Romulus My Father Belonging Analysis
Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places. In your response, refer to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing. A sense of belonging is heavily influenced by connections to places. Gaita’s memoir ‘Romulus my Father’ set in the 1950’s context, explores the difficulties migrants endured whilst attempting to assimilate and accept the Australian culture and way of life that differed greatly from their own. ‘The rabbits’ a picture book with sparse text, is an allegorical representation of colonization, that effectively also explores the difficulties faced by Aborigines to maintain their sense of belonging to their land, as the white settlers have taken their domestication to a ruthless efficiency. Through analyzing both texts, it becomes amply clear that a
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sense of belonging is borne out of a strong connection to place, where if the connection isn’t developed, belonging is futile.
In order for one to develop a connection to place and in turn find a sense of belonging, one must develop a sense of belonging to that culture. This is explored in Gaita’s retrospective narrative ‘Romulus my Father’ as he tells the story of Romulus’ difficulties to belong to the Australian way of life, while he desired to assimilate, Romulus felt the need to remain true to his old identity. Gaita employs emphatic language ‘My father Romulus Gaita always considered himself a Romanian’, to evoke Romulus’ strong connection to his birth culture that essentially formed his identity. Repeated references to european foliage ‘The peppercorns to be found at almost every settlement area’, emphasize Romulus’ relentless attempts to both, maintain his identity, and develop a connection to the Australian culture, by changing the nature of his new world to be that of his old world. Romulus was eventually able to develop a connection to Australia and in turn find a sense of belonging, as it was his Eurocentric values
that became his vehicle of acceptance by the community. This is expressed through Gaita’s affirmative, emphatic tone ‘His work both expressed and formed much of his character...Like him his work was honest through and through’. Romulus’ hard working nature was a result of the Romanian identity, which Gaita realized, thus positions the audience to understand work as his essence as a man, that was undoubtedly admired by the community, ‘He was deeply gratified that his, work, and through it, should become respected’. Gaita’s retrospective narrative stance ‘My father would have taken pleasure in his good name anywhere’, emphasizes that through the acceptance of the community Romulus was able to find a connection to the Australian culture and even be thankful for Australia, for giving him the freedom to be himself, remain true to his Romanian identity and belong to Australia. This makes amply clear, the profound impact a strong connection to place has on developing a sense of belonging.
The idea that a connection to place is influenced by the sense of belonging to that culture is also explored in Tan and Marsden’s allegory ‘The Rabbits’. Tan and Marsden employ Numbats, indigenous creatures to represent the indigenous peoples of the land and Rabbits as the white settlers. However, unlike in Romulus my Father where Romulus is able to developing a connection to place to find a sense of belonging, the numbats loose their connection as their culture and way of life was destroyed through the Rabbit’s ruthless and reckless colonization of their land. Conectedness is integral in developing a sense of belonging.nPlace reveals key elements of the individual’s sense of self, similarly, Belonging is manifested through a well established connection to place. How can we integrate this thesis better, to weave in this second set of evidence, rather than adding a second and separate concept?The numbats first person account locks them into the posture of victims, always the objects of gaze of the colonizing rabbits, who intend to destroy their culture and way of life. The landscape before it was inhabited by colonization is expressed in the first spread, which depicts a very natural looking landscape highlighted through the earthly colour scheme. The nakedness of the numbats who are of similar color to the landscape, make clear their profound connection to the land and their simplistic culture which is highlighted through the numbats spears, they belonged to before the threat of colonization. The double page spread ‘We lost the fights’ is utilized by Tan and Marsden to emphasize the mourn and defeat of the many numbats that have been killed by the rabbits, in their reckless invasion. The black spread across the foreground and the etched and ancient looking imprints of the deceased emphasize the numbats connection to place has been completely destroyed by the rabbits reckless damage to their land, culture and people. The numbats story is is stark contrast to Romulus’, as he was able to develop a sense of connection to the Australian culture and place allowing his to comfortably belong. THESIS can be woven in here. However in the Rabbits, as the rabbits completely destroyed the numbats culture through their cruel efficiency, the Numbats connection to place was diminished and belonging was futile. Thus the strong impact a connection to place has on belonging is evident, where if the connection isn’t formulated a sense of belonging cannot be achieved.
