A sense of belonging derives from sharing a similar subjective worldview as those around oneself. It requires a great deal of yielding to the common majority values and to the prevailing culture around one’s context. If one is unable to do so, a sense of belonging can diminish and the consequences can be far-reaching. This notion is explored through the texts I had been hungry all the years by Emily Dickinson, The Outsider by Albert Camus and This is my letter to the world and What mystery pervades a well! by Emily Dickinson.
When one is unable to conform to societal conventions after the realisation that its values are incompatible with ones own ideals, they isolate themselves and seek an alternative sense of belonging. This notion is evident through Dickinson’s metaphorical poem, I had been hungry all the years, in which the persona who has become accustomed to deprivation is given the opportunity to participate and hence belong in society, yet rejects this. I had been hungry all the years begins at a moment of craving and consumption after a prolonged era of denial as the persona states she’d “been hungry all the years”, acting as a metaphor for her dissatisfaction and need, creating a tone of tension. Dickinson elects a narrative structure in the first three stanzas, exploring the states of deprivation, self-deprivation and self-sustenance, conveying the overall struggle and need for societal belonging. In the first stanza, the persona’s ‘Noon had come, to dine –“, portraying that it was her established time to partake in society. However, “trembling” she only “touched the Curious Wine”, implying that the persona felt reserved and anxious to participate. Frequent imagery of “windows” is seen as a barrier for the personas inclusion and exclusion, illustrating the need for interaction yet emphasising isolation. In the second and third stanzas, we see that it is “The plenty” that overwhelms the persona; there is a superficiality of “Wealth” and “ample...