Preview

Romulus Belonging

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1744 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Romulus Belonging
Belonging Essay- Romulus My Father, by Raimond Gaita
(Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden and Acquainted With the Night, by Robert Frost)

Thesis: A persons environment is made up of their physical, cultural and mental landscape, within in this landscape there contains a persons relationships and culture. These elements contribute to their identity and ultimately affirm a sense of self and belonging. When one experiences change to their environment, perspectives are challenged and one must establish a new sense of belonging within their new environment. In the memoir Romulus My Father by Raimond Gaita and the texts Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden and Acquainted with the Night, by Robert Frost, new environments effect their sense of belonging by challenging the characters relationships within families and friendships as well as their cultural identity.

Paragraph 1 – Family
Topic Sentence: Family is a great catalyst for establishing a sense of belonging. It is where one expects to find un conditional love and support, as well as possessing a bond formed between parent and child that transcends the boundaries of hardships. However in the memoir Romulus My Father, by Arthur Golden the concept of family is complicated by the Gaita's move to Australia and Christina's mental illness. Raimond experiences a conflicting sense of belonging within his family, by finding stability and assurance in his father Romulus but a contrasting sense of instability and isolation in his relationship with his mother, Christina. Christina's relentless search for fulfilment through excitement and scandal is what brought her and Romulus together and ironically what will determine their tragic fate. “father was involved in the black market”, “very middle class German parents looked down on the foreigner”, “if found they would of almost certainly of been shot” After moving to Australia Christine finds a contrasting environment, one which is filled of “symbols of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    An individual’s experience of belonging is invariably affected by their previous encounters with their environment and the people with whom they interact. This is clearly presented within the texts analysed. In the novel “The Simple Gift” by Steven Herrick the author successfully demonstrates the power of past experiences to both limit and enrich an individual’s sense of belonging to both their surroundings and influential people. Similarly in the poem “Drifters”, Bruce Dawe conveys the idea of constant change preventing people connecting and belong to a community or place.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The migrant experience describes an individual’s change form one social context to another. Such a vast difference of results in a complicated confrontation of values. Hence a sense of belonging lies inherent in the individual’s ability to marry or reconcile identity with their social environment. Raimond Gaita’s semi-autobiographical memoir Romulus, My Father and the Australian’s feature article Alice Pung on New Australians both explore the difficulties faced when immigrating and how a new found sense of belonging occurs through a transformation of identity and values. John Marsden and Shawn Tan’s picture book The Rabbits use the graphical and written to demonstrate the loss of identity due to a loss…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Romulus, My Father, the loneliness and desolation felt by immigrants is highlighted by the language used to describe the natural environment surrounding Romulus and Christine at the time, and is juxtaposed with Raimond’s view of the landscape. The use of alliteration in “European or English eye” used to describe Romulus’ perspective of the landscape highlights the inability for Romulus to adapt to the new environment due to his strong connection to his homeland and Raimond states that “even after forty years, my father could not become reconciled to it”. Likewise, to Christine, her new life in Australia was one of isolation and loneliness. “A dead red gum stood only a hundred metres from the house and became for my mother a symbol of her desolation”. The use of red imagery evokes thoughts relating to death, emphasised by the word “dead” preceding…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    His emphasis on family relationships is unique as he remains loyal regardless of people’s damaging behaviour. This is conveyed through the betrayal of Christina and Mitru. Despite this disloyalty, Romulus persists in interacting with them, suggesting that such interaction is beneficial to his belonging. Further evidence of Romulus’ individuality is depicted by his rigid occupation with standards, such as his need to be totally honest and his high standards of craftsman’s ship. Over the years Romulus ironically stood out to position himself as a respected member of the community. Furthermore, Bradbury explores the notion of belonging achieved without human interaction Romulus’ ability to connect with nature. Romulus’ ability to anchor his identity to a physical place suggests that human interactions are indeed not essential in establishing a sense of…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Barriers to belonging can be broken down as fast as they are put up. In the memoir “Romulus, My Father”, this idea is explored throughout the book. For example, in the second chapter when Romulus is sent to work in the town of Baringhup, little is done to provide Romulus and his family with a sense of belonging. The absence of facilities make the inhabitants of the migration camp want to escape rather than stay there. Raimond writes that “there was little for the newcomers to do when they were not working”. He mentions that on occasion’s markets, film screenings and dances were held. The absence of things that gave the previous migrants a sense of belonging to their community demonstrates how activities and places that people can gather to communicate and spend their leisure time together are important in breaking down the barriers that prevent us from belonging.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    One way the need for belonging is portrayed in Romulus, My Father is through the theme of isolation. The Gaitas each faced their own fears of being unable to belong, but none so as much as Christina who is shown to die of the loneliness of being unable to fit in. “He found her just staring into the fire” describes Raimond, illustrating how desperate his mother had been. As a result she is characterized as ‘appearing to be cheerful and vivacious’ but in truth is ‘deeply depressed.’ Christina is an allusion of the displaced socialite hungry for a sense of fulfilment and security, a superficial belonging. The fact that she is unable to attain this sense of belonging, no matter how superficial, she would prefer to ‘fall asleep and die” rather than feel alone. It was through her decisions to not stay loyal to her husband and not care for Raimond that her connection to them began to fade away. She feels geographically and culturally displaced, as a result she never settles into Frogmore. This demonstrates the need for belonging to live a fulfilling life. As she drifts from their family connection the…

