The Thin Red Line: Of Insanity

In today’s world famous prophets such as Jacob, Mohammed, and Buddha are all held in high regard by their respective followings.  However, at what point did people start to believe what they were saying and teaching?  If people today started preaching these things would most people see them as crazy or insane?  Indeed this would be the case as we do not see prophets springing up everywhere in today’s world.  The few exceptions of people with visions or teachings are disregarded or viewed as insane.  In Bessie Head’s, A Question of Power, Elizabeth is deemed to be insane.  However, there is a fine line between crazy and being a prophet and the only difference in this instance is that fact that Elizabeth does not have an elaborate following like the prophets named earlier had.

            Elizabeth battles in and out of sanity and struggles with the perceptions of good and evil with that of figures that visit her in Sello and Dan, respectively.  These figures drag her through hell.  Head writes, “No one had come to terms with their own powers.  None of mankind’s God-like figureheads recorded what she saw on this nightmare soul-journey” (pg. 35).  In this passage, Head is not only comparing Elizabeth to the prophets but saying she has in fact gone through more of a test than that of the prophets.  Mohammed received revelations from Allah and Buddha found enlightenment by sitting under a bodhi tree.  However, none of these prophets were dragged through hell like Elizabeth was in order to understand both good and evil.

            Elizabeth also discovers good throughout her journey.  Sello is ultimately a good character and helps Elizabeth to grow as a person.  The characters of Kenosi, Eugene, and Birgette help out Elizabeth during her breakdown where she is in the hospital.  These figures help Elizabeth by taking care of her son when she is unable to.  These everyday ordinary people show Elizabeth that there are indeed good people in the world.  However, she needed to experience evil in order to truly appreciate the goodness people are capable of showcasing.

            Elizabeth had breakdowns and ultimately struggled with her sanity.  However, she understands both good and evil as she was helped by figures both real and imaginary.  In addition, these instances make her just as qualified as any other prophet who in today’s world would be deemed crazy before they were allowed to justify themselves.  Elizabeth does not have a following to preach to and thus is regarded as being insane.  At some point she may have been insane but who wouldn’t struggle with this notion when figures are speaking to you?  However, this is needed on the quest for enlightenment and in order to understand both good and evil.  Finally, the point can be made that the prophets struggled with those notion before they ultimately gathered a following and went on to describe and preach great things.