Belonging_and_Outcast

What determines whether we are a member or an outcast has little to do with whether we feel we belong or not. A definition of an outsider is: ‘One who is outside or not included’. Whether we are an outsider or not is determined by whether a group actively accepts us or not. Often the statement is true. If we don’t feel we belong, we are likely an outsider, and if we feel we belong, we probably are included and accepted. However this statement is not absolute, since there is a large difference between feeling we belong and actually belonging. It is quite possible to feel you belong and yet remain an outsider, or have a sense that you don’t belong and yet be accepted. The poems of Emily Dickinson, and the animated film ‘Princess Mononoke’ by Hayao Miyazaki, deal with the relationship between the sense of belonging and being included or outcasted. If we don’t feel that we belong, the majority of the time we are excluded by that subject, and our sense of rejection is resultant of the exclusion. The poem ‘This is my letter to the world” by Emily Dickinson is an example of the sense of rejection that is often resultant of exclusion. The first two lines state “This is my letter to the world | That never wrote to me.” The fact that she is writing ‘to the world’ suggests that she is not a part of it. Dickinson personifies nature as ‘her’ suggesting she is personally involved with nature. Contrasted to this is her addressing to ‘the world’, a highly impersonal reference highlighting her sense that she doesn’t belong. The world so far has never written to her. As a result of that, she writes this letter, which clearly outlines her sense of exclusion from the world. Therefore through this poem we see that isolation can lead to a sense of rejection. Princess Mononoke is the story of a boy named Ashitaka, who due to a curse travels from his small village into the wider world in search of a cure. Upon the way he discovers the war between the villagers of “Iron Town”, led by Lady Eboshi, and the forest, which is comprised mainly of ‘gods’ in animal form. San (Pronounced sun) is the daughter of a wolf god, inside a girl’s body. She lives with the wolves. In the animated film, Miyazaki demonstrates the connection between inclusion or exclusion, and the resultant sense of belonging. Similar but opposite to Dickinson however, Miyazaki shows that if we are included, it results in the sense of belonging that we feel. While San is a wolf spirit in a human body, she is effectively human, which is demonstrated near the end of the film when she performs acts “only a human can do”. However despite her humanity she is raised by the wolves and accepted as one of their own. San forms a sense of belonging as a result of the upbringing and connections made with the Wolves, to the point where she despises humanity. Miyazaki represents this sense of belonging through the costuming of San. San is dressed in a wolf fur cape, held together by wolf teeth. She has short hair, which is opposite to all the female villagers of Iron Town, and wears a tribalistic mask and carries a spear, again unlike the heavily industrialised citizens of Iron Town. As well as this, she is labelled ‘the wolf girl’ and often expresses her disgust of humanity, seen in the quote “Urgh, I smell like a human”. Here is a clear example of how acceptance and inclusion can lead towards a feeling of belonging. Whether we feel we belong or not often corresponds to whether we are a member or outcast. However the statement “Unless we feel we belong, we remain an outsider” is not absolute. It is possible to feel that we don’t belong, and yet be accepted as a member, since the position of outcast is not determined by what we feel but what others feel towards us. In the poem “A narrow fellow in the grass” by Emily Dickinson, we again see the relationship she has with nature. To establish that relationship Dickinson, like in ‘This is my letter to the world’, utilises personification. Dickinson writes: “Several of nature’s people | I know, and they know me; I feel for them a transport | of cordiality.” Dickinson here establishes an almost communal social context between herself and nature. The use of an ABCB rhyme scheme creates a sense that the ‘cordiality’ is meant to be. However although Dickinson feels congenial towards nature, she herself acknowledges that she doesn’t truly belong to nature. In the poem “What mystery pervades a well!” Dickinson compares the incredible depth of a well with the complexity of nature, stating that to her “nature is a stranger yet”. Although Dickinson feels a ‘transport of cordiality’ with nature, and generally feels accepted, she recognises that no human can know the depth of ‘nature’s’ character. The use of the word stranger shows that she doesn’t feel a strong sense of true belonging. The idea that we are not limited to remaining an outcast if we don’t feel we belong is reinforced in Princess Mononoke. When Ashitaka first enters Iron Town he is surprised, as he is so unused to the industrial way of life. To demonstrate the fact that Ashitaka does not belong, Miyazaki uses costuming, similar to San. Unlike the fairly plain clothes of the villagers, Ashitaka wears a hood covering his face, and a large coat of hay, instantly separating him and the villagers. As he arrives there is instantly a crowd of people around him. Miyazaki uses a high-angle shot of a circle of villagers around Ashitaka to demonstrate the alienation he feels. Due to this sense of not belonging Ashitaka spends just one night in Iron Town. However despite this sense, the community generally accepts Ashitaka and welcomes him. At night-time the gates to the village close, signifying that Ashitaka is a part of the village. His acceptance is again shown at dinner when he sits in a circle eating dinner around a fire. A circle is something that is whole, complete, and Ashitaka is a part of it. It is clear that it is possible to feel we don’t belong, and yet in reality be accepted and welcomed as a member. Both Emily Dickinson and Hayao Miyazaki demonstrate that our position as an outsider or member is connected to our sense of belonging or not belonging. However they also recognise that while in the majority of situations the feeling of belonging is linked with being included, we are not limited to being an outcast due to our sense of not belonging. It is quite possible to be an accepted member, even though we do not feel as if we belong.