The first technique to be mentioned involves a quality of the book that is first displayed before the story even starts, enveloped in a quote on a single page before her acknowledgments: “What is past is prologue”. And to White Teeth, it's true; every major instance in the plot is somehow rooted in the previous generation. Smith's style in developing this central idea is much like the spastic jumping of time sequence that film director Quentin Tarantino displays, enriching the detail
himself some optimism. Most likely, he thought, he was about to receive a promotion. He’d done a good job, been a big contributor as the company had grown to its present size. Something like “Chief Operating Officer” would fit him quite nicely. 1 The Hero Called to Action On the other hand, to hear that he was being asked to leave would not have enormously surprised him. He hadn’t done anything to warrant such treatment. But unexpected things happen when companies are in crisis. The logic behind
E SSAYS ON TWENTIETH-C ENTURY H ISTORY In the series Critical Perspectives on the Past, edited by Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in