Orlando Belonging

A common human characteristic is the yearning to feel a sense of belonging through connections and different forms of relationships made in life. A sense of belonging or not belonging can emerge from feeling connected to people and places, whether they have been freely cast there or not. An individual will only feel a true sense of belonging through the understanding of those connections, which are created by experiences and can only come within.

Belonging is defined as the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of understanding, inclusion and identity to a member trying to fit into a certain group and place. It is a perception of acceptance.

Good Afternoon teachers and students, The following texts express how an individuals understanding of belonging can quickly be changed by the people and place around them. “Jasper Jones a novel written by Craig Silvey”, it is a short story of a boy named Charles Butkins and the events that occurred because he helped Jasper Jones mask the death of Laura Wishart. “Australia by Ania Walwicz”, is attacking the people of Australia in the form of a poem, because of their point of views and attitudes in life. She also hates Australia itself because the people are not welcoming, this is the main point of this poem.

People’s perceptions of belonging can change over time, but this isn’t the case for all. When people experience moments of crisis in their lives they sometimes force a change within themselves and that is what helps them find an individual sense of belonging. This is highlighted in many texts and even composers life works. Texts that support this statement include Peter Skrzynecki’s Immigrant Chronicle poems, of which I have chosen St Patricks College and Feliks Skrzynecki. Skrzynecki’s poetry expresses the difficulties he faces when change doesn’t occur throughout time, as time alone isn’t a factor and that your sense of belonging is something that comes from within, with or without anyone.

People have the longing to belong and to be accepted by a group or community. A sense of Belonging can emerge from the connections and acceptance we have with other people, communities and the larger world. These ideas of belonging are represented in texts which explore aspects of belonging and an individual’s potential to challenge or improve a community group. The film ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ directed by Baz Lurhman, the film ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ directed by Kate Woods and the exaggerated true story of an African American youth’s fight to belong in the song “dance with the devil” by immortal technique all represent ideas of belonging formed by life experiences.

An individual’s sense of belonging is determined not only by their own choices but also by the attitudes of others.

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

Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places.

Identity defines who one is and shapes their opinions and beliefs. Through personification and foreshadowing, William Shakespeare explores family and age to show how loyalty drives one to win a fight but has fatal consequences, as seen in the Montague and Capulet feud, and putting trust in an older figure can influence one’s choices, as seen with Romeo and Juliet’s loyalty to the Friar and the Nurse. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, identity is used to expand on the concept of the complications of choosing what to be loyal to. Through personification, a major aspect of identity that is focused in the play is family.

It is important to note the malleability of human nature through an individual’s life experience. According to some psychologists, “what is built in [to humans] is this capacity to learn and change according to the world [they] find [themselves] in” (Dweck, par. 3). This is supported in Shakespeare’s play through the character of Oliver. At his home in the court, Oliver finds himself blessed with the riches and power that his father handed down to him. This inheritance is known as the right of primogeniture. The system in which a father’s riches and title is handed down to the eldest son, leaving the rest of the siblings with nothing. Oliver is a petty and jealous individual who treats his younger brother Orlando as if he were just another servant. The root of this hatred is made clear in Oliver’s monologue at the end of act one scene one, in

Sense of belonging is essential to be successful in school. Accordingly, sense of relatedness is considered as a resource for motivation in learning process. A strong sense of belonging has positive impact on students’ self-efficacy which eventually affects school performance. This study aims to investigate the influence of sense of belonging on students’ academic performance in the sixth grade. The present study focused on the impact of feelings of relatedness or connectedness to specific social partners such as teachers, parents, and friends. The sample of this study is composed of 200 students attending sixth grade of a primary school in Saudi Arabia. The study was carried out over two weeks. The result revealed that there is a significant

The major love interest in the story is also initiated by such a brotherly conflict. Oliver, the eldest son of Sir Rowland de Boys, keeps his youngest brother, Orlando, in virtual poverty. Despite the fact that Oliver is entitled to the bulk of their father’s estate due to primogeniture, the treatment Orlando receives at the hand of his brother would hardly be considered socially acceptable. As Orlando tells him, "My father chardg’d you in his will to give me a good education. You have train’d me like a peasant, obscuring and hiding from me all gentleman-like qualities" (I,i, 67-70). To treat someone of noble birth so commonly, let alone one’s own brother, is a clear violation of the social order of the day and gives fire to Orlando’s departure. The banishing of one noble and the bad treatment of another result in a state of disorder whose specifics drive the rest of the play. The resulting action revolves around restoring this disrupted social order to where it belongs. Restoring order is a major theme in Shakespeare’s plays, but first, the order must be disrupted.

The feeling of belonging is a necessarily to feel happiness. Belonging is the primary, essential sense of well being and happiness. Motivation, interests, health and happiness all rely on the sense of belonging to a greater community that share simular objectivise and interests. Those who don’t find happiness in belonging to a community they will find contentment in assisting others to find their area of belonging to allow them to find happiness. Belonging and happiness together allow people to connect allowing for a happier society to be

The sense of belonging and interpersonal connectivity is a widely researched topic in psychology, but controversies have been surrounding it among different researchers (Ma, 2003). Also, it has been defined in various ways . According to Vallerand, sense of belonging has to do with the feeling of connectivity with others in the same environment, often involving identifying oneself with a particular group. When the sense of belonging is deeply rooted within a group, one feels accepted, loved and respected in self- image, personally and what they believe in (Booker, 2004; Goodenow, 1993). Baumeister and Leary (1995) acknowledged that sense of belonging has two features: contact and interactions at regular basis and the context of love and care. Baumeister and Leary said that “human beings have a pervasive drive to form and maintain at least a minimum quantity of lasting, positive, and significant interpersonal relationships” (Baumeister & Leary, 1995, p. 497). The sense of belonging has a lasting effect on one’s personality in respect with emotions and other cognitive processes (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). When the sense of belonging is at its lowest, students are prone to being engulfed by solitary thoughts, feel lonely and lose interest in many social interaction opportunities (Goodenow, 1993). This in turn is attributed to dwindling academic performance, as the students don’t feel accepted and motivated within the social parameters around them (Goodenow, 1993). Considerable

Vallerand suggested that the need for relatedness involves feeling connected (or feeling that one belongs in a social milieu)(p.30). Goodenow proposed that a sense of belonging at school reflects the extent to which