VOCABULARY

1) Inevitably – the quality of being certain to happen

2) Fatigue – extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness
3) Substantial – of considerable importance, size, or worth
4) Proficient – competent or skilled in doing or using something
5) Mischievous – causing or showing a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way
6) Alignment- position of agreement or alliance
7) Segregation – the action or state of setting someone or something apart from others
8) Seclusion- the state of being private and away from other people
9) Unanimity- agreement by all people involved
10) Assent- the expression of approval or agreement

I HAD been hungry all the years;

My noon had come, to dine;
I, trembling, drew the table near,
And touched the curious wine.
5
’T was this on tables I had seen,
When turning, hungry, lone,
I looked in windows, for the wealth
I could not hope to own.

I did not know the ample bread,

10
’T was so unlike the crumb
The birds and I had often shared
In Nature’s dining-room.

The plenty hurt me, ’t was so new,—

Myself felt ill and odd,
15
As berry of a mountain bush
Transplanted to the road.

Nor was I hungry; so I found

That hunger was a way
Of persons outside windows,
The entering takes away.

epiphany
Repetition of hungry feeling of craving, longing or unfulfillment that cannot be satisfied
Fear and anxiety of the persona is conveyed by terminology ‘trembling’, ‘touched’,
‘hurt’,’felt ill and odd’ ‘displaced like a berry’  she doesn’t feel comfortable and feels
like a berry that’s been moved from seclusion of the mountain to the bustle of the side of
road(society)

Feels distant with society ‘touched’ the wine and looked at the bread which represents non
participation whilst she shares ‘the crumb’ with the birds ‘in natures dining table’.

Window represents (symbol) a barrier of inclusion and exclusion  can see in but cannot
physically be in  she is an observer in society

She acknowledges that while she in hungry for communion, she would lose too much of her
natural self by conforming

The state of being ‘hungry’ is a metaphor for the persona’s lack of belonging in their initial social
class and their desire to belong to another, more wealthy, class.
o The verb ‘trembling’ may indicate the apprehension we feel when we relinquish our previous
connections and attempt to start them anew.
o The adjective ‘curious’ suggests that the wine is unfamiliar and novel and thus underscores the way
the persona does not really feel a sense of belonging to the new environment. ‘Curious’ wine –
because it is strange and unfamiliar.
o The use of the first person gives insights into the persona’s feelings and emotions about her new
experience. It seems significant that the persona ‘drew the table near’ as this shows the persona is
actively seeking to connect with her new environment.

o The imagery of ‘turning, hungry, lone’ conveys the persona’s lack of belonging. The hyperbole in ‘I
could not hope to own’ shows at once how distant is the prospect of belonging to this social class.
This comments on the way that not belonging can often be a vicious cycle. That is, we may feel so
disconnected from say a social class that it leads to an attitude that we will never belong to it. This
attitude then leads us to take actions which prevent us from ever belonging.
o The window is a barrier between the persona and the world they want to inhabit. It is a metaphor for
the way that social forces such as wealth, education and personal networks may prevent us from
attaining a stronger sense of belonging.

o The persona expresses how the ‘ample bread’ was qualitatively different to the ‘crumb’ and this
suggests the way in which our ideas about belonging can often contradict our experience. That is, we
may think that attaining a certain amount of wealth will lead to a greater sense of belonging and
acceptance but find that in reality excessive material wealth does not necessarily lead to a greater
sense of inner belonging and may in fact hinder it.
o The juxtaposition of ‘ample bread’ and ‘crumb’ highlights how different the persona’s two worlds
are.
o ‘The birds and I’ demonstrates the persona is beginning to understand the connections and sense
of belonging she had in her previous social class. It also demonstrates that the persona has a
connection and sense of belonging to nature. Perhaps the simplicity of ‘Nature’s dining room’ is
compensated by camaraderie and companionship.
o The persona shares the crumb with nature – suggesting that she finds a sense of belonging in that
act of sharing. It’s that sense of connection and community that she experienced with nature that she
lacks in the restaurant, even though the food is ample.
o The metaphor of Nature’s dining room underscores the persona’s belonging to nature. The
personification of Nature as a provider and nurturer underscores the close connection to nature.
o It’s the plenty that hurts the persona. She feels ‘ill and odd.’ This shows how a feeling of alienation
can be detrimental to our mental and physical health.
o This idea is continued through the metaphor of the ‘berry of a mountain bush’ being separated from
its natural environment. The harsh, unnatural and barren road will ultimately destroy the berry. The
contrast between the soft, succulent and juicy berry with the hard, dry and rough road accentuates
how harmful lack of belonging can be.
o ‘Transplanted’ is a non-natural intervention and not a result of natural consequences. In other
words, the persona feels as though he/she has been grafted into circumstances that feel
uncomfortable and foreign.

‘Nor was I hungry.’ The persona realises that she can never obtain a sense of belonging from only
material wealth or social class/status. Indeed, these words seem to suggest that the persona has
discovered an internal sense of belonging to herself, which is independent of the material world. Once
the internal sense of belonging has been met, the desire to try and substitute this belonging with
external possessions diminishes markedly.
o Furthermore, we may never realise how much we belong to a certain group or way of life until we
are removed from that way of life.
o There is an irony in the last line ‘the entering takes away.’ The entering reduces hunger not because
the food nourishes the person or sates their hunger. Rather, it leads to the understanding that the
food (material wealth) can never satisfy our hunger and we are free to discover a more genuine,
internal sense of belonging.

ESSAY QUESTION
An Individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their
experience of belonging. Discuss this view with detailed reference to your prescribed text.