Romulus My Father Belonging Essay
Belonging is the connection and understanding an individual feels with a group, object, or activity. An individual must have belonging to feel a true, deep happiness with oneself and one’s surroundings. The consequences of not belonging or alienation for extended periods of time can have severe psychological and emotional consequences. Scientists say that it is in the human need to belong. Naturally, belonging is something that all people strive to achieve. Belonging can change over time in one of two ways: with one’s search and acquirement of belonging, or with one’s deliberate or unintentional alienation over time. This is clearly demonstrated in two texts: the novel/memoir, Romulus, My Father, by Raimond Gaita; and the futuristic, dystopian
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film, Gattaca, by Andrew Niccol.
In the memoir by Raimond Gaita, he effectively conveys the changing levels of belonging felt by Romulus throughout the text. As an immigrant or ‘New Australian’, Romulus felt alienated from Australian society at the beginning of the novel. This is conveyed in the quote ‘The local newspaper ridiculed the New Australian for his folly’ (p 28), after Romulus sets fire to the Mikkelsens’ farm. The use of, ‘New Australian’ to refer to Romulus shows the Australians’ perspective of immigrants at the time, setting the immigrants apart from the ‘real Australians’. This quote reflects the isolation felt by Romulus as an immigrant in Australia.
However, as time progresses, Romulus gains the respect of the Australians through his good parenting, hard work, and through events such as his saving of Mikkelsen. ‘He and others attributed his survival to my father’s prompt and sensible action.’ Thus, he begins to be accepted into the community.
Romulus’s journey to achieving a true sense of belonging is constantly interrupted by his family problems, the main of which being his wife, Christine. Christine’s promiscuity causes Romulus’s sense of belonging to decrease whenever she is close. Christine’s presence also causes Romulus to feel alienated from his family as a result of the problems she raises.
Another perspective whose change in belonging can be observed is that of Raimond. At first, Raimond does not feel belonging to the Australian landscape because of the influence of his father’s alienation from it. However, Raimond’s views on the Australian landscape abruptly change in chapter five. He finds a new of belonging to it, which is emphasised in the juxtaposition between his original dismissive views on Australia’s ‘scraggy trees’, to his new deep understanding of the landscape where ‘the scraggy shapes and sparse foliage actually became the foci for my sense of its beauty and everything else fell into place’. Raimond also likens his new understanding of the Australian landscape to ‘when one sees the second image in an ambiguous drawing’, and, ‘God had taken me to the back of his workshop and shown me something really special’ to emphasise this new belonging to the landscape.
As his father begins to fall to insanity, Raimond feels alienated from the area for the first time.
Alienation from his family has provoked his alienation from his home, and Raimond’s sense of belonging to the landscape has then evolved into one of alienation. This is shown in the quote, ‘My father’s vulnerability changed my attitude to Frogmore. In his sighs I heard our isolation and for the first time I felt estranged from the area.’
Another text that demonstrates that belonging can change over time is the dystopic film, Gattaca, by Andrew Niccol. At the beginning of the film, Vincent rips himself out of a family photo. In the photo are his mother, father, his brother Anton, and himself. The father and mother are standing beside Anton, their bodies slightly angled towards him, causing the mother’s back to be turned to Vincent, thus leaving Vincent neglected, on the side of the photo. This shows the parents’ pride in Anton, and conveys Vincent’s alienation from the family.
Vincent’s alienation from the Gattacan society in the beginning is conveyed in the scene where he is cleaning a glass wall in Gattaca. In this scene, Niccol has employed mise-en-scene as the dominant technique to convey Vincent’s alienation. The glass wall acts as a physical and metaphorical barrier that separates the underclass, which Vincent belongs to, from the Gattacans. This separation is emphasised by the contrast between Vincent, who is standing still, in the foreground, to the Gattacans walking uniformly past, blurred in the middleground. This scene also conveys Vincent’s belonging to his dream of going to outer space. The scene is filmed with a mid-shot, allowing for us to see the semiotics of Vincent’s face, as well as the mise-en-scene. Vincent is looking upwards at where the Gattacans are heading up an escalator with an expression of longing, thus expressing his strong connection with his dream.
Towards the middle of the film, Vincent questions his identity (belonging to self) and begins to doubt his belonging to his dream.
He says ‘They think i killed the mission director’ when in fact the Gattacans do not suspect him, as Jerome, but his old identity as Vincent. This quote reveals that he still thinks of himself as Vincent the degenerate, instead of the identity of Jerome, the Gattacan, which he should have already adopted. In this scene, Vincent also begins to question his belonging to his dream, almost giving up on the mission altogether.
In a scene at the end of the film, swimming back to shore on his back after beating Anton in ‘Chicken’, there is a shot of the clouds clearing, allowing the stars behind them to come into view. The clearing of the clouds is symbolic of his path finally being cleared of obstacles, which include external complications as well as his own doubts of himself reaching his goal. The semiotics of his face, calm and happy show his belonging to his dream renewed.
At the end, Vincent is finally accepted into the Gattacan society. The doctor, who plays an essential role in the functioning of Gattaca, is revealed to have known that Vincent was a degenerate all along, and allows him into the flight. This act symbolises Vincent’s acceptance into the Gattacan
society.
