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Motifs
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Kipps and Belsey: Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—83 Langham:
Zadie Smith uses simile and personification in this passage to introduce the Belseys’ home at 83 Langham. As the narrator describes the Belseys’ home, they show how strongly linked its worn appearance and faded grandeur is to the Belsey family identity:
And 83 Langham is a fine middle-class house, larger even than it looks on the outside, with a small pool out back, unheated and missing many of its white tiles, like a British smile. Indeed much of the house is now a little shabby – but this is part of its grandeur. There is nothing nouveau riche about it. The house is ennobled by the work it has done for this family. The rental of the house paid for Kiki’s mother’s education (a legal clerk, she died this spring past) and for Kiki’s own.
Like many houses in the fictional town of Wellington, the Belsey house is grand in size and construction but has lost a little of its polish over the many years it’s been standing. The simile “like a British smile” that Smith uses here refers to the unheated pool. There’s a longstanding American joke that British people have poor dental hygiene. The pool has some missing white tiles which, in this context, stand in for crooked or gapped teeth. This image turns the pool into a visual joke; like British teeth, the pool still works even if it doesn’t look quite perfect. The comparison also builds on the idea that the house is still dignified even if it’s imperfect. Despite visible wear, the narrator insists that this shabbiness is not shameful. Instead, it reflects the home’s long-standing usefulness and its state of constant occupation. Indeed, Smith personifies the house as a working agent in the family’s past, rather than just a setting. It has been “ennobled by the work it has done” like a provider or a Belsey ancestor. It paid for education and helped sustain multiple generations of women. Describing it in this way turns the house into a character with a role in family history. The house’s decay doesn’t erase its value. Instead, the changes that have come with time add to its identity. Living in the house is as much a part of being a member of Kiki and Howard’s family as being genetically related to them is.
Related Themes:
