and Catholics give out forgiveness at about the same rate politicians give out promises and whores give out)”. I know it already bluntly relates itself to politicians, but the point is made so well and funny.

A comedic portrayal of the election

http://sendables.jibjab.com/

???

Perhaps I am being ignorant or perhaps I don't see what is right in front of my face. After reading the chapters and a after a little bit of research on the candidates I have failed to see any type of connection of worthwhile comparison. It seems to me that trying to find some analytical, meaningful passageway between English characters based in the 70s to two U.S. presidential candidates in 2008 is a little farfetched. Yes, of course, some surface similarities do arise as the previous posts have mentioned, but do these similarities actually offer any type of insightful analysis or are they just strictly observation? I understand that being in an analytical English class it is our job to try and make comparisons among different ideas and relate them to bigger issues or grandeur ideas. Moreover, we practice making connections between abstract ideas and force analysis on their principles and underlying meanings. But possibly sometimes we lose clarity of our focus and all together compromise the integrity of our two ideas in question. If you look hard enough into anything a connection and comparison can be made, but that doesn't mean it makes it intellectually worthwhile to investigate, it may just mean it’s simply there, it just exists. If through this specific exercise we are trying to bring to light that people, in general, act in the same manner and share the same experiences, just in different ways, then yeah... we can do that. However, that is not the kind of profound argument that interests me very much. I don't think there is any connection between these characters that will somehow open up our analytical minds and bestow some sort of greater enlightenment. I’m not saying this type of work is useless, just from a 100% logically thinking perspective; I have a hard time grasping these concepts. Then again, I could just be ignorant and closed minded and be the one who is missing the point entirely.

Obama and Samad

Among the characters that we have thus been introduced to in White Teeth, I feel that the character Samad is very similar to the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. So far, we have learned that Samad is the best friend of the protagonist, Archie. Samad is a waiter at a restaurant but knows that he is intelligent enough to have a more prominent job.  He is aware of his potential as well as the potential of his children. I feel that Obama is very similar to Samad. If he does win the election he will be placed in a very difficult position. He will become president of the United States during a time of economic turmoil. Just like Samad, I am sure that Obama has the ability to see past the poor economic state of the country and see the potential that it has. I don't feel that Obama is a man who will settle for mediocrity the way that Archie is so satisfied with being mediocre. 

"White Teeth" & the Presidential Candidates

For this post I decided it would be easiest to start my research on Wikipedia. I read the information posted about both John McCain and Barack Obama and was able to find some articles referenced. It was in these articles that I found some similarities to the characters in “White Teeth.”

McCain is referred to as a maverick, and is known for his tendency to disagree with his party affiliates. While McCain is considered a Republican, columnists refer to him as “conservative” but not “a conservative.” This means that McCain does not always have a conservative stance on issues. I found this similar to Clara’s believe in the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the novel “White Teeth.” In the book, Clara removes herself from her mother’s strict religious household and stops practicing her religion. The novel states, “Clara had deserted the church and all its biblical literalism for Archibald Jones, but she was not yet the kind of carefree atheist who could laugh near altars or entirely dismiss the teachings of St. Paul (Smith 39.) While some of Clara’s actions seem that she has completely denounced religion, she still holds her beliefs. Similar to John McCain, Clara considers herself religious but she just does not agree with everything her faith teaches.

Another comparison I noticed was when I was reading an article written by Barack Obama entitled “My Spiritual Journey.” In this article Obama discusses how he was raised without a religion and how it was not until his twenties when he began working with churches that he found his Christian faith. I found this to be similar to Ryan Topps in “White Teeth.” Ryan, also a young adult, becomes a Jehovah’s Witness when Clara’s mother begins to preach the teachings to him. Similar to Obama, it is not until he has grown that Ryan finds a faith in which he truly believes.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-1,00.html Obama “My Spiritual Journey”

http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter9.html McCain “McCain becomes the ‘maverick’”

Life imitating art... John McCain as Archie Jones

I cannot imagine what John McCain must have felt like in that POW camp in Vietnam, but one can imagine that he must have felt helpless and that his situation was hopeless. Once he was rescued, he had a new lease on life. Archie experienced the same feelings when he was "rescued", not from a POW camp, but from trying to take his own life. White Teeth describes Archie as feeling that '... Fate was pulling him toward another life' (p. 15). McCain must have felt the same way. Archie was being pulled toward Clara (his second wife), and pulled McCain toward Cindy (HIS second wife).

In order to be pulled toward a second spouse, one must first leave (or be left by) a first spouse. Archie was left by his first wife, Ophelia. McCain left his first wife. White Teeth puts it well when it says, '... men retain the ancient ability to leave a family and a past. They just unhook themselves, like removing a fake beard, and skulk discreetly back into society, changed men.' (p. 15) Seeing how his first wife, Carol, had been disfigured in a car accident, McCain leaves her, his family and his past and re-enters society with Cindy. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html - website originally referenced in a post by Change is Necessary for Growth, 6-29-08)

History shows that neither man is well-suited for relationships. Archie is attracted to women 'only if they [wear] haloes' (p. 7). Clara is younger and prettier than Ophelia. Clara quickly discovers that Archie is 'no romantic hero' (p. 40) and feels that as 'average' as he is (p. 41), he should 'at least be utterly devoted to... [her] beauty, ... [her] youth' (p. 41). Instead he spends his time with Samad Iqbal, reminiscing about the way it was. The same can be said for McCain - Cindy is younger and supposedly even prettier than Carol. He is average and has not been described (to my knowledge) as passionate about anything other than his career. McCain's Samad Iqbal, in that respect, would be his country and now his desire to be the next president of the United States.

Mrs. McCain and little miss clara

Although these two women, on the outside, couldn't be more different there is more in common then you would think. Both these women were swept up at a young age by men of "status." We can say Mr. McCain had a little more the poor old Mr. Archibald Jones. These women were liked at as trophy wives as we have seen in the article we just read about Cindy McCain that she is still today viewed as one. The way Archie looked at Clara that was exactly what he thought, his trophy wife, and apparently he was not alone in his thinking, with the other men in his office, which took to her long skinny legs as well. Another similarity was they were often overlooked by their spouses, maybe by accident, but it became clear that McCain and Jones were a little too preoccupied with work and their fellow army friends. Being women who have been, in a way, suppressed by their husbands they both have a confidence to become better. Mrs. McCain with her adoption and relief organizations to Clara and her religious side, whether they continue or not, they both have been strong willled.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P_L33q73UDs&feature=related
here is cindy talking about her accomplishments like a strong willed person, she also talks about her support of her husband, which clara often does as well.