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Nervous Conditions Analysis

Decent Essays

Nervous Conditions is a novel by Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga, first published in the United Kingdom in 1988. The semi-autobiographical novel focuses on the story of a Rhodesian family in post-colonial Rhodesia during the 1960s. It attempts to illustrate the dynamic themes of race, class, gender, and cultural change during the post-colonial conditions of present-day Zimbabwe. The title is taken from the introduction by Jean-Paul Sartre to Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth.
Plot summary
Tambu is the main character of the novel. She is a young bright girl that is eager to go to school. The novel opens up with the news that Tambu’s older brother, Nhamo, had just died. Tambu is not upset about this because Nhamo studied at a …show more content…

Another cultural significance which was represented in the book were the gender relations.This is also evident in the beginning of the book when Tambu claims to be a better student than her brother ever was, but that he was chosen to get the "better" English schooling simply because he was a man and she was a girl. This is representative of the country and obviously most of the world at this time since women movements in Africa were not prominent at the time. The Africans had to worry about their general independence first instead of the rights of women, which is the main reason why there weren't as many women movements towards rights until after independence. This makes sense since it would be unethical to have African men and women treated equally while still under the negative influence of the English.This explains why women movements in Zimbabwe were formed in the years after independence and still are in effect to this day.
Characters
Tambu: Jeremiah and Mainini's daughter. Tambu is the novel's main character and narrator of the story. Her desire for an education and to improve herself seem strong enough to overcome just about anything. She is very hard on herself, and always strives to do her best and make the correct decisions. Unlike many other characters in the book, she respects the societal roles in place regardless of her desire not to be held back by her gender. Despite the drastic changes in her life, Tambu

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