Essay Draft

The concept of Belonging is the idea of being part of something and feeling accepted. Often individuals have differences that can create feelings such as seclusion and isolation from people and places. This sense of alienation is shown throughout Tim Winton’s short stories ‘Big World’ and ‘Aquifer’ from a collection entitled “The Turning” and also from the Tropfest short film “Missing Her” directed by Micheal Weisler. Both Winton and Weisler, use literary and visual techniques to explore the ideas and feelings of belonging and not belonging.
‘Big World’ gives the reader a sense of both belonging and alienation. The unnamed narrator feels a very strong connection to his friend Biggie, “Mum thinks Biggie’s an oaf, that he’s holding me back. She doesn’t know that without Biggie there’d be nothing left of me to hold back. It sounds weak but he saved my life.” This juxtaposition provides and insight into their friendship and its strength. On the other hand, he is seeming very disconnected from Angelus, the town in which he lives. This is shown through “Unlike him I’m not really from here, it’s not hosing blood that sh*** me off- it’s Angelus itself.” The swearing is negative colloquial language. It is quite evident that the narrator segregated from his community and while he sees others belonging, he himself isn’t a part of it. These differences enhance the understanding of belonging experienced by the reader. (...link to whatever the question is....)
The Tim Winton story ‘Aquifer,’ shows that alienation can be destructive and even deadly. The main character is bullied, and in fact physically abused by the other children forcing him to be alone and feel different. When one of his bullies drowns in the lake, it is his alienation and his internal feeling of being so disconnected that prevents him from speaking up. “I went home and said nothing.” This is a tremendous understatement. The general mood is quite dark and it presents the idea that this has followed him into