I Died for Beauty but Was Scarce

“A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people, places and the larger world”

An individual's perception of their own acceptance and belonging is dependent on the people, places and larger world that surround their life. In agreement with the quote above, I believe that through the connections one has with these three things; a sense of belonging can be achieved. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, I died for beauty but was scarce, we see how the persona develops a connection with an unknown male in an adjoined tomb and thus finds a sense of belonging. The persona’s lust for a nourishment is explored in Dickinson’s I had been hungry all the years, in which she finds out that the thing she longed most for was not the right thing for her. I will be also using the picture book, The Arrival by Shaun Tan in which, a man leaves for a new land but loses his connection with his previous homeland and in consequence, a certain sense of belonging. However, he gains a sense of belonging as he slowly grows accustomed to his new home. The Turning, written by Tim Winton, is a collection of short stories which deal with the themes of regret and childhood. The characters find that their connections with their childhood town and its experiences bring them a sense of belonging and as well, these childhood experiences help us, as an audience, find similarities with the characters themselves. These texts will help prove my point that the connections found in people, places and the larger world certainly may result in a sense of belonging.

It is the interactions and connections with other people that primarily give us a sense of belonging as human beings. People keep us from being along and help us find our identity.
I died for beauty but was scarce is a poem that depicts the persona and a man drawn together after they have both died for similar causes. Dickinson’s usage of terms such as ‘brethren’ and ‘kinsmen’ suggest that their relationship is much stronger than...