English Belonging Essay Brides of Christ and Emily Dickinson

Belonging is a state in which an individual is able to feel accepted and understood by themselves and the world around them. An individual’s sense of belonging greatly determines the nature of their identity, both in relation to their perception of themselves and the world at large. The state of an individual’s relationships is heavily impacted by their sense of belonging and acceptance within a community, as they continue to conform to or challenge the existing social norms within it. Both conforming to and challenging the societal structures can have serious psychological consequences. Feelings of affinity often generate a sense of empowerment constituted by shared values and interests. However, where there is a schism between the values of the individual and those of the group to which they seek to belong, feelings of isolation, rejection and alienation can ensue. Moreover, individuals often respond to group hegemony by oscillating between conforming to and challenging the group’s conventions, thus oscillating between a state of unity and isolation. The poems “This is My Letter to the World” and “I Had Been Hungry All the Years” by Emily Dickinson illuminate Dickinson’s desire to at once challenge and enrich the literary world as she oscillates between the desire for unity and autonomy. Similarly, the TV series “Brides of Christ” by Ken Cameron explores the way in which an individual’s struggle to conform to a community while simultaneously challenging it in order to retain personal autonomy can lead to various consequences that may affect the state of an individual’s belonging.
“This is my Letter to the World” reflects the apparent sense of isolation and seclusion that Dickinson feels as she abstains from the strict boundaries set by the social and the literary worlds during her era, thus hindering her from attaining a sense of belonging. Dickinson’s metaphoric “letter” symbolizes her body of work that is incongruous with the established standards demanded by