Belonging – Romulus My Father

Belonging is a paradoxical concept illustrating an individuals champion of inclusions and exclusion simultaneously. This is intelligible in Raimond Gaitas memoir Romulus My father as the individuals Romulus, Raimond and Christine experience the self-propelling changes evident in the concept of belong to place, corporation and conjunction. Armin Greder likewise explores the runny and dynamic nature of belong by dint of his see book The Island by dint of the isolation of the protagonist in spite of appearance the confine workforcets of the island. The inclusion or exclusion from a community is shaped by hu homosexual prejudices and tolerances.The biographical examination of Romulus life with in the text RMF, illustrates his rejection and acceptance within the community of Baringhup. Romulus immigrant status shows the division between the new immigrants and the Australians, as the immigrants are labored into a camp. This camp offered shelter and food, though it also offere d an opportunity for belong through shared experiences and cultures, He asked the man who greeted new arrivals whether there were any(prenominal) other Romanians He sought them out and they quickly greeted. Although un received by the Australians, Romulus is able to find other immigrants who he is able to connect with and influence relationships, creating a family society between them. Through Romulus adoption of the Australian put up Jack he begins to connect to the social milieu of Baringhup though hinder by his unfamiliar morals and values which are not accepted by the Australian community. The strong prejudices of the Australian community are evident in the event of the fire, when Romulus attempts to scare the snake out of the grass through setting alight of the grass.This event causes the exclusion of Romulus in the community responding with the find datum of an immigrant he set fire to the stook showing the intolerance of the community and dialecting the impression tha t he (Romulus) will never be accepted in the Australian community. Yet through Romulus contribution to the community through his ironwork and hardworking wittiness he is able to be accepted into the community, evidently showing the inapposite nature of belong.Similarly, Armin Graders picture book The Island is a metaphorical method of accounting of the way prejudices and fear create artificial barriers between people, which are utilize to exclude others to ensure protection. Shown his miss of clothing the protagonist is identified as noncitizen on the island. Through the 4 panelled images we see the alien attempt integrating into society by performing civilised jobs, such cooking, carpentry, and interpret in the local church.Though in each of these images the man is depicted in an obscure manner, such as a devil in the choir, showing his exclusion of the individual while performing average tasks of the community, illustrating how be to self, controls an individuals sense o f belonging to society, and emphasising the fluid nature of belonging. referable to the social convention the community on the island and the fear evoked by the foreigner, the islanders construct a wall.This wall symbolises the islanders sense of inclusion to each other as a community and a grouping which protects and supports each other. It also prevents the islanders from receiving the resources from the ocean, which is one of the main sources of the island livelihood. This artificial wall acts as a barrier to the islands inclusions with the outer world, in time allows the sense of belonging within the confinements of the wall to strengthen.This symbolic use of the wall, illustrates the paradoxical concept of belonging and the dynamic changes within the concept. An individuals belonging to society and community is only achieved through a sense of belong to place. Throughout the memoir, Gaita utilises the surrounding environment as a vehicle to explore the concept of Romulus and Raimonds belonging to the community. He longed for the lavish and soft European foliage, but the eucalypts of Baringhup seemed symbols of deprivation and bareness. The blackball emotive linguistic process shows the negative feelings Romulus has towards the Australian landscape illustrating his lack of connection to the land, thus the lack of connection to the community. In contrast although Raimond is positioned as an outcast by turkey cock Lillie because of his un-Australian like action, Raimond is able to achieve a connection to the land through his lyrical description of the landscape The scraggy shapes and sparse foliage rattling became the foci for my sense of its beauty and everything else fell into place. This connection allows Raimond to feel a sense of inclusion within the community as they share a commonplace love for the land. The dwelling at Frogmore served to shape Raimonds sense of belonging by providing place in which his relationship which his father could gro w and develop, it also provided him with a constant place where he knew he could feel accepted. Although to Christina the student residence at Frogmore becomes a symbol of her unacceptance to the family society she could not settle in a dilapidated farmhouse in a landscape that highlighted her isolation.She longed for company The negative connotations surround the words dilapidated and isolated reinforce the misery that Frogmore and emphasis he disconnection to place, in the one location where she should belong, exemplifying how the exalted of belonging is fluid and dynamic. It is the essence of place that the islanders attempt to maintain during Armin Greders text The Island. The close knit community of the island are fearful when the foreigner lands on the shore of their land.Through the singular sentence on the low gear page He wasnt like them it is evident that he foreigner was challenging their sense of identity. Through the silent image of the rough ocean the foreigners iso lation is emphasised. Shown through the protagonists lack of clothing the mans disconnection to the land, his skeletal frame contrasted to the large well-nourished men of the island, emphasis his non-belonging and questions the islanders fears towards the weak man.The argufy of their land everywhere humanity ultimately results in the men, killing one of their own and direct the foreigner back into the ocean. This illustrates the negative effects of belonging and non-belong, and stresss the paradoxical nature of belonging as the islanders belong to the community yet excluded themselves from the sea illustrating a consequence of belonging to community is loss of place. indoors both texts RMF and The Island, Gaita and Greder present the concept of belonging as of a fluid and dynamic nature. This paradoxical nature of belonging illustrates an individuals sense of inclusion and/or exclusion simultaneously, as the protagonists are faced with the challenge of not belonging within a soci ety yet conflicted by the sense of belonging to place concurrently, evidently showing the concept of belonging within place, society and community.