DISILLUSIONMENT AND POLITICAL UTOPIA IN NOVIOLET BULAWAYO’S <i>WE NEED NEW NAMES</i>: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

This paper examines the concepts of disillusionment and political utopia in NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names, drawing on sociological theory to explore how she critiques the socio-political crisis in 21st-century Zimbabwe. The narrative is also analysed to show how it mirrors the failure of a government, which, with its unfilled promises and volatile economic situation, causes family institutions to collapse, thereby influencing and accelerating the emotional and psychological development of children. The paper also investigates the implications of land reform policy initiated by President Robert Mugabe and the disastrous negative effects it has on the lower societal tier, particularly children, who, out of the political displacement and abandonment by their parents, are coerced into becoming adults. The study also examines the role of migration as a coping mechanism. It is apparent that Bulawayo deliberately selected a child narrator to present the harsh realities experienced by children in dysfunctional homes. Similarly, the study reveals the challenges of Darling, who travels to America, showcasing how the process of migration typically results in further disillusionment, as migrants flee one broken system only to find another. The text places prominence on the influence of socio-political transformation, cultural estrangement, violence at the home front, and psychological development of the child, along with the profound strength that children, such as Darling, are made to imbibe and survive.