Belonging Essay Example for Free

Belonging Essay Belonging is about how one views their self and how one interacts with those around them. It colours who and what we are and how we fit into the world around us. People seek belonging for identity, relationships, acceptance, and understanding. Steven Herrick’s free-verse novel, ‘The Simple Gift’, effectively explores the notions of belonging through the protagonist’s journey. In a similar way, David Michod’s film ‘Animal Kingdom’ and Tim Winton’s short story ‘Neighbours’ both present protagonists that go through long journeys to find belonging through developing meaningful relationships and discoveringa sense of place. Steven Herrick’s free-verse novel ‘The Simple Gift’ clearly portrays that alienation and a lack of connection with people will lead to a lack of belonging. Immediately Herrick introduces the readers to Billy, a sixteen-year-old runaway who is alienated and isolated. Herrick implicitly displays that Billy’s father has abused him, which is the cause of his alienation. This is evident as Billy recounts how his father â€Å"gave me one hard backhander across the face, so hard I fell down†¦. And slammed the door on my sporting childhood. This metaphor allows readers to understand that his father’s abuse led to Billy’s disconnection to from normal childhood experiences, thereby not allowing him to ‘fit in’ and belong to society. Billy’s isolation from the community is reinforced as he leaves the neighbourhood throwing â€Å"one rock on the roof of each deadbeat no-hoper shithole lonely downtrodden house in Longlands Road, Nowheresville. † Colloquial adjectives and expletives make evident Billy’s feelings of disconnection and resentment towards his hometown, suitably named â€Å"Nowheresville† by Billy. It is from this place that Billy seeks escape, and so chapter one ends as he begins his journey towards belonging â€Å"on a speedboat out of town†¦ heading to the Waggawang Coalfields. † Herrick portrays that Finding a sense of place and meaningful relationships leads to belonging with Billy’s arrival in Bendarat where he is metaphorically and literally entering a new life. Although at first Billy is anxious, upon entering the town, he feels it brings a sense of hope for his future as he â€Å"walks slowly into Bendarat†¦with the sun finally lifting. Through this use of weather motifs and personification of the sun lifting the fog, hope and positivity are unveiled for Billy after a life of negativity and uncertainty. He finds â€Å"Bendarat is the perfect town† and he makes â€Å"carriage 1864 home. † Billy begins his movement as he finds a physical sense of place. While the town of Bendarat Billy begins to move towards belonging through meaningful relationships, when he meets Caitlin; a representative from the ‘other’ society from which Billy and Old Bill are hiding. Ironically, Caitlin has everything she wants, but is still discontent. She represents her family’s wealth, acknowledging that her â€Å"Dad is too rich for his own good. † Caitlin and Billy develop an immediate bond, as they are able to talk and listen to each other without judgment or prejudice. As they meet, the narrative perspectives begins to overlap, and the reader gains insight into Caitlin through her strong voice, suggested through the use of personal pronouns â€Å" I felt good†¦ I kept mopping. As their relationship develops, Billy finds meaning and purpose for his life as seen through this extended metaphor that Billy’s life has become â€Å"a circuit of plans with Caitlin at the centre, and me a badly-dressed satellite spinning crazily in her orbit. † With Caitlin in his life, Billy is centered and feels connectedness: she is someone to whom he can belong. Similarly, Billy begins to find belonging through a relationship with Old Bill; a h omeless alcoholic with a sad past. Through the use of superlative in Billy’s description of Old Bill as the â€Å"saddest man in the world† the reader understands that Billy and Old Bill have the chance to change each other’s lives through meaningful relationships. Old Bill is the catalyst for Billy’s movement towards belonging, just as Billy is able to help Old Bill re-entre society. Billy’s journey from alienation to belonging is completed as he enters with Caitlin into his new â€Å"home†, the tangible address that Old Bill offers them for their â€Å"simple gift†. The key to his home that Old Bill offers Billy is the most significant gift in the novel. This key is a motif symbolizing Caitlin and Billy’s joining together and entering a new life â€Å"I insert the key†¦ and push the door†. They enter this new life together. Ironically, Old Bill finally belongs again through moving away and experiencing freedom. For Billy and Caitlin, the ultimate connectedness comes through love making. The reader understands the significance of this moment through Billy’s use of a simile; â€Å"it was like falling headlong into clear waters of the Bendarat River’†. Billy finds a place to call home, a place to which he can belong, in Bendarat, where he forms his own family and in turn gives simple gifts to and helps other find their own sense of belonging. Like ‘The Simple Gift’, David Michod’s film ‘Animal Kingdom’ effectively explores the concept of belonging through its protagonist Joshua ‘J’ Cody, a teenage boy thrown into a world of crime after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. Similar to Billy, J is alienated due to family circumstances. It is J’s first person narrative voice over that draws us into the world of the Cody family. He speaks to us: â€Å"After my mum died this was just the world I was thrown into. † This way of having him speak to the audience, allows us to be a part of his search for belonging throughout the film. Michod also utilizes the animal motif throughout the entire film. It is established in the opening credits through the artwork that is shown through extreme close ups. The Cody family is a den of lions and J walks in as a cub â€Å"The