Butterflies and Hurricanes

One flap of the wing of a butterfly causes a monsoon thousands of miles away.  Many people have heard that fraise, and regardless of whether it is accurate or not there are small things in the world that can result in an enormous change.  For example an occasional smile or complement can help anyone feel better or get in a good mood. 

In the novel “A Question of Power,” the main character Elizabeth, who closely resembles the author Bessie Head, is constantly struggling with sanity and the forces of good and evil.  Towards the end of the novel when Elizabeth is at an all time low, there are several sources of hope that help Elizabeth.  A couple of them are her work in a garden and a man named Tom.

There is a time in the novel when Elizabeth’s mind has lost to evil and she is contemplating whether she should take her own life.  When a person, named Tom, who seems as insignificant as a butterfly performs a small act of kindness, he helps Elizabeth in a monumental way.  Despite Elizabeth’s behaves rudely and inappropriately towards Tom, he shows up to her home to cook supper right at the moment when she feels that she no longer has any reason to live.  Elizabeth was surprised that Tom could still show love and friendship towards her even after she had said hateful things to him.  Not only was Tom kind to her, “she always depended on him to add to her own thoughts” (Head pg.190).  Tom could help Elizabeth better understand her thoughts and visions.  Tom is a huge source of understanding and hope for Elizabeth that helped save her life.

Another source of hope for Elizabeth is the garden.  Elizabeth is able to focus her mind on real world things and objects when she is working in the garden.  One of the successful plants that she is growing is called Cape gooseberry.  This plant is foreign to Botswana and normally grows in a wet environment.  Botswana is very dry and as a result Elizabeth is the only person who seems to know how to successfully grow the gooseberry.  The Cape gooseberry becomes very popular, and becomes the main source of profit for the garden.  The Cape gooseberry is a source of hope for Elizabeth because like the gooseberry she is a foreigner to Botswana.  The fact that the gooseberry is so successful in a place where it doesn’t naturally belong is a sign of hope for Elizabeth.

Tom is an obvious source of hope for Elizabeth in the novel.  At the end of the novel Tom tells Elizabeth that she should be married so she is not so lonely, because he sees that her loneliness is attacked by insanity (pg. 192).  Elizabeth seems to already be aware of this and says, “It’s not a part of my calculations, I seem to have been born for this experience” (pg. 192).

Though Elizabeth experienced horrible demons, and devils, nothing could match the powers of her sources of hope, and a kind friend can cure a lifetime of suffering during dinner.