A connection to place, necessary in order to belong, can only be developed if one has developed a sense of belonging to society. This notion is explored in ‘Romulus my Father’ through Gaita’s characterization of his mother, Christine who suffered from a mental illness preventing her from belonging to the traditional maternal role. As Christine was unable to be accepted within society, a connection to place was never developed thus she never found a sense of belonging to Australia. Gaita juxtaposes the care of both parents ‘My fathers devoted care of me contrasted obviously with her neglect, and this fueled the hostility towards her’ THESIS MATE to highlight the unyielding, intolerant nature of society in relation to christine, which only amplifies her alienation. The juxtaposition of Romulus’s relationship with society ‘a capacity for hard work, was the most prized value of the men and women I knew then’ and Christina’s ‘Tom lillie and others disliked my mother, they believed her to be entirely lacking in character’ shows that even though Romulus is accepted because of his hard working nature christina will never acquire this kind of respect in the community because of her mental illness.Christina’s inability to redeem herself within society is recognized. Gaita further emphasizes Christians inability to ever be accepted within society, through an intertextual reference to Australia day ‘It was a hymn of praise to the qualities that earned Australian soldiers affection and respect’ as her mental illness prevented caused her to be void of these qualities. As a result it becomes amply clear, that as Christina wasn't able to belong in society, her connection to Australia wasn't developed making belonging for her an impossibility.
The ‘Rabbits’ by Tan and Marsden also make clear that a sense of belonging to society must be achieved in order to develop a connection to place and in turn belong. The numbats like christina were unable to adapt to the post- colonial society where they became nothing more that an amorphous nonentity. The invasion of foreign white society, is expressed through the change the white settlers brought to the land in the form of their advanced technologies such as guns and agricultural instruments. In the foreground of a spread, is an enormous sheep, an image that captures the attention of the readers used by Tan and Marsden to imply British dominance of the land. On the corner of this page lies two tiny numbats, almost unnoticeable, symbolic of the the extent to which the numbats remain peripheral in post- colonial society to the centered power of the rabbits. The degree to which the numbats are fringe - dwellers in this Rabbit dominated society is emphasized in one particular predominately black and white image that portrays the numbats as alcoholic as shown though discarded alcohol bottles, living out of cardboard boxes under the dominant rabbits ‘Might=Right’ sign. The simplistic, almost childish language of the numbats ‘some of the food made us sick’ is used by Marsden and Tan as a representation of Aboriginally at this time, namely that Aboriginals had no voice in society: essentially a non entity, not classified as people but as part of flora and fauna. SYNTHESIS: GOOD The extent to which the Numbats were unable to belong to society, not unlike christina, who could never be accepted by the people, proved a connection to place to be unattainable, making belong for the Numbats as well as Christina, futile. Nice
In conclusion it becomes evident that a connection to place has a profound influence on an individuals sense of belonging. Through the study of ‘Romulus my Father’ and the ‘Rabbits’, it becomes amply clear that a sense of belonging is borne out of a connection to place. However, often, and in the case of the Numbats in ‘Rabbits’ and Christina in ‘Romulus my father’, without the acceptance of society a connection to place is unattainable making Belonging impossible.
sense of belonging is borne out of a strong connection to place, where if the connection isn’t developed, belonging is futile.
In order for one to develop a connection to place and in turn find a sense of belonging, one must develop a sense of belonging to that culture. This is explored in Gaita’s retrospective narrative ‘Romulus my Father’ as he tells the story of Romulus’ difficulties to belong to the Australian way of life, while he desired to assimilate, Romulus felt the need to remain true to his old identity. Gaita employs emphatic language ‘My father Romulus Gaita always considered himself a Romanian’, to evoke Romulus’ strong connection to his birth culture that essentially formed his identity. Repeated references to european foliage ‘The peppercorns to be found at almost every settlement area’, emphasize Romulus’ relentless attempts to both, maintain his identity, and develop a connection to the Australian culture, by changing the nature of his new world to be that of his old world. Romulus was eventually able to develop a connection to Australia and in turn find a sense of belonging, as it was his Eurocentric values
that became his vehicle of acceptance by the community. This is expressed through Gaita’s affirmative, emphatic tone ‘His work both expressed and formed much of his character...Like him his work was honest through and through’. Romulus’ hard working nature was a result of the Romanian identity, which Gaita realized, thus positions the audience to understand work as his essence as a man, that was undoubtedly admired by the community, ‘He was deeply gratified that his, work, and through it, should become respected’. Gaita’s retrospective narrative stance ‘My father would have taken pleasure in his good name anywhere’, emphasizes that through the acceptance of the community Romulus was able to find a connection to the Australian culture and even be thankful for Australia, for giving him the freedom to be himself, remain true to his Romanian identity and belong to Australia. This makes amply clear, the profound impact a strong connection to place has on developing a sense of belonging.
