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.
Bibliography
Greenberg, Joanne (As Hannah Green). I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN. Ed.
New York, New York 10017: New American library publishes Signet, Signette,
Mentor, Classics, Plume & Nal Books.