Emily Dickinson’s poetry ‘This is my letter…’, ‘What myster pervade a well’, ‘I had been hungry all the years’, ‘I gave myself to him…’, Alejandro Innatritu’s film Babel (2006) and Franz Kafka’s novella Metamorphosis (1912) collectively explore ideas of belonging. (ADD ANSWER TO DIRECT QUESTION). They represent how belonging and exclusion from society contributes to shaping one’s sense of self and identity to determine their position in the larger world. The texts highlights how belonging to people and places within both social and cultural contexts, is dependent on the choices we make to feel accepted or remain an outsider, as voluntary social isolation affected deaf-mute protagonist Chieko psychologically and emotionally negatively however it became a catalyst for Dickinson’s creativity. The composers of both texts have represented the concept of belonging to challenge readers to consider if we feel we belong to the larger world today.

Dickinson’s poetry elucidates the tension between her estrangement from society and her inherent need to belong, which is instigated by her voluntary social isolation. This paradox gives insight into her spirituality and notions concerning the human condition, highlighted in ‘This is my letter…’ as the first line “This is my letter to the world” serves as a declaration establishing distance between the singular pronoun “my” and the vast expanse of “the world”. It ends as a plea “judge tenderly of me” reflecting the persona’s inability to maintain distance and inherent need to belong. Traditionally, her poetry is characterized by her opposition to cultural belonging reinforced via her compressed writing style which can express unpopular views of society exemplified in ‘I gave myself…’. “The solemn contract of a life” becomes an ironic extended metaphor for marriage in her society subverting its religious significance and reducing it to an economical transaction for the male “great purchaser” to gain “sweet debt of life”. Despite this, however, Dickinson’s social exclusion belied her desire to connect on a metaphysical level with others via her poetry and accompanying letters. However what she desired from social and cultural belonging was not a sense of acceptance but rather a searching mind like her own, to explore the mysteries “whose limit none have ever seen”. As this is unattainable, her choice of not belonging is conveyed in her poetry which displays dynamic shifting of spatial co-ordinates to establish or eradicate personal connections.

Similarly, Innaritu explores the emotional effects of the complexities between voluntary social isolation and the desire to belong to a different cultural context via the protagonist Chieko. Deaf-mute Chieko faces barriers of communication and stigmatizing. This is represented by the distance and fury towards her father serving as a collective expression of frustration to society, as she aggressively signs “you never pay attention to me!” to which her father responds “Why do you always want to fight?”, implying her sense of ostracism is self-imposed. Conversely, the protagonist’s desire to experience the norm within her social context is represented via the exchange of shy glances with teenage boys from afar. However, after the boys “look at us like we’re monsters”, Innaritu employs and absence of sound and extreme close up shot of Chieko’s emotionally distraught face followed by a sequence of the desolate streets of Japan. These scenes collectively serve to heighten her emotional suffering, by paralleling the streets to her loneliness and displaying the impact of her voluntary reclusiveness.

Kafka’s novella also endeavours to highlight the impact of voluntary social isolation on the human psyche. Gregor’s dehumanizing metamorphosis reinforced via the imagery of “vermin” becomes a metaphor for the feelings of alienation, which epitomise the human condition entering into modern times. Gregor exposes his paradoxical psychological state via his stream of consciousness as he “belongs” as an objectified “tool of the boss” to provide financial stability to his family but is excluded from personal attachment exemplified by his sister serving food “using a rag, not her bare hands” symbolic of their growing barrier. Kafka’s use of descriptive language and repetition of harsh ‘s’ sounds such as “hissing”, “slammed shut with a stick” reinforces the father’s harsh attitude and distance generated between Gregor and his family, subsequently leading to his introspection of himself demonstrating a psychological state that resonates with modern readers today.

Dickinson’s poetry also underpins her view of her position in the world primarily in terms of contrasting and shifting polarities. Her poetry reflects gender-based alienation and exclusiveness from language use which shaped her sense of self and identity. Gender-based alienation is characterized by the ambiguities of woman’s simultaneous participation in, and exclusion from patriarchal society reflected in “I gave myself to him” where the objectified female persona loses her identity even though “wealth might disappoint.” This exemplifies the obligation for women to take “mutual risk” in order to abide to social conventions characteristic of . Dickinson’s alternatively both pleading and antagonistic stance is articulated In ‘I had been hungry’ when the persona feels “hunger” and metaphorically “looked in windows for wealth” however the simile “as berry.. transplanted to the road” illustrates their displacement from the “ample bread”, a connotation for the larger world. Thus, the persona reflects Dickinson’s desire for social exclusivity and personal connection to nature. In ‘What mystery pervades’ the persona wonders how the personified “grass does not appear afraid” standing close to “what is awe to me” as Dickinson desired to sustain her connection with nature, but feared its enormity as “nature is a stranger yet”. Her position in the larger world exists between the polarities of the connected humanity reinforced by the metaphorical progression of fluidity such as “water, sea” and the establishment of distance between “a neighbour from another world”. Dickinson’s ambiguous position in the world between society and nature has influenced her sense of self and identity and conflicts the given statement as to whether Dickinson felt she remained as an outsider.

Similarly, Innaritu explores how the insecurity of exclusion brings about a strong desire to belong which can negatively empower their moral judgment hence changing sense of self and identity. It is Chieko’s disability which alienates her from society however she shows resilience against submission, characteristic of a stronger female within the modern generation. In contrast to Dickinson, Chieko’s sense of self is strengthened by her female sexuality shown via her provocative exposure of female parts which gain her acceptance from males. Moral empowerment is reinforced via Chieko who accepts drugs and alcohol in order to attain social belonging however Innarity reveals Chieko’s internal perspective, via the absence of sound when she enters a club and her unsynchronized movement to the body of people, symbolizing her alienation from society. Innaritu also promotes the idea that belonging is not just attained by social acceptance but can be discoeverd elsewhere such as family. This is articulated in the final scene where Chieko stands naked outside in the arms of her father, indicative of a mutual connection that became exposed to one another and to the world around them.