Belonging Alienation And Individuality Analysis

It is altogether true that Tan is preoccupied with themes of belonging, alienation and individuality. Both texts describe the landscape and characters in ways which represent these ideas. They use the landscape of an urban, industrialised town to show us how belonging, alienation and individuality can happen in different ways. They focus on characters as allegorical figures to show how belonging, alienation and individuality are evident in the actions of people. The texts’ central message is that human society and human beings come from the conflict between belonging, alienation and individuality. Tan’s view of these themes is clearly evident in his texts showing his auteur style, the fact that we can recognise the author from aspects of their
This single page image and the subsequent thirty-six frames, demonstrate these themes. The high angle shot of the moment of arrival shows how many people there actually are. The number of people altogether makes it seem like they should belong as one, yet they are all alienated from each other as they don’t know anyone. The unknown symbols and language position the reader in the protagonist’s shoes, which further emphasises the theme of alienation, as we don’t know what is happening. The purposeful ambiguity which is created through this unknown language is a distinctive style of Tan’s work, as he wants the reader to feel just as lost as the protagonist is, which is another aspect of his auteur style. The further thirty-six images are juxtaposed to each other, enhancing the key themes of belonging, alienation and individuality. The labels which the protagonist receives take away his individuality and dehumanises him. The facial expressions in the midshots of the interview sequence reveal confusion and unhappiness, the reader also experiences confusion as they don’t know what exactly is happening. The Lost Thing employs similar techniques in the form of a film. A specific scene
A scene from The Arrival, which demonstrates these themes, is when the girl, of Asian appearance, tells her story to the protagonist. The girl is an allegorical figure for the different refugee stories, showing how this is a universal story and refugees can be any gender and race. The single page image shows the grandeur of refugees, as there are many people doing the same thing; the fact that they are all doing the same thing takes away their individuality. The walls separating the people shows that the refugees are alienated. The greyscale colour acts as pathetic fallacy, as the situation is very sad and depressing. This colour palette also adds to the message that the refugee’s story is one of fleeing from of oppression. The book is a metaphor for creativity and individuality, when the girl is forced to work the book is locked away, taking away her individuality; but before she escapes, she takes the book back, showing that at the end of the universal refugees story there is happiness. Similarly, The Lost Thing employs characters as allegorical figures. When the boy takes “the lost thing” home, we can see these allegories perfectly. The boy’s parents represent the general population, people caught up in trivial matters and people who pay no attention to the outside world. The “lost thing” represents a need to belong just like the