Belongign Skrzynecki Essay

A sense of belonging comes from connections with a physical environment, cultural relationship or a social group. It’s part of the human condition to seek relationships within these environments and too have a sense of acceptance. These concepts are explored in Kate Woods looking for Alibrandi, Randa Abdel-Fattah “Does my head look big in this” and Peter Skrzynecki poems Migrant Hostel and 10 Mary Street. Each of these texts specifically focuses on connections, barriers and exceptions due to cultural differences. Each character experience similar difficulties even tho they’re set in different time periods, the similarities is that its set in Australia, so one can assume it’s not easy to belong and accepted in Australia without experience difficulties and challenges. It is these challenges however and unexpected encounters that bring about a better sense of self, personal growth and the need to accept one’s self before having the ability to act confidently in the Australian community.
Peter Skrzynecki was a post war migrant and he and his poem “migrant Hostel” expresses his physical encounters and emotional encounters of life in the hostel. It is clear in his poem that he felt isolated. He uses the simile of a homing pigeon and there need to return back to the home, where he feels safe, he uses things such as “we” and “us” to suggest his tie to the polish community was quite strong .As much as they’re tied culturally to each other, they’re physical place (the hostel) is not home. Peter Skrzynecki uses the constant movement and change to represent encounters and sudden arrivals. He’s constant comparison to “birds of passage” create images of flight and fear but also implies a sense of change and freedom. It reinforces the sense of dislocation but also represents they’re start to a new life. Initially they were significant barriers, they were physically separated from the Australian community and there was a sense of shame “like a finger pointed in reprimand or...