Belonging as You Like It Essay Example

Understanding, in the form of relationships with others, allows individuals to establish a sense of belonging within their communities. However, in order to form these bonds, an individual’s understanding of their own individuality will become obscured as they are moulded to fit societal expectations, rejecting their true identities and preventing belonging within themselves. This paradoxical nature of belonging presents a conundrum to the individuals in Anthony Minghella’s film, The Talented Mr Ripley (TTMR) and the Shakespearean play As You Like It (AYLI), as their intrinsic desire for belonging shape their understanding of their identities and relationships with others.
Our relationships with others allow individuals to feel a sense of belonging within their communities. In AYLI, Orlando lacks meaningful relationships within his community and this lack of understanding and sense of belonging forces him from the Court to the Forest of Arden where he begins to search for a more accepting community. The biblical allusion to the “prodigal son” represents the rift between the two brothers, demonstrating how a lack of relationships creates a sense of alienation within a community. Orlando’s alienation from his family and society places him in a depression, demonstrating the innate need for belonging. This need for belonging is demonstrated in the negative diction within his metaphorical description of himself where he “fills up a place, which may be better supplied when [he has] made it empty.” However, his relationship with Adam and their understanding of each other allows him to still feel a sense of belonging even when they are ostracised from the community. The beneficial relationship between Orlando and Adam is described with the animal imagery of “like a doe, I go to find my fawn.” This is juxtaposed with the negative animal imagery used where Orlando describes his relationship with his brother Orlando as “the stalling of an ox.” The community’s lack of