Freedom Writers Belonging Analysis

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“Man’s need to belong can trigger challenges that lead to both positive and negative outcomes.” Discuss the truth of this statement with close reference to at least two of the Skrzynecki poems and other related material of your choice. The need to belong is a fundamental human necessity; we all thrive on the comfort of belonging or feeling accepted in one place or another. Little of us find security in feelings of abandonment or alienation, and when faced with such negative feelings we are overcome with despair. Most of us however, thrive on the feelings of acceptance and belonging, leading to a greater sense of one’s self. One can therefore deduce that we are driven by an intrinsic motivation for the need to belong and through our desire…show more content…
A voluntary integration program is implemented in Woodrow Wilson High School in an attempt to integrate students of mixed cultural backgrounds. Despite the program’s positive intentions in helping achieve cultural assimilation, it is evident in this scene that it does the exact opposite. By placing the students in an environment where belonging is imposed they begin to form cliques that they feel comfortable within; these cliques are strictly made up of members of the same background and race. Despite giving them a sense of belonging amongst each other, it ultimately segregates them from the rest of their classmates and the wider community, therefore having a negative outcome of challenges faced when trying to belong. The segregation and cultural divisions are noticeable in the costuming of each race. African-American males wear larger, more loosely fitted clothes of t-shirts or jackets with hoods while the white American wears more conservative style, tighter fitting clothing. The Spanish students all wear shirts and have longer hair than the other male students, while the Spanish girls wear large hoops ear rings and appear t to have a tension with the Asian group who wear tighter, lighter coloured clothing. The variety in costuming helps distinguish between the groups and also highlights the tension between them as each exchange is noticeable by their different…show more content…
I will never be French.” The word choice of highly powerful, negative words such as ‘never, couldn’t, didn’t and wasn’t’ evoke a strong sense of pessimism in Sarah’s attitude towards fully integrating into the French culture. The fact that Sarah boldly states how she doesn’t want to belong to the French culture reveals strongly her attitude acting as a barrier of belonging. In contrast however, attitudes can lead to a sense of belonging. After many social encounters that caused Sarah much discomfort through embarrassment or humiliation, she finally realised that no matter how hard she tried to fit in and be accepted the reactions of critical Parisians would ne forever evident; she had to accept it. “These sort of reactions used to make me feel embarrassed, alienated. Now I don’t care.” The use of the short sentence ‘Now I don’t care’ is impacting and powerful, setting straight how her attitude has now come to accept the reactions of the ‘perfect’ Parisians and not phase her. By not caring she has strengthened in character, confidence and accepted who she is; a strong willed Australian girl who will never conform to the formalities of the French- she simply didn’t want to. She has found a sense of identity and her previous feelings of embarrassment and humiliation are abandoned. The challenge she has
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