Point of View

In Glory, Bulawayo relies on a wide variety of perspectives to create a sense of narrative democracy. Over the course of the novel, she employs first-person, second-person, and third-person points of view. A collective “we” narrates several of the chapters; in Chapter 13, Simiso instead serves as the first-person narrator. In moments during which Destiny contemplates her life and emotions, Bulawayo often turns to the second-person “you.” This choice suggests that an external narrator—potentially the collective “we” that Bulawayo uses as a stand-in for the Jidadan populace—is counseling and comforting Destiny. Many chapters, including those that focus on the Old Horse, Tuvy, and Dr. Sweet Mother, are told from the third-person perspective, thereby creating a more acute sense of distance between the reader and these political elites. Overall, this vast and varied collection of perspectives helps to capture the overwhelming diversity and vibrancy of...