Belonging,_Rpf_and_Immigrant_Chronicle

Compare how different composers have presented the concept of belonging in the texts you have studied this year. Different composers use a range of language and stylistic techniques of their own to convey their varying perceptions of belonging. Belonging is the feeling of being necessary part of something bigger than yourself, that your absence will be noted.{ A feeling of belonging gives a person an identity, and strength to withstand the vicissitudes of life. }Belonging is an important theme in the selected poems of immigrant chronicle by Peter Skrzynecki and Philip Noyce’s film rabbit proof fence and the related text a song called “My Island Home” written by Neil Murray. These texts show how belonging shapes from poeple, places and the events that has happened by the representation of different composers using variety of film, poetic techniques and language features. In the poem ‘Felix Skrzynecki’ the poet illustrates the difficulties of his father’s assimilation into the Australian culture, and the ease of young son’s using a deeply personal tone and autobiographical style to communicate the poet’s ideas about belonging . He is described at the beginning of the poem as loving “his garden like an only child”, sweeping “its path/ Ten times around the world”. The simile and hyperbola evoke a sense of his dedication to his garden and his paternal feelings towards it, connecting to this place like a father connects to an only child. The poet also showed that his sense of belonging comes from his close connection to his Polish friends who “reminisced / about farms where paddocks flowered/ [..] Horses they bred [..].” the accumulation of positive verbs convey a sense of their nostalgia and shared pride in their cultural heritage; a heritage that connects them together and fosters a sense of belonging. On the other hand peter (the poet himself) in Felicks skrzynecki belongs to a different context of time and place. The exclusive pronoun ‘they’ highlights his separation mentioned as ‘talking they reminisced’. Peter is unable or unwilling to stop the cultural and personal gulf forming between him and Felicks. He is becoming an educated Australian. This is seen in the allusion and metaphor ‘Hadrian’s wall’ that heightens the tension of the battle and growing organic and deliberate distance between them. As you see that the composer has used range of techniques to show how belonging shapes from a surrounding people and the places they feel comfortable with. We see another example of Peter Skrzynecki not truly belonging in the poem ‘St Patrick’s College’, Through a cliché, Skrzynecki states that his mother only sent him to that school because she wanted to give him “what was best”. Peter is accepted to the school but he always felt different and out of place, “like a foreign tourist”. This simile creates a sense of irony as Skrzynecki is from a foreign background and he may feel isolated at school for this very reason. The use of repetition ‘For eight years’, communicates the lengthy amount of time that his education there seemed to him to be never ending. The mood and sarcastic tone in the phrase “I’d been privileged to wear” suggests that he is worn out and tired as well as when wearing his uniform he has no pride whatsoever. The final stanza of a poem contains information that creates a cohesive tie to the start of the poem. In the first stanza “wanting only what was best” mentioned again at the end of the poem, he questions whether it was “for the best” due to the darkness he endured. In this way the poet creates a structural connection between themes and ideas about belonging within the text. Throughout these two poems we see the poet’s sense of alienation, resentment and ultimate sadness through various language features and poetic techniques. Throughout Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit Proof Fence, Molly has a strong sense of connection to the land and to her family. At the beginning of the film, there is a tracking aerial shot of the changing Australian landscape and Molly’s voiceover, speaking in her traditional Aboriginal language. As she says, “Our people, the Jigalong people, we were a desert people then, walking all over our land,” the viewer sees her land from above. Presenting the audience with her land and her voice, speaking in the first person possessive, positions the audience to sympathise with her and to value her vital connection to her land and people. The aerial shot also places us and her in the same position as the Spirit Bird, her totem, who her mother tells her at the beginning of the film, “will always look after you.” The close up, high angle shot of Maude embracing Molly and playing with her hair creates a feeling of their kinship and the intimate relationship between Aboriginal individuals, families and their land. Tracking shot of aboriginal women’s movement as they track the goanna and uts close up suggest their sense of belonging with the land and introduces the theme of being hunted. Thus, the film opens with a strong sense of the importance of a sense of connection to people and places in fostering a sense of belonging. Similarly, in the song “my island home”, the songwriter is tired of living in the city and longs for childhood home, an island off the northern coastline of Australia where he belongs. In order to voice his homesick feelings he uses variety of textual and vocal features. The use of first person ‘six years I’ve been in the city’, ‘for I come from the salt water people’, we always lived by the sea’ shows pride and deep love for belonging to Australia and Indigenous people. Also the repetition of ‘my Island home’ attracts the responder’s attention (importance, memorable)and illustrates desperation for him to belong to his island. This idea is further supported in the rhetorical question ‘will this place ever satisfy me'’ which communicates his anxiety and strong doubt that he might never get the feeling of belonging again. In the version of Christine Anu, The sound of water lapping against a tinny is played at the beginning of the song to signify being on a boat and spear fishing in Aboriginal tradition on an island. “My Island Home” is a story from the heart and is a song that will continue to touch the hearts of all ages as it has done in the past. It is a song to be remembered(link!!) Indeed, all four texts prove that ties to culture, place and communities are nearly impossible to break. Even if an individual is taken away or tries to reject their homeland or cultural heritage, the land and their family will call and draw them back. Molly is irrevocably attached to her land and people, while the persona in “Feliks Skrzynecki” and “st Patrick's College” realises that he needs to confront his cultural heritage to make sense of his identity.  The composers of these texts powerfully present these ideas through film, poetic and film techniques.