Nervous Conditions

by

Tsitsi Dangarembga

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Tambu's cousin. He's several years older, very handsome, and kind. However, like Nyasha, Chido is also a "hybrid," given that he spent five years as a child in England while Babamukuru studied. This is one of the reasons he's so successful in the present; his head start in England helps him earn admission to a prestigious school in Salisbury. His hybrid identity also means that he's willing to stand up to Babamukuru when he beats Nyasha for being promiscuous, though he knows enough about local traditions to understand that, in Babamukuru's eyes, Nyasha is behaving horrendously. Mainini hears at the end of the novel that Chido is romantically involved with a white girl, which reinforces her belief that "Englishness" is going to kill everyone in Babamukuru's family.

Chido Quotes in Nervous Conditions

The Nervous Conditions quotes below are all either spoken by Chido or refer to Chido. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Limits of Education Theme Icon
).
Chapter Three Quotes

Whereas before I had believed with childish confidence that burdens were only burdens in so far as you chose to bear them, now I began to see that the disappointing events surrounding Babamukuru's return were serious consequences of the same general laws that had almost brought my education to an abrupt, predictable end.

Related Characters: Tambu (speaker), Babamukuru, Nyasha, Nhamo, Chido
Related Symbols: England
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Five Quotes

"Maybe that would have been best. For them at least, because now they're stuck with hybrids for children. And they don't like it. They don't like it at all. It offends them. They think we do it on purpose, so it offends them."

Related Characters: Nyasha (speaker), Tambu, Babamukuru, Maiguru, Chido
Related Symbols: England
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Six Quotes

Nor surprisingly, since Whites were indulgent towards promising young black boys in those days, provided that the promise was a peaceful promise, a grateful promise to accept whatever was handed out to them and not to expect more, Chido was offered a place at the school and a scholarship to go with it.

Related Characters: Tambu (speaker), Chido
Page Number: 108
Explanation and Analysis:
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Chido Quotes in Nervous Conditions

The Nervous Conditions quotes below are all either spoken by Chido or refer to Chido. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Limits of Education Theme Icon
).
Chapter Three Quotes

Whereas before I had believed with childish confidence that burdens were only burdens in so far as you chose to bear them, now I began to see that the disappointing events surrounding Babamukuru's return were serious consequences of the same general laws that had almost brought my education to an abrupt, predictable end.

Related Characters: Tambu (speaker), Babamukuru, Nyasha, Nhamo, Chido
Related Symbols: England
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Five Quotes

"Maybe that would have been best. For them at least, because now they're stuck with hybrids for children. And they don't like it. They don't like it at all. It offends them. They think we do it on purpose, so it offends them."

Related Characters: Nyasha (speaker), Tambu, Babamukuru, Maiguru, Chido
Related Symbols: England
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Six Quotes

Nor surprisingly, since Whites were indulgent towards promising young black boys in those days, provided that the promise was a peaceful promise, a grateful promise to accept whatever was handed out to them and not to expect more, Chido was offered a place at the school and a scholarship to go with it.

Related Characters: Tambu (speaker), Chido
Page Number: 108
Explanation and Analysis: