Belonging Oral Essay

502 Words3 Pages
ORAL Is it the ambitious nature, hunger to grow, or desire to succeed that evidently leads to the human nature’s craving sense of belonging together? Belonging together brings contentment through the growth of an interdependent relationship. Yet the desire to belong together and preserve integrity becomes a conflicting obstacle for individuals. Heightening this concept Libby Hathorn’s short story “Up Taree Way” questions whether the need to belong together has the power to override the individual’s moral judgement. Furthermore Hathorn embellishes her short story by morally questioning the concept of ‘Belonging Together’, thus qualifying her short story as adequate in a collection of texts classified as “Belonging Together”. Hathorn’s short story metaphorically informs how the desire to belong together yet our need for integrity may lead to inner chaos, particularly if one’s conscience doesn’t conform to the groups’ morality. The protagonist Milly, faces internal conflict as evident through the repetition of the metaphor “I am the land,” thereby portraying her strong ties to her aboriginal culture despite living in the western society. Hathorn uses fire as a symbol of our burning desire to belong together whilst also reflecting the pain endured from denying our true identity in order to do so. Hathorn’s use of visual imagery and repetition of ‘burning’ further emphasises the negative impacts of Milly’s denial of true identity as symbolised as her “burning dreadful secret...a burning pain inside...” and often recalled as “the old familiar burning sensation”. Milly’s self growth is conveyed through her constant rhetorical question of “who am I?” showing her initial confusion juxtaposing her final self-realisation, “I am Milly Symons from up Taree ways”. Thus, Hathorn’s realistic portrayal of a character who attains a sense of belonging to a community through
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