Belonging- Connections to Place
Belonging Essay 2011 HSC Question
Question 3 (15 marks) Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places. In your response, refer to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing. The prescribed texts are listed on the next page. Word Length: 1200 words A sense of belonging is an essential part of the human condition; it is a desire shared by all. Belonging refers to the ability of an individual to fit in a specified place or environment. This may include fitting in with a group of people, fitting in with society or fitting in with a physical place. All individuals have their own unique perception of belonging and not belonging, based on a number of factors. One of these factors includes connections to places, such as physical places or an individualʼs place in society, as these connections may influence whether the individual has a positive or negative perception of belonging. Emily Dickinson explores how this factor impacts on an individualʼs perception of belonging and not belonging through her use of poetic techniques in her poems #154- A Word Dropped Careless on a Page and #82- I Had Been Hungry All the Years. Similarly, the short film The Story of Bubble Boy, directed by Sean Ascroft, uses film techniques to also ponder the influences of connections to place upon an individualʼs perceptions of belonging by examining the life of Bubble Boy as he attempts to find his place in society in order to belong. In A Word Dropped Careless on a Page, Emily Dickinson discusses her own place in society as a poet and writer, and explores the significance of her position. Thus, the persona examines how writing well, and therefore connecting with her place in society, provides her with a positive perception of belonging, whereas being a careless with her place in society by not valuing it can contribute to a negative perception. This negative or pessimistic view in writing could bring about harm to others
Question 3 (15 marks) Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places. In your response, refer to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing. The prescribed texts are listed on the next page. Word Length: 1200 words A sense of belonging is an essential part of the human condition; it is a desire shared by all. Belonging refers to the ability of an individual to fit in a specified place or environment. This may include fitting in with a group of people, fitting in with society or fitting in with a physical place. All individuals have their own unique perception of belonging and not belonging, based on a number of factors. One of these factors includes connections to places, such as physical places or an individualʼs place in society, as these connections may influence whether the individual has a positive or negative perception of belonging. Emily Dickinson explores how this factor impacts on an individualʼs perception of belonging and not belonging through her use of poetic techniques in her poems #154- A Word Dropped Careless on a Page and #82- I Had Been Hungry All the Years. Similarly, the short film The Story of Bubble Boy, directed by Sean Ascroft, uses film techniques to also ponder the influences of connections to place upon an individualʼs perceptions of belonging by examining the life of Bubble Boy as he attempts to find his place in society in order to belong. In A Word Dropped Careless on a Page, Emily Dickinson discusses her own place in society as a poet and writer, and explores the significance of her position. Thus, the persona examines how writing well, and therefore connecting with her place in society, provides her with a positive perception of belonging, whereas being a careless with her place in society by not valuing it can contribute to a negative perception. This negative or pessimistic view in writing could bring about harm to others