Os efeitos da colonização no romance "Precisamos de novos nomes" (2014), de NoViolet Bulawayo

Abstract

This research explores the effects of colonization in a country subjected to power relations in multiple contexts, using a post-colonial theoretical framework. An analysis of the work We Need New Names, by NoViolet Bulawayo, published in 2014, is done which. The novel is set in a post-colonial context, in the African country Zimbabwe. Its focus is on the othering, that was experienced by the ten-year-old protagonist, Darling, born in Zimbabwe. The research is based on a bibliographic survey about the post-colonial theory and its implications. Besides, the issues of diaspora and identity are discussed, as the novel portrays the protagonist’s move to the United States. The research also reflects on history and society from the perspectives of voices that were silenced in post-colonial contexts. Key authors such as Ashcroft (1995, 2000), Bhabha (2013), Bonnici (2005, 2012), Fanon (2020), and Hall (2022, 2023) are considered to support the analysis, discussing aspects like identity, cultural origin, resistance, and diaspora in the post-colonial context. Through Darling’s narrative, the research reveals how colonial subjects are affected by adverse situations in their country of origin and, after a diasporic movement, face the challenge of reconciling their cultural identity in a new space that does not accept them as one of their own. As a diasporic subject, Darling feels her identity displaced and she is unable to adapt to or to be accepted in the new environment. Bulawayo’s narrative broadens the understanding of fictions that challenge the established power structures, giving voice to marginalized subjects and providing a critical reflection on the legacy of colonialism and its implications in a colonized country like Zimbabwe.