Immagrants_Chronicle

(d) Compare the perspectives of belonging offered in TWO of the texts. There are several definitions to explain what belonging is. Belonging can mean different things, depending on the person. A person’s values and morals are very important when comprehending belonging. It is those values and morals that shape our perspectives of belonging. Bertrand Russell defines belonging as ; “A Collective fear that stimulates herd instinct, and tends to product ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd”, this is just one perspective of what belonging is. The two compared texts are “Sorry Speech” and the “Mateship matters more than gadgets” Sydney Morning Herald news article. In Text 3, the viewpoint that mate ship and safety are important is expressed as ideas of belonging. Belonging is understood to be “rightly classified” and without mate ship and safety, one’s self cannot be “rightly classified” as to be classified, you need to feel safe and supported in an environment. Throughout text 3, the author uses the literary techniques of repetition. The word “mateship” is repeated thoroughly throughout the article. This reinforces the importance of trusting relationships in gaining a sense of belonging. Just as belonging can involve a society or communal approach, it can involve a specific environment. This is shown in the example of the Stolen Generation. Australian indigenous peoples consider a specific location as an identity. They were removed from this location and thus a sense of identity and therefore belonging was removed. The use of tone and diction in text 2, allows the audience to comprehend the hardships that were endured due to the lack of identity and belonging. The tone used is very sympathetic and remorseful which makes the apology more sincere. The Australian government realised how significant land and environment was to gaining a sense of belonging. Through reconciliation, feeling of belonging can be created again. The stereotype that adolescents are too consumed by technology to have meaningful relationships is proved incorrect by results from an Australian-wide survey. Hyperboles are used throughout the text to create a greater contrast between the adolescent stereotype and the reality. An example of this is “iPod-toting internet junkies whose only interests are mobile phones, emo music and oversized sunglasses”. The use of this literary technique permits the audience to fully comprehend that relationships are so much more important to generation y that previously thought. The results shown in the article highlights that teenagers believe that in order to have a sense of belonging, strong relationships must be formed. Text 2 gives the perspective that belonging is found through sincere personal relationships while text 3 focuses on the importance of land and location in the sense of belonging. Although, each text focuses on different forms of belonging, they both explain how essential it is to have a sense of belonging.