Belonging

Belonging is all about connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. The renowned pastoral comedy ‘As You Like It’ written by William Shakespeare use a vast range of language techniques, disguise and universal themes including love, hate, jealously and joy to convey the theme of belonging in a entertaining style. Another related text to As You Like It which explores the concept of belonging is the Spanish film ‘Pans Labyrinth’, which through the applications of various film techniques such as ‘the effect of music, camera shots, symbolism and detailed characters. Both texts are closely related as they, involve detailed and duplicit characters in the binary worlds of both the court and the Forest of Arden, and the village and the labyrinth. The play ‘As You Like It’ is mainly set in the peaceful and unspoiled environment of the Forest of Arden, which symbolises the harmonic, generous, and loving side of life. The use of colloquial language creates a clear image for the reader about just how equivalent and socially ranked the people are. The forest is no subject to a corrupt and evil hierarchy. With each character clearly distinguished and differentiated, this helps the audience distinguish each character and who they really are. The play ‘Pans Labyrinth is set in the choking and depressing world of the village, which also is susceptible to unexpected violence, selfishness and bitterness. Protagonist O’Felia is a young and timid girl, who clearly does not belong to this world, as is not understood, accepted, in much of a relationship with anybody (except for her mother and Mercedes) and she has no empowering confidence within herself, to obtain any sense of identity. These are the four crucial notions of belonging which O’Felia lacks. The solution for coping in such a terrible and evil world is created with her as a princess, where she is powerful and belongs. O’Felia uses this world to survive in reality, and through this fictitious and beautiful place, she gains a sense of identity and confidence in the real world, where she confronts her demons that constrain her from her full potential. Both plays use the prominate theme of the struggle for power for its characters, which is very important as it reveals the true nature and character of a person. This is clearly seen through the captain, O’Felia, the Duke and Oliver, where the audience of reader can easily differentiate the type of character that they are. Symbolism is another essential feature to these texts as it clearly, represents itself in a style that is easily visualised and understood by the audience. Examples of symbolism in both texts include the Forest of Arden, the village, the court, the labyrinth, and the use of the colours and music to distinguish the good and evil. The Forest of Arden, and the labyrinth clearly represent places of acceptance and understanding, where our characters such O’Felia, Celia, Rosalind and Orlando belong. With the symbolic uses of the court and the village which both places of corruption, jealously and violence, we clearly see the evil in the characters with the useful music and colours which create gloomy and dull imagery for the audience. Both texts are very good examples of texts which deal with the notions of belonging as they are complicated, with multilayered detail. With the theme of belonging thoroughly explored, we clearly see the complications and issues which are all concerned with belonging. This is most important, as belonging is an essential part of life which has the power to enrich or challenge a community. The function of texts is to teach individuals about themselves and the world in which they live in, and both As You Like It and Pans Labyrinth certainly achieve that.