White Teeth

by

Zadie Smith

Archibald (Archie) Jones Character Analysis

Archibald Jones is introduced as a 47-year-old English World War II veteran who experiences a string of disappointments in his life: his first wife, Ophelia, has a mental breakdown and leaves him, and he is unable to find better employment than designing folded paper materials for a printing firm. At the beginning of the novel, Archie decides to commit suicide by inhaling exhaust fumes in his car, but he is saved by the intervention of the butcher Mo Hussein-Ishmael. Archie meets Clara Bowden Jones, his second wife, at a New Year’s party in 1975, though his life continues to follow an unremarkable trajectory afterward. He prefers to spend most of his time at his favorite bar, O’Connell’s, with his best friend Samad Iqbal, whom he fought alongside in World War II, and he adheres strictly to a system of chance, choosing to make decisions by flipping coins. Whereas the non-white or immigrant characters in White Teeth feel conflicted about their ethnic and national identities, Archie feels no such anxieties. Though he is plain, simple, and inelegant, he never experiences the kind of discrimination that many of his friends, including the Iqbals, are all too familiar with.

Archibald (Archie) Jones Quotes in White Teeth

The White Teeth quotes below are all either spoken by Archibald (Archie) Jones or refer to Archibald (Archie) Jones . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family Ties Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

Strangely, Daria was the final pulse of thought that passed through Archie just before he blacked out. It was the thought of a whore he met once twenty years ago, it was Daria and her smile that made him cover Mo’s apron with tears of joy as the butcher saved his life. He had seen her in his mind: a beautiful woman in a doorway with a come-hither look; and realized he regretted not coming hither. If there was any chance of ever seeing a look like that again, then he wanted the second chance, he wanted the extra time. Not just this second, but the next and the next—all the time in the world.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Horst Ibelgaufts , Mo Hussein-Ishmael
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

Yet a residue, left over from the evaporation of Clara’s faith, remained. She still wished for a savior. She still wished for a man to whisk her away, to choose her above others so that she might walk in white with Him: for [she] was worthy. Revelation 3:4.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Clara Bowden-Jones, Hortense Bowden, Ryan Topps
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

Long, comfortable silences passed between them like those between women who have known each other for years. They looked out on to stars that lit up unknown country, but neither man clung particularly to home. In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship an Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. A friendship that crosses class and color, a friendship that takes as its basis physical proximity and survives because the Englishman assumes the physical proximity will not continue.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:

“Do you know who this man is, Jones?” Samad grabbed the doctor by the back of his hair and bent his neck over the back seat. “The Russians told me. He’s a scientist, like me—but what is his science? Choosing who shall be born and who shall not—breeding people as if they were so many chickens, destroying them if the specifications are not correct. He wants to control, to dictate the future. He wants a race of men, a race of indestructible men, that will survive the last days of this earth. But it cannot be done in a laboratory. It must be done, it can only be done, with faith! Only Allah saves! I am no religious man—I have never possessed the strength—but I am not fool enough to deny the truth!”

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal, Millat Iqbal, Marcus Chalfen, Dr. Marc-Pierre Perret (Dr. Sick)
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

O’Connell’s is the kind of place family men come to for a different kind of family. Unlike blood relations, it is necessary here to earn one’s position in the community; it takes years of devoted fucking around, time-wasting, lying-about, shooting the breeze, watching paint dry—far more dedication than men invest in the careless moment of procreation. You need to know the place. For example, there are reasons why O’Connell’s is an Irish poolroom run by Arabs with no pool tables. And there are reasons why the pustule-covered Mickey will cook you chips, egg, and beans, or egg, chips, and beans, or beans, chips, eggs, and mushrooms but not, under any circumstances, chips, beans, eggs, and bacon. But you need to hang around for that kind of information. We’ll get into that later. For now, suffice it to say this is Archie and Samad’s home from home; for ten years they have come here between six (the time Archie finishes work) and eight (the time Samad starts) to discuss everything from the meaning of Revelation to the prices of plumbers.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal
Page Number: 153-154
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories. Archie does recognize the name, faintly, somewhere inside, but he is already twisting in his seat by then, trying to see if Samad is returning. He can’t see Samad. Instead he spots Millat, who looks funny. Who looks decidedly funny. Peculiar rather than ha-ha. He’s swaying ever so slightly in his seat, and Archie can’t catch his eye for a you-all-right-mate look because his eyes are locked on to something and when Archie follows the path of this stare, he finds himself looking at the same peculiar thing: an old man weeping tiny tears of pride. Red tears. Tears Archie recognizes.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal, Dr. Marc-Pierre Perret (Dr. Sick)
Related Symbols: The FutureMouse
Page Number: 441
Explanation and Analysis:

