Similarities Between Romulus My Father And To Kill A Mockingbird

“As Individual’s interaction with others and the world them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging”

“As human beings, a feeling of belonging is vital to the well being and self esteem of the individual, but a lack of connection, or rejection can cause instability and other negative repercussions”. As stated by Aldo Leopold, an individual’s sense of belonging is either enhanced or restrained from the connections made with entities such as people, places and communities. The feeling of connection with these entities are formed through one self's own perception and of others, as well as by the world around them through historical, social and cultural context, and their growth to individuality. In both texts, “Romulus My Father” by
Raimond Gaita, and “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, it is clearly evident of the contrasting effects both inside and outside influences have when depicting one’s self identity, and this is clearly seen through the themes of individuality and racial prejudice/discrimination. Raimond Gaita’s memoir; “Romulus My Father”, conveys the personal past recollections of Raimond and his family in new country Australia, and explores how relationships, places and historical context can both have positive and negative effects on each character’s growth and belonging. Similarly, Harper Lee’s film; “To Kill A Mockingbird” portrays a both father and lawyer, Atticus Finch, defending a black man against an undeserved rape charge in an area of racial discriminatory, as well as his kids against prejudice, and towards individuality. Correspondingly, both texts explore the concepts of a sense of belonging being both enriched and limited by relationships and place, however, through contrasting events, characters, settings and language/film techniques, portray differing perceptions of the same concept. Thus, Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Raimond Gaita’s “Romulus My Father”, through contrasting textual features, portray similar concepts of how an individual’s sense of belonging can be both positively and negatively influenced with other relationships, and the world around them.

An individual’s connection with the world around them can ultimately shape a positive step towards a sense of belonging. Similarly, in both texts, “Romulus My Father” and “To Kill A Mockingbird”, both authors explore the notions of one’s experiences through place towards individuality. Throughout Raimond Gaita’s memoir, the struggle of sharing traditional family perspectives as well as your own is distinctly conveyed, as whilst Romulus is still very attached to the Romanian ways of life, Raimond is ready to become an individual. This is clearly portrayed through an anecdote when Raimond becomes conscious of his lack of belonging to the farm boys, being “the only boy in the area who didn’t kill rabbits” and with this, decided to take his father’s rifle and to shoot the rabbits in order to have a sort of acceptance in his community (p.60-62). However, when Raimond reaches the hill, “for the first time in his life, he was really alive to beauty, receiving a kind of shock from it”. Usually sharing his father’s perspectives on the traditional Romanian landscape, it is seen through this anecdote, Raimond’s keenness to have his own interpretation of the land, and not a reflection of his father’s. “But now, for me, the key to the beauty of the native trees lay in the light which so sharply delineated them against a dark blue sky”. Through Gaita’s use of evocative description, the audience is visually drawn into Raimond’s appreciation of the landscape, as he becomes astonished and overwhelmed by the outside environment. Further enhancing his changing perspectives of the world around him, Gaita expresses, “It was as though God had taken me to the back of his workshop and shown me something really special”. Through the use of a metaphor, the readers are not only let into the landscape’s beauty to Raimond’s sight, but as well as his insight on a spiritual dimension, having a transcendental impact on his individuality. Thus, this anecdote is a prime example of how an individual’s connection with place can transform their sense of belonging, as Raimond moves away from his father’s traditional perspective of the world, and towards individuality.

Similarly, in Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the impact place has on an individual’s sense of belonging is clearly portrayed through the protagonist Scout, and her growth to individuality.
At the beginning of the film, equivalent to Raimond; Scout is an innocent, good hearted child who has no experience with the evils of the world. However, as the film progresses, Scout has her first contact with evil in the form of racial prejudice, and the basic development of her character is governed by the question of whether she will emerge from that contact or be torn. This is clearly displayed in one of the most compelling sequences in the film, when a self-appointed lynch mob gathers to take justice into their own hands, confronting Atticus who’s safe guarding Tom Robinson’s cell. The children are seen to be frightened, hiding and watching from the darkness and cover of the bushes, although suddenly Scout’s individual characteristics are proven, as she pushes her way through the crowd, oblivious to the danger, to glimpse her stern-faced father. Through the use of an establishing shot, the context of the entire scene is able to be seen by the audience, accompanied by her higher position than the Lynch mob, highlights her importance. Even though Atticus orders the children to go home, they refuse, and thus lighting plays a major role in the effect of significance of Scout, as it emphasizes her important part in this scene, as well as representing her light she arrays over the
community, reflecting her virtuous and innocence, as she brings a sense of sensitivity to the crowd. However, the most crucial technique used is her dialogue, accompanied and enhance by the silence, as she conducts an innocent, uninhibited exchange with Walter Cunningham, questioning “how’s your entailment getting along?”, and more importantly stating “I go to school with Walter”, demonstrating her relationship with his son, and making him uncomfortable and thus disarming the mob. Throughout the sequence, Scout is represented as having ingenuity and innocence, and this allows her to represent herself with impunity and individuality, as her choice of words break up the potential lynching. Similarly, with impunity, both characters Raimond and Scout prove to be taking steps towards individuality through place and relationships, as despite both their father’s values and orders, they’re keen to move away from just their father’s perspectives, and have their own. Thus, both texts “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, and “Romulus My Father” by Raimond Gaita, explore the concept of belonging similarly, with character’s growths to individuality, however contrastingly through varying techniques.

