Actual Essay

Submitted By sasajojo1
Words: 1870
Pages: 8

Instilled in every human is a strong desire to belong whether it is to a family or community to the wider world. In some texts such as Peter Skrzynecki poem, illustrations of the difficulties individuals face to belong using place, time and events. After migrating from the war in Germany Felix finds it difficult to blend into the unfamiliar Australian culture and builds his own microcosmic world. The concept of belonging is also revealed through Peter as he makes a choice to completely leave his Poland domain behind.

In the poem Peter lacks to belong in the domain of his heritage and finds a massive barrier within him and his father due to their difference in culture. Peter wishes to completely assimilate into Australian culture and leave his polish roots behind. In the quote “remnants of a language I inherited unknowingly” It is established that Peter did not endeavour learning his father’s language and has any knowledge of it just by the constant repetition of his father’s aphorism exemplifying a complete integration into Australian society. The enjambment emphasises heavily on the world “unknowingly” serves Peters lack of involvement in his cultural inheritance thus is absent to belonging in his domain. This is further seen in the last stanza when Peter makes a clear conscious choice not to have any connections with his father’s Poland background. He communicates himself as “stumbling” as oppose to confident, reciting a dead language of “Caesars Gallic War” rather than the beneficial language his father wishes to instil in him. The persona conveys a massive barrier between him and his father which he initially put, evidence of this is seen in the quote “pegging my tents… further down Hadrian’s Wall” This quote uses a historical allusion… which is symbolic of the cultural barrier between the persona and his father. The further the persona immerses himself in Australian culture, the more disassociated he is from his father, and his father’s Polish culture.

In the poem St Patricks College the persona feels disconnected with his society just like “Feliks Shrzynecki” and “Street Haunting” in “St Patrick’s College” the persona feels disconnected with Australian society as he is marginalised as an immigrant. This alienation is demonstrated in his description, “like a foreign tourist.” This simile creates a sense of alienation in this environment despite the regularity of his bus trips. Positioning the adjective, “uncertain,” at the start of the next line emphasises his sense of confusion. The enjambment depicts how often this emotion is, as emphasis falls strongly on the word “Every time,” but highlights the daily reality of his emotion that is feeling disconnected with society. The repetition of “for eight years” emphasises the abundant amount of time he partook in this daily routine, suggesting he should feel a sense of belonging by now, but ultimately still feels like an alien to his community. The tone of the persona throughout the poem is unenthusiastic, and lacks contentment demonstrating a daunting atmosphere reinforced also by the repetition. This emphasises that he feels school to be a challenge of endurance. “Taking the right hand turn/Out of Edgar Street for good” High modal language is used to reinforce what seems to be a relief with no lingering feelings of loss emphasising the negative relationship he formed with the school and how he’s finally relieved he can escape from a place which he never felt he belonged too. Furthermore it is strongly evident the persona feels he cannot assimilate into Australian society and therefore does not belong

A text which incorporates both ideas demonstrated in Feliks Shrzynecki” and “St Patrick’s college” Is the short storey “Street Haunters” by Virginia Woolf. The persona who writes about the syndrome Dwarfism has a deep understanding of the human tendency to be attracted to beauty. The narrator claims that the eye is not a “miner…diver…nor seeker of