Hsc Belonging Emily Dickinson, Ugly Duckiling

Belonging is an integral facet of human existence, whether it be connections to people, places objects or thoughts. Our sense of belonging is shaped by our experiences and memories, and by our innate desire to feel a connection with something meaningful. Because of this desire, not belonging can be hard and difficult to live with - however, often a sense of belonging can exist without it even being known. Aspects of belonging are apparent in selected poems by Emily Dickinson, most notably I Had Been Hungry All the Years, What Mystery Pervades a Well, and I Gave Myself to Him, the story The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, and the song Invisible Kid by Metallica.

I Had Been Hungry All the Years is Dickinson’s expression of how she views herself in relation to belonging – or more correctly, not belonging. She uses the metaphor of “windows” representing barriers to belonging. The persona is ‘outside’, alone by herself, while society/other people are ‘inside’, feasting. “I looked in windows for the wealth that could not be mine” perfectly describes how she feels that she can never truly belong in society. However, when she finally experiences some of the ‘feast’ she “trembling drew the table near” and realizes that it “Twas so unlike the crumb the birds and I had often shared”. Not only does this show us that once she got what she was ‘hungry’ for, she was disappointed by it, but it also reveals that she does in fact belong - with nature. She uses the simile “As a berry from a mountain bush transplanted to the road” to describe how she felt when she got what she yearned for. This imagery tells us that feeling insecure about not belonging to something is foolish, because just as a berry belongs on a mountain bush, everyone belongs to something in some way, shape or form, even if it is not immediately apparent. She surmises that the “entering takes away” – that is, sometimes getting what you want makes you realize and be grateful for what you already have,...