The Importance of Belonging

1109 Words5 Pages
“The importance of belonging is influenced by our understanding out ourselves and our world” The importance of belonging is greatly influenced by our understanding of ourselves and of our world. If a person has a deep understating of themselves and of their world they can gain a deeper sense of love and acceptance and place a lesser importance on belonging. Likewise, when a person has a low understanding of their world and themselves, the importance of belonging become stronger and can lead to extreme conformity, marginalisation and rejection or loss of beliefs. A greater understanding of ones beliefs and values can lead to defiance against common societal values and decrease the importance of belonging to a society. Through the study of the texts The Crucible and What’s eating Gilbert Grape? we can see how an understanding or a lack of understanding of ourselves and our world can influence the importance placed on belonging. A deep understanding of our world and the people surrounding use can to acceptance and understanding and lessen the importance to conform and follow society in order to belong. In the film What’s eating Gilbert Grape? directed by Lassa Hallstromthere the audience is presented with a close community who have a strong sense of acceptance and connection to one another. The audience is shown visuals of a deserted small American town in long shots, combined with wistful music, to give a sense of a quiet close knit town. This close knit atmosphere is also portrayed by the extremely monotonous voice over describing Gilbert’s life. Despite Arnie’s differences and non-conformity to society due to his disability he is happy and feels accepted shown by close-ups of his facial expression and body language. Arnie is continually going against the common societal values and making trouble such as climbing the water tower. But despite this, he is

More about The Importance of Belonging

Open Document