WorldLitEssay

JoshuaMeeks

HowistheenvironmentinFiela'sChildusedasametaphorforBenjamin'sstateofmind?
Fiela'sChildisabookwrittenbySouthAfricanauthorDaleneMatthee.Itissetinherhome
country,anddescribesthetaleofayoungwhiteboynamedLukasvanRooyen,whowandersaway
fromhisfamilyatayoungageandistakeninbytheKomoeties,ablackfamilylivinginanotherpartof
theregion.ThestoryfollowsLukas(orBenjaminashewasnamedbytheKomoeties,andwhichwe
willrefertohimasforthepurposesofthispaper)onajourneyofselfrealizationafterheisseparated
fromtheKomoetiesandthrustintoaworldwhichheistoldhebelongsin.
Inthetext,therearethreemainenvironmentsinwhichBenjamintravelsandresidesin.The
forest,wherehewasbornandlaterreturnedto.Thelongkloof,wheretheKomoetiesliveandwhere
heseesashisrealhomeandfinallythesea,whereheeventuallyfindshistrueidentity.Inthe
followingparagraphsIwillbediscussinghoweachindividualenvironmentmirrorsBenjamin'sstateof
mindandisusedasatooltoexternalizehisinternalstrugglesandallowustobetterexperiencehis
development.
ThefirstsignificantlocationwhereweseeBenjaminasasentientbeingisintheLongkloof.
TheLongkloofiswhereBenjamincallshome,withtheKomoetiesanditisallthathecanreally
remember.Althoughthepeoplethatlivetheredonothavemuchmoney,theyarehappyandthisis
reflectedintheenvironment.Itisasunnyplace,withwideopenfieldswheremanyanimalsroamthe
land..TheKomoetiesliveinharmonywiththeirenvironmentandtakeonlywhattheyneed.Atthis
timeinBenjamin'slife,hehasnorealworriesatall.Oneofthefirstapparentthingsabouthow
Mattheedepictsherscenesisthatsunlightisdirectlyrelatedtohappiness.Innormaltimes,thesun
wouldriseandbrightenuptheirlives(Behindthehillsthesuncameoutandspreaditswarmthover
1
theKloof)
However,onthedayBenjaminwastakenawayitisstartedFebruary.March.April.The
2
firstsignsofwinter
Coldandnegativethingsaredirectlyrelated,whichbringsustothenextmain
environmenttheforest.
Theforest,whichwaswereBenjaminwassupposedtohavebeenborn,andalsowherehe
wasseparatedfromthevanRooyens,isaplacethatisperpetuallycoldanddamp.Followingthrough
withMatthee'sstyle,wecanfigureoutthattheforestwasaveryunhappyplaceingeneral.Eliasvan
Rooyen,thefatherofBenjamin,wasanabusive,unsavoryperson.Hiswifewasnotasbadashim,but
shewasverysubmissiveanddidnotquestionhisauthority.Theonlybeaconoflightintheforest,was
hissupposedsister,NinavanRooyenbutotherthanthat,theforestwasaterriblydarkandgloomy
place,withdangerlurkingbehindeverycorner.ThisaccuratelyrepresentsBenjamin'sstateofmindat
thetime,ashewasallofasuddenconfrontedwithsomanyquestionsandproblemsthathedidn't
1p.48
2p.27

evenknowwerepossibleashortwhilebefore.Whowashereally?Whowerehisfamily?Didheeven
reallyhaveone?HowwouldwegetbacktotheKloof?These,uponothers,putgreatstrainupon
Benjamin'spsyche.That,inconjunctionwiththesuddenseparationfromtheonlyfamilyheever
knewputhiminaverydarkplace.Thiscanbeseenmeinhiswithdrawalintohimself&literallyinthat
hewasnowintheforest,whichwasadarkplacewhichmirroredallofhisinternalstruggles.
ThefinalenvironmentweseeBenjaminin,isthesea.Thesignificanceoftheseaisreadily
apparentifwefollowthesameideaasbefore.Theseaisopenandfree,itisbright,sunnyandfullof
lifebutatthesametimecanbedarkandunforgiving.Itistheperfectbalance.Onasimilarnote,the
seaandtheshipBenjaminwasonwasnottiedtoanylandmassorcentrallocation.Inthesameway,
Benjaminfoundhisindependencehere.Hefoundoutwhohewas,notasBenjaminKomoetieor
LukasvanRooyen,butjustasanindividual,regardlessofanytieshemayormaynothave.When
Benjaminfinallyreturnedfromthesea,onecouldevensaythatithadwashedhimcleanofofthe
existentialwoeshehadpreviouslybuiltupandallowedhimtoclearly
see
whatheneededtodo,
whichwastoreturntotheLongkloof,wherehewastrulyhappy.
Throughoutthenovel,Fiela'sChild,theenvironmentisusedisseveralwaystodepictthestate
ofmindofthemaincharacter,Benjamin.IntheLongkloof,abrightandsunnyplace,heishappyand
carefree.Intheforest,whichisdarkanddamp,heisdepressedandmentallyburdenedfromthe
stressofseparationfromhisfamily.Bytheseaside,andintheseaheisfullyfree,thisiswherehe
completeshisjourneyofselfrealizationandisabletomakehisownchoicesatlast.
TheprojectionofBenjamin'sinnerstatesontotheenvironmentinFiela'schildallowsusa
betterchancetounderstandandappreciatewhatwasgoingoninhisownmind,fromhisperspective.
Aswediscussedpreviously,thedifferentenvironmentsreallysetthewholeatmosphereofthethree
distinctstagesofBenjamin'slife.Ayounginnocentboy,toasuddenlyconflictedadolescenttoaman,
whoknowswhoheis,ormaybeisfinenotreallyknowingatall.Eitherway,Mattheecarriesusalong
withBenjaminthroughtheenvironmentinawaythatcouldneverhavebeendoneusingjustabstract
wordsandphraseswhichnoonecouldfullygraspasclearlyasthewarmthofsunlightrepresenting
theloveofhisfamilyontheKloof.