weak survive when they are protected by the strong†. From the beginning of the film there are a number of times this motif recurs, but perhaps the most significant moment is the conversation where Detective Leckie tells J all about the bush and the creatures in it and says â€Å"you’ve gotta work out where you fit†. J’s journey throughout the film is a search for belonging within this ‘animal kingdom’. Although J needs to choose where he belongs, we see he does not really have a choice due to the Cody family constantly dragging him into their problems. Viewers clearly observe this when J is having dinner away from the Cody family and at his girlfriend Nicky’s house. The diagetic sound of the family having dinner fades out and the eerie and ominous music comes in, suggesting something negative and frightening. The camera shows a close up J’s face as he views the news on the television, emphasizing J’s fear of his family. J’s eyes are now glued to the television and the medium shot of him having dinner loses focus forcing the viewer to watch the television just like J. Camera shots are used in many other significant parts of the movie to display J’s slow journey to belonging. Long and medium shots often used to show Smurf kissing her sons, significant because the final shot of the film is a long shot of J holding Smurf in a position of authority over her because he has killed Pope. This symbolizes him becoming one of them and perhaps even suggests that within the animal kingdom he has taken his position as leader like Craig encouraged him to be at the start. J has finally found belonging with the Cody family as leader of the animal kingdom. Similar to the previous two texts, Winton’s short story ‘Neighbours’ begins with a young couple that is in a state of alienation â€Å"like sojourners in a foreign land†. Like ‘the Simple Gift’, the lack of understanding prevents meaningful relationships and therefore leads to alienation. ‘Neighbours’ opens with the young couple having just arrived in their new suburb. Winton chooses to tell the story in third person, creating a distanced and simplistic quality throughout. Leaving all characters nameless only to be referred to by generalized titles such as â€Å"the Macedonians†, â€Å"the Polish widower† and â€Å"the young couple† enhances the texts impersonal nature. This opens the story up so that anyone can see themselves in each of the roles allowing them to connect with the characters and storyline in a unique and powerful way resulting in Winton being able to effectively portray his message of belonging. Another element to the piece is ‘The 20th Century Novel’ a project ‘the man’ is working on for what could be a university extra honors degree, that soon becomes a reoccurring motif. The novel is a symbolic tool used to represent the abstract world of intellectuals; however its presentation becomes a contrast with the real world that the couple discovers within this suburb. As the story progresses Winton uses the seasons as the structure of the story and the young couple’s journey to belong. In Autumn the young couple plant vegetables to live on, by beginning this common activity to their neighbours the Macedonians feel comfortable enough to begin to bond and also offer the young couple help and give them a gift of garlic cloves. Like ‘The Simple Gift’, through small gifts and acts of kindness come understanding, building of relationships and belonging. This significant event marks the beginning of the couple’s path to belonging â€Å"the neighbours come to the fence and offer advice about spacing, hilling, mulching†. As winter began the young couple smile in return to their neighbours and receive a visit from their parents who they were once like. The juxtaposition of the parents and their children show how much the young couple have changed and begun to belong â€Å"They felt superior and proud when their parents came to visit. Their parents are in complete shock of the neighbours behaviour as they do not understand the beauty behind their lifestyle, this juxtaposes the young couples behaviour as they have accepted their neighbours behaviour and have begun to understand their lifestyle and see the beauty and freedom of it. The final significant experience for the couple is the unexpected pregnancy of the woman, followed by her natural home birth. Throughout the pregnancy the couple are constantly approached by well- wishers in the neighbourhood, presenting the ommunities acceptance of them despite any differences and joining them in the celebration of this impending birth. During the home birth of their child the couple unexpectedly experience both interest and support from their new neighbours, displaying their final connection as a community. The birth process is rich with descriptive language, highlighting not only the beauty and power of this moment but the final step in claiming their place in this community with this new life. Each of the moments experienced above are all highly natural, reflective of the traditional European culture they are now living amongst, forever making ‘The 20th century novel’ more redundant as the story progresses. The man is developing his understanding of the 20th century world however the one he really needed to understand to find his sense of belonging was the one surrounding him, â€Å"The twentieth century novel had not prepared him for this. † People seek belonging for identity, relationships, acceptance, and understanding. Steven Herrick’s free-verse novel, ‘The Simple Gift’, effectively explores these notions of belonging. Through Billy’s character, the reader sees that belonging comes when there is acceptance and understanding, especially through meaningful relationships and human connectedness. In a similar way, David Michod’s film ‘Animal Kingdom’ and Tim Winton’s short story ‘Neighbours’ both present protagonists that go through long journeys to find meaningful relationships and a sense of place to discover their own sense of belonging.