IDENTITY CRISIS IN BULAWAYO’S WE NEED NEW NAMES

Abstract

This paper examines identity crisis in NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need
New Names, focusing on the protagonist, Darling. The study explores
how Darling’s journey reflects the broader postcolonial struggle of
negotiating between native cultural heritage and the pressures of
assimilation in a Western-dominated global order. Drawing on
postcolonial theoretical frameworks, particularly the works of Edward
Said, Homi Bhabha, and Stuart Hall, this paper argues that We Need
New Names critiques the consequences of forced and voluntary
migration, exposing the emotional and psychological violence
inflicted on immigrants as they attempt to reconcile their past with
an unfamiliar present. Findings from this study suggest that
Bulawayo’s novel presents migration as both a site of possibility and a
source of deep existential conflict. While migration offers
opportunities for reinvention and economic stability, it
simultaneously results in a fractured sense of self, cultural
detachment, and an unresolved longing for home.