Here are five awesome related texts for AOS: Belonging.
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Selecting an appropriate related text is critical in demonstrating your understanding of Belonging. Students must be able to show the marker that they have a thorough understanding by discussing techniques and their effect. In choosing texts, it is important to include a variety of text types, ie. film, novel, poetry etc. and show engagement with sophisticated texts.
See Also: Top 5 Related Texts for Belonging
| Text | Text type | Description | What makes it a good related text |
| The Surfer
Judith Wright (1963) |
Poetry | The narrator of this poem is observing a man surfing and how the environment changes from day to night. | This text is full of poetic techniques that explore belonging based on a connection to the landscape, and how this sense of belonging is dynamic and changing. |
| An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow
Les Murray (1969) |
Poetry | This poem describes the scene of a man weeping in Martin Place, and the reaction this causes. | This poem explores complex ideas of belonging and not-belonging through the weeping man, whose simple action differentiates him from others yet allows them to be drawn to him. This is explored through numerous poetic techniques, including the significant imagery of the pentagram. |
| The Messenger
Markus Zusak (2002) |
Novel (Prose Fiction) | This novel follows the story of a mediocre 19 year old, who is anonymously chosen to deliver messages and good deeds to strangers. | This novel is incredibly descriptive, with a wide range of sensory similes and metaphors. The recurring motif of playing cards drives the action in the novel. Numerous ideas of belonging are explored, making this a versatile related text. |
| No Sugar
Jack Davis (1985) |
Play | This play explores the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians in Western Australia. | It effectively explores belonging through the resilience of family and community. A key dramatic technique is the use of the perambulant model, a dramatic technique that dislocates the audience, mirroring the exclusion from “White Society” experienced by Indigenous communities. |
| More
Mark Osborne (1998) |
Short Film | This short, stop-motion film tells the story of an unnamed character who lives a lonely and unexciting existence. He dreams of happy childhood memories and an invention that will bring colour to his world. | This film is entirely centred around the concept of belonging and utilises a wide range of film techniques, allowing you to show off your skills in film analysis. These include: the repetitive, artificial music and how this changes throughout the film; the use of facial expressions and juxtaposition. |
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