Life of Pi Alissa navarro Period 3 10.16.14 Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a potent, even enriching” experience. Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Due to the complex and abstract nature of the concept of belonging, a true sense of belonging can be found in different circumstances for different people. As each individual has their own desires, needs and values, they find their place in the world and a genuine sense of belonging in various avenues. Many different individuals find the strongest sense of belonging through relationships, due to the fact that by nature these connections fulfil the human need for social interaction and enrich the lives of the person involved. Conversely, relationships which do not work and a connection is not felt can result in a negative outcome for individual, which can ultimately lead to a sense of not belonging and result in isolation and disaffection. Instead, these individuals may attain the same sense of belonging outside of relationships, through their connections to other things such as place and culture, or within themselves.
Through interactions with the surrounding world and those in it, and individuals perceptions of belonging evolve in favour of their personal happiness. The notion of belonging or not belonging to create this sense of personal happiness is complex, where an individual’s innate need to belong, their confusion and their curiosity influence their decision to isolate or include themselves. This is made in Emily Dickinson’s anthology The selected Poems of Emily Dickinson, and is apparent in her poems “This is my Letter to the World,” “What mystery pervades a Well,” and “I had been hungry all these years” An individual’s innate need to belong may force them to strive for acknowledgement. Dickinson’s initial dilemma with belonging is portrayed in her poem “This is my letter to the world,” where she understands her rejection, yet yearns to belong to society. Demonstration of Dickinson’s fruitless attempts to belong is evident in her Highly personal “Letter to the World” that she emphasises “never wrote” back.
Each individual creates and moves within his or her own reality. Although this reality can be shaped by perceptions and conclusions drawn from experiences, circumstances and knowledge or ignorance, the roles and the expectations for the performance of these roles may shape an individual’s reality or alter the same. The behavior that is associated with an individual’s role, whether ascribed or attained, can be further complicated by that person’s status in any given societal setting. Expectations for these roles are sometimes complicated by the number of roles attached to a person of any status. For some, conflict arises when the demands or expectations of the different roles begin to compete for a priority position of time, energy and attention.
BELONGING The concept of Belonging is a multi-layered concept, particularly in the novel "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri, the news article "Burqas and Fries" by Erika Hayasaki and the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. A person's sense of belonging is determined by the relationships they share with themselves and other people. Whether it's family, friends or society in general, humans have a desire to belong and be an important part of something greater than themselves. The ideology that one must belong to oneself before they can belong anywhere else, justifies this complexity of someone's Identity and the Relationships they share. These two concepts both encapsulate the notion of Belonging being a multi-layered concept and are fostered into each of the composer's texts coherently.
The idea of belonging is different for everyone. Belonging depends on who you are and who you are with. Another important aspect of belonging is the place you are in, or the place you are from. The strength of connection that you feel that is tying you to that particular place can influence how you end up. The stronger the tie, the more likely you are to call yourself someone who belongs to that place.
It is essential to inform people of changes and why these changes are happening as when you are aware of why something is being altered you are much more likely to accept it. * Conflicting Roles; at times we may have to do tasks that are not normally in our job descriptions and this can often be seen as ‘treading on someone’s toes’ causing conflict and power struggles. To prevent this sort of conflict it needs to be explained to each individual why tasks have been given to other people to complete. Doing this
Alongside the sense of personal identity humans also have a very evident urge to belong to a group that share similar aspects on oneself and life. These out looks can be either positive or negative. People who have a strong sense of belonging usually have a strong sense of personal identity giving them comfort which allows them to express themselves. However sometimes individuals feel out casted and isolated from others due to their upbringing and lifestyle and find it difficult to experience a sense of personal identity and therefore also belonging. Belonging and being accepted into a group can have both negative and positive effects on an individual’s sense of personal identity.
Our identity is made up of many sources. Friends, family, peers and our own characteristics are factors of our character that make up a sense of our identity. Stereotyping is one of the biggest conflicts that misrepresent who we really are. We are misunderstood sometimes because of this issue as people who don't know who we really are, view us as something that we are not because of what they have heard, therefore affecting our identity. The relationships we have with others are the biggest factors that make up our identity and change who we are and how others view us.Our identity can be affected by those that surround us.
In other words, if these valued material possessions are removed from consumers, their sense of identity will be ultimately lost. There are situations where particular focus groups may rely on valued material possessions to overcome at times where a sense of stability is required. Examples of these focus groups include immigrants and prisoners. However, there are also further factors that influence consumers in determining their own valued material possessions such as psychological factor. Through exploration with: symbolism of valued materials, factors to why consumers surround themselves with these materials, groups’ influence and psychological factor, valued material possession’s linkage with stability and continuity can be recognized.