...many factors and experiences affect how this sensation of belonging can prosper within each individual. This concept of acceptance and understanding is represented in Raimond Gaita’s memoir, Romulus, My Father through the exploration of Australian migrant life. The concerns of cultural difference and empathy is mirrored in Hanif Kureishi’s short story, My Son the Fanatic, where Parvez undertakes a metaphysical journey to realise the importance of belonging and how this sense of belonging involves many factors and experiences. Through the character’s responses to the challenges posed upon them, acceptance and understanding is developed as a uniting force in bringing individuals together. An individuals’s acceptance towards his environment greatly influences their ability to form strong links with it. For example in Romulus, My Father, Raimond, having the advantage of being young when he migrated forms his experiences in Australia grows up acknowledging Australia as his home. This is shown when Gaita metaphorically describes the landscape outside the hospital to be “the back of [God’s] workshop”, where he recognises the significance of the land in his life and has come to accept the environment and hence develops a sense of home. The concept of acceptance is further maintained within My Son the Fanatic where Parvez, a Pakistani migrant in England has accepted the values of the new land. His realisation of how the practicing of Islam has “sparked many disputes” in England drives him...
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...An individual’s perceptions of belonging evolves in response to the passage of time and interaction with their world The continuation of time can morph an individual’s interaction in their world, changing their perceptions of their milieu that they associate themselves as a manner of response to life experiences. The dynamic nature of the primordial desire to belong is heavily explored by Raimond Gaita through the reflective memoir ‘Romulus My Father. Within it, Gaita seeks to discern the effects of establishing strong connections with the external environment over time in order to understand and ultimately belong to a new environment. From this, we are able to perceive how a personal sense of belonging can be attributed on experiences from those around us, and how their influence increase over the passage of time. The ability to gain an understanding and attachment with one’s changing environment creates an interminable bond with one’s adaptive identity. In Romulus My Father, Romulus was initially unable to accept his status as a “New Australian”, as he was initially unwilling to disassociate himself from his European lifestyle – “Romulus Gaita always considered himself a Romanian”. His description of the European foliage as “soft and generous” includes emotive language to resonate the resilient relationship between his origins. This lack of assimilation is corroborated through his detachment from the Australian landscape “His eyes looked directly at the foliage and turned...
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...: A person’s sense of belonging is shaped by their connections within their physical and social environments. This representation of belonging is seen in Gaita’s memoir Romulus, my Father and the short story “neighbours” by Tim Wilton. Romulus,my Father is Raimond Gaita’s memoir to his father Romulus; focusing on exploring his father’s moral identity and their joint experiences living in Central Victoria as European immigrants arriving in the 1950’s. The main connections of belonging explored in the two texts are connections to place, in terms of landscape and community; as well as connections within relationships. These connections serve to enrich an individual’s sense of belonging to their community, environment and within their personal identity. One’s connection to the landscape can contribute to their sense of belonging to their environment as well as their sense of harmony and affirmation within their identity. In Romulus, m Father; Raimond’s deep emotional connection to the stark landscape of Central Victoria evinces his sense of belonging to the environment as well as within his identity. This is apparent in his description of the landscape: ‘The tall yellow burnt grass…gave colour to my freedom and also to my understanding of suffering. ‘ The lyrical passion which imbues his description conveys his strong emotional connection to the landscape, as does the descriptive imagery of the landscape e.g. ‘tall’ and burnt’. The depth of this emotional connection established...
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...human needs for companionship and security. For those who have a place where they belong such as with a family, with friends, with the community; they feel safe and content. For those who don’t belong and cannot “fit” into their surroundings they are faced with problems of alienation and loneliness. These different aspects of belong are reflected in a variety of texts; “Romulus My Father” by Raimond Gaita explores a sense of familial belonging and how it shapes who we are, “The Comic” by Leunig explores the troubles of being accepted and “fitting” in. Finally, the feature article, “Compulsive Gamers ‘not addicts’” by Pady Maguire explores the need for gamers to belong to a community. In “Romulus My Father” the most profound sense of belonging exists with the narrator himself. The narrator delivers his observations in a reflective and thoughtful tone. The high modality of verb choice suggests a pleasant nostalgia about events in the book. Particularly his recollections of his father, notions such as, “I loved him too deeply… no quarrel could estrange us” displays the sense of belonging \ he feels with his father. This is evident even after Christina dies. He observed, “We came together as son and husband with the woman whose remains lay beneath us”. Raimond’s aspect of belonging is that of family and culture. Juxtaposed against Raimond’s belonging is the suffering of Christina in her displacement. For the mother her inability to belong is described by Raimond as, “a troubled city girl...
