Belonging In Romulus, My Father
“What are the most powerful influences that impact on an individual’s sense of belonging?
Belonging is a concept of fitting in to a group, place or team. Belonging to place, identity, relationships and barriers are significant influences impacting on belonging in both the memoir Romulus, My father and a similar text in the poem Katrina by Bruce Dawe. The prescribed and related texts effectively demonstrate the importance of how integral a sense of belonging is to human existence and the impact it can have on one’s life.
Belonging to place is a theme highly evident throughout the novel Romulus, My Father placing a high level of significance on Romulus and his family. Australians icons are highlighted throughout the text to put emphasis on the idea of belonging to place. “A dead red gum stood only a hundred metres from the house and became for my mother a symbol of her desolation”, the use of symbolism to represent the challenge of immigrating of Australia is effective in underlining the idea of place. This idea is a recurring motif throughout the text, the vastness of the landscape seems impersonal and uncaring to the eyes of the outsider, especially to Christine where it stood as a symbol of her isolation. …show more content…
This is evident in his detailed description of the life at Frogmore and the greater attention paid to it over his life at St Kilda. The close attention to word choice in the line “…Tom lived with his wife Mary and her sister, Miss Jane Collard”, focuses on his connection with Miss Lillie. The informal language used when describing the name of Miss Lillie as Mary compared to Miss Jane highlights Raimond’s connection with Miss Lillie helped him find a connection within the life at Frogmore and in turn a sense of
Belonging is a concept of fitting in to a group, place or team. Belonging to place, identity, relationships and barriers are significant influences impacting on belonging in both the memoir Romulus, My father and a similar text in the poem Katrina by Bruce Dawe. The prescribed and related texts effectively demonstrate the importance of how integral a sense of belonging is to human existence and the impact it can have on one’s life.
Belonging to place is a theme highly evident throughout the novel Romulus, My Father placing a high level of significance on Romulus and his family. Australians icons are highlighted throughout the text to put emphasis on the idea of belonging to place. “A dead red gum stood only a hundred metres from the house and became for my mother a symbol of her desolation”, the use of symbolism to represent the challenge of immigrating of Australia is effective in underlining the idea of place. This idea is a recurring motif throughout the text, the vastness of the landscape seems impersonal and uncaring to the eyes of the outsider, especially to Christine where it stood as a symbol of her isolation. …show more content…
This is evident in his detailed description of the life at Frogmore and the greater attention paid to it over his life at St Kilda. The close attention to word choice in the line “…Tom lived with his wife Mary and her sister, Miss Jane Collard”, focuses on his connection with Miss Lillie. The informal language used when describing the name of Miss Lillie as Mary compared to Miss Jane highlights Raimond’s connection with Miss Lillie helped him find a connection within the life at Frogmore and in turn a sense of