Essay on Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Write an essay in which you consider what it is that Tambu is so excited to be leaving and, likewise, whether she does in fact succeed in escaping from it. In her desire to create a new identity, can she escape the context of her family and their beliefs? Tambudzai's search for her identity is the central theme of Nervous Conditions. Her identity and self-worth is challenged on a number of levels, each of which …

…to guilt. She has nightmares about Nhamo, Chido and Nyasha who had succumbed to the promise of 'Englishness'. Tambu was able to leave physical hardship of rural life. She could avoid the same fate as her mother, but she could not escape who she is. The dangers she faces in trying to leave, result in her being displaced in her society. As Nyasha laments, "I'm not one of them but I'm not one of you."