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...Back to School A country thrives when its citizens contribute and make an effort to make the most of what they are offered in life. President Barack Obama is very aware of this and has made it an important subject and goal in his presidential career to inspire youngsters in the right direction, both for their own sake and their country’s. Barack Obamas’ speech “Back to School” at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia was held in September 8, 2009. The age of the present audience varied to children from kindergarten and all the way up to twelfth grade. In addition to that, the speech was also broadcasted to students all over the country. The audience is obviously extremely great, and the speech will therefore have a tremendous impact on several individuals. The first thing Obama seems to focus on in his speech on the first day of the children’s school day are in fact the children themselves. He speaks directly to them, and initiates the whole thing by telling everyone that being nervous is perfectly normal. He has obviously tried it himself when he was their age. Very easily he finds a way to make everyone relate to him by telling stories from his own life. Barack Obama did not grow up under the best circumstances. He was raised by a single mother whom was very passionate about doing what was best for her son. She even sought to homeschool Obama, when he wasn’t at school. She wanted to make sure he would have the best possible future. This particular section of the speech...
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...in place just for people of color or minority and some that are set in place for all if the all fit in the category set forth in that particular law. To this day the law is not equal. Crucial Social and Political incidents When my parents moved our family from Newark, NJ to Piscataway, NJ in the early 70’s, my father wanted to find a place better than where we were coming from. He found a home in an area that the builder was told not to sell to blacks. The builder did not care, he cared that my father had the down payment and he was approved, so the builder let my father buy the home. There was a reason why blacks were not allowed in that area. It all started with the bomb threats, sugar in our car gas tank, screen door torn from off the front door and racial slurs written on the garage doors. That is just the tip of the iceberg. My father told us never to cross to the other side of the road. We could never figure out why, until one day we decided to ride our bikes to the school on the other side of the road. We were at the school no more than five minutes before three police cars pulled and with sirens hailing. They told us to drop the bikes and lay on the ground. He asked us where we stole the bikes from. We told them our father bought them for us. One of the officers then asked us, “Where are the receipts”. (Mind you we were 13, 9, and 8) We told them we did not buy them so we don’t have receipts. The officer said that he was going to arrest for stealing...
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...from My Father by Barack Obama he talks about his life experiences and how it formed him as a human being. The story also shows his interpretation of what a solid community should consist of, as well as how individuals should interact with each other within the community. Through out his life he was discovering who he was by new meeting people and trying new things. An individual’s identity is formed through life experiences and cannot be sustained because it is ever changing. A community is a group of people that are brought together by friends, family, neighbors, and people with common interests. Communities are important because it gives people a sense of belonging and being wanted. And in Dreams From My Father, those were the needs and values that Barack was searching for. Communities are sustained through shared values, trust, loyalty, and a sense of safety. In a community people have moral responsibilities to other people and the community as a whole. Communities have moral responsibilities to their individual members because they need to keep their community together. Sometimes you get put into situations where you want to look out for yourself rather than the big picture with the community. You have to be able to put others in front of you sometimes so that you can avoid these types of conflicts. My favorite excerpt from the text came when his father was insulted by a man who said that he would not “drink next to a nigger.” (Obama 25) Barrack’s father did...
