...that is shaped by our interactions and experiences with people, groups and communities. It is evident that we can develop a strong need and desire to belong and our ability to achieve this is shaped by our behaviours attitudes and actions. This notion is evident in the novel, The Simple Gift composed by Steven Herrick. Where Herrick demonstrates many concepts of belonging, one being the need to belong to a group or a community shapes our behaviour, attitudes and actions. Herrick conveys this through the perspectives of Billy, Old Bill and Caitlin. In Steven Herrick’s novel ‘A Simple Gift’, he uses various techniques to portray belonging or the lack of belonging. We accompany Billy as he meets great role models which serve to inspire him thoughout the novel. Ernie's train whistle symbolises the beginning of Billy's new life contrasted favourably by Ernie’s accepting and helpful attitude. Ernie give Billy his first taste of hope in mankind, whilst allowing Billy to feel acceptance. His next positive role model is Irene, Bendarat’s Librarian, who welcomes him and encourages him to borrow books and broaden his mind, Irene accepts Billy immediately a helps him at stages of the story. A great technique used in the novel is Multiple Narrators, as the characters of Billy, Old Bill and Caitlin who because of their sense of alienation, are pushed towards one another by fate, to fulfil their need to belong. The mutual yearning they share is revealed by the use of a split narrative writing...
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...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. The Simple Gift (TSG) verse novel by Steven Herrick illustrates a protagonist journey through alienation to belonging through the building of relationships. It is through these relationships that he connects with the town. He searches for belonging through his relationships which creates connection with Benderat. “I Still call Australia Home” by Peter Allen, shows us the connection that people have had with a place. When people find real meaning it’s when they belong, this song illustrates a connection with a place and the finding of this creates belonging. Herrick’s verse novel TSG shows us how the characters have created connections with people, and places. These connections influence where the characters search for meaning in their lives and where they belong. When Billy in the poem “Old Bill” says “Would you believe his name is Bill” Billy felt an instant connection just through their names. Steven Herrick uses the same names suggesting that old Bill is a mirror of Billy and that Old Bill is who Billy could become. Old Bill has started to become a father figure for Billy. The connection that Billy and Old Bill have, has created a sense of belonging in each of their lives. Peter Allen’s song “I still call Australia home” exposes us to the realisation that we can...
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...The idea of Belonging is a dynamic and essential aspect of life through an individual’s portrayal of identity, place, relationship and acceptance, it is also dependant on the person’s perception of what belonging is defined as. The free-verse novel ‘The Simple Gift’ written by Steven Herrick and picture book ‘Way Home’ composed by Libby Hathorn convey these different dimensions of belonging through characters and context. Both main characters of the texts share the same themes of homelessness and connections through people and even unusual materials consisting of personal things and places. The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick explores many aspects of how belonging is portrayed. Herrick composes the free verse novel through the perspectives of 3 main characters including Billy, Old Bill and Caitlin which gives the audience an insight of each person’s unique perspectives. The main protagonist Billy Luckett is illustrated as a 16 year old runaway who experiences abuse from his father and seeks to find his identity and form bonds with the other characters and unique places. Regarding this, Old Bill nicknames the freight carriages as The Bendarat Hilton in which Billy and him dwell in to create a sense of belonging which is not necessarily theirs and also creates a broader symbol of belonging through Billy’s quote “and I looked up into the sky, the deep blue sky that Old Bill and I shared” symbolising that belonging reaches beyond boundaries. Billy also explains through soliloquy how...
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...Steven Herrick’s The Simple Gift was published in 2004 by Simon Pulse. The story focuses on Billy, who is sixteen years old and living in Australia. Billy’s father is abusive. To escape familial turmoil, Billy hops on a freight train and settles in a small town. For his trip, he packs his school bag, cigarettes and alcohol, and says goodbye to his dog. Billy gets on a train going west in a rain storm. He ends up at an old railroad town called Bendarat. He is a survivor and figures out how to find food and keep clean. His homeless condition is a status that he accepts, and yet he also prides himself with his street smarts, which enable him to survive. He meets and falls in love with Caitlin whose life could not be any more different from Billy’s homeless life. She is from a wealthy family and largely dissatisfied with her life. Billy also becomes friends with Old Bill, a homeless drunk. He shows Billy how to earn money. Caitlin notices that Billy takes the leftovers off the tables in a McDonald’s and seeks to learn more about him. She has the menial job of mopping floors there. His compassion is a welcome change for Caitlin. This is the third novel that Herrick has written in free verse. The chapters are marked by the characters’ names. In the eleven chapters, each chapter begins with a brief extract from one of the poems within the chapter. A black-and-white image appears with the quotation and captures the essence of the section. The free verse poems are told by the three...
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...Beyond Feelings A Guide to Critical Thinking NINTH EDITION Vincent Ryan Ruggiero Professor Emeritus of Humanities State University of New York, Delhi BEYOND FEELINGS: A GUIDE TO CRITICAL THINKING, NINTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2007 and 2004. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: MHID: 978-0-07-803818-1 0-07-803818-9 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President EDP/Central Publishing Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Editorial Director: Beth Mejia Senior Managing Editor: Meghan Campbell Executive Marketing Manager: Pamela S. Cooper Senior Project Manager: Joyce Watters Buyer: Nicole Baumgartner Design Coordinator: Margarite Reynolds Media Project Manager: Sridevi Palani Compositor: Glyph International Typeface: 10/13 Palatino Printer: R...
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