‫ھﮫوﻟێﺮ‬-‫زاﻧﮑﯚی ﺳﮫ�ﺣﮫدﯾﻦ‬

Salahaddin University-Erbil

Character Transformation in Zadie Smith’s Swing Time: A

Feminist Reading

A Research Project

Submitted to the department of English, in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of B.A. in English Language and Literature

Submitted by:

Hevi Fuad Karam

Supervised by:

Asst Prof Dr. Saman Salah Hassan Balaky

April-2023
Abstract
The following research analyses the character transformation in Zadie Smith’s Swing
Time (2016) (abbreviated as ST), from a feminist perspective, particularly according
to Black feminism. The research focuses on the two main characters and childhood
best friends, Tracey and the narrator. In addition, systemic racism that results in
social and racial discrimination of Black individuals is elucidated, as well as its roots
in slavery. Also, Black feminism and the need to form a theory dedicated to the
unique experiences of Black women, is discussed. After taking the mentioned
struggles into account, combined with personal life experiences, their character arc
is evaluated. This transformation is depicted in two stages. First, by describing the
vulnerable state of the easily-influenced narrator. Second, by comparing the
narrator’s upbringing in an intellectual, socially reserved household to Tracey’s
troubled, uneducated one. This comparison clarifies the roles which their family
background plays in shaping their path, and potential character growth. The key
points obtained from the research can be found in its conclusion, followed by the list
of references used.

1
 Section one: Introduction
1.1 Biography of the Writer
Zadie Smith is a British writer and essayist, she is the author of the novel
Swing Time. Smith has been a part of the Royal Society of Literature since 2002.
She was pronounced one of Granta Magazine's 20 Best Young British Novelists in
the years 2003 and 2013 (Smith 2013). Her first award-winning novel White Teeth
gained her immediate recognition as a capable writer, receiving the Guardian First
Book award, the Whitbread First Novel Award, and the James Tait Black Memorial
Prize (Smith 2013). The novel served as an incentive to pursue writing as a
profession, succeeded by many works, and eventually her fifth novel Swing Time.

Swing Time was nominated for the Man Book Prize award in 2017, which
reflects her childhood love of tapdancing. It is rampant with autobiographical
elements. A part from the story revolving around a form of dance she was
exceptionally passionate about as a child, Smith has also claimed only a third of the
story takes place in London, which reflects her own life (Volmers 2016). Also, the
protagonist’s family patterns are fairly similar to that of Zadie’s. For example, they
are both of working-class families whose parents divorced when they were still
teenagers. In addition, they both have Jamaican mothers and white British fathers
(Edemariam 2005). Zadie also has a half older brother and sister who seem to make
an appearance in Swing Time.

Certain elements seem to distinguish her writing from the rest, that includes elements
of race, identity, politics, education and class. Zadie is reportedly critical of the
liberal upper middle-class family. In her writings she highlights issues of class and
race often linking the two together (Tikkanen 2021). Another notable aspect of her
writing is the representation of characters of marginalized communities with utmost
detail and careful consideration of their social and economic status within the
2
contemporary society. Smith’s great contribution to literature as a woman of color
serves as an inspiration to countless of under-represented individuals in that field.

1.2 Brief Description of the Plot

Two little girls, Tracey and the narrator, both of mixed race, enroll in
tapdancing classes. They proceed to become best friends. While, Tracy proves to be
a natural at dancing, achieving great success very shortly, the narrator’s potential
falls short due to her flat feet that impede her success in dancing. Tracey is then
admitted into a stage school in order to pursue her passions. However, she notably
grows more and more rebellious with the progression of the novel. In one instance,
it was revealed that Tracey has stolen the keys to a cashbox saved up for a concert
by their dance teacher. In another event, the narrator and her mother try to rescue
Tracy from having a drug overdose.

They grow distant as they grow older due to family problems. After the
narrator is admitted into university, she decides to move in with her father.
Following her graduation, she starts to work as a stagehand after being persuaded by
Tracey. Eventually, she decides to give up her position after a few months when she
gets an internship at YTV. Exasperated, Tracey sends her a letter claiming she has
seen the narrator’s dad in bed with a black blowup doll. The narrator stops talking
to her for 8 years following this incident.

Following several years of working for YTV, she becomes the personal
assistant of Aimee, the famous popstar, and helps her in the process of building an
only-girls school in a rural village of West Africa. Once the school is built, the
narrator notices that the village is in an even worse condition since their arrival and
loses hope in their mission. Aimee on the other hand, does not seem much concerned

3
with the school. Instead, she is occupied with Lamin, the Senegalese guide, whom
she plans to bring back with her to New York.

She meets up with her mother after returning to London who tells her that
Tracey has been sending her continuous abusive emails criticizing her shortcomings
as a member of the parliament. To confront Tracey, the narrator visits her only to
see Tracey, out of shape, and poorly dressed. After sitting for a while, the narrator
finds out Tracey has quit dancing, her mom has passed away, and she has three
children from different dads. Unable to reach a conclusion from their discussion,
they separate on bad terms.

