Nervous Conditions

                                                        Reader Response 

           There are many critiques in the book Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. All of her critiques are very interesting.  These include gender bias and European Colonization.

            First, Tambu who is Shona starts out very traditional.  She isn’t allowed to go to school because her parents can’t afford it. She sleeps on the floor of her house. Her brother on the other hand goes to school. He lives in the European lifestyle. He lives with a white family, he has a white girlfriend, and he kind of turns white. Then, Tambu’s brother dies. After that Tambu receives money for school from a white woman. Then, she leaves to live with her uncle and goes to school. Here she meets her colonized cousins. She finds out that her aunt is well educated, which is really weird for this time period and culture. Tambu gets to know her cousin Nyasha and realizes that she is trying to rebel against the culture. When Nyasha dances with a boy her father abuses her mentally, physically, sexually, and emotionally.

            All of these things are interesting because Tambu goes from being this very traditional poor girl to a better off more modern girl. She goes to school which many girls don’t get to do. This is because of gender bias. Boys are allowed to go school, but girls (in most cases) can’t or aren’t allowed. When she does get to go to school she ends up being colonized by European ideas. She starts using a fork, she sleeps in a bed, she starts speaking English, she dresses in a uniform, she goes to school, and she starts to eat English food like gravy.

            I see gender bias in the world around me today. First, one of my friends can’t go to College unless they pay for it. Her parents don’t think it’s worth it to educate their daughters, but they sent their son to college. I am against gender bias. I think women and men should be treated equally.

            I see English colonization in the world today because one of my friend’s moms came from the Middle East. She wasn’t well educated before, she didn’t speak much English, and she was very traditional. When she moved here she got better educated. She now even has a job. She doesn’t speak perfect English, but her English is a lot better. She is more modern now and not very traditional. I understand why she changed, so she could fit in, but I don’t think she should have changed all the way. She didn’t keep much of culture so she didn’t pass on that culture to my friend or his siblings.

            These things that I’ve seen in my life make this story even more interesting. I’ve seen it firsthand happen. I don’t believe in either, but I understand it happens all the time even in the US.  I really enjoyed reading this book. I would tell anyone who is interested in African culture, gender bias, or European Colonization to read this book.