Belonging in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Finding your place in the world (or, adolescence)

The teenage years can be stressful, awkward, and enlightening. It is during this crucial epoch in our lives that we begin to gain a fuller awareness of the world around us; our eyes are opened to the truth of the human condition, to the realities of social injustice and environmental concerns. As we move from childhood to adulthood, we come to realize—if we haven't already—that things aren't always fair, and we life won't always go the way we want it to. At the same time, we are aware of the growing pressures and responsibilities being placed on us as we make more decisions for ourselves and prepare to step up and take our place in the world. And it can be awkward, when we still feel like children, to try to understand who we are and what we are doing with our lives.

It is in this integral stage of life that we meet the protagonist of our story, Jake. Though we don't see a lot of his day-to-day life, we get the feeling that this young man is struggling to feel that he belongs where he is. He isn't satisfied with the dull life he has. It seems that he senses a greater purpose for his life. And, thanks to his grandfather, he has a taste for adventure.

When he eventually learns that there is something special about him, something that gives him a purpose, he knows that he can't let that go.

What makes a home?

Despite being with his family in America, Jake never seems to feel like he really belongs. We don't know why, really, other than the fact that his parents seem a bit distant and he doesn't seem happy with the kind of life he has. The person who matters most to him is his grandfather, but when he loses that relationship, he feels like he has nothing left to do but to bring something good out of his grandfather's death.

Upon arriving at Miss Peregine's home for peculiar children, Jake seems to feel more of a sense of belonging, unlike anything has has felt before. Although he does not at first know that there is something different about him, he seems to feel more comfortable amongst the group of unusual youngsters than he ever did at home. Perhaps he knew he was different even though he could never identify why. Or perhaps it was because he felt closer to his grandfather (and sane) once he learned that all of those stories he heard as a child were about real people.

But, above all of that, Jake finds that he has a purpose there. In the home, he makes friends, and finds people he cares for. More than that, he discovers that he is one of them. His powers, however, are critical to the group's survival because he is the only one who can see the monsters that are hunting them.

I would hazard a guess, however, that it is not just having a purpose for his life that makes him want to stay, but the knowledge that that purpose is to help this particular group of people, of which he is a part.

What makes a home then? According to this movie, it is the people and the connections, rather than the place. It seems obvious to say that, but this is very literally represented at the height of the conflict when the time loop protecting the house is stopped and the bomb finally drops on the house and destroys it once and for all. Even though their house is gone (along with their caretaker) the children continue to band together to protect their group. They are, obviously, upset that their place of safety is gone, but they understand that they still have somewhere to belong as long as they still have each other.

Home is...

Home is acceptance. These children don't feel like they belong in the world, but in their little "family," they are admired and accepted for their differences.

Home is belonging. In their group, these children not only feel like they are alike, but they know that they have a reason for being where they are. They have a reason for being where they are. They also have people who care about them, and a place where they can be themselves and feel safe. 

Home is family, but not in the traditional sense. It is the family you choose: the people who care about you the way you care about them, the ones you can trust, those who truly understand you and accept you and give you a reason to be and to be yourself.

Home isn't a place. Home is wherever, or whomever, makes you feel safe and loved when you're truly yourself.

What is home for you?