Belonging

‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging.’ ‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging.’ Belonging explores a wider notion of self-enrichment. Acceptance being a key aspect of belonging, integrated with the want to belong. If one or the other is not evident, belonging fails to be achieved. It can be defined as a state of being enhanced through the interaction with others and one’s environment. A lacking of this experience can lead to a sense of not belonging within a body or association of people. These ideas of association are suggested in Peter Skrzynecki’s poetic compilation, the Immigrant Chronicle. Forming an autobiographical style of poetry, Skrzynecki explores alienation and disconnection in his poetry, in particular, Migrant Hostel and St Patrick’s College. Though the poems differ greatly in narrative, the ideas of not belonging are evident in each. Skrzynecki, within his poem Migrant Hostel, discusses the interaction of those in the migrant hostels of Australia in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. The author’s personally contextually experienced the Parkes Migrant Centre in central-western New South Wales. With the great influx of migrants, in particular the Polish asylum seekers from the Second World War, Skrzynecki’s family emigrated to Australia. Those who lived in these camped “lived like birds of passage – Always sensing a change”. This simile is used to emphasis the lack of connection these immigrants have with the Australian culture, land and community. The constant change, inevitable, is expected and at times, welcomed. Negative imagery is used to reiterate this separation from the mainstream Australians, “A barrier at the main gate Sealed off the highway”. The powerless and inferior nature of the persona is highlighted through the use of metaphor, “As [the barrier] rose and fell like a finger Pointed in reprimand or shame… Needing its sanction To pass in and out of lives”. The barrier symbolically represents an authoritative figure, elevated through the use of anthropomorphism. Thus, Skrzynecki portrays to the responder the lack of belonging the persona faces. With the limited interaction with others and the world around a sense of alienation is created. Throughout St Patrick’s College, Skrzynecki presents another poem of disconnection and alienation, similar to Migrant Hostel. Though the poem, set in a high school, alludes to a sense of belonging within a community, deceptively it deceives. The poet’s use of simile, “Like a foreign tourist, Uncertain of my destination”, portrays to the responder a disjointed picture of belonging. Contrasted sharply to the previous lines, “For eight years I walked Strathfield’s paths and streets, Played chasings up and down The station’s ten ramps-”, the poet’s disjointed thoughts are materialised. Metaphorically, the “destination” connotates to the future for the persona, which is perceived as clouded and uncertain. Further, the poem includes a repetition of time period, “For eight years…” showing the persona’s lack of importance to this time. “I carried the blue, black and gold I’d been privileged to wear;”, the verb “carried” is used in a negative light to suggest an idea of weight and burden upon the persona. Skrzynecki’s use of such diction emphasises the lack of connection and significance. Therefore, as shown in the poem, a sense of not belonging is established due to the persona’s interaction with others, or lack thereof. In conclusion, Skrzynecki portrays a wide range of themes through his poetry, in particular, belonging. Throughout his poems, Migrant Hostel and St Patrick’s College, a strong sense of disconnection and alienation can be interpreted through the lack of the individual’s interactions with others and the world around them. The experience limits the persona, maiming them with a disregard to belonging.