Contrastingly, an individual’s relation with the world around them, can essentially restrict their step towards a sense of belonging.
Correspondingly in both texts, “Romulus My Father” and “To Kill A Mockingbird”, both authors explore the notions of one’s experiences through place and historical context, towards a sense of alienation. Throughout Raimond Gaita’s memoir, the historical context of both Christine and Romulus are continuously reiterated, as they struggle to overcome adversity from one country’s racial discrimination, to another’s. This is distinctly portrayed when Gaita narrates through the dark appearances of his parents, conflicting with the historical context at that time, describing them as “victims of Nazi Racial Policy”. Previously, the historical background of both lives in Europe were exceptionally difficult, growing up in a war torn countries, and then the domination of the Nazi Racial Policy. This involved the preference of fair skin, hair and eyes, which juxtaposed with both Christine and Romulus‘ dark physical attributes. This is clearly seen as Gaita, through various figurative language, describes the “dark complexions” of both his mother and father. Through the continuous reiteration of adjectives such as “dark and black”, when illustrating both his parents, the concept of alienation in their own home place is clearly apparent, as their physical characteristics excludes the two from a sense of belonging to a place of safety. He states, “For if my
mother and father had been discovered together by the Gestapo they would almost certainly have been shot”. Thus, due to this policy, as well as Christine’s bad health, the couple moved to Australia where they were further alienated due to the harsh climate, language barriers and cultural differences. This is clearly shown when Gaita states of his father, “A little embarrassed by his complexion, he called himself a gipsy and later, in Australia, an Aborigine”. Through the use of juxtaposition between indigenous and non indigenous Australians; Romulus’ sense of alienation is compared to and symbolized through Aborigines inferior position in Australia at that time. Gaita’s choice of words further highlights the migrant experiences sense of separation, through the repetition of words such as “foreigner” and “New Australians”, and enforced the displacement in a very different country. Thus, Gaita’s various use of figurative language, combined with the historical context, combine to produce an effective memoir conveying the idea of alienation for Raimond and Christine.

Correspondingly, Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, is an ultimate representation of how relationships are affected by inside and outside influences such as historical context, and its effect on an individual’s sense of belonging. This is particularly shown through Tom Robinson; a crippled black man who was falsely accused of rape. A kind man who only ‘wrongfully’ felt sorry for Mayella and wanted to do the right thing, whilst living in a racially discriminative town of Maycomb, and lost his hope from getting any sort of justice from the white legal system.Through Tom Robinson’s trial for rape, Lee gives the audience a dramatized exploration of how race shaped life in the American South. This is clearly depicted in the most important, gripping and dramatic sequence - the court room scene. The scene begins with an establishing shot, illustrating the division between the whites and blacks, and portrays the displacement of the black people on the coloured balcony, being disconnected from the rest of the community. This is also accompanied by the visual representation of the black and white colour of the film, addressing the racial issues at that time. Additionally in his trial, Tom is misjudged and mistreated because he is black. One of the most prominent examples of this is through dialogue and choice of words, as Mr Glimmer, Tom’s prosecutor, calls him “boy”. Through his use of tone of voice, which one would use when talking to the lowest creature on earth, makes Tom look foolish and idiotic, reasoning due to the colour of skin. Further use of dialogue used in the sequence is proven to be extremely effective in portraying the discrimination and historical context of the effect civil rights movement, as Atticus states, “She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man”. Through the use of society’s perspectives, the racial prejudice has proven to match the discrimination similarly portrayed in Raimond Gaita’s memoir; of the appearances of Christine and Romulus. Additionally highlighting this idea, the use of silence in the court room enforces the importance of Atticus’ choice of words, assisting with majority of the low shots, represents him as a significant man, with integrity and virtues for morality and justice. No matter what evidence would’ve been presented at the trial, the racist jury would of never, under any circumstances, acquit a black man accused of raping a white woman, and in this sense, it is Maycomb that is on trial. As Atticus eventually and knowingly loses the court case, he successfully reveals the injustice of a stratified society that confines blacks to the “coloured balcony”, and instead, in the mind of the reader, it is the white community, wallowing in prejudice and hatred that loses. Thus, through both texts by Lee and Gaita, distinctly and similarly portray the injustices and discrimination social, cultural and historical context can have in limiting an individuals sense of belonging.
In conclusion, both texts “To Kill A Mockingbird” (TKAM) by Harper Lee, and “Romulus My Father” (RMF) by Raimond Gaita, distinctly demonstrate to be significant examples when exploring the notions of an individuals sense of belonging through others and the world around them. Similarly, both texts explore the idea of different characters, setting and contexts, experiencing notions of belonging, and this is clearly seen through place and relations, through the themes of: growing up with individuality and racial prejudice/discrimination. Although features and techniques contrast heavily through memoir elements versus film techniques, both texts convey homologous concepts of being accepted and being alienated. Both texts have proven the feeling of connection or displacement with these entities are formed through one self’s perception, as well as others, and by the world around them through historical, social and cultural context, and each character’s growth to individuality. Thus, TKAM and RMF have undoubtedly conveyed to the audience, similar concepts of belonging and alienation, through varying techniques, characters and contexts.