Initially, my understanding of belonging had been very superficial and it was

defined as merely fitting in. Today, I would consider it a very weak understanding.
As I have demonstrated here in my first visual representation, I have chosen to
make it as a concealed and veiled as possible to reflect this lack of understanding,
including only a few words that come to mind when I, myself think of belonging.
These images connect to these words and hence it can be seen that before studying
the texts, I had known close to nothing.
Throughout learning belonging I have been introduced to Arthur Millers The
Crucible, a play exploring various characters in the 1692 Salem Witch Hunts as
people are accused as enemies blindly and Linda Leungs Inside an Outsider, a short
story featured on Who do you think you are? exploring Chinese teenager who
struggles to fit into todays society and I will refer to these texts throughout this
speech in order to demonstrate how they have strengthened and reinforced my
knowledge of this topic.
Being someone who has experienced both sides of the spectrum, I have always
known whether you belong or not will determine what paths in life you will take.
However, it was not until my recent study of Arthur Millers play The Crucible and
Linda Leungs short story, Inside an outsider that the need to belong can trigger
actions based on emotions. These actions are inevitably a turning point in ones life
because it provides a new avenue which one explores and hence leads to them
questioning themselves whether they have an established identity within a
community. This results in the intellectual and emotional development which had
been previously inaccessible prior to taking action.
Benefits of not belonging lie in the opening of doors when we dare to venture for
the answer to the question Do we really belong? In Linda Leungs Inside an
Outsider, the persona questions her identity when she asks herself, Who am I?
What am I? Rhetorical questions are utilized by the composer to emphasise the
personas desire to discover her identity and purpose in life. Furthermore, her
unwillingness to abide by the expectation of her parents who desired a traditional
Chinese daughter results in her mother worryingly saying, What have I done? My
daughter is a mutant of the modern world, a Western weirdo a leftist, feminist,
greenie vegetarian! The use of exaggeration reflects the extent of change she has
undergone during the years since she has realised her lack of identity. There is also
a hint of foreshadowing as these characteristics are explored throughout the
narrative as the persona transitions away from a traditional Chinese identity. I
believe that Lindas lack of identity initially has served as the reason why she
indulged in change and has chosen to develop herself by establishing an identity
whilst also building a sense of belonging to herself.
Arthur Millers play The Crucible also has elements of searching for an identity
after a specific event. Abigails experiences throughout life have left her without a
place to belong and also a lack of identity due to her age. When she states that I
never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women, she
chooses to not belong to Christianity and hence she goes off in her own way after a
cumulation of annoyances in not belonging. However soon after, the human need to
belong comes into play and she finds herself with other girls in Salem who are
similarly frustrated with the lack of identity within the community due to their age.
When Mary Warren cries Stop it! Abigail and her girls mimic her also saying Stop
it! The repetition by the girls demonstrate the sense of belonging that Abigail has
finally found within her community despite herself establishing an identity as a
bitter, opportunistic individual. This also demonstrates the change Abigail has
underwent after her frustrations in not belonging resulting her finding a group that
she finally feels she belongs to. From this play, I have learnt that despite one
seeming to be comfortable in not belonging, the basic human need to belong is still
persistent, as seen in Abigail case and her frustration leads her onto a new path
creating herself a new identity and hence intellectually developing herself.
After studying these two texts, I composed another visual representation of my
understanding of belonging and as you will immediately notice, colour is included.
My choice of bright colours compared to the dull black and white of my first poster
represents the enlightenment of belonging I have felt after studying the two texts
throughout the past two months. Furthermore, the large font used in adaptations,
conformity and connections demonstrate the crucial aspects of belonging I have
noticed that are key in this topic. Whilst almost the entire poster is in a bright
colour, there is a touch of dullness in the image evident in the identical heads
demonstrating conformity. The lack of colour in that picture highlights how still to
this day, the idea of belonging through conformity is still something which I do not
feel that I understand effectively however, it is a recurring way which individuals
attempt to belong throughout the texts I have studied. Furthermore, the images
chosen relate back to the key words I have connected to belonging and what it is
about. The simplistic nature of the shapes separating the three main key words are
representative of the fact that my growth in belonging has not reached a peak
despite the inclusion of colour hinting sophistication. Hence it can been that after
reading these two texts, belonging can be a medium that can reveal the
backgrounds of individuals and the reasons behind their actions in their life.
Today, belonging to me now is about change, it is about a person changing their
ways of thinking relative to their situation and to what extent they belong in their
opinion. One who does not feel like they belong will feel an emotional drive to
trigger action in an attempt to belong resulting in the opening of pathways while
one who does belong will contentment with their lives for as long as they do belong.
I feel that this current definition fits belonging precisely due it explaining how a
small idea can affect people in such a big way, this definition is also asserted by The
Crucible and Inside an Outsider.