Farid Mirmohseni Belonging Essay 2010 The conceptual understanding of belonging forms as an innate desire of the human condition.

. It enables a sense of security, safety and a psychological semblance of comfort amongst individuals and thus forms as a quintessential aspect of social life. The repercussions of an unfulfilled sense of belonging stimulates the notion of spatial alienation which coherently perpetuates a deep rooted sense of estrangement and isolation, concepts which are heavily articulated within Skrzyneckis poem Migrant Hostel, and 10 Marry Street. Congruently, both texts explore the aforementioned understanding of belonging in a personal voice through the textually dynamic medium of poetry. Migrant hostel, is a moving account of the experiences of migrants living in an overly-crowded hostel, it depicts the strain and sense of imprisonment in the new Country that awaits immigrants beyond the hostel. Throughout the entirety of the poem Skrynzecki dwells upon the thematic premises of displacement as a means to justify the individuals sense of uncertainty and isolation which plagues the concerns of the poem. In the opening stanza of MH , Skrzynecki encapsulates the transient status of the immigrants who stay at the hostel comings and going, arrivals of newcomers and sudden departures as a means to juxtapose the temporary nature with the psychological stigmas associated with an immigrants plight, notably instability which is detrimental to ones sense of belonging. The composer employs a plethora of negative emotions as a means to reinforce the personal experience of Skrynzecki during his stay at MH which develops a personal voice by which responders are able to gain an insight into the most basis of human desires: the necessity of belonging. Consistently throughout the poem, feelings of fear, confusion, alienation and isolation all add to a foreboding and animalistic atmosphere. Racial tension is also prevalent as Copyright Farid Mirmohseni - 2010 1

Farid Mirmohseni Belonging Essay 2010 nationalities divide and issues of superiority and stereotyping complicate the social landscape. Throughout MH there are a number of language techniques utilised by Skrynzecki which reinforces the aspects of belonging. For instance, Skrzynecki has employed binary opposition at to pass in and out of lives that had only begun or were dying concluding the poem. This contrast of young and old generation reveals another means of differentiation of migrants staying at the hostel, age. It also provides two opposing ideologies regarding age: the young have potential and possibility as their lives have only [just] begun while the elderly are ending the lives, dying and are no longer valuable within society. Effectively, this forms as an introspective reflection into the problematic design of psychosocial values as a deterrent to the individual capacity to belong throughout the textual vehicle of the migrant symbol. Through the semantic undertones of ageism, the didacticism of the poem becomes apparent, that being a persons identity plays a crucial role regarding to belonging and age can ultimately determine whether or not a person belongs, a condition forged by the psychosocial mechanics of a society based upon generalities and xenophobia. In MH, Skrzynecki has used the Bird Imagery to highlight the migrants lack of stability in lives and the impermanence of their situation through an emphatic tone. The image of bird contains an emphasising tone in which the migrating flock has been simulated to the group of migrants vamoosing from a place to another depending on their need while having no other options. The association of migrants and birds suggest the natural human drive to seek out the familiar home safety and natural rhythm of life. The juxtaposition of the images of bird implying sense of freedom, and

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Farid Mirmohseni Belonging Essay 2010 the constrained migrants express the powerlessness in being in the state of limbo, where they neither belong to their past or to their future. Overall the Migrant hostel contains a depressing tone and this is reinforced through the poets description of the hostel. The sense of irony is apparent in the notion that the hostel represents a new start for the immigrant, yet it is prison-like in its description, the poets last line highlights the bitterness felt by the migrant at this situation. Synonymously, the thematic tone of connection and belonging is also apparent in the short story A Clean, WellLighted Place by Ernest Hemingway, and the effects which belonging has in shaping our identity. . In the work of both Skrzyneckis and Hemingway, the sense of place is given significance by the fact that the writers and their style of writing speculate about place and the meaning it has in their lives. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a powerful and depressing investigation of the meaning of life and the necessity of belonging in providing individuals with sense of safety and security. This short story rests on the dramatic information of the old mans attempted suicide, and the difference between the two waiters. The old man sits alone; far too late into the night, drinking steadily trying to distant himself from the world around him. The sense of isolation felt by him is due to the lack of ability to communicate with others. Furthermore, Hemingway investigates eff ects of dislocation and subsequent inability to make a connection. The central character, a lonely, but dignified older gentleman, is unable to communicate to the residents of his city and hence unable to connect with them. This creates a climate of displacement and exclusion and thus clarifies the consequences of lack of belonging.

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Farid Mirmohseni Belonging Essay 2010 Another poem which successfully captures the vitality of belonging and sense of connection is the poem 10 Mary Street . The content of this poem is such that it creates a catharsis wherein the reader is compelled to develop empathies toward the migrant experience, as it is written from the eyes of a young Peter looking at his parents new life in Australia and how they attempted to keep a bond with the old Poland that he himself never knew. The employment of a personal voice adds to the sense of authenticity, which allows the themes of belonging to be magnified. Through this poem, feelings of security and belonging to a place are achieved, when the poets life has returned to the normal routine such as beginning the day by attending school and ending it by returning home and doing other duties.

Skrzynecki use of 1st person allows the reader to gain a more inside full of the poem by having the poem as an adult but from his childhood recollection, such as the words Id ravage and Id swear which also reveals the poets greed and self serving attitude. Again, this textual device allows an introspective insight, and allows the responder to forge a meaningful relationship with the persona, and by extension form a sentimental bond by which the composers themes are conveyed. The use of extended metaphor in the house which belongs to skrynzeckis parents represents the juxtaposition of the two generations of and the fact that skrynzeckis parents are trying to keep their culture and routine while being distant from their land. Within the house the culture, and time, is preserved through photographs and letters from relatives, whereas outside the house time is passing, things are aging or developing. This resistance to change, repeated several times throughout the poem is demonstrated through the family maintain routine described in the

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Farid Mirmohseni Belonging Essay 2010 first stanza, giving them a sense of security, and use the metaphor of a still too-narrow bridge to symbolise the distance between Australian and European culture and consequently portray an imperative aspect of culture as an invariable link to ones sense of belonging.

Throughout this poem we, as the responder, are given examples of how much the family cares and looks after their house: tended roses and camellias like adopted children and in the fourth stanza paint guaranteed for another ten years. This reinforces the idea that migrant families would still attempt to recreate their homeland in their new homes and gain a sense of security and connection to this place by adopting their old culture to the dominant culture existing at Australia. This contrast with the well- oiled lock mentioned who lines previous which shows how the progress of time causes changes to happen, however within the house time seems to be frozen in that of their original home and the time of departure in Australia. Ergo, in light of the textual didacticisms in the aforementioned text, in their philosophical conclusions regarding the plight of the individual attempting to satiate a desire to belong it becomes apparent that the concept of belonging is vastly universal and fundamental to our nature. Through the complications associated with such a pursuit, such as an inability to conform to the mores of society, many of our desires are rendered unsatisfied, giving birth to the conceptual dilemmas of isolation .This vitality of having a sense of belonging is thus perhaps one of the most essential aspects of our humanity.

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