Parental Failure and Disrupted Identity Development in Displaced and Migrant Children

Author(s): Shampa Mondal

Abstract:

This paper examines the theme of parental failure and its profound consequences on children within the context of migration in NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names. Set against the backdrop of socio-political instability in Zimbabwe and the complexities of diasporic life in America, the novel interrogates how migration disrupts traditional parenting roles and responsibilities. It examines how the breakdown of traditional family structures, caused by migration, poverty, and political instability, affects children’s sense of self and belonging. Through the experiences of Darling and other child characters, Bulawayo illustrates how children are left to navigate trauma, displacement, and moral confusion on their own. The loss of cultural anchoring, feelings of abandonment, and fractured identities reflect the long-term consequences of failed parental presence and involvement. This paper argues that We Need New Names Critiques not only systemic forces that necessitate migration but also the intimate, often invisible emotional toll borne by the children in dysfunctional family structure who are forced to grow up prematurely in the absence of parental care and accountability. The analysis reveals how parental failure-whether through physical absence, neglect, or inability to provide security-force children to seek alternative sources of identity and community, shaping their identity and self-perception in a transnational context.

keywords:

Pages: 122-124     |    2 View     |    0 Download