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...In the Name of Identity: Who are you? What makes you, you? How are you recognized as a human being? What makes you different than every other person in the world? These questions contribute to your identity regardless of what you look like or where you come from. Every single person in the world is different whether it is visible to others or not. Although we are all different, we connect and form relationships through common ideas, values, and goals. In the novel Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, by Barack Obama, he recalls many different issues involving his identity as a whole in addition to the communities he lived in and principle values he was raised to believe. Throughout the story Obama creates a theme of struggle involving his own identity. He relates these issues towards his own community and explains how certain occurrences shaped his character values and personality. The word individual can be defined in various ways. It is a word that can apply to many different aspects of life as well as raising questions about who exactly we are as individuals and how we became the who we are today. Some factors that contribute to shaping our identities are social, educational, economic and historical. While Obama was growing up, identity was something he struggled with deeply. He was constantly moving, which forced him to experience different communities and ultimately aided in forming his identity. Looking back on it now, it seems beneficial, but at...
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...Abstract This paper gives the following: effective interviewing skills related to children and teens coping with child abuse and neglect and an in-depth discussion of a specific evidenced-based intervention theory to use with either children or teens that have experienced child abuse. The child abuse and neglect paper that I used for my assessment is the Sandra Horton case. The Horton family has many emotional, mental, and physical issues. The primary caregiver is Michelle Horton, a 40 year old- Caucasian, Sandra Father Brad (truck driver), is not involved- Sandra’s father, Todd (married banker) is not involved- Jenny’s father. The children involved are Sandra Horton -15 year old Jenny Horton 10 year old-Caucasian. The case was presented by the school counselor. The counselor tells me that Sandra stated that “mama tied me to the deck with chains last night to stop me from going out again with my boyfriend”. Sandra also said she and her sister “stay alone at night” because their mother, Michelle, works the third shift as an attendant at a service station. The counselor also reports that Sandra is attendant at a service station. As a Senior Social Worker at DHR assigned to the Horton case intervention, the main role I would play is case manager. Case managers are involved in locating services and assisting their clients to access those services. Case management is especially important for complex situations that involve clients who are homeless or elderly...
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...sexual mistreatment of children" (Dictionary.com). Everyday thousands of children are the victims of this abuse. The abusers range from parents, friends, total strangers, to even day-care workers. One case involving the abuse of children in their care is that of Frank and Ileana Fuster. The two were accused in 1984 of molesting children in their home. Frank was a 36-year-old Cuban immigrant and was married to 17-year-old Ileana who was Honduran. Frank and Ileana Fuster were residents of Country Walk, Florida where they held a home-based babysitting service (Pendergrast). The case was then known as "Country Walk" because of the city in which the two, Frank and Ileana resided. "The case began when a 3-year-old boy asked his mother to "kiss my body" when she was giving him a bath. He said, "Ileana kisses all the babies' bodies." The mother became concerned and reported the comments to the Dade County child protection authorities ("A Summary of the Frank Fuster..." NP). Fuster seemed to be living the American dream before the accusations were presented against him. Frank and Ileana were newly weds, owned a new home in the suburbs and a landscaping business that was doing well. However, Frank was not living...
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...Humans are complex and intricate beings. They think, behave and look different. They are different in their personalities and attitudes; and their way of thinking and behaving also differ. I have found in my experience that the best way to know others is to interact and to socialize. My life has been filled with lots of people with whom I have interacted and who have taught me a valuable lesson. When thinking of people that I have come across in my life, I thought of interviewing one of my classmates from English class. I got an opportunity to interview my classmate Mr. Nabaraj Kandel. He is 19 years old. He is a very hardworking individualist who was born in a small village called Gulmi but was raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nabaraj spent most of his teenage times in Kathmandu. From his childhood only, he was a determined person; always working hard to achieve what he wanted. His family environment is sound. His father is engaged in an International project (forestry) and his mother is a housewife. He has two elder sisters. One of his sisters is studying Nursing while the other one is doing her Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA). When he was living with his parents he got a good learning atmosphere in his house. He feels his parents were supportive towards his work. He has seen his parents make a lot of compromises for him and therefore, he respects them a lot and considers them his source of inspiration. Now, he’s an undergraduate freshman majoring in Business Management...
