Belonging Essay An environment of uncertainty causes individuals to lose the ability to form meaningful relationships with others and their surroundings, resulting in feelings of neglect and a loss of identity. In migrant hostel Skrzynecki introduces us immediately to a group of displaced people, who in their ‘busloads’ are being bought into a migrant hostel in Parkes. Paradoxically this is their introduction to a new place of belonging but it is unfamiliar and unwelcoming, heightening their lack of belonging. Using the colloquial term ‘comings and going’ the poet expresses the continual movement, which causes anxiety and confusion. Added to this is the simile of the ‘homing pigeon’/circling to get its bearings’ to convey the unpredictable
2008 AP LIT FREE RESPONSE: Section II, Question One In both poems “When I Have Fears” by John Keats, and “Mezzo Cammin” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, both narrators expose their unfulfilled aspirations with the underlying fear that death will soon approach. Keats explains how his career as a famous, credited author has not yet been fulfilled, and fears that he will not live long enough to do so. Conversely, Longfellow looks back on his past slightly disappointed, but assured that he has the latter half of his life to accomplish his objectives and goals. Longfellow is dismal and terrified of death, while Keats comes to realize that his dreams are infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things, and any life lived is a gift that will eventually succumb to death. Keats’ poem is one extensive run-on sentence that truly “runs” across the page.
In order to feel a sense of belonging, an individual must gain stability in relationships and connections within a community. The inability to create stable connections or relationships will inevitably result in alienation. Throughout the poem “Migrant Hostel” by Peter Skryznecki, the focus is on the uncertain and chaotic environment that all the migrants are experiencing while waiting for the news that they are able to begin their new lives. Along with, how the natural instinct of finding similar cultural groups helps the migrants have a sense of belonging. “No one kept count of all the comings and goings” this shows the migrants feeling of uncertainty and temporariness as their inability to keep track of what was unfolding around them made them worries and also confused .
Question: How do these TWO poems demonstrate the impact of place and people on an individual’s sense of belonging? Thesis: Belonging requires a sense of security in place and of people. Migrant Hostel -‘arrivals of newcomers, sudden departures’ –uncertainty, instability, lack of control. -‘nationalities sought each other out like a homing pigeon circling to get its bearings…’ –animal imagery, simile, metaphor for the migrants themselves who have travelled and are now lost in an unstable environment, away from home. ‘A barrier at the main gate rose and fell, pointing in reprimand or shame’ –Stability shown in that, but it is imposed, they are entrapped and isolated.
The poem deals with the complexities of belonging and the daily struggles of assimilating. The opening line, “No one kept count” shows the reader that the persona and his family are in a negative situation. The emphasis on the ‘no’ highlights the personas tone which is also negative and the lack of order within the hostel. “We lived like birds of passage”, is an example of a pronoun to show that the migrants tried to unite and feel a sense of belonging within another but failed as the persona still feels a sense of not belonging. Pronouns are used throughout the poem to make the reader connect with the persona.
However, Gatsby fails to reach his goal because all social classes are not equal. Those with "new money" are disliked by those with "old money" (like Daisy), and the idea that he was poor disgusts her. This shows the failure of the American Dream. Whilst Gatsby struggles to hide his past, Tom Buchanan has control of the past. When Gatsby attempts to regain the past by persuading Daisy to tell Tom she doesn't love him, Tom destroys Gatsby's dream.
Larkin’s focus on a sense of isolation and remoteness is ironically established though the continued travelling through the landscape, this is highlighted through the repetition of “swerving” conflated with the enjambment that ensures his sense of movement. Nick and Meryl similarly feel as though they are disconnected yet still moving, their day to day life is a repetition of the previous day yet they desire to have connection and find it difficult to achieve this, evident when Nick indicates that he cannot commit to a relationship, Meryl cries “ So what if I wanted you to like me! Is that such a crime?” And it is in the tone of depression and anguish that reveals her isolation. The persona in ‘Here’ criticizes the nature of urbanisation, revealed through the cumulation of “Cheap suits, red kitchen-ware, sharp shoes, iced lollies, electric mixer, toasters washers, driers –” then clearly shows that he is disconnected from the town, there is no sense of community in such a large town where “ a cut price crowd, urban yet simple” reside. The isolation is further explored where derogatory tone shows the sense of alienation, away from the main town that he gets the person begins to see “ its mortgaged, half built edges Fast shadowed wheat fields, running high as hedges, Isolate villages, where removed lives Loneliness Clarifies ” Larkin’s use of pun on “ where removed lives Loneliness clarifies” taps into the postmodern context, there is ambiguity in this and can be interpreted in different however in context it shows that as the villages are isolated from the other towns, so are the people who live in the village, once again there being no sense
In Skrzynecki's poem, “Postcard”, the persona is isolated and tormented due to his inability to develop a spiritual and cultural rapport with Warsaw, whilst the persona's parents retain an affectionate affinity for their homeland. This inability to connect with his cultural heritage is partly due to his assimilation of the Australian culture, leaving him bewildered and indignant, thus elucidating the importance of one's cultural heritage in empowering a sense of belonging. Immediately, the anachronistic writing on the card "Warsaw of the old town" delineates his estrangement and puzzlement to his cultural realm. This is further reinforced as Skrzynecki’s personifies the city, using second person to evoke his annoyance and exasperation in "I repeat, I never knew you, let me be", the perturbed tone emphasizes his disconsolate attitude due to the difficulty of linking with his polish derivation. Accordingly, his cultural alienation and discrepancy is further exemplified through the personified ‘lone tree’ which whispers eloquently, "We will meet before you die."
Heyman reveals this by the personification and gory imagery of the “deep loneliness..ploughed away at me,” and “thrown,” creates an uncomfortable and inhumane atmosphere. By casting nature to be hostile it emotively conveys to the reader her overwhelming sense of isolation. The annoyed and bitter tone of the “sky..too low, the hills too close,” reflects her pessimistic outlook and suggests her sense of confinement. This lack of freedom to express her identity further manifests her as she has no connection to friends except in her “rather small, rabid company of actors.” This unsatisfactory and derogatory perception underlines her lack of connection and ironically the only thing that sustained her was “my gumleaf,” which is symbolic to the Australian landscape. Her possessive nature over this gumleaf is rather humorous, and also causes us to sympathise with her in this disappointing state.
Looking for Alibrandi Essay -characters in Looking for Alibrandi feel out of place at different times in their lives.- Feeling out of place is a feeling that is associated with the characters throughout the book Looking For Alibrandi. John Barton feels out of place because of the high expectations people have for him. Josie feels out of place because she doesn’t have her father around like her peers at school. Nonna Katia feels out of place because she moved to Australia, from Italy a country where all her family and friends are to where she knew no-one, Josie, the main character, felt extremely out of place at certain times in her life due to several reasons. Josie attends a school of rich and snobby girls so of course Josie attending