Belonging In Romulus, My Father

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

Belonging is a concept universal to humans and is essential aspect of people’s lives. An individuals experience of belong could be both enriched and limited from their interaction with the world around them. The memoir Romulus, My Father, written by Raimond Gaita and the graphic novel by Shaun Tan, The Arrival both incorporate prominent aspects of the concept of belonging. Through their representation of various elements in the text, ideas about family unity and the sense of connectedness with the environment both show how the experience of belonging is enriched, yet limited to a certain extent.

Through the interaction between Raimond and his father, Romulus, a sense of family relationship is established in Gaita’s memoir. The moral and ethical values of Romulus along with the innocuous nature of Raimond enforce the importance of a strong family unit. “I know what an honest man is; I know what friendship is I know because I remember these things in the person of my father”. This repetition of the word ‘I’ in the statement reinforces the strong connection, both morally and
The “marketplace” frame is an example where Tan illustrates the protagonist’s limitations of belonging due to his inability to adapt to the foreign land. The migrant is depicted as a central figure in this scene whilst the horizon of a new, unfamiliar yet populated landscape is depicted in the background. This vast area of land compared to the minute size of the character is used to emphasise the disconnection between him and the environment. Strange symbols are drawn on various places in the frame to further reinforce the migrant’s difference to the world around his. Thus, his inability to adapt to his new landscape adds to his limitations of belonging, cultural and language