We Need New Names Lesson Plan

How would you characterize Darling's voice? How does her perspective affect the narrative progression and the overall mood?

Bulawayo does a lovely job capturing the voice of a child in her use of spare, simple prose. Encourage the students to point to particular examples of child-like diction, for example Darling and compatriots' repeated use of words like "kaka." Her observation is also keen and probing, but if flits from topic to topic. This meandering-ness contributes to the episodic nature of the novel. Her young and optimistic tone also serves to lighten some of the traumatic moments, and to include playfulness in a story that might otherwise be too dark to tolerate,...