The process of belonging is not always easy, and can sometimes challenge individuals in certain ways.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, today I will discuss this idea of belonging in the play. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the short fiction Through the tunnel By Doris Lessing and the Short film An Imaginary life directed by Steve Baker. The Crucible Im sure you all agree that belonging to a society can be difficult when the society is made up of complex rules and codes of behaviour which members are expected to adhere to especially when an individuals values oppose those values of the authority.

Finding a sense of belonging was a challenge for Abigail Williams, she tried to be accepted by John Proctor and belong to the society, and however it is difficult for her to find a place in the world because of her young age and low status. She realised that there are no acceptable way to achieve this so attempts to pull John Proctor back into a relationship with her. Animalistic imagery shows that Abigail presents herself as an object of Johns desires and she uses language in a attempt to arouse Proctor to be drawn to her again. I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I came near !Her actions demonstrated the desperate measures that she took to achieve a sense of belonging that was out of her reach.

In the Crucible John Proctors personal challenge was to defy the community and not conforming to the laws of the theocratic church. Although this was not easy, it has strengthened his sense of belonging and defined his identity. Religious imagery was used to express Proctors frustration of the fundamental flaws and corruption of the court. And the wind, Gods icy wind will blow!...You know in your black hearts that this be fraud. In addition to this, Proctor also uses the metaphor of the hot fire to represent the breaking down of pretence and the hypocrisies and cleansing of the evil in the court. He says We burn a hot fire here.John Proctor hated the evils of the court and hence challenged the authority. The process of defying the court and going against his conscience and was a personal challenge for Proctor and also his decision to keep his integrity instead of signing the confession.

For John Proctor, finding a sense of belonging in his marriage was another personal challenge for him, his guilt of adultery was a burden and a barrier between him and his wife, it has disconnected them emotionally. In Act 2, the scene in Proctors house reveal the tensions in their relationship and the grudges that Elizabeth against John. However later, she blames herself for John lechery.I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery. When Elizabeth was called in the court to testify, She had brought herself to lie to Danforth that Proctor is not lecher in order to save her husband from social disgrace, and this was a personal challenge for Elizabeth whom was incapable of lying.

At the end of the play, Elizabeth was able to forgive John and allowed him to make his own decision whether to sign the confession or to die. The act of forgiveness was a personal challenge for Elizabeth as she has to let go of her resentments but her love for John was strong enough to make it happen. Stage direction and lighting gives an indication that Elizabeth has overcome the burdens of her marriage .

crackingHe felt he was dying. At this point, the readers see a very different Jerry emerge, we see a more mature and determined young man.We begin to see Jerrys efforts and the extent which he is willing to go to fit into the boys group. Therefore, we understand that individuals like Jerry suffer physically and emotionally in order to attain a sense of belonging

Elizabeth has saw the goodness in John after his decision to die as man of integrity, Although it was a difficult decision for John to stand firmly for what he believes is true and to challenge the community, he has proven himself as worthy and good for Elizabeth, Only be sure of this, for I know it now. Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it. Therefore through the difficult processing of belonging, Proctor has progressed from shame to renewed self-assurance and found a sense of belonging with Elizabeth and spiritual belonging with God. Through the Tunnel As seen in the short fiction Through the tunnel, Individuals like Jerry may suffer from physical and emotional trauma in order to attain a sense of belonging. The little boy holds his breathe under the water at an unfamiliar beach to prove that he is worthy to belong the group of French boys. Similarly the characters John Proctor, Giles Corey and Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible are all outcast whom have been experienced physically and emotional traumas in order to belonging. The descriptive imagery of Jerrys horrifying experience underwater highlights the pain that he underwent to achieve his personal goal. At the end of what he could doHis head was swelling, his lungs

An Imaginary Life Similar to the Crucible, the short film An Imaginary life also explores the idea of personal conflicts that individuals experience that is associated with the process of belonging. The protagonist in the short film was able to ignore his conscience and let go of his relationship with Andrew the human boy, this was a personal challenge for the protagonist. Montage combined with flashbacks-gives a background to the protagonists connection with the little boy at the start . The snapshots of his memories of playing with the little boy Andrew shows his contentment by his company. However as Andrew grew up, the protagonist realised that he longer needs a playmate and accepted that fact that he needed to move on with his life and let the little boy go. He says He lost interest, he moved on I suppose it has to be like that. We see that in order for one to belong, they must be able to ignore their conscience.

Similarly, We also see John Proctor acting against his own conscience, and his own Christian beliefs when he faced Danforth and told lies about the other people and denied seeing them with Devil. The protagonists faded body in the photo with the little boy suggests that he has been forgotten and neglected, In addition to this, the sign in the background illustrates the protagonists loss of identity and shows how his existence is slowly fading away.

Some of us may associate emotional or physical trauma with the process of belonging which is explored in the short fiction Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing From these three texts we understand in order to belong we have to face personal challenges that we would not experience otherwise. Thank you for listening.

He says thatWe are trapped, waiting for a second chance. Which suggest his longing to be acknowledged by Andrew. For the protagonist, acting against his conscience was not an easy thing to do, however through this process he gained a sense of belonging to himself and it has overcome the social barriers between him and his own kind and allowed him to establish connections with them.

Conclusion In conclusion, social inclusion and acceptance is a fundamental human need as it is essential to our well-being, however it is not always easy to achieve and can be a challenge that involves inner conflicts and defiance of our conscience in order for individuals to remain true to their sense of morality, this idea is evident in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller and the short film Imaginary Life directed by Steve Baker .

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