Belonging 'the Simple Gift'
Part B – AOS Analytical Essay
“As humans we constantly strive to belong within groups – familial, peer and cultural groups.”
As humans we constantly strive to belong within groups. ‘The Simple Gift’ by Steven Herrick shows different ways through out the novel, an understanding of belonging in familial, peer and cultural groups.
In the simple gift, billy’s father shows that he’s reckless behaviour and his constant drinking has reflected on his connection between him and his son is violent, not caring, unloving or showing an act of compassion to him, the barrier between the both of them seems as if its unfixable. “As dad stood over me, and said, no more sport, no more forever.” Repetition is used to show how billy’s father is reinforcing that billy dose not have a choice. Billy shows his eagerness to escape and courage to leave, he sees any place to be better than his fathers. Billy makes up his mind to leave home and demonstrates that he had no sense of belonging there. In contrast with “she’s leaving home”, billy and his father share a similar sense of belonging in a familial group as the ‘girl’ and her parents, where the ‘girl’ feels as if she needs to get away, start a new life, without her parents, “we gave her everything money could buy” the mood and emotion in this reflects that she made a choice to leave, seeking a place else where. Belonging can provide one with hope and self confidence.
Billys venture leads him to a small town called Bendarat, he sees it as a place a good distance away from his father as he gets of the freight train “miles from home, miles from school” Steven Herrick uses repetition to contrast his mood and feelings. He walks through the town, uncertain of the people that he meets and not knowing weather to trust them or not. His sense of belonging here is that he comes across as a “hobo.” Billy’s desperation for a place to stay, he comes across a carriage that he sees to be just fine “surprisingly warm, and quiet, so quiet.”
“As humans we constantly strive to belong within groups – familial, peer and cultural groups.”
As humans we constantly strive to belong within groups. ‘The Simple Gift’ by Steven Herrick shows different ways through out the novel, an understanding of belonging in familial, peer and cultural groups.
In the simple gift, billy’s father shows that he’s reckless behaviour and his constant drinking has reflected on his connection between him and his son is violent, not caring, unloving or showing an act of compassion to him, the barrier between the both of them seems as if its unfixable. “As dad stood over me, and said, no more sport, no more forever.” Repetition is used to show how billy’s father is reinforcing that billy dose not have a choice. Billy shows his eagerness to escape and courage to leave, he sees any place to be better than his fathers. Billy makes up his mind to leave home and demonstrates that he had no sense of belonging there. In contrast with “she’s leaving home”, billy and his father share a similar sense of belonging in a familial group as the ‘girl’ and her parents, where the ‘girl’ feels as if she needs to get away, start a new life, without her parents, “we gave her everything money could buy” the mood and emotion in this reflects that she made a choice to leave, seeking a place else where. Belonging can provide one with hope and self confidence.
Billys venture leads him to a small town called Bendarat, he sees it as a place a good distance away from his father as he gets of the freight train “miles from home, miles from school” Steven Herrick uses repetition to contrast his mood and feelings. He walks through the town, uncertain of the people that he meets and not knowing weather to trust them or not. His sense of belonging here is that he comes across as a “hobo.” Billy’s desperation for a place to stay, he comes across a carriage that he sees to be just fine “surprisingly warm, and quiet, so quiet.”