We Need New Names – NoViolet Bulawayo pages 1-20

Bulawayo writes as if she is telling a story to a child. It is very enjoyable. The narrator is involved in the trip to Budapest. This is shown through the use of the word “we.” The title has to do with needing new names. However, this chapter does not talk about that. The characters are Darling, Chipo, Godknows, and Bastard. Clearly, these are names are out of the norm. The chapter mostly discusses about Chipo’s pregnancy. She writes, “the first baby is supposed to be a boy.” This reveals a lot about the culture because of the tradition. It is also revealing because Chipo is such a young girl. Darling says, “Chipo is always playing with her stomach as if it is a toy.” This shows how young Chipo is and how odd it is that she is pregnant. There are many questions about how the baby was “put” in Chipo’s stomach. Darling talks about the houses that they see in Budapest. She reveals that they are thieves. It is funny that Bulawayo used the use of the word “thieves.” However, all they are doing is stealing guavas from the trees. The kids admire the woman’s feet and mouth. This shows how significant the woman will be in the novel because of how much Darling talks about her in this passage. Bulawayo seems to have quite the imagination. NoViolent is a very unique name so it is possible that the author wrote the novel based on her own experience. However, it seems to be more fictional because Chipo is a pregnant eleven year old. Being pregnant at eleven is probably possibly, but VERY unlikely.