Binti Themes

• Identity, Home, and Travel. Binti, the novella’s titular character, is a mathematically gifted young woman of the South African Himba people.
• Science, Humanity, and the Ethics of Research. Math and science guide life in Binti’s technology-rich world.
• Community, Friendship, and Belonging.
• Fear and Prejudice vs.

What is the main theme in binti?

Binti is a brave, ambitious woman stepping into a much wider world for the first time, and seeing the universe through her eyes makes for a fantastic adventure. Binti: Home builds on these themes of cultural identity and making one’s way in the world, making for a compelling journey.

What does Binti find in her bedroom?

Binti finds her room and her group of 12 other new Oomza Uni students. They’re all Khoush and all between 15 and 18 years old. An hour after boarding, the group finds a technician to show them the breathing chambers.

What happens at the end of Binti?

Binti painfully pulls her fingers off the edan. She sees a current running between herself and the Meduse and feels a stinger plunge into her neck. To the reader, Binti says that she died when she left home because she incorrectly assumed she’d be able to return and continue her life as though nothing happened.

What work did Binti do for her father?

Binti’s father is a skilled maker of astrolabes. Prior to Binti leaving the planet, he’d planned to leave his workshop and business to her, but Binti believes he won’t do this now that she’s run away.

What do the meduse want from Oomza university?

She learns that the Meduse want revenge on Oomza University because its professors stole the stinger of their chief. They plan to land on Oomza and kill everyone they can, but Binti convinces them that she can serve as a negotiator instead.

What is the plot of Binti?

Plot. A young woman named Binti is the first member of the Himba ethnic group on Earth (closely modeled on the Himba people) to be accepted into the prestigious intergalactic university Oomza Uni. Upon being notified of her acceptance, Binti runs away from home and boards a transport ship to Oomza Uni.

Why does Binti leave home?

Binti left her Himba family on Earth in order to travel to Oomza University, far beyond the stars; she left Oomza in an attempt to manage her trauma and find herself again in the deserts of her home; and there, in the desert, she incorporated new revelations about her history into the anthology of herself, before being

What is the ship in Binti?

Binti ignores her and clutches a device called an “edan” in her pocket for comfort. The device is ancient, and its use has been forgotten. Binti boards a ship called the Third Fish.

Who is Okwu in Binti?

Okwu is instrumental in teaching Binti about the Meduse ethos and way of life. Like all Meduse, Okwu is rational, honorable, truthful, and violent when it needs to be.

What does the Edan symbolize in Binti?

Binti found it in the desert years ago: “edan” means a device so old that nobody knows what it is or what it does. It’s telling that they have a word for this. When the Meduse attack Binti, she’s holding the edan and praying for protection. It destroys the Meduse that attacks her and the others draw back.

What is an astrolabe in Binti?

In Nnedi Okorafor’s Nebula Award-winning novella Binti, the eponymous main character is a young woman who is an expert at crafting Astrolabes, a device that was used to discern the position of the stars and planets around us in ancient times, useful for everything from astronomy to time keeping to horoscopes.

Who wrote Binti?

Binti is Nnedi Okorafor’s first story set in space. It’s been a year since Binti and Okwu enrolled at Oomza University. A year since Binti was declared a hero for uniting two warring planets.