Essay

HSC 2011
Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connection to places.
Stability of place offers comfort, security, and validation. Belonging is best described as a state achieved after establishing permanence of place, which nurtures feelings of ‘home’ and leads to acceptance by others . This is reflected in Steven Herrick’s 2001 free verse novel The Simple Gift through the main protagonist Billy who has negative experiences within his home and familial context. He responds to this by seeking belonging elsewhere in an effort to find the comfort and security that ‘home’ should afford. Likewise, the 2009 film The Blind Side directed by John Lee Hancock effectively highlights the fractured connection to place that the main protagonist Michael experiences and how his “new home” with Tuohy’s allows him to feel connected.

Negative experiences of belonging within the individual’s place of residence results in low self-esteem and develops the desire to escape and seek belonging elsewhere. We witness this in Herrick’s The Simple Gift in Longlands Road, when Billy says, ‘this place has never looked so rundown and beat’, which conveys his lack of connection to the place through pejorative colloquial personification of place. The “rundown and beat” nature of “place” parallels Billy’s perception of both himself and his home by using the pathetic fallacy of rain. Moreover, his hatred towards “Nowhereville” is expressed using coarse language and the symbolic action of vandalising the houses of his neighbours with pejorative colloquialism in ‘I throw one rock on the road of each deadbeat no hoper shithole lonely downtrodden house.’ This shows the place of residence is an important influence on creating a sens...

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...s feeling of achievement at completing school is shown. There are close ups of the Tuohy’s with Ms Sue and Sam showing feelings of attachment with Michael. Moreover, the mid-shots of the teacher’s face highlights that he is accepted in the school community too. As such, Michael, like Billy has achieved a new sense of belonging due to connections with new people and places.

Steven Herrick’s 2001 free verse novel The Simple Gift and the 2009 film The Blind Side directed by John Lee Hancock effectively highlight the importance of stability of place, which could offer comfort, security, and validation. This is reflected both Billy and Michael who had negative experiences within their formative contexts and seek belonging elsewhere in an effort to find the comfort and security of a place, showing that connection to place is a significant factor in achieving belonging.