Belonging

Belonging is not always a choice; it is relevant to our individual experiences and context. Most yearn to belong however our cultural circumstances can often remain barriers in the desire to belong. This concept is epitomized in ‘School’ a short story by Peter Cowan, and Ian Kim’s cartoon, ‘Alienation’. ‘School’ considers the nature of our connection to the land through depicting a boy’s experience in contrasting rural and urban Australian environments. Alternatively, Ian Kim’s cartoon is a reflection on society’s views post September 11. Essentially the cartoon challenges mainstream assumptions and offers an alternate perspective on the attacks; where a Muslim girl; hence the title ‘Alienation’, is experiencing the emotions of what it feels to not belong. The composers structural, visual and language techniques construct each characters and the barriers and desire to belong. In Cowan’s short story, the sense of belonging can be gained through connections made with place, where Cowan reveals the contrasting environments of rural and urban. A clear comfort and happy disposition is evident in the structural composition of the story. The first paragraph conveys the emotions of the boy’s urban environment and the second paragraph is of the boy’s rural environment and is comparably larger than the first paragraph. The variation in tone also suggests a noticeable comfort and discomfort with each of the environments. Within the orientation, there is an obvious tone of anxiety and agitation; ‘He raised his eyes slowly and saw the hard light and the bare ground and the dying grass’ Cowan’s persistent use of pessimistic use of metaphors ‘hard light’ and paradoxical lifeless forms of ‘dying grass.’ creates this anxious tone. This is distinctive from the jovial and content tone in the complication; ‘he listened to the talk and he knew the people and the wheat and town...’ From the texts structural features and tone it is conspicuous of the boy’s emotions for each environment. The ideology of belonging is intrinsically concurrent to the nature of our connection to the land is epitomised in the text’s language devices. Throughout the text this idea is established in the reoccurring motif of the sun and heat. In the urban environment, Cowan’s cumulative use of negative connotations associated with the sun and heat in the urban environment ‘the class-room was hot and the outside sun was hard on the dusty earth...’ depicts this stifling and somewhat claustrophobic heat, hence highlighting the notion of not belonging. However, the optimistic nuances suggest the notion of a familiarity and a desire and acceptance to belong in the rural environment; ‘it made the wagon hot and the hay held the heat...’ Although there is this stifling heat apparent, it does not connote the same meaning as in the urban environment, but instead portrays acceptance ‘there was talk and if he wanted to say something they listened.’ The differential mood for each of the motifs embodies desires to belong and to not belong and characterises each of the environments. Ian Kim’s cartoon contemplates the proposal of barriers to belonging and how cultural circumstances can influence whether one belongs or not. In Kim’s composition of the cartoon this notion is represented in the proxemics of the text, where there is a significant distance between the Muslim girl and the group on the left. Each person and group has a symbolic purpose in reflecting mainstream society-the left group, and an alternate society-the Muslim girl. Occupying the space between the groups is the shadow of the burning Twin Towers, cast between the two. Not only has Kim portrayed the physical difference between the two; outlining the social and cultural racism, as well as the marginalisation of the girl; but also a social distance with the various connotations and assumptions often associated with Muslims as a result of the September 11 attacks. The proxemics highlights how an alternate cultural rearing can distance one from belonging. There is also evidence of a desire to belong; clutched in the girls hand is a lunch box with the American flag on the lid. Thus, reinforces that belonging is not always a choice, but is determined by our relevant experiences and context. Kim has also explicitly explored the binaries of traditional eastern and western culture and how each are to their own. The group on the left typically portrays western society with modern fashion and accessories; contrary to the Muslim girl characterised by her ‘hijab’ as part of Islamic society, and furthermore eastern society. Kim expresses a clear message in the text that alternate cultures do not socialise; his consideration of symbolism has suggested this conception. The Muslim girl is expressing her Islamic faith by her ‘hijab’-eastern society, however, her dress and lunch box demonstrates and attempt to become a part of western society. There is a prevailing desire to belong, demonstrated by her ‘westernisation’ attempts. However, as Kim submits in his text, to belong is not always a choice; a strong-overriding desire to belong cannot replace society’s perspective about distinct cultures. Belonging is not always a choice, it remains with our individual circumstances and experiences. As revealed in ‘School’ and ‘Alienation’ belonging is limited by cultural barriers and a desire to belong does not ensure acceptance. Each composer’s consideration of language and visual techniques has represented there concept of belonging.