Becoming Places In America

A lack of belonging can destroy a sense of placement in society. This statement is thoroughly explored in the poem, ‘Migrant Hostel’ by Peter Skrzynecki, investigating the concepts of alienation and dislocation through the migrant’s lack of acceptance by the Australian citizens. The migrants are also unable to find a fixed home, and therefore feel no sense of stability or permanence. This transitory nature is best identified in the simile, ‘We lived like birds of a passage/Always sensing a change/In the weather’, where the comparison to birds emphasises the absence of a home. It is clear that the migrants feel unable to adapt to Australian society, constantly moving and never settling. The migrant’s exclusion is further highlighted in the lines,

People who tend to migrate a lot are less applicable of understanding and appreciating new ways of life. In response to an essay by Salman Rushdie on the benefits of moving, Scott Russell Sanders, in his essay “Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World,” claims that people should not immerse themselves into places but rather into ideas and values and also that people should care for the earth rather than for their egotistic desires. Through his use of a nostalgic tone and implied metaphors Sanders critiques Rushdie’s claims about the negative impact of migration and he also demonstrates why it is better for people to immerse themselves to their location rather than old beliefs and habits.

The speaker reveals that home beat all and that relocation will inevitably lead our heart to long for our original home. To begin, the speaker expresses her feeling of homesickness for the atmosphere of her hometown. She stated that she feels “homesick for the streets unkempt with crowds of people, overfilled…” (4-6) The diction of “homesick” and the utilization of imagery to describe the business of the streets reveal that

During this essay written by Walker Percy, it is clear that his overall opinion of experiencing new things is in the eye of the beholder and/or the hands of those around them and their social status. Percy uses many examples in his writing including that of an explorer, tourist, and local all seeing things for the first time either literally or in a new different light. In this essay, I will play on both sides of regaining experiences, seeing things on a different level then before or the first time. Regaining experiences is a valid argument brought up by Percy as it is achievable. While criticizing each side of the argument, I will also answer questions as to the validity of Percy's argument,

A community is a place where people around supposed to be able to live and thrive together. When one thinks of a community, the image that most likely is visualized is one of a place where each person lives harmoniously with all the other members of that community. While this may be the typical image of a community, it is not the realistic view. In reality communities can share both good and bad aspects. In Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-First Century Peter Dreier, John Mollenkopf, and Todd Swanstrom make the argument that the place a person lives ultimately matters over all else; the place which a person lives effects the choices that that he/she makes and determines his/her ability to obtain a

Social location, or the status in life that people have because of their place in a society, have a huge impact on everyone. The impact that social location created could be neutral, but most of the time it will have a positive or negative impact on people. For example, an African American could be discriminated because of his ethnicity, or a patient will choose an older doctor when he needs a treatment. Different social location that we have will affect our decisions in everyday life, and most of the time it happened subconsciously, which means we don’t realize that the decisions we make are based on our social location. Like everyone else, I was affected by my own social location, both positively and negatively.

To me, life is a pretty ironic thing; it has a way of introducing you to the things you want, but keeps it just out of your reach. As we grow and go through life experiences, both good and bad, we as humans always seem to take some form of realization or some truth from each experience. The difference amongst all of us is whether or not we take these truths and make something of them. Becoming a nurse isn’t a career choice I was pushed into making. I have desired to be a nurse for as long as I could remember. My perception of nursing and my desire to become a nurse directly comes from my passion to help people. I want to become a nurse because I enjoy being around people in their times of need and I get internal satisfaction by serving

The Power of Place makes me realize how influential my surroundings create my persona; however, I

Belonging to place/culture is a major concept in ‘Migrant Hostel’ to show how the migrants use their background as a sense of affiliation and belonging. This can be seen through the use of a in “Nationalities sought each other out instinctively like a homing pigeon circling to get its bearings” This example shows how the migrants felt isolated and alone when they first arrived at the migrant hostel. As they came together the “sought each other out” through the use of nationally and culture which made them fit in and feel excepted into the place.

“Home is where the heart is” was quoted by Pliny the Elder and is now used to signify a personal connection to a place and the personal sense of belonging received when at this place. Perceptions are influenced by connections to places and sometimes made by connections and disconnections to places. Looking at Peter Skrzynecki’s poem”10 Mary Street” and “St Patrick’s Day” that are part of the “Immigrant Chronicles” and contrasting them you look upon how the perception of belonging and not belonging is inextricably linked and is

Today’s world is characterized by a global environment of rootlessness. Political upheavals, poverty, and opportunity cause populations to shift and move, and people that are citizens of one country to move to another. The resulting disconnect between the traditions of their homeland that they have internalized, experiencing these as “home,” and the new environment that they move to where the culture is vastly different calls into question what “home” really is, and what citizenship means.

This evident transience is perhaps symbolic of the migrants' own fleeting sense of connection as they instinctively seek out members of their own culture, efficaciously conveyed through the use of a familiar analogy – “nationalities sought/each other out instinctively – like a homing pigeon/circling to get its bearings”. These superficial relationships thus serve to hinder the development of any lasting sense of belonging – regardless of a common history and identity – as, whilst for some migrants, their time in the hostel represents a new beginning, for others the sustained sense of alienation and despair, due to a lack of strong relationships, becomes too difficult to bear, as the final lines of the poem poignantly suggest through juxtaposition – “lives/that had only begun/or were dying”. Thus a feeling of belonging depends on a strong relationship, developed over a period of time.

Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle in their book “Rereading America” feel that commencing college is a very disturbing experience. So many things we have to deal while starting college, but the major challenges are expanded difficulty levels and higher expectation which we are not familiar over the years of high school. In order to solve this issue, we have to remodel ourselves by taking up the challenge and rethink about our strength and flaws. To succeed in college we need to be mentally strong and dedicated towards our goal.

To be an immigrant coming into America must be so hard in many ways, but as the people of America we should do something to help, by making the Krome Detention Center a better place. Once Immigrants are in America and are at Krome Detention Center, they should start learning the basics of English, learning work ethic, and learning social skills. Once Immigrants have learned all the basic skills, and have been approved for their permanent residence card or temporary card, then they should be allowed as American citizens. Proposing this could help the Immigrants at the detention center by speeding up the process of approval rate and help either Immigrants and Americans with jobs, and many other daily activities.

Many immigrants come to the United States in pursuit of opportunity, however they struggle to adopt the dominant culture’s language, which limits the job opportunities available to them. Historically, immigrants assimilated by having to learn dominant language, but this challenge led them to create ethnic enclaves that make them feel more welcomed. Many enclaves in the United States, for example the Latino population in San Francisco’s Mission District, give a sense of comfort and nostalgia of home because people from that community have similarities to their homeland. Newcomers do not need to step out of their enclave because they have all the support they need in their communities. Although many immigrants come to the United States in hope of opportunity, they are limited to achieving and moving forward because of their ethnic enclaves. Because these enclaves do not allow them to expand into different cultures, they are limited both socially and economically.