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We Need New Names Thesis

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The novel, We Need New Names introduces a group of innocent children living in a corrupt shanty-town called “Paradise” in Zimbabwe, Africa. The children spend their day together by playing games, stealing guavas in Budapest and dreaming of a better future. They deal with their internal struggles of hunger and poverty by playing games to escape reality. The author, NoViolet Bulawayo, creates the story of Darling, who is a hungry and adventurous child that has the constant need to redefine her identity as she becomes older while being stuck in between two worlds.

Millions of people throughout the world suffer daily due to poverty and hunger. Darling and her friends lived in great poverty in Zimbabwe but were still full of life and joy. NoViolet Bulawayo’s vivid language in her novel portrays how hungry the kids of Zimbabwe actually were, “There are guavas to steal in Budapest, and right now I’d rather die for guavas. We didn’t eat this morning and my stomach feels like somebody just took a shovel and dug everything out” (3). The children steal the guavas of Budapest to not only feed their hunger but to enjoy a sense of power. For them, Budapest represented a dream and hope that they can live somewhere else one day. One day, Darling and her friends, decide to steal a dead …show more content…

She discovered that you can buy anything by making a call, that dogs wear clothes, technology, the obesity in Americans and how they throw away food frequently. Her friend sends her guavas, which makes her very emotional, “I just ate the last of the guavas and already I have this sadness thinking about the length of time, maybe years before I will taste guava again” (195). Back in Zimbabwe, when Darling was young, she and her friends would go to Budapest, a rich neighborhood, to steal guavas. There is a similarity in culture, since children in America, go to rich neighborhoods on Halloween to get the best

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