Upon deciding to visit the village one last time, Aimee adopts a child. There,
she meets with Lamin who confesses he is not interested in Aimee because of her
age. As the moment grows intimate, they end up having a sexual affair despite not
being in love. Fern, a Portuguese man who worked with them on the school, and
who had been previously rejected by the narrator, finds out about the affair and
emails Aimee once they are back in New York, getting the narrator fired.

Infuriated after losing her job, the narrator releases the contracts she had
gotten her hands on to the public, revealing the child was adopted through illegal
means, causing outrage. Once the narrator is sent back to London, she is shocked to
find out a childhood video of her and Tracey dancing provocatively has been
released. Also, Aimee seemingly managed to counter the rumors by inviting over
the child’s parents who confessed to have willingly given up their baby to Aimee.

Visiting her mother in the hospital, she is continuously asked to adopt

Tracey’s children, believing Tracey’s not a good parent. Her mother dies the same
day. She heads to Tracey’s house, trying to find a middle ground, securing a decent

4
child for the children without resorting to taking them from Tracey. Upon reaching
her apartment, she finds Tracey on the balcony dancing with her children.

5
 Section Two: Black Feminist Theory
2.1 Race as a Determining Factor for Economic and Social Class
In his book “Cities and Race: America’s New Black Ghetto” David Wilson
(2007, 12-13) argues that the concepts of “race”, “culture”, and “economy” are
intertwined. In the Western World, race is better defined as a social concept that
serves as a tool to perpetuate the exploitation and ostracizing of Black individuals.
Race is in direct connection to certain economic policies by the political elite to
maintain power. Racializing every aspect of life is what preserves the social-
hierarchy that benefits a few. Black people are thus isolated within communities of
very low socioeconomic status in areas known as the Black ghetto. Nearly %95 of
their population is Black, %35 of which are living below poverty rate. These areas
suffer from governmental neglect in terms of construction, education, public and
social services, and lack opportunities. Ostracization is another aspect of the
residents’ struggle, the ghettos are cut off from the rest of the urban city, vilified in
media and portrayed as a contaminated part of the city.

Under the capitalist system, the values of the cities are scaled by their income.
Because the areas have long been established as non-contributory, they tint the
image the new capitalist cities try to set up for themselves, the ghetto is thus an
obstacle that needs to be overcome. Politicians often highlight the consumerist
nature of these communities, berating their inability to provide and contribute
adequately to the system. The ghettos are deemed as an infestation that provides little
apart from crimes, gangs, high birth rates, and crumbling buildings. This established
viewpoint creates an adverse attitude towards the entirety of the Black race by the
rest of the citizens, to the points that isolating the ghetto areas is not just rationalized
but becomes a civic responsibility. Different measures have been taken to assure

6
this, including but not limited to: Strict policing, curfews, stigmatization of Black
youth, extensive surveillance in public places (Wilson 2007, 87).

The main cause behind this race-oriented socioeconomic discrimination dates

back to centuries ago, with the beginning of the slave-trade in the Western World.
According to Baron (1983, 27), the 16th century as the Europeans were colonizing
the Americas, they would frequently bring along African slaves. Although slave-
trading activity had previously existed, it could come nowhere near the pressure the
New World slaves had to face. With the development of an international market,
slaves had to cover a rate of production greatly beyond what was required of former
slaves. Also due to the African populations’ pagan beliefs and lack of Western-based
civilized behavior, there was little to no limitation for the owners in terms of the
treatment of the slaves. In order to preserve the status quo, naturally a “culture of
control” sprouted. The slaves had to be kept in a subordinate position, and because
the slaves were black and the owners white, naturally this power-dynamic was color-
based. The Black individuals had to be degraded and seen as inferior in order for
slavery to continue, and for owner’s power to remain in a fixed position. Otherwise,
without slavery there would be no international market, no blooming economy, and
the living standards would drop significantly.

The abolishment of slavery in the United States in 1865, did not really liberate
the Black individual, their labor was still confined to an agrarian status. The White
planters still had close to complete control over the Black workers’ labor which
reinforced socioeconomical structures. As the labor demand increased after WW1,
the cities in the north started to receive Black workers in large numbers, and for the
first time there was a shift in the laborers’ agrarian position. More Black workers
headed north with The Great Depression until they made up the majority of the Black
population in the United States, who came together and formed communities in the

7
inner cities known as the ghetto (Baron 1983, 40-49). The “culture of control” was
highly present in the Black ghettos, the community was under extensive regulation,
which could be considered an alternative to the Jim Crow laws in the south. The Jim
Crow laws legalized racial segregation, which catered to the White supremacists.
Although these laws have now been abolished, systematic racism is still an integral
part of modern-day United States. Socioeconomic discrimination against the Black
community is an ongoing concern. Mostly working for minimum wage, the average
worker needs to do work under very hard and demanding conditions to meet the
highest amount of profit for little pay. The jobs that are usually avoided by the White
working class is taken on by racial minorities, and are characterized by their stagnant
nature, or lack of promotion. The “culture of control” is thus very much alive and
institutionalized in the American governing system and society (50-53).

