The Simple Gift By Stephen Herrick: A Sense Of Belonging

Belonging: A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people and the world. As we develop the understanding and acceptance, this allows us to feel belonging. The texts that I have studied have all explored how both understanding and the lack of understanding can impact on ones sense of belonging. "The Simple Gift", a narrative poem by Stephen Herrick's demonstrates elements of belonging, understanding and acceptance through the pain and suffering of rejection and homelessness faced by the characters Billy, Caitlin and Old Bill. Additionally in the film “Freedom Writers” Directed by Richard LaGravenese the concepts of belonging and understanding are brought out through Ms. Gruwell's attempt to bring a sense of community, solidarity and belonging to her students, whom society deems as outsiders. In the book ‘the simple gift’ finding a sense of belonging has been a struggle for Billy, a young boy had left home as his father was abusive and didn’t support Billy, we witness this throughout a flashback Billy has of when he was a child. When he was ten years old he was playing soccer in the back yard practicing for the game when he accidentally broke a window. Billy’s
father ‘gave him one hard backhander across the face, so hard he fell down…’ A metaphor is used in ‘slammed the door on his sporting childhood’ to show the alienation and isolation caused by an abusive father towards Billy. This shows us that Billy didn’t belong in a family like his, and in turn led to him leaving home at the age of 16. As the novel progresses and Billy’s Struggle for belonging continues. As he is approaching the town he is confronted with “more cars and school buses, yellow, full of kids shouting insults him, the bum.’ He was being labeled a “bum” which tells us that he was an outcast. When Billy finds himself in the town of Bendarat he feels as if he has found a physical sense of belonging when he says with a sense of irony ‘Bendarat is the perfect town. A friendly librarian, a warm McDonald’s, luxury train accommodation.’ When Billy first meets Old Bill he offers him a carton of cigarettes in hope of making a connection with him. Billy called it “sharing the hobo hour”. Billy soon felt at home in “Carriage 1864.” ‘It was like a little cave, a warm, safe little cave… Billy’s cave.’ This shows a physical sense of belonging for Billy. Throughout the novel Billy’s relationship with Caitlin directs him towards a sense of belonging.
When he first met Caitlin he felt ashamed to bring her to his Carriage saying ‘I wouldn’t want to meet her here not when she’s with her friends and in uniform and me dressed in the same clothes as always.’ This shows that Billy feels excluded. Later on in their relationship Billy says ‘This morning I woke and I knew where I was going for the next few months — to the Library to McDonalds to the river and home here to the Hilton — a circuit of plans with Caitlin at the centre, and me a badly-dressed satellite spinning crazily in her orbit.’ This tells us that his relationship with Caitlin has consolidated him. His life has direction, routine and meaning. He has reached a sense of
belonging. Similarly In the film “Freedom Writers” The themes of marginalization are evident from the initial developments of the plot. The text begins by showing the dangers and benefits of belonging to a gang. These gangs are based on racial groups and thus you can be clearly identified as belonging merely by the colour of your skin. The fact that Ms. Gruwell's students are referred to as the "unteachables" helps to bring to light that these individuals are the results of social and institutional marginalization. The students in the text discover that belonging to a wider group, that of their class and teacher, has exposed them to greater understandings of what it is to belong to the world. Through Ms. Gruwell's teaching, her students come to accept that they can create a place where all of them belong, even if society does not acknowledge this. Accordingly Belonging is impacted by ones understanding of themselves, others and the world they live in. These changes in understanding and their effects on the concept of belonging exist in both the novel ‘The Simple Gift’ and the film ‘Freedom Writers.” Both the novel and film explore how overtime and through experience people learn to understand and accept each other and the world, which can assist in them finding a sense of belonging.