Feliks Skrzynecki Essay

Initial picture of a man detached from the world that surrounds him-shows immigrant isolation but also Feliks strength of character.

Belonging is a complex, multi-faceted concept encompassing a wide range of different aspects. The need to belong to family and culture is a universal human need which provides a sense of value and emotional stability, and in many respects forges one’s identity. Alienation and disconnection often creates feelings of isolation, depression and loss of identity. A struggle with cultural identity is evident in Peter Skrzynecki’s poems ‘Migrant Hostel’ and ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’, where he examines a division between his pre-war Polish heritage and his newfound Australian way of life. The movement away from his European cultural heritage towards a more Australian identity created disorientation for Skrzynecki, and these feelings of disconnection

People who share a connection through cultural or social factors often relate well together. This is demonstrated in the poem “Migrant Hostel” through the use of the simile ‘Nationalities sought each other out instinctively like a homing pigeon’, this likens the behaviour of the migrant searching for other people with whom they shared a connection with, to the action of a bird driven by instinct. This shows that by the different

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,

Skrzynecki utilizes a metaphor in order to amplify to the audience that the relationship between him and his father gradually weakened as time elapsed.This is evident in the quote “Further and further south of Hadrian's Wall.” Through the implementation of this allusion in the poem, Skrzynecki accentuates how the language barrier had provoked him to emotionally distance himself from his father due to the loss of connection between each other. Furthermore, it suggests that Skrzynecki is moving further and further away from his father and his Polish culture, as is assimilated into the Australian by becoming more educated and

‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ explores the relationships the poet has with his father as while integrating into the Australian society. Again the experience of immigration gives the audience an understanding of different cultural experiences, through the perspective of identity which differs between father and son.

When a man is a product of his environment and the environment is filled with violence and hatred, the possibilities are horrifying. Richard kuklinski is a prime example of just that. His childhood was something no human, let alone a child should go through. His anger built up and his life eventually was overcome by it. He then progressed to a cold-blooded killer, starting small, and then ending with the mob until his capture.

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.

Although for those eight years Peter Skrzynecki was unable to change, at the end of the poem he shows that after everything it was within himself to find his sense of belonging even if he wasn’t motivated by the same reasons that his mother was. Does this then show a change in attitude and understanding by the character?

Triggering Event: Immigrants in the United States from Polish ethnicity have not been warmly received in many instances, and in fact immigrants from Poland often struggle with issues like language and legal status. While much of the focus of the news media zeros in on the issues and problems related to immigrants crossing the border from Mexico, there are other immigrants like those from Poland that also have their problems and issues. As a result of the problems many Polish immigrants experience, there seems to be a movement wherein many of these immigrants are returning to Europe.

In the poem the speaker tells us about how his father woke up early on Sundays and warmed the house so his family can wake up comfortably. We are also told that as he would dress up and head down stairs he feared ¨the chronic angers of that house¨, which can be some sort of quarrel between his father and his mother in the house. This can also lead the reader to believe that the father may have had been a hard dad to deal with. However the father would polish his son's shoes with his cracked hands that ached. This shows the love that the father had for his son and now that the son has grown he realizes what his father did for him. The sons morals and feelings have changed him because as he has grown to become a man he has learned the true meaning of love is being there for one's family and not expecting it to be more than what it is. Consequently this teaches him a lesson on how much his father loved him and how much he regrets not telling him thank

Vladek went through the various Nazi genocide stages as brought out by Raul Hilberg. According to Hilberg, the four distinct phases of the Holocaust were identification, economic discrimination, and separation, concentration, and extermination. Although Vladek was not eventually exterminated, his close relatives and friends did not survive the lethal last stage through the various sugar-coated tactics employed by the Germans. The essay will scrutinize these Holocaust stages and relate them to the life events of the Vladek, the main character in Maus 1 and 2 written by Art Spiegelman. The works of other scholars in predicting the impacts of the Holocaust will also be looked at.

The personal nature of the story is communicated through the author’s experiences and by the people of Gorazde themselves. Taking abandonment as an example, we follow Sacco as he travels down the “blue road” which Bosnian Muslims cannot escape their suffering, the very same road which the UN shares with Serbian ethnic cleansers. Here we have the international abandonment of the enclave. Relayed to us by the people of Gorazde, is their abandonment of one another based on ethnicity.

In the poem, I get a sense that there is no bond, like my father and I have which leads to confusion in the narrator's life. For instance, in line eight when he says, "I would slowly rise and dress,/ fearing the chronic angers of the house"(8-9), this gives me a strong sense of sadness, for him because I feel that he is greatly deprived of what every child should have a good role model as a father, and someone to look up to. “Speaking Indifferently to him, / who had driven out the cold”(10-11) is saying that they really did not know how to communicate with each other. I feel that the boy will regret not having and knowing what it is that makes you who you are, and may never get a chance to have and hold a special bond with his father and having a relationship with a person that can not be held with anyone else. This would bring an enormous amount of sadness to my life had I not had my Dad there to guide and protect me, when I could have used tremendous support and security.