Belonging Notes Essay Example

QUOTES from Romulus, My Father – Raimond Gaita * ” three things fed my father’s anger: his knowledge that I was lying, his fear for my character and his dismay that he had lost something precious” - accumulative listing - piles emphasis on Romulus’ strong beliefs in honesty and morals which he fears Raimond might lack to form a good character. A sense of belonging is presented in the fact that father and son are attached by social values of honesty and reputable character. * “Raimond, it doesn’t matter about the razor. But you must not lie. That is worse than any damage you might do” – imperative language – Which places powerful accentuation on Romulus’ priorities for high values and morals. Romulus believes an impregnable binding of father and son can be made through enforcing similar sets of ethics and morals between them. * “there is no sickness worse than mental sickness” - repetition of sickness – mental illness affects most of the key characters in the novel and is symbolic of an imminent plague. Romulus’ volatile emotions affected by the betrayal of Lydia and Cristina’s mental instability, draws the Gaita family together including Raimond portraying a sense of unity. * “Character – or karacter as they pronounced it, with the emphasis on the second syllable – was the central moral concept for my father and Hora” – use of satire – Raimond satirises his father and Hora’s dialects highlighting their European origins of Yugoslavia. This employs an idea of connection between the pair and Raymond as they are first generation immigrants to the foreign land of Australia. * “My father was not merely skilled, he was a man of practical genius” – use of hyperbole – Highlights Romulus’ work as a blacksmith and his desire to be respected through his skilled trade in the community of Frogmore. As “Immigrants were tolerated, but seldom accorded the respect they deserved”, Romulus earns the sense of belonging through the respect of the community also