Essay on AOS – Belonging: Immigrant Chronicle and Who Do You Think You Are? An individual’s perceptions of belonging evolve in response to the passage of time and interaction with their world. Belonging is not given, it has to be achieved. Sometimes a long journey, that takes time must be endured before one can know their place in the world and where they belong. My study of two of Peter Skrzynecki’s poems ‘In the Folk Museum’ and ‘Post card’ has shown that Skrzynecki’s experience was that he really needed to come to terms with his cultural identity before he could accept who he really was and what it meant to belong.
Christopher Kezelos has shown our importance to belong in his short film “Zero” and how our sense of belonging to others either crafts inclusion or inflicts ostracism. These texts show the affect that people have on an individual’s sentimentality to belong. A connection to people is the pinnacle of belonging. Peter Skrzynecki embraces the significance of belonging in his poem “Ancestors”. When the dreamer in Skrzynecki’s poem says “That hang over you in a dream”, he is talking about his distinct sense of separation between himself and the shadows that are surrounding him.
The poem explores how our attitudes of belonging either provide acceptance or continue alienation. The composer uses first person pronoun in “what’s my choice to be?” to highlight his change of attitude towards his cultural heritage and how perspectives differ over time. For peter acceptance of one’s culture is the most important aspect in feeling a sense of belonging. For the composer acceptance of who you are and where you come from, eliminated alienation he once felt. For his father acceptance of a new lifestyle and his love of his garden allowed him to belong in an unfamiliar environment.
The poem “Feliks Skrzynecki’s a detailed poem where Skrzynecki describes his father. It is easily recognised that this poem can also be considered a tribute to his father in whom he admires and at the same time it shapes our perceptions of his father and tells us how strong, hardworking, determined and the inner strength he truly had. It shows the impact migration had on his father whilst exploring the relationship between the father and son and their contrasting experiences of belonging in the new land. Peter Skynezcki has used a variety of techniques to explore the ideas of belonging. Some of which include imagery, similes, hyperboles, alliteration and many more, these techniques have allowed Skynezcki to get his ideas across and at the same time connecting the poem to the idea of belonging.
A sense of belonging can be created from the connections people make throughout their lives. Belonging can also allow for people to form positive connections; however there are also many barriers to belonging. Some of these barriers are explored in peter Skrzynecki’s poem “Ancestors”. The poem shows Skrzynecki’s failure to comprehend his own cultural identity. Skrzynecki uses the idea of ancestors and ghosts to show familial, cultural and historical belonging.
A place to belong. There are many notions of belonging that affect our sense of unity; family, culture, self, society, relationships and places. The poems, "Feliks Skrzynecki", "St Patrick`s College" and "Postcard" from the "Immigrant Chronicles" written by Peter Skrzynecki portray the difficult quest to belong while the novel "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower", written by Stephen Chbosky, depict the easiness of affiliation. Felik Skrzynecki is a free verse poem that serves tribute to Peter Skrzynecki`s father, Feliks; a common labourer whose roots follow him back to Poland. The poem explores Feliks' relationship with his garden, his friends and his son, Peter Skrzynecki.
Belonging to place and people is important in providing a sense of identity and security. In Skrzynecki’s Post Card, this is seen through the idea that an immigrant may experience confusion about whether they belong to their birth land or their adoptive land. Skrzynecki suggests that a migrant may be dismissive of their cultural heritage and feel a loss of connection to their homeland due to living in a different country. This is shown when the protagonist receives a postcard from a friend to show to his parents and remind them where they came from. The poet writes “I never knew you except in third person”.
| Inclusive in these themes are security, acceptance and stability as well as exclusion, isolation and alienation. There are different concepts of belonging expressed in the use of various language and visual techniques. This can be further explored through Peter skrynecki’s poems “10 Mary street”, “St Patricks college” and my chosen movie “the pursuit of happiness. | In peters poem “st Patricks college” he reflects deeply in some of his past experiences in the college. Peter highly questions his educational and spiritual values of his school.
Belonging Belonging is our desire to fit in & have a place in which we belong. Good afternoon Mr Ryan, Mr …….. And fellow students. We all strive to belong or “fit in” to a specific group of people or particular place. In immigrant chronicles, Peter Skrzynecki shows that coming into this country he adapts to the way of living but feels as though he does not belong to some groups, while his non biological father finds it hard to adapt, find a job and speak the language that his conformed son speaks but feels as though he fits in. I will be talking about ‘St Patrick’s College’ and ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’.
‘To what extent is The Kite Runner a story of redemption?’ Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is largely about the life of Amir, an Afghan man who is troubled by his past. Through the experiences of Amir and also those of his father Baba, and his wife Soraya, Hosseini’s main concern is to explore that atonement for our sins is only possible when we confront those events in our lives. It is known from the very beginning of Hosseini’s novel that Amir is troubled by his “past of unatoned sins”. He is a man who cannot escape his past and needs to be accountable for his actions “the winter of 1975”. The event that is at the centre of his story and provides this anguish for Amir, is his act of cowardice against his childhood friend, Hassan, who “never denied” him of anything and had a strong “kinship” with him from a young age.