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The Simple Gift

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Submitted By FionaAlek
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Understanding nourishes belonging… a lack of understanding prevents it.
Demonstrate how your prescribed text and ONE other related text of your own choosing represent this interpretation of belonging.
Belonging is primarily about acceptance and developing a connection and identity. Belonging implies an understanding of the needs of the individual and the group and negotiating a way towards acceptance of those needs. Conversely, exclusion emerges when the individual and the group fail to understand each other. Steven Herrick’s “The Simple Gift” is the story of three protagonists who develop friendships and ultimately change their perceptions of self. Comparatively, John Duigan’s “The Year My Voice Broke” explores how the relationships of two people help each other reform their identity.
Belonging is about acceptance and developing a connection and identity. In Herrick’s “The Simple Gift”, Old Bill finds his acceptance when he develops a connection with Billy and Caitlin. The first person narration in ‘for the first few hours/I hadn’t thought of anything/but how pleasant it was/to sit with these people/and to talk to them’ demonstrates to the reader the depth and effortlessness of their friendship. This sense of belonging reforms Old Bill’s identity because it gives him confidence to come out of his shell. Herrick juxtaposes Old Bill’s perception of self as an “old drunk” and his new identity as a member of the community. The visual imagery in “his grey bread was stained with smoke, his hair long and swept back” allows the reader to picture an old man, dirty and broken down. This contrasts with the colloquial language in ‘These people nod and say hello, as though I’m one of them/ not an old drunk’, which shows that he is no longer ostracized from the community. Herrick shows that belonging is a process whereby individuals develop a connection and define

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