place and belonging essay

Simply enter your paper topic to get started! Identity and Belonging 5 Pages 1344 Words January 2015 Saved essays Save your essays here so you can locate them quickly! Topics in this paper Popular topics Let’s face it, people are no longer living in the same world that our parents or generations before us lived in. We are living in an ever changing world. What are we supposed to do? Continue to live our lives like the past or do we change and adapt to the new world? Just like Pearl Bailey has said, “we must change in order to survive”. The ability to survive in this world which is bombarded with new information all the time is very important. Adapting to the 20th century world provides us abundant of benefits and ensures us to be alive and kicking. While we are changing, there are parts of identity that we have no control over and cannot be changed. However, sometimes the urge of wanting to blend in is so huge that we compromise our core values and change for a worst person. We lose our identities and uniqueness and live under others’ expectations every day. On the contrary, there are some individuals and minority groups who have greatly shown that they can still survive although they do not live according to the living formulas given by the world. Changing the ways we behave and think is essential in order to assimilate and survive in fast changing world. Able to change means able to belong with people around you. We need to conform publicly in order to attain social reward and avoid social punishment. One may also become ostracised and persecuted. For example, Galileo was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1633 because he did not change and blend in with the society who supported the theory that sun moved around the earth. Just like Charles Darwin said, “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to.
Still have no idea what a thesis statement is? Take inspiration from these sample thesis statements for belonging essays. All of these thesis statements can be used as starting points for arguments about belonging! Experience Our life experiences teach us that when we stop trying to belong we realise that we have always belonged We search for a place to belong, not realising that it is our perceptions and attitudes, not the place that allow us to belong Notions of identity When our cultural identity is marginalised, we can feel dislocated and displaced, and believe that we do not belong to our culture or the dominant culture. Our search for who we are is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong A sense of belonging comes from a sense of identity Relationships The need to belong to a group or a community shapes our behaviour, attitudes and actions An individual has the potential to damage relationships and ensure that others do not belong When humanity experiences a strong connection to a place, the notion of belonging is strengthened and enriched When our relationship with a place is shaped by a narrow and biased view of the world, our notion of belonging can be questionable Acceptance The basic human need to be accepted and belong can cloud our judgments and direct our actions Understanding When we begin to understand the forces that drive us to belong, we develop empathy for others and personal insight McPherson, D and Sherlock, J et all, 2010, Oxford HSC English, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne. Connections A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people, places and the larger world. It is these connections that influence where we search for meaning in our lives and ultimately, where we belong We belong when we feel connected to others and the world Inner Belonging Belonging comes from within rather than without.
Firstly, read our post on How to write band six essays ! Then, read the following band six response for further guidance,  or  Download it as a word document This sample HSC English essay received a mark of 14 out of 15. It is not perfect, but makes some good points and illustrates the structure you should aspire to have in your essays. It refers to the prescribed text As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Question “Relationships are essential to finding a true sense of belonging” Discuss with reference to your prescribed text and related text/s Due to the complex and abstract nature of the concept of belonging, a true sense of belonging can be found in different circumstances for different people. As each individual has their own desires, needs and values, they find their place in the world and a genuine sense of belonging in various avenues. Many individuals find the strongest sense of belonging through relationships, due to the fact that by nature these connections fulfill the human need for social interaction and enrich the lives of the persons involved. Conversely, relationships which do not fit the conventional model of this kind of connection and thus result in negative outcomes for individuals can ultimately lead to a true sense of not belonging and its related notions of isolation and disaffection. Instead, these individuals may attain the same sense that they truly belong outside relationships, though their connections to other ideas such as place and culture, or within themselves. Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Khyenstse Norbu’s Travellers and Magicians are two texts in which an exploration of belonging and its different meanings for individuals ultimately leads to a deeper understanding of the complexity of the concept of belonging and thus that individuals can find a true sense of belonging in a great range of places, not limited to relationships.