2.2 The Need for Black Feminism

During the progression of the second wave of feminism, more and more
women started to detach themselves from the New Left organizations, mainly due
to how male-dominated the movement was. The female-liberation struggle was often
pushed aside and neglected (Shulman 1980). The irony of the matter is, within the
feminist movement itself this hierarchy was present. White middle-class women
were the dominant forces in play, largely suppressing the voices of women of color
and lower-class women. The line between racial and economic oppression is blurry
when it comes to African women, due to their historical presence in The West.
According to The Combahee River Collective (2014, 274), African women in The
West simultaneously stand with African men on the bases of racial inequality, and
against them, on the basis of gender discrimination.

Suppressing the attempts of a marginalized group to express and shape their

identity, outside the influence of the dominant group, is what perpetuates the

8
hierarchical social order. It not just sweeps the unjust existing patterns under the rug,
but also gives the impression that the marginalized group is an active participant.
The first stage of liberation is then to address the struggles faced by the particular
group, and rewrite their identity based on the knowledge of their personal experience
(Collins 2000). Collins (4-5) points to three distinct yet interlinked ways in which
Black women face oppression in The West. First way is through economic means.
When one’s main objective from day to day is survival, they will not find adequate
time to cultivate themselves intellectually. Second is oppression in the political
system. During the segregation Black women were admitted to underfunded schools
that failed to provide appropriate education. Black women also did not have the same
political rights as the white man did. Third, the way sexist and racist narratives have
been integrated into the political and social systems in different Western countries
presents a great impediment in the face of Black women attaining their rights.
Different detrimental stereotypes have been created to rationalize this negative
image of Black women, as a part of the “culture of control.” Including depicting
them as promiscuous, unproductive, uneducated, and so on.

The exceptionality of Black women’s struggle calls for the formation of a

distinct theory and movement led by Black women to form the intellectual ground
upon which they are able to control the narratives about their existence and
experience. Because their identity is simultaneously rooted in their blackness,
making them the target of institutional racism, and womanhood, making them victim
of the sexist social structure, Michelle Wallace, a black feminist author refers to their
position as “bottom” stating:

We exist as women who are Black who are feminists, each stranded for the moment,
working independently because there is not yet an environment in this society
remotely congenial to our struggle - because, being on the bottom, we would have
to do what no one else has done: we would have to fight the world (Wallace 1975,
6-7).

9
 This position separates black women’s struggle from the rest, since being at
the “bottom” indicates they face almost every form of oppression ingrained in the
white-supremacist-capitalist-patriarchal social institutions. This idea is emphasized
by Bell Hooks (1983), she claims that by excluding poor Non-White women, the
mainstream feminist movement reinforces classism, sexism, and racism. At the same
time, she scorns the Black nationalist movement for resorting to sexism as a means
to overcome racial discrimination. She blames slavery for the low socioeconomic
position black women possess. It is thus clear that to liberate Black women, every
form of inequality on every different aspect must be eliminated. Black women’s
liberation is then the liberation of all marginalized groups, which is what makes it
so essential.

10
 Section Three: Character Transformation in Zadie Smith’s
Swing Time: A Feminist Reading

3.1 Impact of Tracey and the Narrator’s Mother in Shaping the

Narrator’s Character
Zadie Smith’s works are renowned and widely admired by literary critics for
addressing themes of race, religion, gender, culture and traditions. It was her vital
contribution to the representation of marginalized communities and identities that
attracted the interest of readers and critics. However, viewing ST through a lens that
is strictly racial, or strictly cultural, or strictly feminist would be neglecting many
elements the novel holds. The novel, aside from being multi-faceted, also contains
profound development and a deep examination into the characters psychology, their
relationship to their surroundings, and the ways in which they are impacted by it.

This subsection will place focus on how Zadie has used environment as a tool
to shape the character’s personality and behavior. Because the novel is recounted in
first-person narration, the main character’s relationship to her two biggest childhood
influences will be analyzed. This analysis will cover the instances where the
narrator’s mother and her childhood best friend, Tracey’s influence, were reflected
in the protagonist’s behavior and decisions.

From reading the novel, it becomes increasingly apparent that the narrator is
a confused character. Staring from the confusion of being birthed in the completely
different worlds of her Jamaican mother and white father, to the complex
relationship she had with two completely opposing characters, Tracey and her
mother. Lastly, the cultural shock and identity-struggle she experiences upon
reaching Africa. This characteristic is seemingly alluded to by the unnamed state of
the protagonist. Throughout the novel, her name is never mentioned or referred to.

11
Roberta Seelinger (1997) suggests that a character’s name is the key indicator of
their subjectivity. The lack of a name to be referred to equates the lack of agency.
This lack of agency refers back to the lack of subjective personality in the narrator.
Instead of being a complete character with an established personality, she is the
combination of the influence of the behavior and disposition of those around her.

Tracey and the narrator’s mother however, are the two fundamental characters
upon whom the narrator’s thoughts and behavior can be accounted for. Her mother
is described as a feminist and a leftist, who dresses plainly and never wears makeup.
She is also highly educated, and spends most of her time reading books. On the other
hand, Tracey is whimsical, rebellious, and dresses provocatively. The narrator’s
mother is scornful towards Tracey, considering her ghettoized and a bad influence
on her daughter. In fact, she works hard to get her family out of the ghettos, due to
the bad living standards. It has been suggested by Wilson (2007) that the inner cities
are notorious for poverty, lack of education, and consumerist culture due to the
Western governments’ shortcomings and racial discrimination.

