On Beauty

In On Beauty, Smith challenges contemporary divisions between liberals and conservatives by portraying two families on opposite sides of the spectrum. Crucially, neither family is more current or morally upright than the other. Both the Kippses and the Belseys are overly obsessed with their ideology and quickly dismissive of opinions that differ from their own. The desire to be around people, social or professionally, who are perfectly aligned with one’s opinion is a direct antithesis to the purpose of a university environment, in which juxtaposed ideas should be explore as a rich topic for debate, conversation, and learning.

Primary among these differing opinions is identity politics. Monty is representative of conservative ideas on race. He doesn’t believe in affirmative action because he worries that programs like affirmative action hold back the Black community. He wants Black people to feel empowered to undergo the same meritocracy that white people go through. Many people see this ideology as a betrayal of race because Monty and his family are Black. But Monty’s Blackness comes from a different background. He is English, which has a different relationship with the history of race than America. He is also proud of his Caribbean heritage, and this heritage and his active role in Caribbean communities makes him seem like an authority of Black identity. Levi and Choo see Monty as a thief of real Black culture, due to Monty’s education and financial privilege. Howard sees Monty as radically offensive. Kiki notes that Monty is out of touch with American institutionalized racism. While these are all valid arguments, ultimately it is also true that Monty should be able to believe and advocate for his own opinions. He does speak from authority because he is a Black man. He cares deeply about the Black community, evidenced by his charity work. Monty is flawed, certainly, but Smith notes that the Belseys’ superior attitude towards Monty are born out of the same prejudices that they accuse Monty of propelling.

Also important in this division is religion. Monty and his family are denounced by the Belseys (except Jerome) as laughably crazy because of their commitment to Christianity. But judging someone for their religious practice is as bigoted as judging someone for their race or sexuality, which highlights the hypocrisy of the Belsey’s ideology. Jerome provides a symbolic middle ground between these two issues. He is a practicing Christian, but he also keeps his religion separate from his other ideologies. Jerome can therefore understand both families.

Ironically, Monty and Howard are more similar than they would like to admit. Both men have affairs with women who are much too young for them. Both men are committed to academic study of Rembrandt. Both men explore intersections of politics and academia. Both men struggle to understand their children. Their similarities are further evidence that the divisions among morality, race, and liberal/conservative ideologies are mere fallacies.

Only Kiki and Carlene form a friendship within the full acknowledgements of their different ideas about marriage, religion, and politics. Their friendship is symbolic of the idea that similarities are more important than differences. Carlene and Kiki are, ultimately, both Black women, mothers, wives, and people. These commonalities, along with their open attitudes for one another, enable a brief but beautiful friendship to form.