Comparing Poems 'Migrant Hostel And 10 Mary Street'

Belonging and alienation is the process of being either excluded or accepted by the society in which you live. Belong is a human conception,mostly considered a fundamental human need and a source of survival, safety, protection and happiness. To belong is usually considered positive and essential for a successful existence:however a negative sense of belonging:found among the displaced, marginalised and uncared for can lead to many social, filial and personal problems that can be almost insurmountable for the individual. The short trop fest film “Be My Brother” by Genevieve Clay 2009, represents these ideas through the films central characters. The film deals with society and people with disabilities feeling displaced within society due to

The hostel is depicted as a place of insecurity where the individual identity has been removed and replaced with anonymity and insignificance ‘no one kept count of all the comings and goings’ and ‘arrivals of newcomers in busloads’. The poet also highlights the migrants need to seek out the familiar in people with the same nationality or culture, in search of a place to belong and a link to their former identities by connecting with other migrants, ‘ Nationalities sought each other out instinctively’.

The migrant experience varies for each person, some will have endured traumatic episodes in their life and these experiences are explored in Skrzynecki’s poetry. Through thorough interpretations of Peter Skrzynecki poems, ‘Crossing the Red Sea’, ‘Migrant Hostel’ and ‘Immigrants at Central Station’ the responder gains insight into the emigration experience which encompasses the physical and emotionally draining journey which is a result of the grave uncertainty and doubt lingering around the migrants future. Despite this, through each of his poems the composer also alludes to a future filled with hope and a sense of belonging.

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,

These constant reminders of differences as well as stereotyping made it incredibly hard for Gouvrnel, Wei-Lei and all migrants to belong somewhere other than what their physical appearance may indicate. By Gouvrnel recalling this story to the readers it make us think and learn about the impact and implications migrants have to face when coming to Australia and the teasing, bulling and hardships they were forced to face. On multiple occasions she recalls being in tears and asking herself why she “couldn’t move back to Delhi,” difference in physical appearance and were we originate serve as indicatory of difference that can result in very stereotypical grouping, making assumptions purely based on looks as well as exclusion, preventing migrants from feeling as if they belong.

The cultural experiences is a major factor in both 10 mary street and Feliks Skrzynecki, poems by Australian- Polish poet Peter Skrzynecki, as it expresses his experiences of his life in australia an a european immigrant. Both poems are show cultural experience in australia as the poets family attempts to fit into australian society. Audiences gain a greater understanding of different cultural experiences through the poets ability to communicate the ideas of; security within the home, relationships between father and son, and an overall sense of belonging within society. It is through his brilliant poetic form that Skrzynecki’s work is able to do this. 10 Mary street looks at the migrant experience and how they attempted to keep a bond with

Good Afternoon teachers and students, The following texts express how an individuals understanding of belonging can quickly be changed by the people and place around them. “Jasper Jones a novel written by Craig Silvey”, it is a short story of a boy named Charles Butkins and the events that occurred because he helped Jasper Jones mask the death of Laura Wishart. “Australia by Ania Walwicz”, is attacking the people of Australia in the form of a poem, because of their point of views and attitudes in life. She also hates Australia itself because the people are not welcoming, this is the main point of this poem.

Similarly the idea of Australian life and isolation is depicted in ‘Journey: The North Coast’ where poet is eager to reach home. Perhaps the poet desires to visualise beautiful Australian landscapes as to allow the readers to view the magnificence of flora and fauna in contrast to the man-made destructions. It appears that the poet has been isolated for ‘twelve months’, and Sydney in this case acts as a barrier of poet’s desire towards nature. The title itself symbolises poet’s home and the destination which contradicts to the urban

One’s understanding of belonging can broaden their understanding and acceptance of themselves and the world around them. The statement that we all strive to belong is true, however it may take time to belong to a certain person, place, group, community or even the larger world. This issue is explored in Raimond Gaita’s biographical memoir Romulus, My Father and Khaled Hosseini’s confronting novel The Kite Runner. Throughout these texts, the themes of personal relationships, migrant experience and morals and values arise from the concept of

Belonging requires an individual to build a connection with another person or group over time, these connections are often developed through shared experience and understanding. Peter Skrzynecki’s poems; “Feliks Skrzynecki” (1975) and “Migrant Hostel” (1975) offer various perspectives and representations on this concept. Ernest Hemingway’s short story “A clean well lighted place” (1926) and the picture “Berlin Wall” by unknown (1973) compliment these perspectives and representations further.

People’s perceptions of belonging can change over time, but this isn’t the case for all. When people experience moments of crisis in their lives they sometimes force a change within themselves and that is what helps them find an individual sense of belonging. This is highlighted in many texts and even composers life works. Texts that support this statement include Peter Skrzynecki’s Immigrant Chronicle poems, of which I have chosen St Patricks College and Feliks Skrzynecki. Skrzynecki’s poetry expresses the difficulties he faces when change doesn’t occur throughout time, as time alone isn’t a factor and that your sense of belonging is something that comes from within, with or without anyone.

People have the longing to belong and to be accepted by a group or community. A sense of Belonging can emerge from the connections and acceptance we have with other people, communities and the larger world. These ideas of belonging are represented in texts which explore aspects of belonging and an individual’s potential to challenge or improve a community group. The film ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ directed by Baz Lurhman, the film ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ directed by Kate Woods and the exaggerated true story of an African American youth’s fight to belong in the song “dance with the devil” by immortal technique all represent ideas of belonging formed by life experiences.

Donald Bruce Dawe was born in 1930 in Geelong, Victoria, Melbourne, he is one of the most successful and prolific contemporary poets of Australia. He struggled with his studies, leaving school when he was sixteen, working as a gardener and postman. In 1954 he entered the University of Melbourne. He grew up in a household where his father, a farm labourer, was often unemployed and absent from home. The poem ‘Drifters’ by Bruce Dawe should be selected for the prestigious honour of ‘Best Contemporary Australian Poem’ as it is a realism poem, describes Australian lifestyle felicitously, which lead the Australian contemporary audiences easily fall in the poem and deeply engraved in their mind. Bruce Dawe drifted

An individual’s search for identity is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong, thus not belonging consequently leas to a feeling of alienation and isolation. This notion is explored through May’s journey seeking to connect with her racial heritage, her idea of understanding and acceptance. The old man Graham, May encounters at the mission expresses an Aboriginal perspective on the contemporary relationship between the two societies. “no one to talk about it. And they die, kill em selves, than those governments just put another numba, nother cross in they list. They still trying to do it, kill us of, tell us that its always been they plan.” They hybrid vernacular communicates the hatred through the ethnolect strongly marked by the non –standard features of the pronouns in “they list,” “they plan.” Graham’s diatribe reflects him as an individual demonstrating the marginalisation of the minority groups. Similarly, Armin Greder’s picture book The island demonstrates the notion concerning the duality of belonging with its inherit prejudices and xenophobic attitudes expresses the majority’s deliberate exclusion of ‘the other’ outside

Belonging comes from an understanding, or the knowledge that an external sense of being comes from an internal sense of connection and safety. This critical analysis will portray how the text “Stolen” by Jane Harrison relates to the concept of belonging. Stolen is a play that tells the stories of 5 Aboriginal children that were stolen away from their families and were forced to grow up in institutions, following the European way of life. The children were segregated from their communities and treated as inferiorly. Their worth was seen as minimal and only useful to Europeans as slaves. “Stolen” is an example of not belonging to the environment that one is living in. The children are stolen from their parents, their culture and traditions,