Aristotle once said, “The impulse to form partnership of this kind is present in all men by nature.” Knowledge of one’s identity through knowledge of where one belongs can give meaning to life and bring about happiness, while exclusion can trigger a sense of unworthiness, even inferiority, and alienation as shown through the poetry of Peter Skryznecki and the film ‘Into the Wild’ We chose the poems of Peter Skrzynecki as our prescribed text and there is a greater sense of not belonging and alienation in every poem than belonging and acceptance. It is almost that he wants us to feel sympathy and condolence for him in his poems. Poems such as ‘Migrant Hostel, Ancestors and Feliks Skryznecki’ convey his message of being estranged and isolated from his identity of the polish culture and his uncertain future. To convey these views Skrzynecki uses a variety of techniques, the main ones being: metaphors, similes, personification, rhetorical questions and the use of tone. The poem Migrant hostel (Parkes 1949-1951) carries authencity and themes of difficulties assimilating into a new culture, feelings of uncertainty and insecurity and therefore issues surrounding identity, or the lack OF identity.
These comparative experiences of belonging prevail through Raimond Gaita’s memoir Romulus My Father, and Ed Sheeran’s song lyrics The A Team. An individual who fulfills the expectations of the society in which they reside are granted membership to this unity as a result, which therefore enriches their sense of belonging. Gaita explores this notion of acceptance through Romulus and his experiences in gaining the respect of his new community. Being an immigrant, Romulus gains recognition by proving his “worth” through hard work. Gaita uses personification in “his materials…seemed to be in friendship with him” to reinforce the bond that exists between Romulus and his work, therefore highlighting the significance of such connection on the evolvement of his “character”.
Ancestors- Joey When considering the concept of belonging, one must understand the composer’s personal experiences, and how they fit with the personal, cultural, historical and social contents of the persona. Such texts as Ancestors challenge the common attitudes of belonging which urges the audience to consider their own experiences and ideas. Thus this is displayed through Peter Skryznecki- Ancestors Through such techniques to personify the signature motif of uncertainty and seclusion. Ancestors is based purely on uncertainty and seclusion as the persona dreams of his past ancestors, feeling exclusion as the figures stand shoulder to shoulder in front of the persona. Word choice of: Shadows, dream and faceless all contribute to
How is the concept of 'belonging' represented in two of Skrzynecki's poems and one related text Loss of identity and unfamiliarity are catalysts for a lack of acceptance by society and as a result the comfort associated with belonging is lost. The concept of belonging, or rather to not belong, is explored in both of Peter Skrzynecki, an ex-immigrant, Australian poet of Polish and Ukrainian origin’s poems, ‘Migrant Hostel’ and ‘Ancestors’ as well as Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese animator and producer, and one of four sons’ animated film, ‘Spirited Away’. Both Skrzynecki and Miyazaki carefully employ language and visual techniques respectively to effectively convey this notion of lack of acceptance by society. In doing so, a bond between the audience and subject of this notion is formed and emotional response is amplified allowing for this idea to be more readily received and understood by the audience.
When Flannery O’Connor wrote the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, it seemed she wrote from the grandmother’s point of view. The grandmother is the main character in the story. The story is written through her interactions with other characters. When a piece of literature is analyzed, Freud believed that the literature needed to be treated like a dream. “A work of literature, he believes, is the external expression of the author’s unconscious mind.
In the first stanza the persona is “haunted” by the postcard sent to him. The negative connotation suggests that the persona has encountered an uncomfortable experience and disturbs him, and he in unable to get rid of his past. His culture will always be waiting for him to establish a connection with it. The negative connotation of “haunt” is ironic because something so small and unsubstantial has a great impact on the persona. The postcard becomes a symbol of how distant his identity is from his culture.
The shadows formidable presence is highlighted in “From the circle around you”. Skrzynecki’s search to understand their significance is expressed through his many questions. Skrzynecki is compelled to understand his ancestors looking at how they guide him towards a future and questioning how to connect to the past in “To what star do their footprints lead?” Skrzynecki is rendered speechless and his failure to connect is articulated in the simile “Your tongue dry as caked mud. The poet uses the unknowability of his ancestors to represent, his failure to connect with them and therefore ultimately his inability to
Instead, these individuals may attain the same sense of belonging outside of relationships, through their connections to other things such as place and culture, or within themselves. Steven Herrick’s ‘The Simple Gift’ and Melina Marchetta’s ‘Looking For Alibrandi’ are two texts in which explores the concept of belonging and how different individuals have different meanings of a sense of belonging. This shows that individuals can find a sense of belonging in a great range of place, not limited to relationships. In The Simple Gift, Steven Herrick both supports and challenges traditional assumptions about belonging. Through the form of a verse novel he supports the idea that all humans seek a sense of belonging, and that without it our lives have little meaning.
And ‘Do I dare?’, Time to turn back and descend the stair, with a bald spot in the middle of my hair”.The poem starts out with verses of “what not to do with your love”, yet he fails to express the person he has feelings for but also fails to recognize himself in all this. He continues on arguing to go to a certain gathering, busy worrying about what other people are going to think about him, and judge him for. This is how the story and character start out, introducing into his compassionate love, but so insecure about himself. Further into the poem, Prufrock seems to get into the party and tends to describe it in a lot of general details, by the end of the party he simply judges himself for all his actions known that night. (70) “I should have been a pair of ragged claws, scuttling across the floors of silent seas”.
The speaker in Keats’ poem is in a depressed state, and he uses alcohol as his escape: “That I might drink, and leave the world unseen”(Keats, 19). The nightingale’s purpose is to show the speaker that there is an escape from the pain he is living in: “hearing the song induces Keats to forget and also remember what is unhappy in life” (O’Neill, 64). By allowing the speaker to realize what is unhappy in his life, the bird is able to help him realize that there can be happiness for him. “Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam/ of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn” (Keats, 69- 70). The speaker describes how the nightingale rescues him from danger, bringing him to a magical