The Role Of Belonging In Literature

Belonging is neither a physical nor tangible construct; rather it is the psychological and metaphysical abstract which permeates the human ability to form relationships and discover notions of identity, acceptance and understanding. The notion of belonging however is one which is apparent through the consideration of the personal, cultural and historical context which shapes a sense of belonging to the individual, the community and the environment. As a social construct, belonging and its subsequent representations of relationships within literature including Raimond Gaitas ‘Romulus My Father’, John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ and Barack Obama’s Election Night speech conceptualise the notion and search for an identity and acceptance in creating