Understanding Belonging
- Submitted by: erussell
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 07/03/2011 02:52 AM
- Pages: 7
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To what extent has studying the concept of belonging expanded your understanding of yourself, of individuals, and of the world?
Belonging is a connection which can be formed with a person, group, country, gender, or a culture. I believe we can form this connection on a universal level with a several people,or perhaps in a country, as part of a cultural identity , and there are universal connections shared with or culture or indeed the whole of humankind. TOr, this bond can be established on a personal level, with simply another human. Nevertheless, whether this sense of belonging is formed on a universal or personal level, it is complex and multi-faceted. My own concept of belonging has been shaped by the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Truman Capote’s short story, A Diamond Guitar and the 2006 foreign film, The White Masai directed by Hermine Huntgeburth. Better !
In poem 66 Dickinson proclaims, this is my letter to the world which shows us immediately that she is connecting with all of humankind. Through this letter and her voice in the poem she is communicating with her sweet countrymen. Looking at the first line, it is interesting to notice that they contain both the individual persona, in my, and then the world which I believe is her community. In the second line there is strong use of negation in never which gives the opening a slightly gloomy tone, suggesting a sense of isolation. I think that the possessive my shows us that the persona has a strong sense of herself, but her sense of affiliation with the world is lacking. She asks her sweet countrymen to judge her tenderly. I think this means that the persona is aware that she doesn’t have a bond with her are you sure ? isn’t it rather that she is DIFFERENT community and is asking for those around her, her sweet countrymen, to accept her for who she is. In this way, I think Dickinson has created a tension between the persona and the community. There is a similar tension created in The White Massai...
Belonging is a connection which can be formed with a person, group, country, gender, or a culture. I believe we can form this connection on a universal level with a several people,or perhaps in a country, as part of a cultural identity , and there are universal connections shared with or culture or indeed the whole of humankind. TOr, this bond can be established on a personal level, with simply another human. Nevertheless, whether this sense of belonging is formed on a universal or personal level, it is complex and multi-faceted. My own concept of belonging has been shaped by the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Truman Capote’s short story, A Diamond Guitar and the 2006 foreign film, The White Masai directed by Hermine Huntgeburth. Better !
In poem 66 Dickinson proclaims, this is my letter to the world which shows us immediately that she is connecting with all of humankind. Through this letter and her voice in the poem she is communicating with her sweet countrymen. Looking at the first line, it is interesting to notice that they contain both the individual persona, in my, and then the world which I believe is her community. In the second line there is strong use of negation in never which gives the opening a slightly gloomy tone, suggesting a sense of isolation. I think that the possessive my shows us that the persona has a strong sense of herself, but her sense of affiliation with the world is lacking. She asks her sweet countrymen to judge her tenderly. I think this means that the persona is aware that she doesn’t have a bond with her are you sure ? isn’t it rather that she is DIFFERENT community and is asking for those around her, her sweet countrymen, to accept her for who she is. In this way, I think Dickinson has created a tension between the persona and the community. There is a similar tension created in The White Massai...