Belonging Speech
Advanced English Assessment Task 1- Belonging Speech
Weighing: 15%
‘To struggle to belong is a significant part of our lives’
To what extent is this statement true of your selected text and prescribed text?
People experience belonging in various ways throughout their lives. It is a subjective notion depending on the individual’s relationships with both their personal and social contexts. Therefore belonging is a struggle dependent upon an individual’s capacity to maintain their identity whilst simultaneously conforming to the social norms throughout their life. This is conveyed through the memoir Romulus My Father by Raimond Gaita.
As Raimond recounts the story of his father’s life, he explores the strength of family ties. Despite the sometimes tumultuous nature of the Gaita family, there never ceases to be a strong sense of belonging between the individuals. Notions of belonging between Romulus and Raimond are conveyed through the passion of Gaita’s writing about his father and the emotive language of the text. Physical belonging is also prominent; the different feelings of belonging and alienation that father and son feel towards Australia. Romulus’ struggles to feel at home in Australia and remains always tied to his European identity. At first Raimond shares his father struggle but as he matures and becomes an adult he ultimately feels he belongs to the Australian landscape. Romulus my father depicts the struggle to belong is a significant part of our lives by portraying the alienation of migrants and on the contrary represents the idea of social belonging greatly through the connection and strength of family ties and the love that comes with them.
John Green’s novel Looking for Alaska conveys social belonging or lack thereof it, through his characterisation. Miles Halter views his life as ordinary and his obsession with famous last words has made him crave a life of excitement and danger so he heads off to the world of Culver Creek Boarding School
Weighing: 15%
‘To struggle to belong is a significant part of our lives’
To what extent is this statement true of your selected text and prescribed text?
People experience belonging in various ways throughout their lives. It is a subjective notion depending on the individual’s relationships with both their personal and social contexts. Therefore belonging is a struggle dependent upon an individual’s capacity to maintain their identity whilst simultaneously conforming to the social norms throughout their life. This is conveyed through the memoir Romulus My Father by Raimond Gaita.
As Raimond recounts the story of his father’s life, he explores the strength of family ties. Despite the sometimes tumultuous nature of the Gaita family, there never ceases to be a strong sense of belonging between the individuals. Notions of belonging between Romulus and Raimond are conveyed through the passion of Gaita’s writing about his father and the emotive language of the text. Physical belonging is also prominent; the different feelings of belonging and alienation that father and son feel towards Australia. Romulus’ struggles to feel at home in Australia and remains always tied to his European identity. At first Raimond shares his father struggle but as he matures and becomes an adult he ultimately feels he belongs to the Australian landscape. Romulus my father depicts the struggle to belong is a significant part of our lives by portraying the alienation of migrants and on the contrary represents the idea of social belonging greatly through the connection and strength of family ties and the love that comes with them.
John Green’s novel Looking for Alaska conveys social belonging or lack thereof it, through his characterisation. Miles Halter views his life as ordinary and his obsession with famous last words has made him crave a life of excitement and danger so he heads off to the world of Culver Creek Boarding School