One of the main reasons behind the narrator’s disinterest in dancing, and her
concern and ambition to pursue her education, is her mother’s cerebral narcissism.
Narcissism is defined by Krizan (2017, 2) as possessing an unnormal arrogance and
self-centeredness, associated with attributes like ambition and desire to lead. Her
mother’s narcissism is mostly prompted by her intellectual input, and her
understanding of systemic oppression. Understanding the ways residents of the
ghetto were kept in a cycle of exploitation and ignorance, provided her with a sense
of superiority. In many instances she behaves rather condescendingly towards
individuals in her community. Furthermore, she abhors her social position as a
mother, refusing to do any housework, and spending most of her time away from her
family. This is reflected in the narrator’s future decisions in her love life and career.

12
 Her mother, although advocating for the right of black people and educated
about institutional racism and actively condemning it, yet unknowingly partakes in
it. Her first impression on Tracey, the only black girl at the dance class alongside her
daughter, was that she is fatherless: “As mother had guessed at once-that there was
no ‘Tracey’s father’ at least not in the conventional married sense” (ST, 3) Also, she
mocks Tracey for being passionate about dancing. In chapter six of part one in the
novel her mother says:

It’s a kind thing to play with her, but she’s been raised in a certain way, and the
present is all she has. You have been raised in another way-don’t forget that. That
silly dance class is her whole world. It’s not her fault-that’s how she’s been raised.
But you’re clever (ST, 18)
This passage shows her sentiments towards dancing and art a whole. Despite being
a leftist, she looks down on “unpractical” professions, and associating them with
lack of education and even stupidity. Marx (2015) suggests that under capitalism,
every profession, is reduced to a means of making profit, and everyone is a wage
laborer. And despite claiming to be racially aware, she uses terms against Tracey
that reflect the racist narratives against black people. These narratives include
associations with lack of intelligence, lack of skill, and criminal tendencies. Sheridan
(1996) argues these narratives stem from a history stained by slavery and racial
discrimination. The narrator is impacted by this mindset growing up. She thinks little
of Tracey after attending university: “I felt a little sorry for her, her world seemed
childish to me, just a way of playing with the body, whereas I could walk down the
hall and attend a lecture” (ST, 214). Gradually, as she realizes her mother’s
hypocrisy, especially when she leaves her father for a superficial academic man, she
becomes less certain. This coupled with her trip to Africa where her worldview is
challenged, resulting in a character arc. This greatly impacts her decision to find a
common ground in the last scene.

13
 Tracey is, in most aspects, the polar opposite of the narrator’s mother. She
uses her body as a means to get male validation, lies about her father being one of
Michael Jackson’s backup dancers, and displays signs of anger-temperament
problems and jealousy. This behavior shows Tracey’s inferiority complex. Alfred
Alder (1930, 59-60) describes inferiority complex as a great feeling of inadequacy
caused by the person’s environment. The social context explains the need to
compensate for one’s inferiority. Tracey’s family, present an archetype model for
the ghetto residents. Her father is a criminal who is continuously in and out of prison,
and her mother is a vulgar ill-mannered woman. Due to lack of education, they fail
to create a healthy environment for their child. According to a study published by
The Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, black youth are more likely to suffer
psychological distress and experience violent tendencies because of their
environment (Hicks, Kernsmith and Smith-Darden 2020). Being her best friend, the
narrator is subsequently impacted by the discriminatory belief system of the ghetto,
despite her mother’s relentless attempts to mentally detach her from it. Plenty of the
precipitous and self-indulgent choices the narrator makes later on in the story can be
traced back to Tracey.

From a very young age Tracey exhibits signs of hypersexuality, ranging from
indulging in sexual activity with male classmates, to behaving in a sexual manner
with the narrator. In attempt to relate to her, and be perceived popular like her, the
narrator also follows her footsteps, although often feeling awkward and
uncomfortable because of her upbringing. In a friend’s birthday party, they decide
to dance to one of the songs by the famous singer, Aimee. Aimee is a promiscuous
pop-star known for producing indecorous and erotic music. Dressed in their friend’s
mother’s lace camisoles that Tracey coerces the narrator to wear: “Before I could
speak Tracey was pulling my dress up over my head” (ST, 55). They begin to dance

14
provocatively while being recorded. When the video is eventually published by
Tracey, it greatly affects the narrator’s reputation. Vandenbosch and Eggermont
(2012) suggest that the exposure of young girls to sexualized media leads to self-
objectification. This phenomenon happens when girls internalize beauty standards
and sexist stereotypes of womanhood on their body. Artists in the Black community,
and especially female artists, are depicted as highly sexual in mass media. Collins
(2004, 120-121) argues that Black women in general are sexualized, perceived as
“wild” and promiscuous in most modern western societies. These stereotypes
negatively impact black children. Epstein et al. (2017) assert that Black girls are
treated more like adults and even more sexualized due to the harmful image created
of them. This pressures them to mature faster and take part in activities associated
with adults, this process is called “adultification” which frames Black girls as less
innocent. Tracey’s sexual liberation seems to have had an impact on the narrator’s
character. Near the end of the novel, the narrator indulges in a sexual affair with
Aimee’s love interest, Lamin. Little clue has been provided for any romantic interest
between the two. This passage in part seven, chapter six shows that the only notable
inducement is lust:

