Romulus The Girl Belonging Analysis

We all have the desire to belong. To belong to something, anything. Even though we ourselves can’t realise it at first. Belonging is a basic human instinct and need. Greek philosopher Aristotle refers to this basic drive, suggesting “the impulse to form partnership of this kind is present in all men by nature”. Given that we are nurtured from birth, this interpretation is then all the more clear.
The word ‘belong’ can be defined in several different ways. Oxford dictionary makes mention of things like ‘being connected with, or being related to, or being a member of a specified environment’. In other words not being out of place. Thus it is safe to make the interpretation that belonging is concerned with obtaining a set of shared beliefs or
It is particularly important in the family context as it is an essential factor in a person’s growth and development, it colours who and what we are and how we fit into the world around us. It is through Gaita’s relationship with his father Romulus that he comes to understand who and what he is. Being an immigrant, Romulus gains recognition by proving his “worth,” finding a sense of belonging through work. Something that was common and familiar to him his whole life, regardless of location. Gaita uses personification to reinforce the bond that exists between Romulus and his work as “his materials seemed to be in friendship with him” therefore highlighting the significance of such connection and belonging to the idea of work. As a role model, Gaita’s father shaped him into a well balanced and thoughtful man in that he could recognise “what a good workman is, what an honest man is and know what friendship is” and thus discover his place and connections in the world. The bond between Gaita and his father ensures that both of them can establish a sense of belonging, and this is also highlighted through Gaita’s request for his father to go faster when riding together on his motorbike, symbolic of his trust. Both truly belong to each other through the unconditional bond of love between parent and child. The utilisation of repetition of the word “what” emphasises this further. The razor
They are treated as social misfits, perceived as threats to social stability. They are demonised as monsters rather than nurtured as common humans and thus they can never feel as if they belong. The Yellow Wallpaper highlights this concept of not being allowed to belong as Gilman unravels the issues within her incipient insanity of which had stemmed from the lack of nurture presented to her. In 1887, Gilman was recommended a “rest cure” by her specialist in the hope of curing her nervous breakdowns. This treatment consisted of lying in bed all day and engaging in intellectual activity for only two hours a day. Her husband confines her in the upstairs bedroom in an attempt to treat her illness as well. It is here where she becomes obsessed with the strips of yellow wallpaper, and she begins to visualise a “broken neck and two bulbous eyes staring at her upside down”. Gilman uses personification to portray her mental instability where the “paper looked as if it knew what a vicious influence it had”. Gilman continues to unpack the difficulties of not being able to belong as the wallpaper is metaphorically relating to the specific injustices of that era such as men’s excessive power over women. Gilman symbolises herself as “a woman stooping down and creeping about behind the pattern,” she highlights that her husband and specialist had excluded her from