Novel: Possessing the Secret of Joy

Introduction
"Possessing the Secret of Joy" is a 1992 novel by Alice Walker, the well known author of "The Color Purple". The novel informs the story of Tashi, an African female who undergoes female genital mutilation (FGM) and later on relocates to America, where she comes to grips with the psychological and physical repercussions of her past. Through Tashi's journey, the novel explores themes of custom, trauma, memory, and recovery.

Characters and Setting
Tashi is the central character of the unique, born in a little African village called Tabu, soaked in deep-rooted customizeds and customs. When Tashi is a girl, M'Lissa, a revered and feared local female called "The Knife", encourages her that withstanding female genital mutilation is essential for supporting their spiritual traditions.

Tashi's journey takes her to Northridge, a fictional American town, where she marries a man named Adam. Tashi and Adam share a common friendship with Olivia and Pierre, American expatriates who live nearby in Africa. As Tashi comes to grips with her past, her harmed relationships with Adam, Olivia, and Pierre show her struggle to reconcile her own identity.

M'Lissa functions as the personification of the deeply established custom and the harmful practices it perpetuates, and her presence haunts Tashi throughout her journey.

Plot Summary
The unique follows Tashi's life through a series of non-linear flashbacks and contemporary narrative. The story starts with Tashi being convinced by M'Lissa to go through FGM, an agonizing and traumatic experience. Tashi's mom tries to discourage her, but in the end, Tashi sends to the treatment, believing that doing so will bestow her with the "trick of joy".

Years later on, Tashi marries Adam and transfers to Northridge, where she has a hard time to adjust to American culture and experiences extreme trauma (PTSD) as an outcome of the FGM. Her psychological health gets worse as she harbors sensations of guilt for her sis Dura, who passed away after suffering complications during the mutilation.

The strain of Tashi's psychological health takes a toll on her relationships with Adam and their pals, Olivia and Pierre. Tashi ends up being remote and withdrawn, and memories of her past continue to haunt her. Growing increasingly desperate, Tashi looks for help from a psychologist named Dr. Friedman, who tries to assist her challenge her trauma.

In her mission for healing, Tashi encounters a book by an ethnologist called Dr. Heschel Llubenko, who documents the stories of different African ladies who have actually endured FGM. Influenced by the strength and resilience of these ladies, Tashi begins to face the tradition of M'Lissa and the hazardous customs propagated in her town.

Resolution and Themes
Tashi ultimately goes back to Africa and faces M'Lissa, who plays a figuring out role in her pertaining to terms with her past and finding the strength to move forward. In a climactic face-off, Tashi faces M'Lissa and eliminates her with a machete, symbolically breaking the chains of custom and looking for retribution for the suffering experienced by many ladies.

The unique ends with Tashi being sentenced to prison for M'Lissa's murder, however she shows no remorse for her actions. Instead, she embraces her newly found flexibility and triumphantly claims that she has actually finally found the secret of delight within herself.

"Possessing the Secret of Joy" is an effective expedition of the psychological repercussions of deeply ingrained and damaging cultural practices. Through Tashi's journey, the story challenges its readers to examine and question the customs they consider granted and think about the resilience and strength of the human spirit in the face of extreme difficulty.