Chipo's Darling Belonging

The juxtaposition between Darling’s “leaving” Zimbabwe and her old villagers, having been forced to leave after their homes were bulldozed by the Zimbabwean government, simply “appearing” to their new home reveals Darling’s loss of her identity in the U.S. (Bulawayo 75). The villagers’ reluctance to leave their homes and continued fight for “change” contrasts with Darling’s willingness to leave Zimbabwe for a better, more comfortable life in America, neglecting the civil conflicts and poverty her family and friends were going through.
The symbolism of name reoccurs throughout the novel to represent Darling’s loss of the sense of who she is. As Darling tries so hard to assimilate to American cultures, she gradually but rapidly loses her identity
These questions make Darling especially uncomfortable because they reveal her weakness of trying to ignore her people and the country she has left behind. Chipo boldly calls Darling’s new, American accent “stupid” because it is not original and genuine to her culture because Darling forgot the values of her own culture to pursue shallow American culture.
Darling got a new name, a new identity, which was an irreversible transition. Chipo named her daughter Darling, which means that Darling now does not have a home to go back to because she lost her name to Chipo’s baby. She is unaccepted in both Zimbabwe and America, lost among idleness and confusion. Darling is angry for being chastised, but she knows that Chipo is right; Darling was cowardly to abandon what is hers to achieve something that does not belong to her.
Darling’s real, full name has been revealed for the first time in the novel. Chipo’s criticism served as an awakening for Darling by reminding her of her real name, the one that she should keep. Through the symbolism of name and identity, Bulawayo illustrates the constant conflict that will never resolve the immigrants experience due to the clashes of their old culture with that of