Belonging is a universal human need and experience. The theme of belonging has been explored through creative writing for centuries as authors seek to understand what it means to belong and not belong within family, community, culture, society and humanity. This essay will explore belonging through the lens of creative writing works that grapple with this complex theme.
One way authors examine belonging is through characters searching for identity and purpose. In Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, the protagonist Sethe struggles to belong after escaping slavery. She commits an unspeakable act out of a desire to protect her children from being robbed of their freedom and belonging. Sethe’s actions lead to her exile from her community as she is shunned for her crime. Through the character of Sethe, Morrison asks difficult questions about belonging, identity and moral complexity that emerge from oppression and trauma. Sethe’s story shows how belonging is intertwined with one’s identity and sense of freedom. Her desperate actions stem from a yearning to belong as a mother and provide a place of belonging for her children in a world that denies their humanity.
Another way belonging has been explored is through characters grappling with displacement and finding new communities. In Chang-rae Lee’s novel Native Speaker, the protagonist Henry Park navigates belonging as a first generation Korean immigrant in America. He belongs nowhere fully as he is estranged from both Korean and American cultures. Henry observes society from the margins as a spy hired to infiltrate communities. Yet he also yearns to belong within his adopted homeland of America and struggles to truly connect with others. Lee’s novel examines the dislocation and isolation that can result from migration and becoming culturally detached. It highlights how belonging requires acceptance within a group as an equal and full member, which is a challenge for those bridging two worlds.
Family is another common theme examined in relation to belonging. In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the protagonist Maggie grapples with belonging within her family in contrast to her sister Dee. Dee rejects her rural heritage and African American identity to adopt black nationalist ideals. When Dee returns to claim tangible symbols of this heritage, like a quilt, it highlights differences in how the sisters find meaning and belonging. For Maggie, belonging is rooted in place, family history and practical value, rather than ideology. The story raises complex questions about generational differences and how people connect to culture, heritage and notion of homeland in diverse ways that can both unite and divide groups claiming a shared identity or belonging.
A sense of not belonging is also frequently explored. In Jeanette Winterson’s novel The Passion, the narrator reflects on living a life outside categories of identity, without a clear sense of belonging. As an adopted child, questions of belonging begin from questioning her origins and family. Struggling to conform to societal expectations as a woman, she belongs nowhere on the traditional roadmaps of life. Winterson portrays an outsider navigating a world that offered few guides or place for those defying conventions of gender, sexuality and family. Her writing gives voice to those who feel their experience of life falls outside prevailing definitions of belonging within social structures and relationships. It invites readers to contemplate more diverse and flexible understandings of belonging beyond rigid categories.
Belonging within humanity as a whole is another perspective raised by authors. In her novel The Overstory, Richard Powers brings together diverse characters spanning different eras, cultures and backgrounds who all share a deep connection to and belonging within the natural world, particularly trees. Through their stories, Powers questions anthropocentric perspectives that position humanity apart from and above the rest of the living world. He suggests a more expansive view of belonging that encompasses all life and future generations, recognizing our interdependence within the intricate web of the biosphere. Powers’ multidimensional exploration of human-nature relations reflects on what it means to truly belong as part of a greater whole, beyond societal definitions linking belonging only to affinity with other humans.
As this essay has discussed, creative writers have profoundly examined the theme of belonging through various lenses. They challenge readers to contemplate this fundamental need from diverse viewpoints, including those experiencing displacement, oppression, divergence from identity norms, and exclusion from narrow conceptualizations of belonging within specific groups, categories or eras. Recurring questions emerge about belonging’s relationship with concepts of identity, place, community, culture, familial bonds, freedom and human interconnectedness on a global scale. Overall, creative writing expansively nurtures understanding of belonging and acceptance of diverse experiences outside typical definitions. It invites ongoing discussion about cultivating more inclusive environments where people from all walks of life can experience belonging.