A Question of Power Overview
In this novel, author Bessie Head explores the psychological effects of being black in apartheid South Africa through her protagonist, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, who was born to a white mother and black father in apartheid South Africa, has started a new life in Motabeng, Botswana, with her son. During the day, she works in the vegetable garden for a cooperative farming society; at night, Elizabeth feels that her soul is being tormented by three demons. This novel explores themes of madness, racism, power, godliness, friendship, and community.
Study Pack
The A Question of Power Study Pack contains:
A Question of Power Study Guide
Bessie Head Biographies (3)
3,990 words, approx. 14 pages
Biography EssayWhen Bessie Head died in 1986 at the age of forty-nine, she left a legacy of diverse writings including three novels, a volume of short stories, an oral history, a reconstructed history...
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2,582 words, approx. 9 pages
When Bessie Head died in 1986 at the age of forty-nine, she left a legacy of diverse writings including three novels, a volume of short stories, an oral history, a reconstructed history of nineteenth-...
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4,966 words, approx. 17 pages
By the time of her death at the age of forty-eight in Serowe, a village in Botswana, Bessie Head had gained recognition as a writer of extraordinary power and insight. In her concern with women and ma...
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