I think I knew then that it would happen between us, that night, or the next, and that
it would be a commiseration offered with the body, in the absence of any clearer or
more articulate solution. We didn’t kiss, not in that moment, he didn’t even reach
for my hand. There was no need (ST, 310).
Tracey starts to smoke when she is barely considered a teen. At such a young
age many of her behavior could be considered too old for her. There may be an
indication as to why that is. One day, while the two girls are playing with toys,
Tracey addresses the dolls in a manner that seems to be reminiscent of how she has
been addressed: “You slag- she ain’t even my kid” (ST, 16) In another instance, when
they are writing stories, Tracey always includes characters suffering from physical
violence, and her stories always ended on a bad note. As she gets older, her actions

15
became more serious. She starts to commit outright crimes, including theft, drug
consumption, and targeted harassment. The psychological pressure placed on Black
children is likely to lead to drug use and delinquency (Hicks, Kernsmith and Smith-
Darden 2020). Tracey’s actions are an unfortunate byproduct of systemic
oppression. The narrator’s final decision to release the documents accusing Aimee
of illegally adopting an African child, reminds the reader of Tracey’s actions. In fact,
it is almost parallel to Tracey releasing the footage of their erotic dance as children.
Like Tracey, the narrator also becomes a provocateur. Indignant by how the
narrator’s mother has looked down on her, and did little to help her while she was in
a troubled-youth center, Tracey sends her abusive emails. There is little to gain from
the harassment, it is done with the pure intent of abuse. In a similar way, the narrator
resorts to sleeping with Lamin again, this time it is mainly as a tool of vengeance
against Aimee, which destroys her career. This passage is from her stream of
consciousness: “I think we both knew perfectly well that whatever passion existed
between us was directed through the other person toward something else- simply to
prove to ourselves our own mutual independence from Aimee. She was really the
person we were aiming at” (ST, 318).

And thus, it becomes clear the narrator’s mother and Tracey play key-roles in
the novel aside from their direct presence. They also indirectly take part in the
narrator’s life choices and personality as the novel progresses. Stuck between two
opposite worlds growing up, her decisions may at times seem contradictory, or even
hypocritical. It is only upon analyzing her childhood experiences and environment,
that her actions start to make sense. Her thoughts and actions allude to an internal
struggle between leaning in to the system and resisting it. Tracy and her mother are
the main forces driving the plot and determining the main character’s moral
compass.

16
3.2 The Main Characters’ Destiny Based on Their Attitude Towards
Systemic Racism

Systemic racism is a major theme in Zadie Smith’s Swing Time. It provides

context to the characters’ living conditions and events in the plot. Without taking
patterns of racial injustice in the West into account, understanding the novel would
not be a possible task. Aside from its presence in parts of the novel significant to the
development of the plot, institutional racism is also hinted at in filler scenes. For
example, when the narrator starts to work in a restaurant owned by a racist Iranian
man, she is told that her people “don’t pay, or they fight, or they drug dealers.” (ST,
242) Her family’s financial problems, as well as the social pressure put on her is
alluded to continuously throughout the novel. This does not just add an element of
realism but also depicts the social and economic system rooted in sexism and racism
quite accurately.

The novel offers a complex relationship between the two main characters and
systemic racism. This subsection will be concerned with the role it plays in relation
to the destiny of the characters. Both are of a working-class background, affected by
the negative racial stereotypes, and raised in troubled households. However, due to
the differences in their upbringing and circumstances, they end up in very different
paths. Each of them behaves differently towards what is socially expected of them,
their economic instability, and unjust power dynamics.

The education the narrator has received from her mother gives her the upper
hand in navigating the system. She had the privilege of seeing the world from a more
comprehensive perspective. Often times, her mother would warn her about the ways
in which Black girls like her could potentially be exploited. She would advise her
against pursuing dancing as anything more serious than a hobby. To her, any form

17
of using one’s body to attain an objective, is perpetuating sexist narratives that result
in female objectification. This explains why in several instances the narrator
hesitates to indulge certain actions, especially in a sexual context, when she is
reminded of her mother. In addition, she had formerly abandoned Jamaica to secure
a promising future for her daughter: “I knew my mother left home to escape all that,
so that no daughter of hers would ever become a child with a child” (ST, 10). Her
mother’s worldview alongside having a white father, helped construct a separate
experience for her than other Black kids. Normally, Black individuals operate within
a racist system, which to some extent shapes their identity. Bonilla-Silva (2014, 15-
16) claims that every aspect of life has been “racialized” through various historical
and political processes, Black people live with the consciousness that their skin acts
as an obstacle. This might not be as applicable for the narrator due to her upbringing
and domestic environment. When she explains her love for dancing to classical
music, she defines the dancer as “a man from nowhere, without parents or siblings,
without a nation or people, without obligation of any kind” (ST, 12) Whilst Tracey
describes classical music as “white music.” This comparison is made to draw the
reader to the fact that the narrator is not bound by racial bias and its limitation, or at
least she does not seem to be. Furthermore, she is fond of the idea of collaborating
alongside White people: “In films and photographs, I had seen white men sitting at
their pianos as black girls stood by them, singing. Oh, I wanted to be like those girls”
(ST, 12). This desire foreshadows her future career with Aimee.

