Emily Dickinson Belonging

648 Words3 Pages
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. Extension of this isolation further enhances her estrangement from the world, evident when she refers to the “Hands I cannot see.” Regardless of this Dilemma, Dickinson introduces her problem through the positive connotations of “Sweet Countrymen,” highlighting her estrangement and inability to conform to society’s needs. In spite of her rejection, enforcement of her innate need to belong allows Dickinson to seek solace in nature if not with society. Confusion may act as a mechanism leading to an individual’s realisation that they do no belong. Through exploration of Dickinson’s interactions with the world, her perceptions of nature change in realisation of how vast and mysterious the world – especially nature – is in her poem “what mystery pervades a well.” Unlike this is my Letter to the World,” Dickinson realises that her connection to nature may be as superficial
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