In Romulus, My Father, Raimond Gaita explores his need to connect with and understand his father’s world in relation to personal relationships and appreciation of the land. When explaining the differences between him and Romulus, Raimond states that “childhood as we now know it, a space apart from the adult world, a life of its own, did not exist in that part of the world at that time.” This direct emotive statement creates a sense of sympathy for Raimond as he, like many immigrant children at the time, felt a sense of deprivation of their parent’s world. This statement also communicates the idea that Raimond did not have the same cultural upbringing as his father. Gaita further explores the filial relationship between him and his father, through the fact that Raimond’s cultural upbringing took place in Australia, whereas Romulus’ took place in Europe. This creates an opportunity for Raimond to view and experience the Australian landscape therefore enabling him to understand his life and relationship with his father. Vivid visual imagery is used to suggest Raimond’s connection with the land. He describes the time he took a rifle to go shooting and admits that it was…
‘Gaita brilliantly captures the distressing immigrant experience of struggle and displacement in the rugged Australian landscape.’ Discuss the ways Raimond Gaita explores these experiences in Romulus, My Father and how they’re explored in ONE other related text of your own choosing.…
The migrant experience describes an individual’s change form one social context to another. Such a vast difference of results in a complicated confrontation of values. Hence a sense of belonging lies inherent in the individual’s ability to marry or reconcile identity with their social environment. Raimond Gaita’s semi-autobiographical memoir Romulus, My Father and the Australian’s feature article Alice Pung on New Australians both explore the difficulties faced when immigrating and how a new found sense of belonging occurs through a transformation of identity and values. John Marsden and Shawn Tan’s picture book The Rabbits use the graphical and written to demonstrate the loss of identity due to a loss…
Having a sense of belonging is important but how does it stop you from belonging to one another? Is it our own fears and perceptions or is it a certain characteristic such as a foreign accent, race, style of clothing or our overall presentation that prevents us from belonging? It is these things that create barriers from an individual from achieving a sense of belonging, acceptance and self-worth. This is explored in the two texts I have studied – the memoir, “Romulus, My Father” by Raimond Gaita and the MMORPG “World of Warcraft” by Blizzard Entertainment. Both of these texts explore how culture, gender, race and tradition can all create barriers to belonging.…
Good morning, fellow students. I am here today to give you a short presentation on how personal, historical, social and cultural contexts have all worked together to shape my understanding of belonging and not belonging. How would you feel if you were thrown into an entirely different landscape to what you were used to? And were treated as an outsider just because of the colour of your skin, or where you were from? You would feel neglected, alienated, alone. This is the sense of not belonging that is strongly illustrated in both the novel Romulus my father, by Raimond Gaita, and the song Oxford Town written by Bob Dylan. The historical and personal contexts that surround these texts shape and strengthen the concept of belonging inside them. A sense of belonging emerges from connections with people, places, groups, communities and the world as a whole. But the perception of this sense of belonging is shaped entirely by the context that the text was written in.…
In Romulus, my father Raimond explores his own connections to place and the contrasting responses of his parents. Many first generation migrants are unable to build a connection to a landscape that is a stark contrast from what they know. For Christine this creates disaffection and imposes on her ability to feel as though she belongs. Raimond sense of belonging to the landscape and transcendence is shown through his understanding of the place. Raimond is able to draw inspiration from the land allowing his to look towards nature as a sense of Solace. This shows the influential power of the surroundings as a means of nurturing their sense of belonging. ‘ I had absorbed my fathers attitude. To the country side, especially to it’s scraggy trees, because he talked so often of the beautiful trees of…
The inclusion or exclusion from a community is shaped by human 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 forced into a camp. This camp offered shelter and food, though it also offered an opportunity for belonging through shared experiences and cultures, “He asked the man who greeted new arrivals whether there were any other Romanians… He sought them out and they quickly greeted.” Although unaccepted by the Australians, Romulus is able to find other immigrants who he is able to connect with and form relationships, creating a family society between them. Through Romulus’ adoption of the Australian name “Jack” he attempts to connect to the social milieu of Baringhup though impeded 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 instinct of an immigrant… he set fire to the stook…” showing the intolerance of the community and emphasising the belief that he (Romulus) will never be accepted in the…
