Humans by nature, desire to have connections with other individuals in order to have a sense of self worth. Many factors contribute to these connections. The free verse novel The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick, the song Numb by Linkin Park and the film The Matrix all demonstrate that some people purposely disconnect themselves from having connections with other individuals because for them to connect they would first have to modify their personality, people’s life choices can hinder or assist them in forming associations with other people and a person’s measure of how much they belong is defined by their popularity or social status amongst their peers.
For most people having relationships and connections with other people is critical in living a content and fulfilling life, some people however are exception to this and they purposely lack motivation to connect with others. These people justify their actions by declaring that for them to connect they would first have to modify their personality, an action they do not wish to perform. In The Simple Gift, Billy the main character describes his disconnection with his hometown and especially his father, someone he openly despises. Herrick has used imagery to portray the town in which Billy resides in “This place has never looked so rundown and beat”. Billy having this hatred for his town left his home and now plans on wondering the streets as a homeless man. Even though Billy despised his town he still had connections to it, however negative they may have been, now being homeless he has lost these attachments, but he is perfectly contempt with this because he felt if he had tried to belong in his hometown he would have had to change himself and most likely end up like his father.
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...becomes immensely popular amongst the people of Zion, hence the reason for his belonging.
By analysing the free verse novel The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick, the song Numb by Linkin Park and the film The Matrix, it has been shown that some individuals deliberately separate themselves from having affinities with other individuals because for them to belong they would first have to alter their personality, a person’s life choices can encumber or support them in forming associations with other people and a person’s evaluation of how much they belong is defined by their perceived popularity or social status amongst other citizens. The composers of the novel, song and film have effectively shown that humans by nature crave to have connections with other individuals in order to have a sense of self value.
Works Cited
Simple gift, the matrix and linkin park - numb
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Through the view of 16 year old protagonist Billy, the reader is shown his struggles of being a homeless teen. Billy was in a state of homelessness because he ran away from "Nowheresville", and from his abusive father. This is proven on page 10, where in Billy's point of view it states, "The wind and rain hits you in the face with the force of a father's punch..." which implies that Billy knows what the force of a father's punch feels like. His abusive father is one of the main causes for Billy being homeless, and why Billy had hitched a train to Bendarat to start a new life.
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‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their
In what ways does this text explore the development of belonging through connections to people, places, groups, communities or the larger world?
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