Tracey, on the other hand, is completely affected by the negative

consequences of systemic racism and sexism. Her mother, although a White woman,
is a lower-class uneducated woman who “acts black.” While the narrator’s mother,
a Black woman, “acts white.” Peterson-Lewis and Bratton (2004) carried out a study
on a group of Black teenagers, who proposed that “acting white” refers to academic

18
success. In contrast, “acting black” is associated with habits that cause academic
failure. Moreover, having a preference for a certain kind of music, clothes,
hairstyles, and manner of speech is also associated with acting black. What is
interesting is that certain terms were used by the teens, which reflected negative,
almost derogatory qualities, including “acting disrespectful,” “ignorant,” “using foul
language,” “bad grammar,” and more. Unknowingly, Black individuals perpetuate
their own oppression through internalizing stereotypes associated with them. These
harmful stereotypes align with the general behavior of Tracey’s mother, she often
acts aggressive, dismissive, and disrespectful. Even in terms of physical appearance
they adhere to the consumerist nature of the inner city, as described by the narrator:
“logos, tin bangles, and hoops, diamante everything, expensive trainers” (ST, 3). In
addition, Tracey’s mother also dresses her daughter inappropriately, using her as a
token, while the narrator is dressed plainly by her mother. However, the narrator
concludes both of their mothers use them as tokens, with the exception that her own
mother uses her to show off her own material restraint. Thus, Tracy is impacted by
all the detrimental narratives designed to retain Black individuals from climbing up
the social ladder. These polarized viewpoints towards racial dynamics are very
important during the analysis of the plot’s development.

As they get older, the narrator pursues her education and eventually becomes
the personal assistant of Aimee, the famous pop-singer. She is then economically
well off, gets to travel frequently, and enjoy a life of luxury. During the interview
preceding her employment the narrator recounts wearing: “a close-fitting green crop
top,” “a pair of space-age Air Jordans,” and “a fake nose ring” (ST, 64). This might
sound confusing or even hypocritical, especially to the Non-Western readers. They
might as to why she would put up a performance that is not just far from her identity,
but that she grew up associating with “bad taste.” What is even more strange is that

19
she was hired because Aimee thought she was rude. Meanwhile, judging by the
narrator’s internal monologues, she is a quite self-conscious and logical character,
at times she may even come off as insecure. Here it is important to introduce the
concept of “commodification of Black culture.” Cherid (2021, 360-362) suggests
that capitalism has turned Black mainstream culture, that was usually associated with
lack of education, uncivilized behavior, and vulgarity, into a means of making profit.
Androutsopoulos and Scholz (2003) argue that this phenomenon is especially
apparent in the music industry, where the cultural aspects of the Black society and
its customs are taken out of their social context and blended with another. While the
privileged participants of this process gain wealth and fame, the actual demographic
whom this culture belongs too are largely marginalized and looked down on.
According to a study published by Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,
Black individuals have to resort to what is called “racial codeswitching” which is
switching one’s accent, style of speech, appearance, and mannerisms to sound
“white” since their “blackness” is considered unprofessional (McCluney, et al.
2021). This explains why Tracey ultimately fails to succeed, she is the representation
of the majority of her people, constantly exploited and hindered by the system.

When the narrator visits Tracey during a performance after having not seen
her for eight years, she is shocked to find out how little Tracey has come in her
career. Moreover, she has adapted the stage name “Tracee Le Roy” a Frenchified
version of her name, and straightened her curly hair. This is a visible instance of
racial codeswitching in the novel. The paradox that can be drawn here is how the
narrator, raised in a highly educated household, resorts to performing what is
stereotypically associated with “blackness” to achieve success. While Tracey,
already affected by the sexist and racist standards of Black women, has to appear
white and “civilized” to make it. From the biography that appeared on the stage, it

20
was clear Tracey had not graduated stage school, and she had not taken part in any
other performance of great significance. She had a minor role even in the
performance she was taking part in. The main role, which was meant to be a dark-
skin woman, was played by a White woman. This replacement of originally black
characters by White actors is called “whitewashing.” Smith (2021) argues that this
practice results in reducing the number and relevance of Black actors, that are
already few in number. The narrator notices this and exclaims, “few roles there were
for actors like me and even when such roles did exist you couldn’t get them,
somebody always gave them to a white girl” (ST, 271). This speech indicates the
narrator is becoming progressively racially aware, but she never acts upon her
indignation, until near the end of the novel. When heading out, she sees Tracey’s
mother in a car with two kids in the back, “I wondered whether this, and nothing
else, was the true reason the story of Tracey’s life took so little time to read” (ST,
273) she thinks. Barber et al. (2015) suggest that Black women are more likely to
give birth earlier and in larger numbers than White women. Various factors
contribute to this including: socioeconomic status, family background, lack of
education, and negative attitudes towards contraception. Thus, Tracey’s life is stuck
in a stagnant state. As a Black woman, she is contained by both her blackness and
her womanhood.

