The Simple Gift Analysis Essay Example
The Simple Gift Analysis Essay Example

The Simple Gift Analysis Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (729 words)
  • Published: April 26, 2017
  • Type: Case Study
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The idea of belonging is conveyed in several ways throughout these three texts, the novel ‘A Simple Gift’, by Steven Herrick, the song ‘She’s Leaving Home’ by The Beatles, and an image from an online art site. By analyzing these texts, you’re drawn to many conclusions on belonging, such as the idea that the need to belong shapes our behaviour, attitudes and actions, as well as the realisation that belonging is a basic human need to be accepted. In Steven Herrick’s novel ‘A Simple Gift’, he uses various techniques to portray belonging or the lack thereof.

One technique used is Multiple Narrators, such as Caitlin, Billy and Old Bill, which not only allows you to see several situations through more than one pair of eyes, but also shows how important it is to connect to other people, as well as relationships. Mul

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tiple Narrators also tells of how each feels in terms of how and where they belong. Overall, it tells us how everyone feels the need to belong, no matter what their circumstances in life. Another technique Steven Herrick uses is Recurrent Symbolic Images such as gifts and birds.

For example, the ring Billy presents to Caitlin. Gifts represent the need to connect, it’s shows compassion and reveals friendships between people. Friendship is a form of belonging, as they belong to each other, whereas birds represent freedom, and a new life. They’re used when Billy, Caitlin and Old Bill begin their new lives, their lives that are slowly developing back into society. Therefore, we’re shown of how, together, they’re able to belong to bigger things than just each other, such as a community.

Metaphors, a third technique use

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throughout, tells of how they belong through the subtle use of metaphoric language, such as in the verse ‘Making Love’, where it compares love-making to falling into the crystal blue of the Benderat River. It tells of how Billy and Caitlin are submerged in love, and in each other. It also tells of how it makes Billy feel clean and good, as it’s compared to the Benderat River where he baths and refreshes and cleanses himself, thus making him feel better, good.

It shows that both Billy and Caitlin feel they belong together, in more than one way. Another text that conveys belonging is the song ‘She’s Leaving Home’ by The Beatles. This song gives the idea that the perspective on belonging can vary in a relationship, depending on where you stand. It shows that the girl feels alienated while her parents believe otherwise. This is shown via the use of repetition, which reinforces her parents disbelief while telling of how alone their daughter feels. It onveys the idea that belonging is not about possessions or wealth, but personal relationships. The use of a dual perspective, successful by use of brackets, gives you both points of view, of how both the daughter and parents feel about the situation. It reveals the parents devastation, and the daughters final decision to leave. It has an ironic twist, with the parents believing the could buy their daughters love, while the daughter believed they didn’t love her enough to spend time with her.

This method ultimately shows how the daughter feels she doesn’t belong and craves to do so, pointing out that you can’t buy love. The final text i’ve chosen

is a picture containing three roses. The roses represent people as well as belonging. A technique used in this picture is lighting, as the photographer placed the two live roses together in a bright light, while the smaller, wilted one is left in the dark alone. It shows us of how it feels to belong, warm, accepted, and happy, whereas not to do so leaves you alone, unhappy, and bitter.

It tells us that belonging can make all the difference in how you live and how you grow. Size is another technique used. The use of the small, wilted rose to represent not belonging shows of their feeling of insignificance and unimportance in the bigger scheme of things, while the bigger, healthy roses that represent belonging show of how they feel important, because they belong. More or less, these texts taught me that belonging is a basic human need that distinguishes the lives we live and the way we develop throughout.

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