Belonging Essay

Belonging is part of the human condition. To seek interaction and gain acceptance is a basic human desire. Yet the forces associated with belonging or not belonging for an individual continue to evolve. Through this assertion, composers have influenced the way in which a person perceives himself or herself and have constructed their own views and opinions on society and how it conveys acceptance or alienation. The composers peter skreynczki through his poem, Ernest Hemingway's short story, and Melina Marchettas novel all convey this idea of acceptance and isolation in society.

Peter skrynecki has contrasted the idea of belonging and alienation through the two poems, migrant hostel and St Patrick's college. Migrant hotel has explored the ideas of alienation and being outcasted from society and has highlighted the ideas and importance of being accepted in society as part of the enate human condition. Through the quote "in busloads from the station" the use of impersonal language in the word " bus loads" has conveyed how these migrant don't belong and are not defined as anything, they are simply just associated as one big social construct, they have no given identity. In contrast, the composer has conveyed how the migrants belong as a group within each other through the use of simile in the quote "like a homing pigeon" displays the strong need migrants had to find a home and to be accepted in society, the instinctive need to find something familiar in a foreign place. The concept of belonging and not belonging are conveyed through the use of various language techniques. Through the use of inclusive language and collective possessive pronouns the audience understands the importance of family and inclusion thus experiencing a sense of belonging. Similarly in the poem St Patrick's college, skryneckis purpose of desiring to belong within a societal group is greatly conveyed. Through the use of simile in the quote " cough he bus like a foreign tourist" suggests how inquisitive he was. It also suggests the numerous possibilities he saw as he travelled. Conversely it suggests a sense of alienation and confusion, not knowing where he really belonged. The school symbolises belonging to an institution of hope, opportunity and good manners. The poets experience at school he emphasises how long he spent at school by repeating "eight years". There is a sense of confusion and uncertainty in the poem. The poet is overwhelmed by the experience and goes along with the demands of the school. Through the quote " learn my conjugations" refers to learning to recite Latin verbs. A strong sense of belonging to the catholic faith is conveyed, "Could say the lord prayer in Latin".

In contrast, Ernest Hemingway's short story A Clean Well-Lighted place we see a sense of alienation and isolation through the characters in society. Through the metaphor in the quote "It was all a nothing and a man was nothing too." Hemingway suggests that life has no meaning and that man is an insignificant speck in a great sea of nothingness. When he substitutes the Spanish word nada (nothing) into the prayers he recites, he indicates that religion, to which many people turn to find meaning and purpose, is also just nothingness. "Our nada who art in nada" biblical imagery used in this is to convey the idea that nothingness exists in every aspect of life and therefore leads to the idea of alienation and unacceptance. The symbolism of the café represents the opposite of nothingness. Hemingway has presented this through the quote "It was only that