Belonging

To belong is to be, or have the feeling of being accepted or included by a certain group, person, place or community. While initially an individual may belong to a community or group, speaking their opinion can seclude them, and cause them to become an outsider. Belonging to a community or group can be very beneficial, and not belonging can cause an individual to face consequences. Hysteria and fear can be caused throughout a community by outsiders who don’t belong. We are able to view these experiences of belonging and not belonging through the use of characters and events throughout a variety of texts. Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” and Armin Geder’s picture book “The Island” display how an individual can belong and not belong at

Inherent within humanity is the need to belong, in which an individual must accept one another in order to achieve a greater sense of connectedness and identity. This is firstly evident in Shakespeare's As You Like It whereby the ideas of love are used to reveal how relationships are fundamental to one's sense of belonging. Act 1 Scene 3 explores belonging and not belonging through love and nature as it establishes the plot at the mark of separation from court and country by Rosalind and Celia breaking the sense of belonging to place. Celia and Rosalind convey a strong bond evident in Celia’s plea to her father, Duke Frederick, to keep Rosalind at court rather than banishing her to the Forest of Arden. Conventions of love are evident

“We belong … like fish in water. We’re in our environment.” This quote from the New York Times shows the perception of belonging as the idea about connecting to a place, person, group or a community. 'Feliks Skrzynecki' by Peter Skrzynecki, 'I'm nobody! Who are you?' by Emily Dickinson and 'The Rabbits' by John Marsden & Shaun Tan show the concept of belonging as being contrasted towards the New York Times quote, showing the alienation and non-existent connection towards it. These texts have furthered my understanding on the perceptions of belonging by recognising the different concepts of connection to people, places and things.

The idea of belonging in a society is also explored in William Shakespeare’s, “Othello”. The play is about a Venetian army general, Othello, who has just arrived home from duty. Othello is dark skinned which affects his ability to belong in a predominantly white society. The attitudes of others when Othello is in the Venetian society changes

Second, the transvestism of the English renaissance theatre creates a "space of possibility" for "structuring and confounding culture" as well as enacting a "category crisis" which reflects a potential destabilization of the dominant hierarchy (Garber 16, 17). Greenblatt points out that the enactment of such difference is an instrument to increase audience anxiety before reifying the normative and conventional in the play's res-olution, a pattern played out in The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night; yet this cannot account for the defiant and yet compassionate resolution of Dek-ker's The Roaring Girl, where the mannishly clad Moll blesses the marriage of Sebastian and Mary Fitz-Allard and their reconciliation with their fathers, at the same time refusing the conventional solution for herself.

Certain texts raise certain perspectives about belonging, whether it be belonging to particular groups through conformity to rules, or belong to a place where you find inspiration to express your own sense of individuality. The film Strictly Ballroom, directed by Baz Luhrmann portrays many different perspectives in regards to belonging. The opening scenes of Strictly Ballroom explore aspects of not belonging and non-acceptance. To belong to the world of ballroom dancing means sacrificing self-expression and individual identity. Scott Hastings represents the individual who repels against the group as it threatens to consume him. From this we understand that some people may have to sacrifice their own true identity to belong to a certain

An individual’s sense of belonging stems from their notions of identity, personal context, and place. A lack in any of these areas may result in a thorough sense of alienation and pose as a barrier, which prevents belonging and facilitates an individual’s decision to exclude themselves from their surroundings. However, ironically, these barriers that present hardship can truly liberate an individual and help them in finding a more fulfilled state of belonging. These ideas are explored in Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It and Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner.

It is a well-known fact that belonging to a group can make an individual feel not only accepted, but more powerful that if they were on their own. Whether it is a community, youth group or even religion, belonging is an everyday occurrence of like that many of us do not even realise. Belonging to a group is more influential than belonging to an individual. We can see this in the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller, 1984 by George Orwell and the listening task. Belonging to a group can give you a feeling of acceptance, but also can help you not to be targeted or marginalised. Also, people who appear to belong to groups, when looked at closer, in truth do not belong. Belonging to a group can also give you more power as a

In William Shakespeare’s As You Like It the speech act is introduced and helps to create a unique insight into the play and its events. Shakespeare integrates a speech act by Jaques to deliver a deeper meaning and lesson to the audience or reader of the work. Jaques in his speech act conveys a message with a much deeper meaning and teaching to society in general. The speech act rendered by Jaques addresses the themes of satire, philosophy, and the ages of man.

The sense of belonging humans naturally seek in life reflects the feeling of security and being accepted. They struggle with their identity as they make the choice whether to reject the individuality and belong to a community or group. When individuals seek to belong and rigidly follow society’s norms and practices, they must adhere to the strict rules of their society. In doing do, the desire to belong comes into conflict with the need to be an individual. These ideas are powerfully evident in Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible”, “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger and the Gurinder Chadha film “Bend it like Beckham.” In each of these texts, most desire to belong but need to restore the balance between the need to belong and the

Gender identity and its roles in 17th and 19th century England were regarded as rigid fact — definite and unyielding. The adherence to these social protocols was of utmost importance. Masculinity was viewed as being dominant, assertive, and bold, whereas femininity involved beauty, obedience, and chastity. The theatre became a method of challenging this rigid social concept. Both William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest explore these public values through their characters. Wilde and Shakespeare’s use of gender reversals satirize the traditions of social order, marriage, and gender responsibilities at the time, thereby revealing that gender is not absolute.

In the opening scenes, Shakespeare displays to his audience the affluent society of Illyria, where aristocracy is its major component, festivity is the social norm, and leisure is the way of life. Orsino and Olivia, elegant and wealthy members of the nobility, are at the center of people’s discussion—they seek love; Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, the rich knights ranked high in the social hierarchy, “care not for good life” (II.iii.34)—they seek pleasure. However, the Illyrian society of aristocratic customs and sense of licence is established upon the laborious work of those who are excluded from the indulgence in festivity, and whose financial ability and social status do not afford this social liberation.

The need to belong in an integral part of the human psyche. All people, on some level, desire to feel a sense of belonging that will emerge from the connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. Belonging cannot be achieved without an understanding of oneself and their surroundings.

“As You Like It”, is a Shakespearean comedy that is believed to have been written around the 1600’s. This play holds onto many strong motifs throughout the entire play. One of the most obvious motifs would have to be the concept of exile. Many of the characters in the play have been intimidated away from their homes, while others left voluntarily to live in the forest of Arden. This separation from their homes in the court aids in helping Shakespeare’s major themes come alive. The major themes evident in Act 4 Scene 3 is the malleability of humans through experience, the effects of love, and a comparison of city life to country life.

The struggle to belong and find one’s place is significant in the lives of some people.