A Sense Of Belonging In 'Rainbows End'

‘At the heart of our search for a sense of belonging will always be our relationships.’

Good relations enrich our lives enabling us to feel a sense of belonging. The play Rainbows end by Jane harrison, A film whale rider directed by Nikki Caro and the sorry speech by kevin Rudd all show a sense of belonging through relationships.

'Rainbows End' a play written by Jane Harrison portrays the sense of belonging through relationships and land. The relationship between Nan and her home land of cummeragunja illustrates a strong relationship she has formed with the land. This is significant as Nan Dear says, ''My birth certificate says ‘Murray River’. Born there and by crickey, Im gunna go back and die there.' Nan dears dialogue exemplifies her fierce 'murray pride' . She is clearly stating where she belongs no matter where she lives she belongs to murray river. The personas dialogue has been expressed through a slang language which is exemplified through the characters strong bond and relationship with her land. CUMMERANGANJA

Racial barriers exist between errol and dolly illustrating racial prejudice. The dialogue “You're white, I'm Aboriginal. Or haven't you noticed?” exemplifies a barrier which exists between the two cultures. Dollys sarcastic tone
places emphasise on the dialogue “or haven't you noticed” conveying the cultural clash between the two races, even though the characters Errol and Dolly have a sense of belonging through their relationship but don't feel the sense of belongingness through their surroundings. The rhetorical question used with the sarcastic tone also highlights the intolerance that existed in early Australia.

Errol makes plans for Dolly to give her a better future, but Dolly is horrified at the thought of leaving home and her family. This is illustrated through the declarative statement, ' I am staying right here with my mum and my Nan'. Dolly’s rejection of Errol's proposal shows that Dolly prioritises her family before anything else. It also shows how dolly has a strong relationship with Gladys and Nan Dear. The juxtaposition of Errol's declarative statement, 'where you belong and your family is important' demonstrates Errol's realization and understanding of Dolly's familial bond.

The love gladys has for her daughter dolly surpasses everything else,even the loss of her prized encyclopedias. This is evident through the quote '''They're only possessions. And what do they matter? People is what matters''. The use of short sentence and rhetorical questioning in the dialogue portrays an image of a strong familial connection between gladys,nan dear and dolly .

The related material 'The sorry speech' by kevin Rudd was given to Australian community due to the mistreatment of the aboriginal people for the dispossession and assimilation of the aboriginal community.

The aboriginal community suffered the loss of belonging through assimilation and the forced removal of aboriginal communities from their land.This is significant through his speech “We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country”.
Through the use of inclusive language, Rudd has used the word “we” repetitively to include the whole Australian community in his speech to show sympathy towards the Aboriginal community due to their mistreatment in the 19th century. This Exaggerates the deep apology of the removal of children from their families which shows the loss of belonging to their families, land and
community

The australian community came to realise the stolen generation was not wrong, and all mistakes deserved an apology thus the sorry speech.This is evident through the quote ''The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future''.The phrase ''turn a new page'' creates a sense of imagery which shows the determination of the community acknowledging the wrong. Also the phrase ''moving forward with confidence" expresses a positive and strong connection for the future.

The film Whale rider directed by Nikki caro shows a family relationship

Pai's grandfather, Koro has high expectations for the local community and was deeply disappointed when he realises that there was no birth of a son to continue the Chief line. "There was no gladness when I was born. My twin brother died, taking our mother with him'' illustrates that when pai was born she let the family down, she also disappointed koro which influenced her not to accept. Therefore pai not being accepted by koro shows the bitter relationship that koro and pai have. The use of imagery portrays that the family was not glad when pai was given birth into the family.

Paikea decides to leave her village with her father because she feels that she is being mistreated by her grandfather. However she tells her father to turn the car back and returns home as she feels that shes leaving something behind. This is significantly displayed through the dialogue ‘‘can we go home now, i have to go home, i have to’’.The repetition of ' I have to ' establishes the urgency of her leaving and returning back to her village symbolising that pai has a strong connection with her village especially with the whales.