The idea that a connection to place is influenced by the sense of belonging to that culture is also explored in Tan and Marsden’s allegory ‘The Rabbits’. Tan and Marsden employ Numbats, indigenous creatures to represent the indigenous peoples of the land and Rabbits as the white settlers. However, unlike in Romulus my Father where Romulus is able to developing a connection to place to find a sense of belonging, the numbats loose their connection as their culture and way of life was destroyed through the Rabbit’s ruthless and reckless colonization of their land. Conectedness is integral in developing a sense of belonging.nPlace reveals key elements of the individual’s sense of self, similarly, Belonging is manifested through a well established connection to place. How can we integrate this thesis better, to weave in this second set of evidence, rather than adding a second and separate concept?The numbats first person account locks them into the posture of victims, always the objects of gaze of the colonizing rabbits, who intend to destroy their culture and way of life. The landscape before it was inhabited by colonization is expressed in the first spread, which depicts a very natural looking landscape highlighted through the earthly colour scheme. The nakedness of the numbats who are of similar color to the landscape, make clear their profound connection to the land and their simplistic culture which is highlighted through the numbats spears, they belonged to before the threat of colonization. The double page spread ‘We lost the fights’ is utilized by Tan and Marsden to emphasize the mourn and defeat of the many numbats that have been killed by the rabbits, in their reckless invasion. The black spread across the foreground and the etched and ancient looking imprints of the deceased emphasize the numbats connection to place has been completely destroyed by the rabbits reckless damage to their land, culture and people. The numbats story is is stark contrast to Romulus’, as he was able to develop a sense of connection to the Australian culture and place allowing his to comfortably belong. THESIS can be woven in here. However in the Rabbits, as the rabbits completely destroyed the numbats culture through their cruel efficiency, the Numbats connection to place was diminished and belonging was futile. Thus the strong impact a connection to place has on belonging is evident, where if the connection isn’t formulated a sense of belonging cannot be achieved.
A connection to place, necessary in order to belong, can only be developed if one has developed a sense of belonging to society. This notion is explored in ‘Romulus my Father’ through Gaita’s characterization of his mother, Christine who suffered from a mental illness preventing her from belonging to the traditional maternal role. As Christine was unable to be accepted within society, a connection to place was never developed thus she never found a sense of belonging to Australia. Gaita juxtaposes the care of both parents ‘My fathers devoted care of me contrasted obviously with her neglect, and this fueled the hostility towards her’ THESIS MATE to highlight the unyielding, intolerant nature of society in relation to christine, which only amplifies her alienation. The juxtaposition of Romulus’s relationship with society ‘a capacity for hard work, was the most prized value of the men and women I knew then’ and Christina’s ‘Tom lillie and others disliked my mother, they believed her to be entirely lacking in character’ shows that even though Romulus is accepted because of his hard working nature christina will never acquire this kind of respect in the community because of her mental illness.Christina’s inability to redeem herself within society is recognized. Gaita further emphasizes Christians inability to ever be accepted within society, through an intertextual reference to Australia day ‘It was a hymn of praise to the qualities that earned Australian soldiers affection and respect’ as her mental illness prevented caused her to be void of these qualities. As a result it becomes amply clear, that as Christina wasn't able to belong in society, her connection to Australia wasn't developed making belonging for her an impossibility.
The ‘Rabbits’ by Tan and Marsden also make clear that a sense of belonging to society must be achieved in order to develop a connection to place and in turn belong. The numbats like christina were unable to adapt to the post- colonial society where they became nothing more that an amorphous nonentity. The invasion of foreign white society, is expressed through the change the white settlers brought to the land in the form of their advanced technologies such as guns and agricultural instruments. In the foreground of a spread, is an enormous sheep, an image that captures the attention of the readers used by Tan and Marsden to imply British dominance of the land. On the corner of this page lies two tiny numbats, almost unnoticeable, symbolic of the the extent to which the numbats remain peripheral in post- colonial society to the centered power of the rabbits. The degree to which the numbats are fringe - dwellers in this Rabbit dominated society is emphasized in one particular predominately black and white image that portrays the numbats as alcoholic as shown though discarded alcohol bottles, living out of cardboard boxes under the dominant rabbits ‘Might=Right’ sign. The simplistic, almost childish language of the numbats ‘some of the food made us sick’ is used by Marsden and Tan as a representation of Aboriginally at this time, namely that Aboriginals had no voice in society: essentially a non entity, not classified as people but as part of flora and fauna. SYNTHESIS: GOOD The extent to which the Numbats were unable to belong to society, not unlike christina, who could never be accepted by the people, proved a connection to place to be unattainable, making belong for the Numbats as well as Christina, futile. Nice
In conclusion it becomes evident that a connection to place has a profound influence on an individuals sense of belonging. Through the study of ‘Romulus my Father’ and the ‘Rabbits’, it becomes amply clear that a sense of belonging is borne out of a connection to place. However, often, and in the case of the Numbats in ‘Rabbits’ and Christina in ‘Romulus my father’, without the acceptance of society a connection to place is unattainable making Belonging impossible.