The narrator’s racial consciousness grows significantly when she starts to lose
hope in Aimee’s charity work in West Africa. Not just that they were contributing
little to nothing, but they were actively causing harm: “The government seemed to
have withdrawn from the village generally: many other previously well-running, or
reasonably well-running, services now languished cruelly” (ST, 224). Aimee’s main
concern however, was the headlines, and gaining a positive reputation on the
expense of the villagers. The narrator’s mother had predicted this when the narrator

21
told her about Aimee’s plan: “White woman saves Africa, is that the idea?” (ST,
111). The narrator’s mother refers to what is known as “white savior complex,” a
term coined by Aronson (2017) which refers to White people carrying out barely
significant charity work in nations infested with corruption or oppression. This is
usually done to be placed on a pedestal and renowned a hero, which can be alarming
as it reinforces colonial and white-supremacist narratives. After the narrator’s
mother accuses Aimee’s team of collaborating with the dictatorial government, the
narrator is humiliated and alienated by Aimee as revenge. After constant
humiliation, disappointment from the trip, and Aimee’s power over her, the narrator
directs her frustration towards having an affair with Lamin, Aimee’s love interest.
This is a great step in the development of the narrator’s character, who usually
assumed a passive role, and contemplated things logically. She is then more decisive,
vengeful, reckless, and determined. As a child, she would often feel hesitant or even
ashamed during sexual activity. In contrast, after sleeping with Lamin, she
experiences no such emotions: “I did not, when I saw him, feel in any way self-
conscious, nor was I ashamed” (ST, 313). This displays significant character
development. After getting fired, she realizes, as her mother had warned her once,
that she wasted her entire youth working for Aimee, and had no identity of her own.
This leads her to release documents accusing Aimee of illegal adoption, which again
shows proactiveness that did not seem to be a part of her character beforehand. She
is, for the first time, seen making her own life choices, instead of following her
mother, Tracey, or even Aimee.

When she goes back to see Tracey to confront her about the abusive emails,
she saw Tracey had gotten overweight, and unattractive. Furthermore, she was
raising three children of three different dads. Tracey’s life reflects the failure of most
Black individuals, living in the impoverished inner cities, from reaching their dreams

22
and goals. Constantly pushed back by poverty, lack of education, and exploitation.
Turning to harmful coping mechanisms, in Tracey’s case being abusive and blaming
others for her failure. When the narrator goes back to see her mom at the hospital,
she is told to raise Tracey’s kids. However, she decides to find a middle-ground
instead of taking to her mother’s advice. This shows she has bypassed her vulnerable
state, and has taken back agency over her life. She is the one who makes the choice,
and judges the morality of her mother’s decision. On her way to see Tracey for the
las time, she catches a glimpse of her dancing with her children. Although the
interpretations vary according to the readers point of view, this may be an indication
that despite her shortcomings, she stands by her decisions, and her passion.

And so, both characters undergo major transformations, each in accordance to

their unique experiences. The narrator, from an educated background, takes part in
the entertainment industry. The events she witnesses or undergoes, whether related
to the racial, personal, or emotional aspect of her life, shapes her character.
Transforming from a passive easily-influenced character, into one that is decisive
and fairly mature. Tracey, from an early age was a reckless child, from a troubled
family in a troubled neighborhood, this unfortunate state of life shapes her character.
Growing up, the only noticeable change is her behavior is that she gets gradually
more reckless and self-destructive with time. Resulting in an almost equal position
to that of her mother. Yet, even to the very last sentence of the novel, remains
undoubtful, and haughty.

23
Conclusion
Character transformation in Zadie Smith’s Swing Time is an exceptional
phenomenon. This research analyzed how the character transformation of the main
characters came about. With the use of Black feminist theory, that is concerned with
the racial and gender-based struggles of Black women, their early life is scrutinized.
This includes analyzing how as a child the narrator was under the influence of both
her mother, a racially conscious woman, and Tracey, negatively impacted by
institutional racism and sexism. One encouraging self-restraint, the other defiance.
Tracey’s childhood is also examined, the ways in which living in a troubled
household of uneducated parents impacted her mental state and personality. Through
their attitude towards race, their career and potential success in life is determined,
while gender determines their approach to romantic and sexual interests. The
narrator, living with an educated mom who protects her daughter against the cycles
of oppression, has the upper hand while navigating the system. Tracey, however,
being of ghettoized vulgar parents, ends up in the same cycle that traps Black women
and hinders them from reaching their dreams. Her dream of becoming a famous
dancer is halted after birthing multiple kids from different fathers. Upon realizing
her servile state working for a famous White woman, the narrator becomes
disillusioned and ultimately rebels, getting her fired. She shifts from a passive
character to a determined one. Thus, despite her apparent losses she grows
psychologically as a person. Tracey also shows determinism in dancing with her kids
in the end of the novel.

