Romulus_My_Father

Romulus My Father 1. Belonging to Environment/Place – * When one’s cultural identity is marginalized, one can feel dislocated and isolated, and believe that we do not belong to our world (however, through human experiences one’s perceptions and attitudes will change, which ultimately allows us to belong) The migration experience, acceptance from others, 2. Belonging to People – * When we begin to understand the forces that drive us to belong we develop empathy for others (and understand that sacrifices must be made in order to sustain relationships) Father-Son Relationship, Friendships and relationships with others A Beautiful Mind 1. Belonging to Environment/Place- * Our search for who we are is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong * Acceptance from others he tried to generate original idea and be significant in his world 2. Belonging to People – * Resorted to belonging to hallucinations in illusionary world because he didn’t belong to the people he was around due to social/comfort barriers but wife helped him overcome barriers to belong people are needed to help us overcome barriers and be accepted * The basic human need to be accepted and belong can cloud our judgments and direct our actions – Despite him saying he doesn’t need people, he subconsciously produces hallucinations to feel a sense of belonging ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging” Intro It is a basic human need to attain a sense of belonging through interactions with other individuals and the world, and it is through such interactions with which our experience of belonging is strengthened and enriched. Raimond Gaita’s memoir Romulus, My Father and Ron Howard’s film A Beautiful Mind illustrate the necessity to belong to ones world by showing us the dangerous effects of isolation from those around us. Body 1 – Belonging to Place - Romulus Topic sentence * When an individual’s cultural identity is marginalized, one can feel isolated from their world. However, through human interactions, one’s perceptions and attitudes will change, which ultimately allows an individual to enhance their sense of belonging. Overview * Romulus and his family are initially alienated from their new home in Australia due to their different ethnic background, represented by the repetition of the “dead, red gum”, which is symbolic of their desolation. Examples 1. This disconnection from their original world of Europe forces Romulus to belong to the new community and he does this by labeling “himself as a gipsy and later, in Australia, an Aborigine”, thus displaying the necessity for an individual to belong to their surroundings. 2. However, despite his desire to belong to his new world he still remains attached to his old environment as demonstrated through the blunt tone, “my father, Romulus Gaita, always considered himself a Romanian”. 3. Furthermore, Gaita compares the ability of older generations to develop new senses of belonging compared to younger generations through the contrast between Raimond and Romulus. “Though the landscape is one of rare beauty, to a European or English eye it seems desolate, and even after more than forty years my father could not become reconciled to it” 4. Romulus’ limited ability to adapt and change perception toward the land is compared to his Raimond’s, through the extended metaphor of how his son’s “perception of the landscape changed radically as when one sees the second image in an ambiguous drawing”. Demonstrating his changed attitude toward the land which transforms his “sense of life and the countryside, adding to both a sense of transcendence” showing us the enriching effects of belonging. Concluding Sentence Gaita critiques the difficulty of belonging from migration and how younger generations are able to connect more easily than older ones through interactions with their surroundings, thus enriching their sense of belonging. Body2 – Belonging to Place- A Beautiful Mind Topic sentence * Our search for who we are is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong such that an individual whom cannot develop a sense of belonging to their world will face devastating consequences. Overview * Howard’s A Beautiful Mind demonstrates this through the characterization of John Nash, a delusional mathematician, whom similar to Romulus and his family is isolated from his world. Examples 1. This is illustrated through the opening sequence of the film, where the character placement of Nash is at the back of the classroom, segregated from everybody else. 2. Furthermore, Nash’s body language throughout the beginning of the film is one with hunched soldiers and head facing down, portraying his insecure nature due to the alienation from his world. 3. This desolation from lack of interactions ultimately results in Nash’s fall to insanity as his mind becomes contaminated by Schizophrenia, which is portrayed through the high angle shot of him in his confined room at the hospital, where he is dressed in white with blood stained around his arms and legs portraying the dehumanizing effects of isolation. Similarly, Romulus also falls victim to mental illness from disconnection to his world which demonstrates the universality of the devastating effects of not belonging. 4. These are the results of one’s flawed definition of the meaning of life. The repetition of “it’s the only way I’ll distinguish myself. It’s the only way I’ll… matter” depicts Nash’s belief that the only way that he can fulfill his sense of self belonging and discover himself is through the generation of an original idea. Concluding sentence * By contrast, Howard shows us that it is actually the relationships and the interactions with which we immerse ourselves in which truly define who we are, not the materialistic belief that by achieving success we attain self discovery.