Belonging

When one develops a better understanding of the force that drives us to belong, one begins to develop empathy for others and a greater insight into our personal identity. The belonging experience is also enhanced by the notions obtained through various life stages, and the outcome is a connection to personal identity through comfort and familiarity. Through studies of the texts, Romulus, my Father by Raymond Gaita, Chinese Lessons by Ivy Tseng and Neighbours by Tim Winton, has allowed for the understanding of the concept of belonging. This is displayed through various topics and ideas such as the importance of preservation of culture upon individual’s morals and values, Impact of personal experience upon a sense of belonging, Connection and disconnection to people and place. Gaita explores the notion that cultural preservation is important to the individual’s sense of belonging. In particular the culture seen through past personal experience, “the kitchen filled with cigarette smoke and the smell of slivovitz. They talked to each other in Romanian”, the use of imagery of cultural heritage of Romania, such as the social custom of smoking and the slivovitz conveys to the responder a heightened awareness of cultural heritage and the need to preserve culture to belong within a foreign land. Through the use of intersexuality and an allusion to Plato, within the text, it allows for the responder to gain a greater understanding of belonging, in particular the preservation of the moral code, inherited by Raymond from his father Romulus. “The philosopher Plato said that those who lover and seek wisdom are clinging in recollection to things they once saw”. Gaita also demonstrates the impact that Romulus has upon his son Raymond, through his sense of self that is found through his own moral code. “He hated lying and believed that only a rigorous truthfulness could give a person the inner unity necessary for strength of character”, through the direct emotive statement, Gaita captures the moral values which Romulus, displays to his son Raymond. Thus this directly impacts upon the responder’s views on Belonging. Within the text Chinese Lessons the composer Ivy Tseng also explores the concept of preservation of culture, through personal experience. Seen in “their chineseness was not restricted to their black hair, small round noses and consumption of rice”, the use of a lexical chain of superficial traits allows for the responder to have a deeper knowledge of the Chinese culture, and the importance of culture to the individual, not just the appearance. Also seen through the emotive statement, “the only way to hang onto these things was to teach his three daughters the mandarin language”, this emphasises the need to preserve the Chinese culture and to increase their sense of belonging. Through the inclusion of the colloquialism of “hang on to” provides a sense of desperation, into the preservation of culture and the impact of the migrant experience. Through the use of these techniques and various belonging topics the composer has been able to shape the way the responder views the topic of belonging. Similarly Chinese Lessons displays the same idea of the concept presented by Gaita. The concept of the moral code and the concept of migration on the sense of self and ideals. Tseng displays this through the voice of the central character; throughout the piece the maturation of this character is seen. “I know that there is more to a person than their cultural background, how they look on the outside – more to me than being Taiwanese-Chinese-Australian”, this realisation at the end of the piece demonstrates the evolution of the character, conversely the statement “but, a sense of shame, a vague unease” stated at the beginning of the piece allows for the maturation of the character to be displayed. Thus displaying the notion that through a person’s life experiences and stages, a sense of belonging can be developed and that idea continually changed throughout life. As a result of typical prejudice views of migrants in the 1950’s, cultural barriers where formed. “Wary of the neighbourhood – full of European migrants”, demonstrates through the negative connotations of ‘wary’ that the young couple are suspicious as a result of negative preconceived notions. Symbolically the composer fences in the piece, using the intertextuality and allusion to Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall”. This serves as both a physical and metaphorical barrier between the two cultures, thus demonstrating the consequence of the negative preconceived notions in contrast to the morals taught to Raymond to prevent them. Within “it made the newlyweds feel like sojourners in a foreign land” illustrates the paradox of not belonging to a culture within their own country. Thus bringing the conclusion that through not belonging to a culture one is still able to conclude that through personal experience a sense of belonging and self can be gained. Therefore through the constructions of the texts by composers, and the careful use of character voice by the composers they have been able to shape their readers views of the topic of belonging.