24
References
Alder, Alfred. 1930. The Science of Living. London: Lowe and Brydone Printers.

Androutsopoulos, Jannis and Arno Scholz. 2003. “Spaghetti Funk: Appropriations of Hip-Hop Culture
and Rap Music in Europe.” Popular Music and Society 26, no. 4 (April 23): 463–79.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0300776032000144922.

Aronson, Brittany A. 2017. “The White Savior Industrial Complex: A Cultural Studies Analysis of a
Teacher Educator, Savior Film, and Future Teachers.” Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis 6, no. 3:
36-54. https://doi.org/10.31274/jctp-180810-83.

Barber, Jennifer S., Jennifer Eckerman Yarger, and Heather H. Gatny. 2015. “Black-White Differences in
Attitudes Related to Pregnancy among Young Women.” Demography 52, no. 3 (June 12): 751–86.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-015-0391-4.

Baron, Harold. 1983. "The Demand for Black Labor: Historical Notes on the Political Economy of
Racism." In Workers' Struggles, Past and Present, by James Green, 25-56. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press.

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2014. Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial
Inequality in America. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Cherid, Maha Ikram. 2021. “‘Ain’t Got Enough Money to Pay Me Respect’: Blackfishing, Cultural
Appropriation, and the Commodification of Blackness.” Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies 21,
no. 5 (July 14): 359–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/15327086211029357.

Collins, Patricia Hill. 2000. Black Feminist Thought; Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of
Empowerment. London and New York: Routledge.

Collins, Patricia Hill. 2004. Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. New
York: Routledge.

Edemariam, Aida. 2005. “Learning curve.” Septermber 3. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group.
Accessed April 4, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/sep/03/fiction.zadiesmith.

Epstein, Rebecca, Jamilia Blake, and Thalia Gonzzlez. 2017. “Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black
Girlss Childhood.” SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3000695.

25
Hicks, Megan R., Poco Kernsmith, and Joanne Smith-Darden. 2020. “The Effects of Adverse Childhood
Experiences on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors among Black Children and Youth.” Journal of
Child & Adolescent Trauma 14, no. 1: 115–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-020-00316-y.

Hooks, Bell. 1983. Ain't I a Woman. United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited.

Krizan, Zlatan, and Anne D. Herlache. 2017. “The Narcissism Spectrum Model: A Synthetic View of
Narcissistic Personality.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 22, no. 1: 3–31.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868316685018.

Marx, Karl. 2015. The Communist Manifesto . London: Penguin.

McCluney, Courtney L., Myles I. Durkee, Richard E. Smith, Kathrina J. Robotham, and Serenity Sai-Lai
Lee. 2021. “To Be, or Not to Be…Black: The Effects of Racial Codeswitching on Perceived
Professionalism in the Workplace.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 97: 104199.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104199.

Peterson-Lewis, Sonja, and Lisa M. Bratton. 2004. “Perceptions of ‘Acting Black’ among African
American Teens: Implications of Racial Dramaturgy for Academic and Social Achievement.” The Urban
Review 36, no. 2: 81–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-004-0614-2.

Seelinger, Roberta. 1997. Waking Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Voices in Children’s Novels. Iowa:
University of Iowa Press.

Sheridan, Earl. 1996. “The New Accommodationists.” Journal of Black Studies 27, no. 2: 152–71.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2784746.

Shulman, Alix Kates. 1980. “Sex and Power: Sexual Bases of Radical Feminism.” Signs 5, no. 4: 590–
604. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3173832.

Smith, Alyssa M. 2021. "Whitewashing v. Blackwashing: Structural Racism and Anti-Racist Praxis in
Hollywood Cinema," Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar, (College of Wooster).

Smith, Zadie. 2013." Zadie Smith." Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann. July 1. Accessed April 4,
2023. http://www.zadiesmith.com.

Smith, Zadie. 2016. Swing Time. New York: Penguin Press.

The Combahee River Collective. 2014. “A Black Feminist Statement.” Women’s Studies Quarterly 42,
no. 3/4: 271–80. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24365010.

26
Tikkanen, Amy. 2021. “Zadie Smith.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. November
11. Accessed April 4, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zadie-Smith.

Vandenbosch, Laura, and Steven Eggermont. 2012. “Understanding Sexual Objectification: A

Comprehensive Approach toward Media Exposure and Girls' Internalization of Beauty Ideals, Self-
Objectification, and Body Surveillance.” Journal of Communication 62, no. 5: 869–87.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01667.x.

Volmers, Eric. 2016. “Author Zadie Smith talks creativity, autobiographical fiction and living in the Big
Apple.” Calgary Herald. Postmedia. February 6. Accessed April 4, 2023.
https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/books/author-zadie-smith-talks-creativity-
autobiographical-fiction-and-living-in-the-big-apple.

Wallace, Michele. 1975. "Anger in Isolation: A Black Feminist's Search for Sisterhood." In Let Nobody
Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology,
edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 6-7. New York: The Feminist Press.

Wilson, David. 2007. Cities and Race: America's New Black Ghetto. New York: Routledge.

27