    • 1123 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romulus, my father is a Memoir written by Raimond, Romulus’s son is about Romulus and his journey and life in Australia in the early 1950’s. This memoir explores the concept of belonging through many topics such as Romulus and his immigration experience from Yugoslavia to Australia. It explores the shared beliefs and values of Romulus and his son Raimond. It also explores the concept of belonging through the different family member perspective of the landscape and the connections within Romulus family.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ROmulus my father notes

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Romulus’ relationships with others of similar backgrounds aptly demonstrates the importance of a strong sense of cultural identity in order for meaningful interaction, between himself and Hora, and also Milka, the ‘Yugoslav divorcee’.…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    An individual’s ability to belong is based on their capacity to reconcile their values to a larger group identity; whereas a failure to connect, due to a disparity in values, results in isolation. Raimond Gaita’s memoir Romulus, My Father, highlights the centrality of values in connecting through the contrasting experiences of Raimond and Romulus where Romulus’ failure to belong is based on his refusal to acculturate. In contrast, Andrew Niccol’s dystopian film, Gattaca, shows that an individual’s refusal to accept that his values are irreconcilable to society ultimately results in the expansion of both the definitions of belonging and connections being forged. Both texts, despite differing contexts, are united in their depiction of connections being based on desire.…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our search for who we are is fuelled by our innate desire to achieve a sense of acceptance and belonging. Belonging doesn’t just happen; it involves many factors and experiences in order to feel that you truly belong. Feeling a sense of inclusion can enrich our identity and relationships and can lead to acceptance and understanding. In order to understand who we are we need to belong and this is effectively represented in Raimond Gaita’s memoir ‘Romulus My Father,’ Shaun Tan’s ‘The Lost Thing’ and JD Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Belonging Romulus

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages

    * How his choices have been influenced by his strong sense of belonging to his father, his alienation form his mother, his coming to terms with his relationships and his sense of self…

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romulus My Father Essay

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Through the exposition of Raymond Gaita’s non-fiction biographical memoir ‘Romulus my Father’ it is evident that one’s strong culture and heritage can often heighten a sense of belonging within an individual group however in some cases can act as a barrier to belonging to society as a whole. We are shown Romulus’s strong connection to his culture and religion, which ultimately enhances his positive sense of belonging to his original heritage. “Many were Bible stories and their memory nourished his deeply religious spirit throughout his life.” The use of descriptive language “nourished” enhances to the reader Romulus’s strong sense of religion which is inscribed into him as a major part of his moral and ethics.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romulus

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Romulus, both Romulus and Christine find it hard to gain a strong connection with the harsh landscape of the Australian outback. Their inability to do so results in their alienation from society and a sense of self worth. Romulus, a post war migrant has brought over preconceived ideas and notions about what his perceptions are of the Australian culture and outback. Romulus acknowledges his reluctance to accept or understand the new dominant culture in the self-confessional declaration declares he “always considered himself Romanian”.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    dead poets society

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages

    An individual’s interaction can indeed enrich or limit one’s experience of belonging, as belonging is one of the essential needs of any human being. Belonging can be seen in the prescribed text of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society & Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, where the central characters are driven by their need to belong or not belong which is ultimately stimulated by the world & people around them.…

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays