Sense of belonging

Katerina Pappas

English 101.17

            January 31,2013

Sense of belonging

            The Chinese Cultural event introduces the idea of not just a new year for the Chinese, but also a day where everyone gets together and eats. It is significant because it is like a reunion where everyone is having a good time and spends time together.  “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman shows how a woman who is said to be depressed is separated and put in a house. It is the idea of being alone and being stuck as if one could not leave. “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the idea of aiming for perfection. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” by William Wordsworth is a poem about nature and the good feeling being around people and having company. The idea of all of these writings is that they all express a need for being together as a family and the expression of loneliness.

            Gilman and Hawthorne’s piece relate in the sense that there are women who feel trapped and alone. In Gilman’s piece the woman is said to have a disorder and her husband keeps her in a separate room with yellow wallpaper. The wallpaper is seen to bother her, “the color is repellent, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow/committing every artistic sin.” (Gilman, 389) In the end of the story the yellow paper has a woman trapped in the there with bars, and it essentially represents the idea that she (the woman who is depressed) is trapped and lonely. Similarly in Hawthorne’s story the woman also gets put in another room where she awaits for her flaw (the birthmark on her cheek) to go away. Her husband also has a control and “assuring her that her seclusion would endure but a little longer.” (Hawthorne, 474) In both of the pieces the woman feel lonely and have a wanting to be with their husband. They want to feel together again and not alone.

            In the Chinese event everyone got up to get food, there was music, henna tattoos, and T.V. Everyone was gathered together eating and just enjoying the atmosphere with the decorations. It is similar to the poem by Wordsworth because he enjoyed company and expressed it through the daffodils. He would mention “And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.” (Wordsworth 21-22) The idea of being around others “in such a jocund company,” (Wordsworth, 15) is significant and is similar to the Chinese event because during the Chinese New year it is important to spend time with family or having company. The poet also gets a lonely mood at times and it is seen when he says, “For oft, when I lie In vacant or in pensive mood.” (Wordsworth, 18-19)

            All the writings are an expression of how sometimes company is all one needs. It also shows how people are afraid of being alone, and how anxious it can be to be in that state of mind. The writings are like a message to show that everyone has flaws but the important part is accepting one another for who they are not to make them feel less. In the end no one likes to feel secluded or left out.