Belonging in The Tunnel and Emily Dickinson's Poetry Essay

Individuals sometimes choose to belong but only on their own terms. To what extent is this true of The Tunnel and two of Emily Dickinsons poems?

Human social behaviour is a contradiction of desires. We want to be distinctive individuals but simultaneously, we want to be included in society. We constantly yearn for a sense of belonging, however once gained we may choose to abandon it. This discord is explored in The Tunnel, a short story by Doris Lessing, as well as in I had been hungry all the years and I gave myself to him, poems by Emily Dickinson. All three texts emphasise the fundamental human desire for belonging to societal groups or to the greater forces of nature. On a larger scale, each text introduces the paradoxical nature of belonging where the desire to belong may not be fulfilled by reality. Using different styles, both composers use metaphor and paradox in developing their ideas. All three texts explore similar emotional territory, however, Dickinsons highly personal and abbreviated writing style contrasts with Lessings sensual and detailed descriptions. These three texts all convey the notion that individuals choose to belong but only on their own terms.

Physiologically humans are programmed with an inner desire to depend on and belong to a group. This perception is conveyed in The Tunnel by Lessing and in both of Dickinsons poems where the main personas demonstrate an inner human desire to feel included. In The Tunnel, Lessing uses the persona of an eleven year old boy, Jeremy, to develop this idea. Initially Jeremy yearns to belong to the gang of older boys, but this changes with his experience. Lessing uses Jeremys perspective as a lens through which she provides the reader with detailed descriptions of the settings. Without overtly telling the reader, these snapshots provide insight into Jeremys desire to belong. For example, when Jeremy is watching the boys, Lessing describes them as standing on a rock above him, heightening Jeremys desire to be included as he sees them as almost god-like with their bronzed skin. Jeremy wants to join them, proving himself by swimming through an underwater tunnel. This feeling changes to Jeremy needing to prove something to himself, exemplified by the metaphor of the tunnel as a transition from boyhood to manhood. In her poem I had been hungry all the years, Dickinson explores a parallel theme of humans need to be in a relationship to feel fulfilled. Typical of Dickinsons idiosyncratic style, this theme is portrayed through food imagery, suggesting that just as food is fundamental for life, so is the sense of belonging. For example, the line I had been hungry, all the Years uses the metaphor of hunger for a the longing a human relationship. This idea is also developed in Dickinsons poem I gave myself to Him- where she implies that marriage is banal compared with our high expectations of fulfilment. These expectations arise because it is in our social nature to idolise and cherish relationships as a means to satisfy our longing to feel inclusion. Although not explicit, Dickenson emphasizes this need in her cynical parody of marriage as a commercial product. Although all humans have an inner drive to belong, we can choose to be included or independent depending on our circumstances.

Belonging can seem contradictory in many ways and can oscillate between states of inclusion and detachment. This paradoxical quality of belonging is manifest in all three texts. The Tunnel develops paradox on two different levels. Firstly, the more obvious paradox in this story is between Jeremy and the group of intimidating older boys. At first, he feels the strong desire to be accepted, however, once he has fulfilled his spiritual swim through the tunnel he loses this desire. There is also a paradox in the relationship between Jeremy and his mother. Jeremys life as a child, revolves around his mothers decisions, but as he develops his independence his relationship seems to oscillate between obedience and disobedience. Lessing captures this idea in the limited dialog between the boy and his mother. For example, when Jeremy comes back from the beach he demands I want swimming goggles and his mother merely says Well of course darling implying that their relationship is based on fundamental needs rather than emotions. As his self-awareness grows, Jeremy oscillates between a sense of belonging to his mothers world, and belonging to a more adult world of his own. A different view of this paradox appears in the poem I gave myself to Him-, a cynical portrayal of marriage as a disappointing contract, in spite of the idealised expectations. This is evident in the second stanza, The Wealth might disappoint-. Dickinson uses the imagery of banking and commerce through the poem to emphasise the commercial nature of marriage, including words like wealth, purchaser and debt. This theme of disappointment in promises of belonging is also evident in I had been hungry, all the Years. Here Dickinson suggests a physical and mental longing for something which, once gained, is not what was expected and therefore unwanted. This paradox is emphasised in the alliterative line Hungry home, an oxymoron because of the incongruent connotations of hungry associated with longing and desire and home representing warmth and belonging. This reinforces the main paradox of the poem which is that the persona seemingly belongs to a state of not belonging. This is also emphasised through the personas lack of familiarity with the wealth of nourishment. For example, the lines I did not know the ample Bread-/twas so unlike the Crumb present a metaphor suggesting lack of experience with belonging. Belonging often means that some personal identity is lost, thus the decision to belong can be less fulfilling than expected, creating a paradox and oscillating desires. Although individuals can choose to belong in a social sense, there are greater forces that encompass us.

Personal connections to the natural world can often create a greater feeling of inclusion in some universal purpose or truth than belonging to human society. In The Tunnel and I had been hungry, all the Years, both composers vividly relate to nature and their protagonists connections with it. Lessing uses nature as a defining element in her story with many detailed passages describing the natural environment around the island. Lessing also uses nature to catalyse the enlightenment of Jeremy; in the climax scene where he swims through the tunnel, the detailed underwater description heightens the intensity of the natural world he is part of. In I had been hungry, all the Years, Dickinson uses animal imagery, such as The birds and I had often shared and Natures Dining room to convey that the persona has stronger relationship to nature than to people. This is ironic as Dickinson herself had a transcendentalist philosophy and isolated herself from the world.

Belonging takes on many different forms. We can choose to belong- to something or someone-but these relationships are not likely to be completely fulfilling, as each person is constantly changing through their experiences and knowledge. In past, more primitive societies belonging to a group was critical for staying alive. In the modern world, we can choose when we wish to be part of a group or in a relationship and when we prefer to be independent. The texts by Emily Dickinson and Doris Lessing, convey this dual nature of belonging confirming the idea that individuals can make choices about belonging on their own terms.