100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Previously searched by you
Previously searched by you
logo
ENG2603 - Nervous Conditions $4.20
Add to cart
Quickly navigate to
Preview
  2.  
  3. University Of South Africa (Unisa)
  4.  
  5. ENG2603 - Colonial And Postcolonial African Literatures (ENG2603)

Class notes

ENG2603 - Nervous Conditions

 1 purchase
  • Course
  • ENG2603 - Colonial And Postcolonial African Literatures (ENG2603)
  • Institution
  • University Of South Africa (Unisa)

Latest SUMMARY of important key points - NOTES includes: Character list, Themes, Motifs, Symbols and Important Quotations explained. ​The notes are organised, structured and easy to understand.

Preview 4 out of 42  pages

Document information

  • February 1, 2022
  • 42
  • 2022/2023
  • Class notes
  • Study notes
  • All classes

Subjects

  • eng2603 notes summary
  • eng2603 study notes
  • eng2603 nervous condition

Written for

  • University of South Africa (Unisa)
  • ENG2603 - Colonial And Postcolonial African Literatures (ENG2603)
All documents for this subject (134)

Seller

avatar-seller
StuddyScene

Reviews received

Content preview

ENG2603
Nervous Conditions




Revision PACK
Summary & Memo

,ENG2603
Nervous Conditions




Revision PACK
Summary & Memo

, Nervous Conditions




Plot Overview

Tambu, the narrator, is unmoved by the death of her brother, Nhamo. The afternoon he is
expected home at the end of his term at the mission school, he does not arrive. He dislikes
taking the bus and then walking the rest of the way through the countryside to the family’s
homestead. Tambu is relieved at his absence, as she does not have to kill and prepare a
chicken to celebrate his return.

Tambu then reflects on the events leading up to her brother’s death. Despite the family’s
poverty, Tambu’s parents were able to raise the fees to send Nhamo to school. There was not
enough money to send Tambu as well, so she decided to grow and sell vegetables and raise
the money herself. When she discovered that her brother was stealing food from her garden
patch, she attempted to beat him up while the two were attending Sunday school. Tambu’s
teacher, Mr. Matimba, took her to Umtali, a local urban center, to sell green ears of corn. A
white woman, Doris, and her husband pitied Tambu and gave Mr. Matimba ten pounds
sterling to pay for her education.

The extended family gathered to celebrate the return of Babamukuru, his wife, Maiguru, and
their two children, Chido and Nyasha, back from studying abroad in England. Chido and
Nyasha, Tambu’s cousins, had lost the ability to speak their native tongue, Shona. Maiguru
did not want them participating in the dancing and other festive activities. At the end of the
meal, Tambu was ordered to bring a bowl of water to each member of the extended family so
they could wash their hands. Babamukuru’s three siblings praised his success. He proposed
educating a member of each family, focusing especially on the neediest branch, Tambu’s
clan. They chose Nhamo to go to the mission school, but after his sudden death, Tambu is
selected to replace him.

Tambu, returning her focus to the present, is excited and awed by her new life in her aunt and
uncle’s house on the mission school grounds. Maiguru warmly welcomes Tambu into her
new home. She serves Tambu tea and pastries and gives her an entirely new wardrobe, all in
preparation for her first day of school. The coldness and emotional distance that once existed
between Nyasha and Tambu quickly disappear. Tambu becomes absorbed in her studies. She
soon learns the rhythms of the household, witnessing Nyasha and Babamukuru’s frequent
fights. She also learns that Maiguru is highly educated.

To mark the end of the term, Nyasha, Tambu, and the children of white missionaries attend a
dance. Tambu reluctantly joins the festivities. At the end of the evening, Nyasha resists
coming inside, still trying to master a new dance one of the boys is teaching her. When the
young people finally enter the house, a violent argument erupts between Babamukuru and
Nyasha, in which Babamukuru accuses Nyasha of lewd behavior. Nyasha strikes her father,
who vows to kill her for performing the taboo act of assaulting her own parent. Nyasha grows
more detached in the following weeks, and Tambu tries to help assuage her guilt.

During the school vacation, Tambu and her relatives head back to the homestead. Maiguru
laments the fact that, as senior wife, she is expected to cook and clean for the extended family

, the entire time. Babamukuru is upset to find Lucia, Tambu’s mother’s sister, and Takesure, a
relative of Tambu’s father, still living at the homestead. To make matters worse, Lucia is
pregnant with Takesure’s child. A family meeting is held to decide what course of action
should be taken. Ultimately the couple is allowed to remain, as Babamukuru shifts his focus
to another moral issue that rankles him: his own brother’s unsanctified domestic status.
Babamukuru declares that Jeremiah and Ma’Shingayi must be married in a formal Christian
ceremony as soon as possible.

Tambu’s mother comes to the mission hospital and gives birth to a son. Lucia soon follows
and asks Babamukuru to find her a job, which he does. She cooks at the school and begins
taking classes. Preparations are being made for the impending nuptials. When it comes time
to leave, Tambu, who is vehemently opposed to her parents’ wedding, feigns illness. When
Babamukuru tells her to be ready in thirty minutes, she refuses to attend. When he returns
from the wedding, he punishes her by lashing her and forcing her to perform the maid’s
duties for two weeks. Maiguru argues with Babamukuru over the lack of respect that she gets
and the fact that her economic contribution to the family is not recognized. She leaves the
next day and stays with her son, Chido.

While the girls are preparing for final exams, nuns arrive at the mission and administer a test.
Tambu is offered a scholarship to study at the esteemed mission school. At first, Babamukuru
is opposed to her accepting the offer, but he eventually relents. Home for the holiday, Tambu
finds her mother ill. Lucia arrives and nurses her sister back to health. When Tambu returns
to the mission and prepares to leave for the convent school, she cannot find Nyasha
anywhere. When she finally finds Nyasha, Nyasha is cold toward her, upset that her best
friend will soon be leaving and she will be left alone with her unsympathetic father.

Tambu leaves for the convent school, where she shares a crowded room with other African
girls. Busy with her studies, she soon falls out of touch with Nyasha. Tambu returns to the
mission to find Nyasha changed, frightfully thin and suffering from a severe eating disorder.
One night, Nyasha has what appears to be a psychotic episode. Nyasha sees a psychiatrist and
slowly regains her health. Tambu fears she is succumbing to the negative, colonial influence
that made Nyasha mentally ill. Her other cousin, Chido, has a white girlfriend, much to
Maiguru’s chagrin. Tambu declares her intention to begin questioning her world and the
influences that it exerts on her.

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller StuddyScene. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for $4.20. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

69484 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 15 years now

Start selling

Recently viewed by you

Package deal ·

(0)

PNC 100 EXAM BUNDLE 2024

Summary ·

(0)

GGZ Psychiatrische Onderzoek

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

module 5.3 verbetervoorstel

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

module 5.2 analyse opdracht

Other ·

(0)

Projectmanagement, cijfer 8,4

Package deal ·

(0)

TExES PPR 160 Exam Bundle

Summary ·

(0)

U7 BE3: time management excercices

Package deal ·

(0)

BUNDLE - ACCELERATION EXAMS

Summary ·

(0)

Shareholders vs Stakeholders

$4.20  1x  sold
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added