Belonging is something that all people strive to achieve. Through one’s search for belonging, an individual can achieve a sense of belonging, or unintentionally feel alienated over time. The two texts, Romulus, My Father by Raimond Gaita, and Gattaca by Andrew Niccol, through the creators’ use of various language and filmic techniques, demonstrate how belonging can change over time.
film, Gattaca, by Andrew Niccol.
In the memoir by Raimond Gaita, he effectively conveys the changing levels of belonging felt by Romulus throughout the text. As an immigrant or ‘New Australian’, Romulus felt alienated from Australian society at the beginning of the novel. This is conveyed in the quote ‘The local newspaper ridiculed the New Australian for his folly’ (p 28), after Romulus sets fire to the Mikkelsens’ farm. The use of, ‘New Australian’ to refer to Romulus shows the Australians’ perspective of immigrants at the time, setting the immigrants apart from the ‘real Australians’. This quote reflects the isolation felt by Romulus as an immigrant in Australia.
However, as time progresses, Romulus gains the respect of the Australians through his good parenting, hard work, and through events such as his saving of Mikkelsen. ‘He and others attributed his survival to my father’s prompt and sensible action.’ Thus, he begins to be accepted into the community.
Romulus’s journey to achieving a true sense of belonging is constantly interrupted by his family problems, the main of which being his wife, Christine. Christine’s promiscuity causes Romulus’s sense of belonging to decrease whenever she is close. Christine’s presence also causes Romulus to feel alienated from his family as a result of the problems she raises.
Another perspective whose change in belonging can be observed is that of Raimond. At first, Raimond does not feel belonging to the Australian landscape because of the influence of his father’s alienation from it. However, Raimond’s views on the Australian landscape abruptly change in chapter five. He finds a new of belonging to it, which is emphasised in the juxtaposition between his original dismissive views on Australia’s ‘scraggy trees’, to his new deep understanding of the landscape where ‘the scraggy shapes and sparse foliage actually became the foci for my sense of its beauty and everything else fell into place’. Raimond also likens his new understanding of the Australian landscape to ‘when one sees the second image in an ambiguous drawing’, and, ‘God had taken me to the back of his workshop and shown me something really special’ to emphasise this new belonging to the landscape.
As his father begins to fall to insanity, Raimond feels alienated from the area for the first time.
Alienation from his family has provoked his alienation from his home, and Raimond’s sense of belonging to the landscape has then evolved into one of alienation. This is shown in the quote, ‘My father’s vulnerability changed my attitude to Frogmore. In his sighs I heard our isolation and for the first time I felt estranged from the area.’
Another text that demonstrates that belonging can change over time is the dystopic film, Gattaca, by Andrew Niccol. At the beginning of the film, Vincent rips himself out of a family photo. In the photo are his mother, father, his brother Anton, and himself. The father and mother are standing beside Anton, their bodies slightly angled towards him, causing the mother’s back to be turned to Vincent, thus leaving Vincent neglected, on the side of the photo. This shows the parents’ pride in Anton, and conveys Vincent’s alienation from the family.
Vincent’s alienation from the Gattacan society in the beginning is conveyed in the scene where he is cleaning a glass wall in Gattaca. In this scene, Niccol has employed mise-en-scene as the dominant technique to convey Vincent’s alienation. The glass wall acts as a physical and metaphorical barrier that separates the underclass, which Vincent belongs to, from the Gattacans. This separation is emphasised by the contrast between Vincent, who is standing still, in the foreground, to the Gattacans walking uniformly past, blurred in the middleground. This scene also conveys Vincent’s belonging to his dream of going to outer space. The scene is filmed with a mid-shot, allowing for us to see the semiotics of Vincent’s face, as well as the mise-en-scene. Vincent is looking upwards at where the Gattacans are heading up an escalator with an expression of longing, thus expressing his strong connection with his dream.
Towards the middle of the film, Vincent questions his identity (belonging to self) and begins to doubt his belonging to his dream.
He says ‘They think i killed the mission director’ when in fact the Gattacans do not suspect him, as Jerome, but his old identity as Vincent. This quote reveals that he still thinks of himself as Vincent the degenerate, instead of the identity of Jerome, the Gattacan, which he should have already adopted. In this scene, Vincent also begins to question his belonging to his dream, almost giving up on the mission altogether.
In a scene at the end of the film, swimming back to shore on his back after beating Anton in ‘Chicken’, there is a shot of the clouds clearing, allowing the stars behind them to come into view. The clearing of the clouds is symbolic of his path finally being cleared of obstacles, which include external complications as well as his own doubts of himself reaching his goal. The semiotics of his face, calm and happy show his belonging to his dream renewed.
At the end, Vincent is finally accepted into the Gattacan society. The doctor, who plays an essential role in the functioning of Gattaca, is revealed to have known that Vincent was a degenerate all along, and allows him into the flight. This act symbolises Vincent’s acceptance into the Gattacan
society.
Belonging is something that all people strive to achieve. Through one’s search for belonging, an individual can achieve a sense of belonging, or unintentionally feel alienated over time. The two texts, Romulus, My Father by Raimond Gaita, and Gattaca by Andrew Niccol, through the creators’ use of various language and filmic techniques, demonstrate how belonging can change over time.