Welcome, valued guests of the public. As you have previously been told, I have been asked here to take part in the launch of the new book collection under the category of ‘Belonging’. Now, before we get started, what actually is belonging? It’s a connection. Belonging to a person, a place, or a group, gives us a special relationship that only those involved can understand. Today, we will delve into this concept of belonging, and more specifically, we will explore how disconnection can lead to heightened sense of acceptance.…
In establishing a sense of belonging, connection is based upon an individual’s ability to synchronise their values with the values of a larger entity. Gaita’s titular character, Romulus, subscribes to an outdated European ethic, requiring “karacter”, resulting in his refusal to conform to a foreign Australian society. Like the “Red gum that stood only a hundred meters from the house becoming a symbol of desolation”, Romulus gains no sense of connection to the Australian environment. His supporting of a family who are “destitute and yielding to the temptations of prostitution in the instance of a need for survival” exemplify his kindred nature in its capacity to understand ones intrinsic need to survive. Roumuls’ failure to attain a scholarship due to a “refusal to join communist groups” demarcates his clear-cut black and white morality from the greater community he perceives as without morals, disabling his ability to connect. In the opposite manner, Raimond is able to accept Australian values and despite contradiction to the teachings of his childhood he is able to successfully result integrate with the community,…
* How Gaita’s choice of language, imagery and relation biography genre convey meaning about the concept of belong and shape your response.…
Raimond Gaita’s memoir, Romulus My Father demonstrates how an individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging to an environment. Gaita uses first person throughout the book, not only to express his experiences but to articulate both his mother and fathers experiences of belonging to their surroundings also. Romulus is a migrant to Australia who ‘always considered himself Romanian.’ Gaita often expresses Romulus as being at odds with the environment, never reconciling to the Australian landscape, whose foliage and vegetation “seemed symbols of deprivation and bareness.” This statement is symbolic of how he feels towards Australia and demonstrates how Romulus chose to only see the negative aspects of his surrounds and focused more on his desire to be back in Europe amongst “soft and gentle foliage”. These two simple descriptions of different landscapes are instantly juxtaposed and express Romulus’s feelings of loneliness in Australia…
“An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging”. Discuss this view with detailed reference to your prescribed text and choosing ONE other related text of your own choosing.…
“The Eucalypts of Baringhup…seemed symbols of deprivation and barrenness”. Gaitas use of symbolism highlights Romulus and Christine’s inability to connect with the Australian landscape through their negative pessimistic attitude. Ultimately their lack of acceptance results in their poor understanding of the inferior landscape…
As Raimond recounts the story of his father’s life, he explores the strength of family ties. Despite the sometimes tumultuous nature of the Gaita family, there never ceases to be a strong sense of belonging between the individuals. Notions of belonging between Romulus and Raimond are conveyed through the passion of Gaita’s writing about his father and the emotive language of the text. Physical belonging is also prominent; the different feelings of belonging and alienation that father and son feel towards Australia. Romulus’ struggles to feel at home in Australia and remains always tied to his European identity. At first Raimond shares his father struggle but as he matures and becomes an adult he ultimately feels he belongs to the Australian landscape. Romulus my father depicts the struggle to belong is a significant part of our lives by portraying the alienation of migrants and on the contrary represents the idea of social belonging greatly through the connection and strength of family ties and the love that comes with them.…
Herrick conveys the importance of genuine connections to the world around a character to belonging quite effectively in his book “The Simple Gift”. In one of the first poems “Longlands Road” the lack of connections between main character Billy and his environment are shown. The quote “This place has never looked so rundown and beat” uses pejorative colloquial personification of the town, to show his dislike, and lack of connections to it.. There is an accumulation of negative imagery in the lines “old Basten’s truck still on blocks, the grass unmown around the doors. Mrs Johnston’s mailbox on the ground...” this conveys the environment as un-nurturing and decrepit and further explains Billy's hate for the town. These descriptions are also a pathetic fallacy, paralleling Billy’s lack of self-worth and sense of belonging. The importance of genuine connections to your environment is further evident in Walwicz’ text “Australia”. The text is a feature article where the composer describes the country they have moved to. The anaphora of “you” and distances the composer from their environment, which shows isolation and exclusion. The quote “You desert with your nothing nothing nothing” uses repetition of the word “nothing” conveying the composers view that the place is worthless. The pejorative diction “You big awful” depicts the country negatively. These techniques show Ania’s negative feelings and lack of connections to the country. These connections…