My Six Word Story Of Belonging Analysis

A fundamental part of human existence and interaction is the notion of belonging or identifying with a group. Groups form and exist for various reasons and purposes, comprising of individuals similar or diverse in nature, that often work together toward a common goal (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). In 1902, the American sociologist by the name of C. H. Cooley, made distinction between primary and secondary groups. Cooley (1902) classified primary group to have intimate and comparatively permanent associations as one might find in a cohort of close friends, or a family. The groups or associations in which individuals related to each other through formal and often legalistic rules, were classified as secondary groups (Nolen, 2010).

HSC  STUDY  BUDDY   1     ADVANCED  ENGLISH  CONTENTS   PAGE:  BELONGING   BELONGING  ESSAY  –  PAGES  2-­‐3   BELONGING  SHORT  STORY  –  PAGES  4-­‐5     1      BELONGING  ESSAY   Perceptions  of,  and  attitudes  towards  belonging  are  varied  and  complex,  with   individuals  shaped  by  their  social,  historical  and  cultural  contexts.  Despite

Being perceived as different may make it difficult to belong. Not being able to belong is a confusing and unfortunate case, where one can find themselves lost and frustrated, as they do not have a safe zone. Through the use of text and film, it can be explored that this concept if difference hinders one from feeling a sense of belonging. Whether it be a persons inability to adapt or their lack of confidence.

Belonging consists of a struggle with opposing pressures. A desire to belong also consists of emotional conflicts and struggles between being acknowledged while also remaining as an individual and retaining personal ideals which may ultimately result in a connection. This is explored in Emily Dickinson’s selected poetry I died for beauty, but was scarce and I had been hungry all the years , as well as Scott Westerfeld’s novel Uglies. These texts all depict a struggle between being recognised and accepted in society and the desire to remain true to one’s self, exploring the paradoxical nature of belonging which, on one hand, provides fulfilment, but also removes a sense of personal identity.

Explore how this is evident in you prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing.

‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging.’

-Essay: 1300- 1500 words. ‘A sense of belonging is never permanent.’ Discuss in relation to TWO poems and TWO pieces of related texts.

It is a well-known fact that belonging to a group can make an individual feel not only accepted, but more powerful that if they were on their own. Whether it is a community, youth group or even religion, belonging is an everyday occurrence of like that many of us do not even realise. Belonging to a group is more influential than belonging to an individual. We can see this in the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller, 1984 by George Orwell and the listening task. Belonging to a group can give you a feeling of acceptance, but also can help you not to be targeted or marginalised. Also, people who appear to belong to groups, when looked at closer, in truth do not belong. Belonging to a group can also give you more power as a

“We belong … like fish in water. We’re in our environment.” This quote from the New York Times shows the perception of belonging as the idea about connecting to a place, person, group or a community. 'Feliks Skrzynecki' by Peter Skrzynecki, 'I'm nobody! Who are you?' by Emily Dickinson and 'The Rabbits' by John Marsden & Shaun Tan show the concept of belonging as being contrasted towards the New York Times quote, showing the alienation and non-existent connection towards it. These texts have furthered my understanding on the perceptions of belonging by recognising the different concepts of connection to people, places and things.

Belonging means different things to different people. The most common definition is feeling a sense of connectedness to a person, place or thing. Understanding nourishes belonging while a lack of understanding can prevent people from belonging. This is shown through Peter Skrzynecki’s poem ‘Migrant hostel’ which is about the challenges faced by travelers on their journey, and the hardships they have to overcome by exchanging their old world for the unfamiliar and unwelcoming new world in which they don’t understand anything. Skrzynecki’s poem ‘Feliks Skryznecki’ explores a relationship between father and son, and their contrasting experiences of belonging to a new place. The related text, ‘The Red Tree,’ by Shaun Tan also shows that a lack

‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging.” Discuss this view with detailed reference ( 2010 HSC Question)

Write down the website. Give a brief description of the relevance of this site to your study

" 22 percent of those students landed in the top 25 percent of their graduating class, while only about 5 percent of black students who didn't participate in the exercise did that well." --> those who were not part of the exercise, were in the "bottom 25 percent of their class."

In a society where individuals can freely do things, that still abide to laws, things can get out of place. Of course there will be a small cluster of those who decide that the law may not always be right. From that cluster, there is a majority who disobey laws in a harsh manner, and the minority who do it peacefully. The question is, how does it impact our society? The truth is, disobeying anything can give people negative connotations. If you peacefully resist, the punishment might not be as hard then if you resist with frustration. However, there are cases where they broke the law, but they did it 'for the people'. An example of this Robin Hood, is a guy named Edward Snowden. He showed us information that the government themselves, were

The struggle to belong and find one’s place is significant in the lives of some people.