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The Simple Gift and Drifters Essay An individual’s experience of belonging is invariably affected by their previous encounters with their environment and the people with whom they interact. This is clearly presented within the texts analysed. In the novel â€Å"The Simple Gift† by Steven Herrick the author successfully demonstrates the power of past experiences to both limit and enrich an individual’s sense of belonging to both their surroundings and influential people. Similarly in the poem â€Å"Drifters†, Bruce Dawe conveys the idea of constant change preventing people connecting and belong to a community or place. Steven Herrick demonstrates that a single event in our past can greatly affect they way in which we interact and perceive our environment†¦link†¦ This is clearly focused upon through the anecdote of Old Bill’s daughter’s death. Through the emotive visual imagery and use of ellipses I was there for hours mad with rage and pain and God knows that tree fell †¦Ã¢â‚¬  the author insightfully shows that grief and heartbreak can destroy a persons affinity with well known surroundings†¦link†¦ Herrick suggests, that with the perception of change of an individual’s environment through a physical transformation, their mental state may have a corresponding change. This is further reinforced through repetition in the metaphor â€Å"Fell and I fell with her and I’ve been falling ever since†. Symbolising Old Bill’s increasing disenchantment with the world as the passing of time since ‘the fall’, accumulating with the revelation of Old Bill’s current lifestyle. Through this notion Herrick intelligently reflects upon how one moment in life can destroy one’s sense of belonging to previous role†¦link†¦ The power of the past is also shown by Herrick in the chapter â€Å"A project†. The author intelligently develops a tone of hopefulness through the repetition of â€Å"promise† in â€Å" I promised her we’d go and I promised her we’d swim together†. The composer cleverly harnesses this to suggest the imminent completion of â€Å"Jessie’s trip† and the corresponding need of Old Bill to reconnect with the world in which he lives †¦link†¦ this notion is further depicted through the use of metaphor within â€Å"Jessie’s trip to the ocean† The composer effectively reinforces Old Bill’s wish to reintegrate himself and belong to a community by revisiting the past through the fulfillment of the trip planned between himself and his daughter†¦link†¦this clearly presents the idea of past experiences affecting not only the individuals ability to disconnect to a lifestyle but also reconnect to an extent. Divergent to the ideas presented by Herrick in The Simple Gift, Bruce Dawe suggests constant changing can affect an individual’s sense of belonging due to the inability to connect as a result of the short period of time afforded to them to create bonds. This is shown through the use of visual imagery and onomatopoeia â€Å"and when the loaded ute bumps down the drive past the blackberry canes with their last shrivelled fruit† conveying the idea of the hardships which can be caused by the inability to connect to people and place. The symbolism of the â€Å"bump† displays the difficult journey anticipated by the narrator due to previous failed attempts to develop a sense of belonging to her home. Further emphasized through the morbid visual imagery of the shriveled fruit intimating the lack of time spent preventing her from belonging and symbolizing the end of her connections to another community. Furthermore Dawe harnesses stanza structure and dialogue to illustrate this notion of the need for time to establish connections to an environment. The epetition of â€Å"and† at the beginning of multiple lines in the first stanza and â€Å"she† in the second stanza further emphasizes the idea of a perpetual cycle of negativity and sense of disconnectedness to her surrounding because of the frequent moving of home. Extending upon this concept is the use of the dialogue â€Å"Make a wish, Tom, make a wish. †. The composer shows the woman’s wish to gain a permanent residency to which she can create a sense of belonging. This connotation of hope additionally reinforces the concept of constant change preventing the establishment of belonging to a place.