How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"My name is Nzila. Nzila is a poet's name. My poems blow the dust off surfaces to make clear and true paths. Nzila." (12.10)
Keep telling yourself that, Nzila. It's as though Cecile is working over time to make sure that everyone—including the kids she abandoned—think of her as a revolutionary poet with influence. To Delphine, she's still Cecile. Delphine and her sister don't really care how much Cecile wants to change who she is; she can't for them.
Quote #8
A name is important. It isn't something you drop in the litter basket or on the ground. Your name is how people know you. The very mention of your name makes a picture spring to mind, whether it's a picture of clashing fists or a mighty mountain that can't be knocked down. Your name is who you are and how you're known even when you do something great or something dumb. (13.2)
For Delphine, a name isn't just a word on her birth certificate or what people call her—it helps everyone learn something about who she is. It's part of her. Since Delphine thinks of a name is equivalent to a person's identity, we get why she's so upset about her mom changing hers from Cecile to Nzila.
Quote #9
Her name might have changed. She might have been living on the other side of the country. But Cecile was plain old Cecile. Just crazier and scarier than I remembered. (20.43)
Delphine wishes that people could change. Based on what she's seen of Cecile, though, they can't (or don't). She was hoping her mom would be different, but it seems maternal instinct isn't really in her blood. It's a bummer for Delphine, but it says a lot about how identity is cemented in this story.