A Place of Joy

Often times when we are in a state crisis and trouble, there is always a getaway place where we can count on to avoid these troubles and clear our mind. Many times these secret place becomes a state of sanctuary were we can actually be our own selves, free from outside criticism that may otherwise influence our insecurity. Too many times in my life I often feel like I need to get away from reality. Take collage for example. As a Manufacturing Engineering student at Chico State University, I spend most of my time in labs fabricating parts for projects, drawing and designing parts on CAD and CAM programs, which in laymen terms enable designers to translate the geometry of a part into communication language understood by the machines which cuts the part, or I’m in the Foundry Lab casting parts, welding, and or designing casting patterns for my minor and major project for the semester. Though this don’t seem much written down on paper, the work that is put into properly designing and fabricating a final product takes a lot of know how and knowledge that is mostly learned through trial and error. Any two part that is manufactured by the same process will never have a same ending result. There will always be variance. Therefore, careful consideration of tight tolerance and construction of the manufacturing process must be closely monitored. As a result, on most days of the week, I’m always at school getting dirty in those labs trying to get my work done.

To clear my mind of all this frustration and time I have spent in labratories, on computers, and in class I usually, on the weekends, go home and take my little brother out fishing. Most of the time we don’t actually catch any fish, but I find it relaxing just hanging out with my little brother, feeling the cool breeze from the lake, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the outdoor view. On top of that I get to teach my little brother a thing or two about fishing which I always find it to be fun. It makes me forget all the work I still have to do at school and focus on just enjoying a good o’ day of fishing, even if I don’t catch anything.

I find it important to have a place of sanctuary. A place where one can forget the troubles in life, where one can feel grounded and relieved from the troubles and headaches that one can get on a daily basis. This I believe is what Elizabeth, the main character in Bessie Head’s novel A Question of Power, encounters incidentally in her struggle of finding security and a sense of belonging as she was throughout her life considered an outcast due to her psychological illness. Elizabeth was told from the very beginning, “You must be very careful. Your mother was insane. If you're not careful you'll get insane just like your mother.” Moreover, as the novel progresses Elizabeth’s cheating husband and undefined sense of origin aided to her already confused state and she fell into a psychological breakdown and her world tumbled into chaos.

The book is confusing and hard to understand due the many and some divine characters that Elizabeth encounters off and on, never really clearly distinguishing if what is happening to her is reality or if it’s all in her mind. And as one progresses through the novel, there is a sense of sorrow because of the troubles that Elizabeth endures only gets worse. However, there is one particular occasion in the novel that sheds light to her increasing psychological chaotic world. One scene is of the garden, where Elizabeth finds that she can momentarily distance herself from her enstrange psychological friends.

The garden is an agricultural scheme that experimented with different plantations that can help aid the city in providing food to the villagers. Elizabeth was a worker responsible for the growth of plants and vegetables. Especially for the Cape Gooseberry, a fruit bearing plant that naturally grows in moist humid climates planted in the garden, matured and turned into jelly. With the aid of technology, the plant was able to grow in such dry climate condition. And personally responsible for their survival is Elizabeth. In relation Elizabeth closely resembles the growth of the Cape Gooseberry that she grows in the garden. In a way that both, the plant and Elizabeth, come from indigenous land and both are seeking a way to survive and become part of a new land.

Other situations in the novel that helped Elizabeth come through with her psychological illness are the friends that she made working the garden. One such friend is Tom, an American volunteer co-worker from America that helps Elizabeth tend the garden. Tom is portrayed as a compassion person who Elizabeth cares deeply for and at the end of the novel, helps her overcome her psychological illness. With his love for Elizabeth and his compassion to help her see through her difficult times, enlightens her on overcoming her craziness.

Though the novel consists of mostly Elizabeth’s battle to become part of a new land, like the Cape Gooseberries, there were times where Elizabeth was able to find a sense of peace through the garden and her close friend Tom. The garden provided a sanctuary for Elizabeth and her best friend Tom sought peace for her soul. Like Elizabeth, I to relay on my getaway place to find escape from reality. And taking along a friend, my little brother, makes that time much more valuable and relieving, for I know that it is the bond that I make with him that will help me live a much joyful lifestyle.