-Term Project-
*A comparative study on the book Nervous Conditions and the film Chocolat.*

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-Hybrid Identities-
          In both the book Nervous Conditions and the film Chocolat there are several characters that have hybrid identities.  The double identity of the character France has been discussed some in the Role of Food section of this project with the eating of the buttered bread and live ants.  In the opening of the movie the audience is given a glimpse into the older, adult France who is traveling back to the place, or home of her childhood.  She is seeking her roots, her past, to define herself, but it is hard to define one’s self when ultimately they are made up of two halves never really belonging to one or the other—just being suspended between the two.  For France these two parts are made up of her African cultural influence and her French colonial background.
          Like France, there is another character who has a double identity who is introduced to the audience in the start of the film, his name is Mungo Park.  Mungo is an African American who recently moved to Africa, so that he could be at home with his people, but he soon realizes, “that to be African transcends biological assumptions” (Sanders 3).  Mungo ironically is even more of an outsider to Africa than France is, since she has at least spent her childhood there.  Mango’s “outsider ness” is further emphasized when he tells France that his African wife threw him out because he was a pain to live with.   
          Another character from Dangarembga’s book Nervous Conditions that is also struggling with self definition is Nyasha.  Nyasha belongs to the African Shona culture and is also a part of the English culture.  She is torn between two worlds of tradition and behavior, not knowing which to follow, or which one she mainly is a product of.  Nyasha says, “Now they’re stuck with hybrids for children.  And they don’t like it …They think we do it on purpose, so it offends them" (Dangarembga 78).  It is clear that she blames her hybrid condition on her parents who took her, and her brother to England while they received their educations (Saliba 12).  

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Role of Food | Hybrid Identities | Idea of Space | Damage of Colonialism

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