Trail Markers of Hope

Nature is revered and appreciated by all cultures. Throughout the world different peoples are connected to nature and everything it provides. In our culture nature is seen as a get away, an oasis of relaxation. A place we vacation and unwind. My siblings and I were brought up by parents who love to backpack. It just so happens that I was brought up within driving distance of the Sierra Nevada. As children some of my earliest memories were of trekking through the Sierra Nevada.

The sheer majesty and grandness was mind blowing. Backpacking was a time of rejuvenation for my parents. My father worked in L.A. and loved to get away from the city. My mother was a stay at home mom, and loved to see us experience everything nature had to offer. However, our trips were not always relaxing. Sometimes my father would choose older trails that were less traveled. And occasionally we would get lost and my mother would fret and the kids would complain… yet we always found our way.

The reason we never got horribly lost was due to “trail markers.” Trail markers are stones stacked along trails; placed by previous trekkers. The trail markers allow lost hikers to navigate trails that have no distinct path. Whenever we were lost there would be a certain amount of confusion, until we found a trail marker. Then our minds would be put at ease and we would know we were heading in the right direction. Finding the trail markers was like finding a point of reference in a wilderness that provides none. By moving from trail marker to trail marker we were able to navigate the trail.

It’s weird that I thought of those memories while reading Bessie Head’s book, A Question of Power. The book is about a woman suffering from mental illness. The book skips around a lot with random thoughts and little reference points. When reading her book I have felt to a great degree lost and uncertain…just like I felt on the trails growing up. However, Head leaves her own trail markers throughout the book to guide the reader to the destination she intends.

These trail markers, are events in the storyline of the book. Throughout the book Elizabeth, the main character, is to a greater extent tripping out. She has visions, “the form of a man totally filled the large horizon in front of her,”(22) these visions of semi-gods named Dan and Sello create confusion. However, intermittently Head allows Elizabeth to lapse back into reality. These lapses back into reality give the reader a reference point to follow throughout the book.

However, these lapses back into reality do not only help the reader cope with the insanity, they eventually reveal Elizabeth’s “lever out of hell,”(198) her release from insanity. Head uses Elizabeth’s interactions while working on a sustainable cooperative with other people. These people are kind with Elizabeth one character Kenosi tells her, “‘you must never leave the Garden,’” (142) showing Elizabeth that her help is wanted. The kindness Kenosi is a marker of hope to Elizabeth.   

Another lapse into reality is when Elizabeth is talking about the cultivation of the “Cape Gooseberry.” The Cape Gooseberry is a, “good health food for the family as it is rich in Vitamin C.”(153) The berry is Elizabeth’s assignment on the Co-op. She seems to have a gift for growing the berries and grows pounds and pounds. The Cape Gooseberries are also used by Head to convey Elizabeth’s situation, because like herself the berries are not native to Botswana. However, the berries start to thrive, in the “summers as they were a replica of the Mediterranean summers of it home in the cape.” (153) We start to see Elizabeth thrive because of her work in the garden on the Co-op.

There is one real character in particular that provides Elizabeth with help and hope. His name is Tom. He is a Peace Corps volunteer briefly introduced at the beginning of the book and becomes a pivotal character towards the end. Tom shows Elizabeth kindness when released from the hospital. He comes to her house to make her a meal and talk. Then he makes a comment about how she has a love for all mankind. This statement breaks insanities grip on Elizabeth, “her soul-death was really over in that instant, though she did not realize it.” Tom with a seemingly simple act of kindness leaves Elizabeth, “poised from that moment to make the great leap out of hell.”(188)

By using different character and events in the book Head creates Hope. Hope for both the reader and Elizabeth. The reader is given breaks from Elizabeth’s insanity and Elizabeth is equipped with tools to break free of her mental “hell.”

The parts in the book that are real and not illusions of Elizabeth’s tortured mind are just like the trail markers I experienced trekking growing up. While reading Bessie Head’s book I must confess there have been times I felt lost and confused. Most of the book is jumbled and hard to follow (Head’s intention). However, Head’s use of these lapses back into reality served as trail markers for my mind to stay the course. In the end the whole book comes into focus and I can appreciate the difficulty I felt while reading it. Head masterfully uses these trail markers to lead the reader down the path of insanity to the final destination, Elizabeth’s release from its clutches.