Mean Girls.

Belonging, the feeling of being accepted, being rightly placed in a specific position, happiness, existence, feeling loved, feeling like you fit in, like you belong,without a sense of belonging our wellbeing can be seriously affected In the book The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick, the main theme is belonging as it follows a boy's journey to find a place where he feels he belongs. Inthe movie mean girls , the main themes are belonging and changeas it shows the development of Cady Herron as she goes from ‘home schooled jungle freak’ to ‘cold hard shiny plastic’ to ‘actual human being’

and how she belongs to the groups of friends she makes.

The Book ‘The simple gift’ Is about a boy Billy Luckettwho wants to find somewhere where he feels like he belongsafter years of abuse from his father he decides that its finally time to leave and runs away from homethe sentence “gave me one hard back hander across the face, so hard I fell down… and slammed the door on my sporting childhood” gives evidence of how Billy felt whilst living with his father and is a metaphor used in the story. Later Billy makes his way to Westfield creek, in the book it says“and the birds hundreds of them silverware, currawongs & kookaburras laughing at us kids swinging off the rope dropping into the bracing flow ” is showing a symbolism of happiness,which is how Billy feels whilst at Westfield Creek, his “favourite classroom” where he reads books which show a symbolism of knowledge.

After a short while of being homeless Billy feels his first experience of belonging when Ernie, the man on the train offers him drink food & warmth he shows Billy he is compassion and makes Billy feel a sense of belonging.

“With the sun finally lifting the fog”the weather shows a symbolism of a fresh start that is yet to come and also a personification. “I climb down and walk slowly into Benderat” Billy was unsure of what this town was going to hold for him. He first views the town as old and