Archie, for one, watched the mouse. He watched it stand very still for a second with a smug look as if it expected nothing less. He watched it scurry away, over his hand. He watched it dash along the table, and through the hands of those who wished to pin it down. He watched it leap off the end and disappear through an air vent. Go on my son! thought Archie.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Marcus Chalfen
Related Symbols: The FutureMouse
Page Number: 448
Explanation and Analysis:
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Archibald (Archie) Jones Quotes in White Teeth

The White Teeth quotes below are all either spoken by Archibald (Archie) Jones or refer to Archibald (Archie) Jones . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family Ties Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

Strangely, Daria was the final pulse of thought that passed through Archie just before he blacked out. It was the thought of a whore he met once twenty years ago, it was Daria and her smile that made him cover Mo’s apron with tears of joy as the butcher saved his life. He had seen her in his mind: a beautiful woman in a doorway with a come-hither look; and realized he regretted not coming hither. If there was any chance of ever seeing a look like that again, then he wanted the second chance, he wanted the extra time. Not just this second, but the next and the next—all the time in the world.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Horst Ibelgaufts , Mo Hussein-Ishmael
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

Yet a residue, left over from the evaporation of Clara’s faith, remained. She still wished for a savior. She still wished for a man to whisk her away, to choose her above others so that she might walk in white with Him: for [she] was worthy. Revelation 3:4.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Clara Bowden-Jones, Hortense Bowden, Ryan Topps
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

Long, comfortable silences passed between them like those between women who have known each other for years. They looked out on to stars that lit up unknown country, but neither man clung particularly to home. In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship an Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. A friendship that crosses class and color, a friendship that takes as its basis physical proximity and survives because the Englishman assumes the physical proximity will not continue.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:

“Do you know who this man is, Jones?” Samad grabbed the doctor by the back of his hair and bent his neck over the back seat. “The Russians told me. He’s a scientist, like me—but what is his science? Choosing who shall be born and who shall not—breeding people as if they were so many chickens, destroying them if the specifications are not correct. He wants to control, to dictate the future. He wants a race of men, a race of indestructible men, that will survive the last days of this earth. But it cannot be done in a laboratory. It must be done, it can only be done, with faith! Only Allah saves! I am no religious man—I have never possessed the strength—but I am not fool enough to deny the truth!”

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal, Millat Iqbal, Marcus Chalfen, Dr. Marc-Pierre Perret (Dr. Sick)
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

O’Connell’s is the kind of place family men come to for a different kind of family. Unlike blood relations, it is necessary here to earn one’s position in the community; it takes years of devoted fucking around, time-wasting, lying-about, shooting the breeze, watching paint dry—far more dedication than men invest in the careless moment of procreation. You need to know the place. For example, there are reasons why O’Connell’s is an Irish poolroom run by Arabs with no pool tables. And there are reasons why the pustule-covered Mickey will cook you chips, egg, and beans, or egg, chips, and beans, or beans, chips, eggs, and mushrooms but not, under any circumstances, chips, beans, eggs, and bacon. But you need to hang around for that kind of information. We’ll get into that later. For now, suffice it to say this is Archie and Samad’s home from home; for ten years they have come here between six (the time Archie finishes work) and eight (the time Samad starts) to discuss everything from the meaning of Revelation to the prices of plumbers.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal
Page Number: 153-154
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories. Archie does recognize the name, faintly, somewhere inside, but he is already twisting in his seat by then, trying to see if Samad is returning. He can’t see Samad. Instead he spots Millat, who looks funny. Who looks decidedly funny. Peculiar rather than ha-ha. He’s swaying ever so slightly in his seat, and Archie can’t catch his eye for a you-all-right-mate look because his eyes are locked on to something and when Archie follows the path of this stare, he finds himself looking at the same peculiar thing: an old man weeping tiny tears of pride. Red tears. Tears Archie recognizes.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Samad Iqbal, Dr. Marc-Pierre Perret (Dr. Sick)
Related Symbols: The FutureMouse
Page Number: 441
Explanation and Analysis:

Archie, for one, watched the mouse. He watched it stand very still for a second with a smug look as if it expected nothing less. He watched it scurry away, over his hand. He watched it dash along the table, and through the hands of those who wished to pin it down. He watched it leap off the end and disappear through an air vent. Go on my son! thought Archie.

Related Characters: Archibald (Archie) Jones , Marcus Chalfen
Related Symbols: The FutureMouse
Page Number: 448
Explanation and Analysis: