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In I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN we see how one mans reality is not
necessarily that of another mans reality. We as humans do not think exactly the
same we all think in a different way, these distinctions will be proven. By
seeing into the mind of the main character and comparing her thoughts to the
people around her, the thesis will be proven. We are all guilty of retreating
into some sort of lunacy, we all are guilty of talking to our selves; this sort
of deportment will send some mixed messages to people. These messages will
propel them to the assumption that they are not normal. They are of to their own
world. Also proving, with the use of the protagonist that sometimes being crazy
can help cleans the core of one's being and feel good, that for once you can
gratify your fantasy. Perspectives play a grand roll in whether someone is
mentally stable or not, it could be miss interpretation or personal feeling. Who
is to say that a mad man cannot have an opinion? To him we are the crazy ones.
This is a case were majority rule is a determinant. We all live independent
lives from one another this is human nature, we do this to have peace and
serenity, to be alone but some loneliness we can do without. Deborah's reason
for being a mentally unstable young girl is that she felt alone and not needed
by the world. Normally as children, we had imaginary friends; Deborah's solitude
led her to divert to a world where she is liked, loved and cherished. At one
time-strange to think of it now-the gods of Yr had been companions-secret,
princely sharers of her loneliness. In camp, where she had been hated. (Pg. 55,
I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN). The girls at the camp perceived her to be
strange, anomalous. This in turn drove her deeper into her madness only because
she was different. This type of injustice can not be aloud it is morally unjust
but we over see it and continue with the atrocity. That same savagery that has
driven Deborah into her own sheltered world away from ours that same savageness
stabs us all but we are developed enough to fight back with a stable mind.
Deborah's interaction with other people is what society would call unhealthy.
Deborah would sometimes fall into deep trances that would be vicious she would
end up in Yr, She saw the doctor's mouth moving, and imagined that it was
spewing questions and accusations. She began to fall… There was utter darkness
for a long time, seen only in bands of across the eye. (Pg. 31). Near the
termination of chapter, six she falls into a deep mystic abstraction with Yr and
she speaks with one of the people there named Aterrabae. Aterrabae made Deborah
take a tin can and start mutilating her arm to prove that she is different then
the people from earth (society's reality) you were never one of them, not ever.
You are wholly different.(Pg.51). Deborah's reality is so dominant that it
forces her to believe that it is the germane reality, we may see it as madness
but she sees it as her reality. Using ones imagination can be a form of madness,
a level of self-escape. Escaping into your own delusion can be exhilarating,
mellow and tempting. A person can not see another person on the street and say:
that person is daft. Of course to that person he is not crazy you are. He feels
good in his mental environment, it probably is harmonious or exciting, who
knows. Our mind is very mysterious we lock out certain passions, thoughts and
fantasies if we let them escape they could be shunned upon by civilization.
The
enticing thoughts that we have are the reason why we continue to live in this
crazy world. e, quio quio quaru ar Yr aedat temoluqu' braown elepr' kyryr…
(brush winged, I soar above the canyons of your sleep singing…) (Pg.131). This
quote said by Deborah illustrates the beauty of madness with the poetic
language. Along with language, it has exquisite translations of figures. Madness
is so exciting that we may not be willing to let go. All right-you'll ask me
questions and I'll answer them-you'll clear up my 'symptoms' and send me
home…and what will I have then? (Pg23) Deborah has her first meeting with Dr.
Fried. Letting go of a comrade can be hard to do, for Deborah and people alike
cannot let go of their reality so easily. Every body sees things differently;
opinions may differ from one another. The key to understanding the kinship
amongst madness and reality is that one person's madness could be their only
reality and shroud. Both madness and reality share one common thing and that is
the human-mind. Someday I hope to help you see this world as other than a
stygian hell. (Pg.25) Deborah's vision of the world is negative; Dr. Fried's
perception of the world is neither to negative or too positive but just in
between.
There is also a perspective in language Deborah created her own
language Yri. While everybody else speaks in English. Deborah describes English
as for the world-for getting disappointed by and getting hated in. (Pg.56). This
quote has some truth to it but that is Deborah's perspective of the English
language, but she describes Yri as for saying what is to be said. (Pg.56). Again
that is her perspective of both how the world is and how both languages have
their own uses. Perspectives play a monumental role in determining who is sane
and who is not. Dr. Fried while looking at Deborah's file for the very first
time sees Deborah from a professional point of view. Again she looked at the
facts and the numbers. A report like this had once made her remark to the
hospital psychologists. We must some day make a test to show us where the health
is as well as the illness. (Pg.19). This quote is taken to show the personal and
professional perceptions that Dr. Fried has. Everybody sees things through their
own perspective. We all have made alternative realities in order to escape the
one we are in now (world reality). Realities are reached through understanding
and making sense of the world around us. The factors that are taken into
consideration: politics, religion, education, and the surrounding world.
Perspectives are a part of reality whether it be political or any of the above,
it will affect your reality. Since one persons reality is different from your
reality; therefore, one mans reality is not necessarily another mans reality.
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