Perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places and their offers of, or lack of, the physical, emotional or spiritual support. Each place offers or has an absence of support, which in turn results in either the feeling of belonging or not belonging. In the three texts; “Swallow The Air” by Tara June Winch, the poem “Last of His Tribe”, and a Tropfest short film, “Missing Her”, the perceptions of belonging and not belonging are greatly associated with the connections to places and this is emphasized through a number of techniques.…
Depending on an individual’s relationship with a place, their perceptions of belonging can be influenced, if there is a positive connection between an individual and a place, they will belong, however if there was a negative connection in the past or in the present, they will not. The theme of isolation is greatly explored in the poem ‘St Pats college’ by Peter Skryznecki, as it shows that a negative connection to a place will result in a lack of belonging, whereas his other poem, ’10 Mary Street ‘explores the theme of the progression of time and how a good connection can be warm, welcoming and provide a sense of belonging. With the use of various techniques such as symbolism, imagery and repetition these poems highlight how perceptions of belonging and being unable to belong can by influenced by a connection to places. The short film ‘The lost thing’ by Shaun Tan is also testimony to this.…
Louisa May Alcott is an American Novelist best known as the author of the novel “Little Women”. Louisa was born in November 1982, grew up in Germantown- Washington D.C and was known to be an abolitionist, feminist and also a naturalist. Being a naturalist meant that she believed that nothing existed beyond the natural earth i.e. no such thing as spirituality or the supernatural. Her family suffered from financial difficulties and so Alcott had to work to support her family in an early age. She penned the story “My Contraband” (1869) which was formerly known as “The Brothers” (1863). Contraband was a black slave who escaped to or was brought within union lines (Alcott 759). In “My Contraband”, Louisa May Alcott utilizes the concept of naturalism to condemn racism in the African American community.…
Place- is a specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic. Every place occupies a unique location, or position, on the earths surface, and geographers have many ways to identify location.…
A geographer’s view is that the dynamic relationship between place and health is not merely a consequence of location. Instead this discipline views place in terms of sense of place, where places of significance to a person evoke feelings and emotions (Coleman et al., 2010; Kearns, 1993). This concept occupies the abstract space between physical place and the experience of place, where we unconsciously interpret a place by ‘reading’ the messages it contains (Kearns, 1993). Health and place exist in a reciprocal relationship, where individual characteristics shape one’s experience of a place, just as a place can shape one’s opportunities for experience (Kearns, 1993).…
Because of the fast speed on which people spend their days they start to just notice the things that have a direct connection with their goal or destination. As people get used to a place they stop looking around for what is interesting and just think that everything is boring and unimportant. If people change their mindsets and learn to look more closely to their cities, houses or whatever is around them, they will be able to realize how complex and beautiful those places and things are, but sometimes they are so busy that they would not even realize that they need to change the way their mind works. Changing the mindsets is different for all the people specially depending on their education level and their social class and it requires some effort, but it is possible for people to change their mindset so they can enjoy the pleasure of actually seen what is around…
Belonging is a feeling that everyone wants to experience. We want to feel like we have a place in the world. Just as easily as we can create a sense of belonging with our identity, relationships, and experiences, we can also not belong. However, not belonging is not necessarily a choice. There may be specific circumstances that mean that we do not belong to a particular environment. These concepts of belonging are strongly represented in Peter Skrzynecki’s poems, Migrant Hostel and St. Patrick’s College and the picture book, The Arrival by Shaun Tan. These 3 texts all represent the connection between places and belonging or not belonging by using visual and literary techniques.…
To feel a sense of belonging to place or people a culture needs to be defined so the bases of an identity can be formed. It is therefore often assumed that an abrupt change of culture can interfere with a person’s sense identity and lead to disconnection from their new surroundings. But a change in culture can also add a new dimension, redefining a person into a developed individual and giving them a new sense of belonging and identity. Their experiences and the immediate environment they are in influence their perception of belonging. This perception influences their view as either positive or negative and this can have dramatic implications on their life.…
Belonging to a new place can be difficult because you are not used to what the place is like and how the…
Tuan discusses the aspects of “space” and “place” through shared experiences. The meaning of “space” refers to a certain location or setting, while place refers to the meaning the individual has for a specific space. The author explains that space can become a place once the space has developed meaning purpose to the individual. One person may find meaning and purpose in one space while another individual does not. These concepts that Tuan discusses, can be beneficial for community-based occupational therapy practice by providing more meaning to their interventions. An occupational therapist can provide more meaningful treatment that can allow an individual to reintegrate back to their place of purpose. This can increase the motivation of the…
In James Baldwin's second novel published, we meet a young American called David. He has left his home country to live in Paris. In the first meeting with this man, he stares out a window and thinks about his life. Even this early in the book we get an impression of everything not being in its right place. This is where emptiness lives.…
In modern day America, our culture has begun to revolve around traveling and moving from place to place. Never staying in one place long enough to get to know the land. It is because of this new trend that Wallace Stegner wrote his essay "The Sense of Place." In this essay, Stegner informs us that the only way for us to feel a sense of place is for us to submit ourselves to the land; he does this using many techniques such as: figurative language, use of a personal anecdote, and the use of second person.…
Emptiness in western cultures is different than what some other cultures may believe in. Our culture sees emptiness as having nothing. As dictionary.com says emptiness is: “1. containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents: an empty bottle. 2. vacant; unoccupied: an empty house. 3. without cargo or load: an empty wagon. 4. destitute of people or human activity: We walked along the empty streets of the city at night. 5. destitute of some quality or qualities; devoid (usually followed by of ): Theirs is a life now empty of happiness.” Emptiness in western cultures is seen as a negative thing or unwanted things. Emptiness is seen in our culture as void of things. In other cultures, it stands for a whole different meaning.…
The influence of landscape, whether conscious of unconscious, is reflected in individuals and whole communities. People tend to feel happy and secure in some places, whereas other places may provoke fear and sadness. For instance, the emotions and relationships of people who are born into war or poverty will develop in a very different way to those who never experience trauma or dislocation. Many people feel strong sense of belonging to a landscape, others may feel alienated or isolated by the place in which they live. Immigrants, exiles and refugees may have a very different relationship to a landscape from those born and raised there. People who are forced to leave one landscape and then accept another may take a long time to feel comfortable in their new home. They may find an unknown landscape alienating, dangerous and foreboding. Our environment can be a great comfort and bring many pleasures in life; in contrast it can also be very threatening bring up pessimistic emotions. Across the world, writers and film makers use landscape as a metaphor for human experiences and as a background to mundane and dramatic events.…
No person or thing will ever scare him back into a lonely state of mind and he will certainly find meaning in everything he sees. He professes that WE as a society are the sole reason of our own downfalls, that meaning or lack thereof is the only thing that will scare us. The speaker overcomes his fear of a meaningless, lonely life in hopes that we will do the same. By concluding his proclamation with an empowering tone, the speaker of “Desert Places” has moved the isolated society to consider overcoming fear of isolation.…