Peter Skrzynecki Belonging Essay
Significant moments in time shape an understanding of belonging.
Explore how this is evident in you prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing.

Belonging is defined as fitting in to a particular environment or having the right personal or social qualities to be a member of a particular group. Our belonging to or connections with people, places and groups allows one to develop a distinct identity characterised by affiliation, acceptance and association. To gain a full understanding of belonging, it is essential to experience some significant moments in time as it shapes and develops our understanding of belonging. This is captured in the poems of Peter Skrzynecki’s, …show more content…

This is shown through the description of his family trying to adapt to the Australian lifestyle and trying to live life like any Australian family such as, participating in team sports, family outings and his parents going to work. Skrzynecki however, positions his stay in Parkes Migrant Hostel in a negative perspective through a bitter tone. Word choices such as, “reprimand” and “sanction” convey that he didn’t have a say in anything, which didn’t make him or the other migrants feel welcome. This now becomes ironic since because the migrants came here expecting in Australia, but here is a “barrier at the main gate” illustrating the migrants sentiment of separation and alienation to both their old and new country.
When being in a new place, people can choose to belong and it can be adapted over time. In Skrzynecki’s, “Feliks Skrzynecki”, his father chooses not to fit in with his new culture. Through the use of a simile and hyperbole, “he loved his garden like an only child”, shows Feliks Skrzynecki’s love and devotion into his garden. This technique evokes a sense of his dedication to his garden and his fatherly feelings towards it, connecting to this place like a father connects to an only child. His sense of belonging also comes from his close Polish friends. They “reminisced about farms where paddocks flowered”. This conveys a sense of nostalgia and shared pride in their culture and heritage which