Sense of Belonging in Romulus My Father and The Catcher in the Rye
Belonging Speech
I want you to do something for me, I want you to think of your parents, now in the same thought put yourself in the picture. Now think, what have you inherited from your parents, is it just their physical appearance or is it also their way of thinking. What if I were to tell you, that it is something much more, that each and every one of us, has inherited our parent’s sense of belonging or not belonging, and then developed it. Forces both external and internal shape our identity. The people that form our families, the friends that surround us and the positions we occupy in society, are all links that together form our belonging in this world. Belonging is important in Romulus My Father by Raimond Giata and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger as they both show that fitting into a group is integral to human existence and brings more meaning to one’s life.
One way the need for belonging is portrayed in Romulus, My Father is through the theme of isolation. The Gaitas each faced their own fears of being unable to belong, but none so as much as Christina who is shown to die of the loneliness of being unable to fit in. “He found her just staring into the fire” describes Raimond, illustrating how desperate his mother had been. As a result she is characterized as ‘appearing to be cheerful and vivacious’ but in truth is ‘deeply depressed.’ Christina is an allusion of the displaced socialite hungry for a sense of fulfilment and security, a superficial belonging. The fact that she is unable to attain this sense of belonging, no matter how superficial, she would prefer to ‘fall asleep and die” rather than feel alone. It was through her decisions to not stay loyal to her husband and not care for Raimond that her connection to them began to fade away. She feels geographically and culturally displaced, as a result she never settles into Frogmore. This demonstrates the need for belonging to live a fulfilling life. As she drifts from their family connection the
I want you to do something for me, I want you to think of your parents, now in the same thought put yourself in the picture. Now think, what have you inherited from your parents, is it just their physical appearance or is it also their way of thinking. What if I were to tell you, that it is something much more, that each and every one of us, has inherited our parent’s sense of belonging or not belonging, and then developed it. Forces both external and internal shape our identity. The people that form our families, the friends that surround us and the positions we occupy in society, are all links that together form our belonging in this world. Belonging is important in Romulus My Father by Raimond Giata and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger as they both show that fitting into a group is integral to human existence and brings more meaning to one’s life.
One way the need for belonging is portrayed in Romulus, My Father is through the theme of isolation. The Gaitas each faced their own fears of being unable to belong, but none so as much as Christina who is shown to die of the loneliness of being unable to fit in. “He found her just staring into the fire” describes Raimond, illustrating how desperate his mother had been. As a result she is characterized as ‘appearing to be cheerful and vivacious’ but in truth is ‘deeply depressed.’ Christina is an allusion of the displaced socialite hungry for a sense of fulfilment and security, a superficial belonging. The fact that she is unable to attain this sense of belonging, no matter how superficial, she would prefer to ‘fall asleep and die” rather than feel alone. It was through her decisions to not stay loyal to her husband and not care for Raimond that her connection to them began to fade away. She feels geographically and culturally displaced, as a result she never settles into Frogmore. This demonstrates the need for belonging to live a fulfilling life. As she drifts from their family connection the