Area of Study
Steven Herrick’s The Simple Gift - 2000 (you need to include the year of publication)
Adapted from Elith and Edwards: The Simple Gift
Belonging*
* NB the significance of title (the adjective ‘Simple’ and the noun ‘Gift’) in relation to the notion / perception / state /
concept of Belonging
LANGUAGE Modes, Forms, Features and Structures and the Concept of Belonging
Structural Techniques:
! Herrick uses structures of a VERSE NOVEL to represent different states / degrees that
individuals can belong to others and to places. Arguably, contrary to conventional (family)
notions of belonging, the verses of the first chapter progressively reflect key steps the
protagonist, Billy, takes to seek a new place to belong. Throughout verse and chapter
divisions Herrick outlines the different stages / degrees of belonging of each of the key
characters.
! Another feature of the verse novel is that it facilitates Herrick’s ability simultaneously to
present multiple perspectives and time frames about notions of belonging. Accordingly,
characters’ various reactions to the same event or experience can easily be recorded according
to their perceptions of belonging over time. Belonging is a unique, individual feeling, shaped
by experience of place and with others. See paired poems (pp109-11) Hobos like us and The
kid: idea established that, through shared experience, Billy and Old Bill, as individuals,
connect to each other. Billy: ‘there’s hope in the world / even for hobos like us’. Reflecting on
the same experience, Old Bill says: ‘I even felt young again’. Old Bill feels paternal, saying of
Billy, ‘he deserves more’. Structure, therefore, enables Herrick to represent the very personal
and complex experience belonging is for individuals. NB Poetry is an intensely personal
means of communication and language use is powerful, yet economical.
Language modes: Narrative and Poetry
! Herrick combines the modes of narrative and poetry to represent the concept of belonging,
thereby enabling him to explore its dimensions. As such, the intensely personal mode of
poetry enables the representation of the process of belonging while following the conventions
of a novel’s plot. Therefore, readers can see the ways key characters feel as they connect to
others and to place(s) over time.
Narrative Devices:
! Employment of narrative devices, such as foreshadowing, serve a dual purpose: they enable
the composer to suggest how events may unfold and also actively engage readers. Example: (p
40) In Hunger Caitlin’s sexual arousal foreshadow the relationship she has with Billy later on:
‘I read this and felt / something in my stomach…hunger / but not hunger for food’
! Flashback is another narrative device used to convey aspects of belonging. Flashback provides
reasons for characters’ attitudes and behaviors in relation to belonging. Billy’s alienation from
his father is made clear through a series of flashback verses outlining his physical and
emotional abuse. Similarly, Old Bill’s flashback, providing reasons for his ‘fall’ (p 96), enable
us to understand the initial impediments to belonging to others and place at the beginning of
the verse novel. Flashbacks effectively reveal the tragic deaths of Jessie’s and, one year later,
his wife’s deaths.
Language Forms and Features: Symbolism and Motif
! The Wellington Road keys symbolize Old Bill’s connection to the past and account for his
initial awkwardness in effecting a satisfactory sense of belonging to others in the present.
Despite his overwhelming grief, it seems that Old Bill may one day have the strength
necessary to return Wellington Road to re-establish the bond with his past through more
positive memories of his wife and Jessie: (p 99) ‘the thought of a family / within those walls, /
people I don’t know’.
! The gift of the keys to Billy symbolizes the bond between the two characters. Further, per the
foreshadowing in the paired poems (Hobos like us and The kid) in Chapter 6, it signifies the
trust that has developed between them over their time together. Exemplifying the fact that
reactions to the same event can be various because belonging is an intensely personal
experience, is Billy’s reaction to the gift. (p 166) ‘I wasn’t sure / whether taking them / meant
Old Bill / had a new life too / or taking them meant / he now had nothing’. Billy’s concerns
are allayed however, when Old Bill decided on a new direction, arguably one that frees him
from the past and being one that enables him to view his memories of family and home in a
positive way.
! Water is symbolic of the cleansing and purification necessary to establish a new sense of
belonging. Billy finds comfort both at Westfield Creek and in Bendarat as ‘he washes the
world away’ (p 57). Further, as indicated, it is at the river that Billy and Old Bill laugh, relax
and begin to know each other better.
! Water also symbolizes the connection between Billy and Caitlin. When they first have sex,
Billy recalls ‘it was like falling headlong / into the clear waters of Bendarat River’ (p 127) .
! Recurring motifs, such as sunshine, sky and swallows evoke positive moods associated with
increasing feelings of belonging between people and place.
Alliteration and assonance:
! Soft ‘s’ sounds create a calm, peaceful mood - as is indicated when Billy feels a strong sense
of belonging at Westfield Creek: ‘over the rocks / and the wattles on the banks / and the
lizards sunbaking, / heads up, listening, / and the birds…silver eyes and currawongs’ (p 6)
! Sibilance (effectively a ‘hissing’ sound) and assonance reflect the changes that are occurring in Old
Bill as he begins to feel a meaningful sense of belonging again. Arguably, these devices echo
the softening of his mood as he spends time with Billy, beginning to feel capable of living
again. ‘The swallows swoop along / the grass and weeds’ (p 153 at the Wellington Road
house).
! In contrast, Herrick regularly employs harsh tones to reflect feelings of isolation and
alienation when characters encounter barriers to belonging. ‘I’m not a spoilt brat OK / but I
am spoilt, / spoilt to boredom / and I’m smart enough / to realize that none of this / means
anything’ (p 88). The repetition of harsh ‘t’ and ‘n’ consonants echo Caitlin’s anger and
rejection of the lifestyle her parents think she wants. Her strident tone indicates she feels no
meaningful sense of connection to either her parents or her home, as both are the antithesis of
what she knows really help define a person.
Language Structures: Enjambment and Punctuation
! Enjambment and punctuation are used effectively to emphasize key words and phrases
associated with notions of belonging or to construct a particular rhythm or pace to set the
mood for a situation. For example, enjambment and careful use of commas in The mop and
bucket (p 87) build pace in the verse to reflect the initial nervousness felt between Billy and
Caitlin as they take the first step towards belonging together: ‘and I felt foolish / holding the
mop and bucket / trying to look confident, / and he said yes / he’d love to / and I said / I’d love
to as well / and I went back / to mopping / trying to act as though / nothing had happened’.
! Enjambment is employed to indicate the catastrophic consequences that Jessie’s death has on
Old Bill’s sense of belonging: ‘my sweet lovely Jessie, / fell / and I fell with her / and I’ve
been falling / ever since (p 96). The enjambment isolates the verb ‘fell’ and emphasizes the
adverb ‘ever’ to reflect the clear connection between this event and its capacity to destroy Old
Bill’s ability to belong to others.