Belonging

Belonging is the essence of acceptance, an abstract approval that is the latter of knowledge and understanding. Our ability to be understood and to feel annexed to others is a priority inescapable due to the concrete principals of human nature. The objective is to feel place in oneself or one’s external environment. Belonging is the feeling of position and place but our ability to belong is restricted to a time frame of cradle and grave. One can argue that at an embryonic stage the child is chambered in the mothers’ love, warmth and acceptance, however, there is not yet a consciousness in the being to feel such emotion, therefore this state of belonging can only be exhibited as a young child. It goes the same for the dead; they no longer feel the aura of belonging and cannot extend this state. Our sense of conformity and acceptance aids in the shaping of our psyche and inner values and this is accentuated in Raimond Gaita’s Romulus my father and “The little black boy” by William Blake. Of course, the exemplification erected from both memoir and poem adopts the concept of a belonging but it also investigates a change incited from belonging or not belonging. Our sole priority in this world is to be approved by society and feel a sense of place and conformity to those in our external environment, hence aiding us to an understanding of oneself. The composer of Romulus my father, Raimond Gaita, explores his father’s endeavor into hardship, pain, misery, loneliness and betrayal, however, he does this with great respect, understanding and to ascend his father as an icon of the definition of a truly good man. This understanding is recognized through Raimond’s association with his father and the values Romulus holds to shape and construct his son’s understandings of the world, this is where nurture and belonging intertwine. Romulus is presented as an outlier in the onset of the memoir, we perceive him as an independent child having to protect his “grandfather” of “beatings” from his “habitually drunken uncle” coupled with a mother that he visited “occasionally”. He does not feel a sense of belonging which is why he “fled, to return only for a month five years later”. This incident serves as a mirror of Raimonds childhood, the neglect from his mother Christine reflects Raimonds sense of non-belonging as a young child. However, Raimond lucky enough had his father to lift this isolation from all of his childhood, the isolation that Romulus fully endured in his early life. Due to the severity of his detachment Romulus’ sense of belonging remains incomplete to his grave. The Little Black boy by William Blake also explores the concept of belonging in which the persona evaluates his sense of belonging due to his external facets. Blake utilizes the technique of writing in the form of first person for the portrayal of the black boy’s sense of exclusion, desertion and not belonging “And I am black, but oh my soul is white”, emotive language emphasises the black boys desperation to be of the white boys equal. The black boy emphasizes that the colour of his skin does not reflect how pure or true his soul is; it depicts the sheer desperation in the black child to prove his worthiness and also expresses a plea for equality. “White as an angel is the English child, But I am black, as if bereaved of light.” Juxtaposition is exploited to create a contrasting effect, highlighting the traditional stereotype denoting that ‘white’ symbolizes purity and innocence while ‘black’ is associated with evil and sin. To be “bereaved of light” further reinforces his non-conformity and at this instance, the “English” boy is considered to belong as he is portrayed as the ideal of ‘good’. Belonging is not only to people but it is of any entity in this world. Landscape and our place of living can also affect our perception and sense of belonging. This place can also be abstract, to feel one belongs to oneself also determines one’s acceptance of place. In Romulus my father, Romulus feels a detachment from his place of inhabitance which ultimately interferes with his association with other opportunities of belonging. Romulus “longed for the generous and soft European foliage” and would always “turn away offended” at the “scraggy” Australian landscape he now called home. He does not feel a sense of “home” in Australia which is unsurprising seeing that he moved for the benefit of his wife’s asthma. This ill sense of belonging is further reinforced when he sets “Frogmore” alight with the intent of killing a snake under his home, this misunderstanding is an immediate indication of his disregard and abhorrence for surroundings, the antithesis of belonging. Raimond however felt a connection to the arid and bare scenery describing it as of “rare beauty”and he recognized it as “something really special” The vivid use of imagery in his description of the landscape divulges the abstruse power of place that assists in shaping a sense of belonging. The people surrounding Raimonds childhood also gave Raimond a sense of place, his association with “Ms Lillie and Ms Collard” assured him of love and attention and also diluted the Romulus’ fear that Raimond may turn “wild and ill-mannered”. Motteck, Raimonds local primary school teacher encouraged Raimond to seek education and question, directing Raimonds passion for philosophy but this was mainly the influence of his father abiding by the rightrous morals and ethics. Hora’s story telling of great men devoted to science or humanity was the cause for his “interest in ideas”. He deciphered every piece of teaching and created an understanding and interest for ideas of the world. To be able to adopt these into his life, he has approved and feel a sense of belonging and significance to those ideals. Those around you are intertwined to one another’s lives thus, what we take on is what we feel a sense of understanding, acceptance and belonging towards. Analogously, in the “the little Black Boy”, he finally accepts his place in a different light. Rather than yearning to be of equal to the English boy he finally understands his true position. His mother tells him “on the rising sun: there God does live, And gives His light, and gives His heat away…That we may learn to bear the beams of love”, by bestowing wisdom upon her child she bestows upon him a sense of belonging to the world, but most importantly to God. She enlightens him and the progressive sense of belonging is gradually regained by the black child when he realizes that God loves and showers his guidance upon all mankind. Blake uses a simile to convey the status of the black child “And these black bodies and this sunburnt face Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove”, this portrayal suggests that the black boy is closer to God as one can only be darker by being more exposed to rays emitted from the sun, symbolic metaphor for God. In effect, this allows the black child to regain his sense of belonging and identity. Our overall sense of belonging reflects the quality of our life. Belonging is an essential to humankind thus is a priority to human nature. Our craves to be understood and accepted expands as we embark towards our inevitable fall. Romulus continued to work as much as he could “It was difficult to describe how hard he worked…his joy in having a hammer and steel in his hands, his sense of belonging prolonged throughout his life in his career. It was difficult for him to let go of Christine from his life but he eventually remarried. Raimond experienced a multitude of support and love from the people “six kilometers west of Baringhup”. The black boy initially felt a detachment in status and importance, however, he realizes his place in a spiritual sense. Belonging engulfs a large proportion of our necessities but it does come slightly differently with diversified attitudes to life and environments. We give ourselves blindly as well as selecting our passage to familial and societal comformity and it occurs between cradle and grave.