Essay B
BELONGING ESSAY- THE NAMESAKE AND HOMELAND
“Understanding nourishes belonging. A lack of understanding prevents it”.
An individual desires to belong but there are obstacles and difficulties in achieving this sense of belonging. One of these main barriers is a lack of understanding of belonging. This is portrayed inThe Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, where Ashima’s lack of understanding of culture and place causing isolation and prevents her from belonging in America. Furthermore, understanding yourself and self actualisation leads to belonging as a lack of understanding prevents it. Having a dual identity limits Gogol’s understanding of belonging. Similarly, in Anna Maria Dell’Oso’s Homeland, the conflict between Australian life and Italian cultural heritage creates internal conflict and uncertain identity for the persona and her mother, and a lack of understanding of how to resolve this conflict limits their ability to belong.
Through studying Lahiri’s Namesake, we learn that a lack of understanding of culture and place limits an individual’s belonging. Ashima feels alienated, uncomfortable, a stranger in a foreign land because she’s distanced from her family and friends in Calcutta. Ashima feels less alone through the significance of food. To make herself literally feel at home, she finds the closest thing to a sort of puffed rice and combines as many ingredients she can find at the market and makes the snack she is used to eating in India. “On a sticky August evening...combining Rice Krispies...she adds salt...a humble approximation of the snack sold for pennies on Calcutta sidewalks...” Lahiri uses detailed description of food to create an effect that even though Ashima is living in America where she feels alienated in her new life, the symbolism of food makes her feel connected and closer to her family and lifestyle in India. Thus, individuals must actively search for belonging and try to understand what they are seeking for. By connecting to another place
“Understanding nourishes belonging. A lack of understanding prevents it”.
An individual desires to belong but there are obstacles and difficulties in achieving this sense of belonging. One of these main barriers is a lack of understanding of belonging. This is portrayed inThe Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, where Ashima’s lack of understanding of culture and place causing isolation and prevents her from belonging in America. Furthermore, understanding yourself and self actualisation leads to belonging as a lack of understanding prevents it. Having a dual identity limits Gogol’s understanding of belonging. Similarly, in Anna Maria Dell’Oso’s Homeland, the conflict between Australian life and Italian cultural heritage creates internal conflict and uncertain identity for the persona and her mother, and a lack of understanding of how to resolve this conflict limits their ability to belong.
Through studying Lahiri’s Namesake, we learn that a lack of understanding of culture and place limits an individual’s belonging. Ashima feels alienated, uncomfortable, a stranger in a foreign land because she’s distanced from her family and friends in Calcutta. Ashima feels less alone through the significance of food. To make herself literally feel at home, she finds the closest thing to a sort of puffed rice and combines as many ingredients she can find at the market and makes the snack she is used to eating in India. “On a sticky August evening...combining Rice Krispies...she adds salt...a humble approximation of the snack sold for pennies on Calcutta sidewalks...” Lahiri uses detailed description of food to create an effect that even though Ashima is living in America where she feels alienated in her new life, the symbolism of food makes her feel connected and closer to her family and lifestyle in India. Thus, individuals must actively search for belonging and try to understand what they are seeking for. By connecting to another place