Nervous Conditions is a novel by Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga, first published in the United Kingdom in 1988. The semi-autobiographical novel focuses on the story of a Rhodesian family in post-colonial Rhodesia during the 1960s. It attempts to illustrate the dynamic themes of race, class, gender, and cultural change during the post-colonial conditions of present-day Zimbabwe. The title is taken from the introduction by Jean-Paul Sartre to Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth.
Plot summary
Tambu is the main character of the novel. She is a young bright girl that is eager to go to school. The novel opens up with the news that Tambu’s older brother, Nhamo, had just died. Tambu is not upset about this because Nhamo studied at a …show more content…

As a matter of fact, Mugabe changed the name of the country to Zimbabwe in 1980 as well, in effort to completely rid the country of its past and any chance that the English would have continued influence on the country.
In the duration of the book, there were many cultural issues which effected the Rhodesians in a negative way. The continued English influence took a negative toll on the Rhodesians, making it hard for them to maintain their African identity and culture. As stated before, this was evident in Nyasha, Babamukuru, Nhamo, and even Tambu at times. This is another reason why President Robert Mugabe felt the need to institutionalize Africanization throughout the country, because of the negative perspectives of the English cultural influences.
Another negative effect of English influence throughout Rhodesia was a phenomenon called brain drain. This is when people from poor countries go study in a different venue than their traditional one, and end up forgetting or ignoring where they came from. Tsitsi Dengarembga provided examples of this phenomenon in the text through Tambu's brother and uncle. This was not unique to Rhodesia however, since many of the countries in Africa experience this even today. This creates a problem for the African countries since many of the educated people who are able to rebuild and improve their countries are leaving. Thus if you were to get rid of