It is important to note that White Teeth explores a wide range of themes and topics through a number of perspectives offered by different characters. Twin brothers of Samad and Alsana, Magid and Millat, are among the outstanding examples of how individual fates and parental expectations can shift the course of future developments through accidents, plans, and philosophies. The given analysis will primarily focus on the rivalry and its related elements in the story, with an emphasis on comparisons and potential causes.
The first area of exploration and analysis should be focused on how the twin brothers differed and how their father had differential expectations of them. On the one hand, Magid Mahfooz Murshed Mubtasim Iqbal is the firstborn, and he older than his brother for two seconds (Smith 43). Since the early childhood age, Magid was more mature and reserved of the two brothers. He does not embrace his ethnic heritage and clings to the standard western way of life.
On the other hand, Millat Zulfikar Iqbal is a so-called younger twin who is presented to be not as bright as his older brother (Smith 48). He grew up to be more rebellious of the two by becoming a pot smoker and trouble maker. Therefore, both brothers differed in the way they were brought up, and despite having exactly similar genetics, they exhibited vastly different behaviors since the childhood and adolescent ages. The rivalry was built-in into their brotherly relationships from the start by a wide range of influences, such as their ethnicity, culture, and parental impact.
The second area of assessment should be the result of their journeys, where they choose to become the opposite manifestations of their father’s expectations. The older brother, Magid, was sent to Bangladesh in order to become more traditional and closer to his culture and religion by his father. However, it makes him more westernized and alienated from his ethnic elements and belief systems. The younger twin brother, Millat, after a period of rebelliousness, becomes an Islamic fundamentalist (Smith 391). Therefore, the rivalry was apparent not only in how they were developing as children, teenagers, and adults but also in how they arrive at vastly different destinations, which are diametrically opposite of what their father expected from them.
The third area of their rivalry is manifested in the fact that despite the twin brothers’ vast different paths and destinies, they reunite at a single point of interest. This point of interest and reunification is Irie Ambrosia Jones, and more specifically, it is their possible fatherly connection to Irie’s daughter. It is important to note that regardless of how Millat and Magid’s paths diverged alongside their interests and worldviews, they had Irie as a common childhood friend, who also inevitably sparked and fueled their rivalry (Smith 115).
Throughout the story, Irie represents the inherent struggles experienced by minorities, where she is challenged with her sexual and racial identity. Her issues reflect how all ethnic and racial minorities, including Millat and Magid, experience a sense of loss and disorientation in regards to finding their place in a society, where they will be valued as human beings and not as members of a specific group.
In conclusion, the rivalry between Magid and Millat can be explored and assessed in three different stages in accordance with the narrative of the book. Firstly, the twin brothers had a different upbringing, where one was more mature, and the other was rebellious. Secondly, they end up becoming a diametrically opposite manifestation of their father’s expectations, such as Millat becoming Islamist and Magid detaching from his heritage. Thirdly, their paths of rivalry reunite in Irie, where she becomes a mother to a girl whose father is one of the twins.
Work Cited
Smith, Zadie. White Teeth: A Novel. Vintage, 2001.