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...My name is Jovanny Morales. I created a fictional interview about interviewing an immigrant that went through naturalization. The name of person I’m interviewing is Addarren. Addarren has been an American citizen for 15 years. What inspired you to become a U.S. Citizen? Addarren: When I was younger, I would listen to my family talking about how America has a good economy and how Americans have great lives. So I decided that I would go to the states when I get old enough. What steps did you have to take as part of the naturalization process? A: I had to take a Citizenship test. I also had to learn how to speak English, but, I had already learned English at a young age. I had to do a fingerprint stamp, and answer questions about my personal background. And after all that I had to pledge my loyalty to America. How would you describe how you felt about the process? A: I was nervous, but, I was more excited than nervous. How has gaining citizenship changed your life? Is your daily life different because of gaining citizenship? A: It changed my life, but it was pretty hard in the beginning. You know finding a good job and all that. But eventually it all worked out and now im doing good, so yeah my daily life is different now. Do you feel the process was worthwhile? A: Well it was kind of long but it was worth it. Would you it again if you had to? A: If I had to yes. Like if my citizenship depended on it then yeah, of course. But I wouldn’t willingly do it. Were you...
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...Asif Ahmed Khan Mobile :- 0343 -2053722 Email: asifku@yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------- Career Objective: Seeking a challenging position where my skills contribute to the organization that utilizes my expertise and achieving critical goal Professional Experience: Organization : Himont Pharma (Private ) Limited. Over All Duration : March 2014 up till date Designation : Assistant Manager Sales Force effectiveness Current Responsibilities: * As a SFE Manager, My roles include making presentation about growth of products detailed documentation and specifications and performing analyses and to assist in the identification of client issues and developing client specific solutions * Responsible for the overall queries received from clients related to their territory and product structuring, field alignment and related queries. * Making reports regarding performance of our products with their competitors * For launching new products, provide suitable and potential information to the marketing staff about the molecule and segments as well as highlight those areas where we have boost our business. * Make monthly reports brick wise performance , Territory wise performance ,Product wise performance ,Regions and District wise performance , Outlet wise performance * Besides making above reports, different kind of reports are developed as per the requirement of immediate boss * Using Software...
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...As Social Workers, it is vital to have a working knowledge of diverse concepts and their utilization in practice. These concepts include strengths based perspectives, systems/ecological perspectives, motivational interviewing, and social justice. The aforementioned are also essential components of advanced generalist practice in urban settings. This paper will explore what is Motivational Interviewing and how it can be used with the client provided. Motivational Interviewing is “a client centered directive method for enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence” (Wahab, 2005, p. 46). In many ways, this is very important for our current as well as future clients. The overall intention of MI is to support people to move along a continuum of behavior change by creating a supportive, non-judgmental, directive environment to facilitate the exploration of one’s motivations, readiness and confidence levels for change, as well as ambivalence to change (Walsh, 2005, p. 47). The four basic principles of Motivational Interviewing consist of expressing empathy, developing discrepancy, rolling with the resistance, and supporting self-efficacy. This will allow for the worker to develop and engage the client, making them feel supported not feel judged. Identification of the Client and Their Presenting Issues and Strengths The client identified is John Jones, a 46 year old, Caucasian, middle class man. Mr. Jones has a wife of sixteen years and two...
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...I interviewed correctional officer Brian Sanchez from City Of New York Police Department 67 precinct. He began his career in the 67th precinct as a patrolman in 1989. In 1994, Brian was promoted to chief of police. Brian has his bachelors of science in criminal justice from John Jay College for Criminal Justice (University) and a masters of science in forensics from the same school. Since his time working as police officer, he also did numerous of volunteer work and some classroom instructions. In 2003, Brian later switched his mindset and became a correctional officer. As much as he loved being a patrolman and working as a police officer, Brian said he couldn't hide his passion to help inmates. Growing up he was also told to be a policeman because his mother wanted him to follow in his father’s footsteps. He didn’t choose the job because he wanted to please his mom; he did it because it’s what’s inside him to do. He's been working as a correctional officer for approximately eight years and says that he loves his job and he never gets stressed a day in his life. His passion didn’t come easy, but it came with hard work. He had to go through series of classes and training. There were days when he felt defeated but he kept going. He now uses what he was thought as well as his knowledge to help others make a better change for their lives. I was surprised at the smiles he had during the interview. I have never seen someone so profoundly happy about his or her career. It's like the...
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