Berries, Carbon, And Hope In A Cycle

Plants and humans are very distinct different species of worldly organisms, but together the two work in harmony to survive and thrive. Considering what I remember of high school biology, I am able to confidently distinct a plant and a mammal, I know little, but bear with me on the distinctions. When considering the two I think of the ying yang emblem; two opposite forces working off each other to create a sense of harmony. The kingdoms Plantae and Animlia are not polar opposites, but they do share some opposing forces that really help the other. Lets think about the carbon exchange; plants breath it, refine it and return the favor with a little oxygen to us in the Animila kingdom. The two live happily ever after… I seems to be rambling, but what I was really trying to get to was that though these two organisms tremendously differ, their basic properties mirror each other; both need something and give something. And in the book, A Question Of Power, we see Elizabeth touch back down with sanity because of the kingdom Plantae

Elizabeth  as a visitor works, lives, and returns to ground level at the co-op of the small town Montabeng. At this location she is able to put the pieces back together and prove to the readers that the acid-trip hell ride is finally over. On the co-op she practices the methods of farming explicitly on the  plant called “the cape gooseberry,” the medial task and repetition of farming provides a safety net for Elizabeth. Head uses the berry as a representation more deep than just a means for Elizabeth’s work.  We learn that the berry as well is a foreigner to Montabeng,  “A complete stranger like the cape gooseberry settled down and became part of the village of Montabeng. It loved the hot dry, Botswana summers as they were a replica of the Mediterranean summers of its cape” pg 153. We can see that the berry means more than farming.  Both Elizabeth and the berry are from the outside; they are settlers landed in a community that closes its mind to all whom are not indigenous.

Elizabeth uses the cultivation of the berry to get to level ground, she tries to appeal it to the local families whom do not have full respect of this outsider. Elizabeth is an outsider working with an outside product. The relationship Elizabeth and the plant is symbiotic. Not only this but the berry itself is a coping mechanism for Elizabeth. Together the two outsiders play off each other to have belonging in this village community. the villagers even call Elizabeth “cape gooseberry” to show how well Elizabeth had marketed it to the villagers.

The kingdoms Plantae and Animila  symbiotically work together exchanging gas and carbon, this relationship has proved its significance throughout this world since the beginning. Bessie head takes this theme and distorts it to make it more specific.  Both are transplants relocated to this area where they are both visitors to a foreign culture, both are just trying to survive. Together  they are able to find their bearings.