Simple Gift Text Analysis

There Are Many Obstacles On The Path to Belonging

Belonging is the need to be accepted, everyone desires to belong and not having these connection leads to a feeling of not belonging. Through the reading of Simple Gift by Steven Herrick, Looking for Alibrnadi by Melina Marchetta and Matilda by Roald Dahl we see what obstacles are apparent in each journey and search of belonging. After reading these texts we get a sense of what belonging is to be apart of something such as a community, culture and family. We also get an understanding of not belonging and the hardships and obstacles faced while trying to overcome these achieving happiness and bonds. These aspects of belonging and not belonging are explored within these texts, as they are all
based around the theme of belonging.

The main characters in The Simple Gift and Looking for Alibrandi and Matilda all feel that they do not belong at the beginning of the novel.
Billy feels distanced from his father, school, his town and the community. Josie feels different towards her family as she does not relate to her Italian heritage or fit in with her Australian friends either. The aspect of not belonging in Matilda is within her very own family. These all pushed them on to the path of belonging.

Simple Gift is a story about a boy Billy, in search of belonging to something more. Billy decides to leave home abandoning his old lifestyle behind due to his relation of not belonging at home, school or even the whole community. He encounters a number of people, Old Bill who is also homeless and Caitlin a girl who has everything in the world except still is missing something. Both relate to Billy as they also to do not belong either in society or school and they create their own sense of belonging with Billy. Billy later realizes his new home was the town of Benderat and his new family were Old Bill and Caitlin.
The statement "There are many obstacles on the path to belonging" in relation to Simple Gift can be seen throughout Billy’s journey as the disconnection from his father and community have led him into a fight for survival everyday. Each poem in all chapters throughout the text is in themselves a story and depicts the obstacles Billy faces, which were no problems in
past.

Looking for Alibrandi is a novel written by Melina Marchetta is about growing up. The main character, Josie is in her last year of school and has deal with troubled family relations, narrowed mind people like Ivy Loyld, the overcoming of culture diversity and the death of a friend.

The statement “There are many obstacles on the path to belonging” in relation to Looking for Alibrandi can be seen through the resentment among the Italian community, the cultural difference between her friends and school as she is not either Italian or Australian “Nonna says we’re lucky to be included.
Because we’re cursed and we don’t really belong ” and the death of John Barton. All these obstacles are dealt with friends and family, by the end she is proud to say “I’m Australian with Italian blood flowing rapidly through my veins”

Matilda by Roald Dahl is a story about a young girl who is very intellectual unlike her family who see her as a burden. She has to cope with a problematic life at home and at school with the headmistress Miss Trunchbull terrorizing the entire school. Along her journey she discovers an extraordinary power within herself that she uses to her advantage. A strong bond greater than that with her family is created between one of the teachers, Miss Honey and
Matilda.

Matilda had to deal with an unloving family who cannot wait till the day there rid of their “ignorant little twit” and when she would leave them behind to attend school she would have to survive with the horrifying headmistress, miss Trunchabull who would frighten the school students. Then at the end of the day would return to her unloving family. Her brilliant intellectual mind was held back as no body believes she is a gifted child. She dealt with these obstacles by forming a strong bond with her teacher Miss Honey, who is more loving and understanding than Matilda’s own family. She develops a extraordinary physic power and uses it to frighten Miss Trunchabull into leaving. Soon later her family decides to leave for Spain without any consideration of Matilda’s opinion and leaving Matilda to the loving care of Mrs. Honey.

This statement is true to an extent as these texts show how much negativity is gone through, but this makes it all the more meaningful when they truly belong. With saying that, everybody belongs but without the realization. All characters are different but similar as they are all yearning for belonging. All three texts represent belonging and not belonging and they are similar to each other as they all explore aspects of not belonging and the overcoming of obstacles to become apart of something.