Belonging

Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places. Belonging is an indelible force pervaded by the human psyche. It is through our ability to forge connections to places that determines an individual’s perceptions of belonging or not belonging. Strong and stable relationships with people and/or culture over time, enhances ones perception of connections to place, while a lack of social and cultural connections barricades this. This is revealed through the poems, “migrant Hostel” and “10 Mary Street in Peter Skrzynecki’s immigrant chronicle as well as the picture book, “The Lost Thing” composed by Shaun Tan. These texts therefore demonstrate the need for positive connections with society and/or culture to form positive perceptions of belonging to place. Migrating to a foreign country reveals the uncertainties one faces in maintaining identity due to difficulties in connecting with people and culture. This is demonstrated in Migrant Hostel through the foreboding tone, “comings and goings”, “arrivals of new comers” and the “sudden departures”, revealing the instabilities of his experiences, inhibiting him to remain in a place long enough to form authentic connections with people. The inevitability of the transitions further demonstrates his struggles to connect to the hostel. This is conveyed through the simile, “like a homing pigeon” as he attempts to familiarise himself with recognising “accents” and “Nationalities” to achieve a cultural sense of identity and affiliation with people in the hostel. Through this transient nature, strong relationships with people cannot be achieved which influences his perception of a lack of identity to place. In contrast, a deeply rooted connection to place through the maintenance of routine and culture over time enhances ones perceptions of identity, thus influencing their perception to belong. The repetitive tone of the simile “each morning, shut the house / like a well-oiled lock,” reflects the families daily routine and sense of stability in life, juxtaposing to the instabilities conveyed in “migrant Hostel”. This is further emphasised through the anaphora, “for nineteen years”, demonstrating their strong connections to home. Through this sense of stability, we therefore perceive how time can influence secure relationships of people with home. Additionally, their sense of connection is enhanced through their cultural and social experiences within their home. The inclusive language, “we lived together” demonstrates their maintenance of cultural identity through the “photographs and letters”, while traditional food, “kielbasa, salt herrings and rye bread” shared with guests further roots ones social and cultural connections to place. These experiences with people and culture enhance ones sense of identity, thus influencing their affinity to home. Disconnections to the wider world due to social barriers influences ones perceptions of connecting to place. “Migrant hostel” displays an authoritarian tone in the fourth stanza emphasising Peter’s disconnection to the wider world through his perceptions of inferiority. The “barrier at the main gate” symbolises this isolation of the migrants from the wider Australian community. In turn, this evokes a sense of uncertainty of their future as this limits their ability to assimilate into the greater Australian community, thus depriving their opportunities to belong in Australia. It is therefore evident that through a lack of connection to people and culture limits ones sense of identity and thus their sense of affiliation to place. Similarly, disconnection to the wider community is further demonstrated through “The Lost Thing”. Those who are distinguishably different and do not conform to society are excluded and thus a lack of inclusion to people influences an individual’s perception of dejection to the wider community. This is intrinsically illustrated through the manipulation of salience and colour in the beach scene on the second page. The “lost thing” is salient, positioned in the middle of the frame, immediately encapturing the reader’s attention. The bright red colour and the round, robotic shape of the “lost thing” highly juxtaposes with the long shot of the background of the beach as the colours are monotonic shades of beige that dominate most of the frame. This conveys to the audience that due to the contrast in colour, the lost thing is detached from society. This is further emphasisied through Shaun’s condescending tone, “it had a really weird look about it…nobody else seemed to notice it…it just sat there, looking out of place” which demonstrates that society’s perception of belonging is to conform. We therefore see how society rejects those who do not conform, thus barricading our perceptions of connection to place. Furthermore, time can remove ones familial and cultural relationships to place, once again barricading their perceptions of connection to place. 10 Mary Street demonstrates this through the personification of the house “stand(ing) in its china-blue coat with paint guaranteed for another 10 years”. The house is personified as a member of the family as their sense of affiliation is enriched within the house through the connections of shared memories and upholding their social and cultural identity. This permanency of the house also reinforces the endurance and the intrinsic connections of the family to their home through time. However this ironically juxtaposes to the “whole block” “gazetted for industry”, conveying inevitabilities through time. The house symbolises the “key” to their identity and thus, their sense of inclusion within Australia, however when it is “pulled down”, their social and cultural ties and past experiences will also be pulled down. Through the instabilities, it is therefore evident that when the place one has familial and cultural affiliations with is torn apart, their sense of identity and inclusion is also withdrawn. This contrasts with the lost thing, demonstrating how time can alleviate ones sense of identity, influencing their perceptions of acceptance to place. Through Shaun’s companionship, they eventually manage to find the “right place” where the “lost thing” does affiliate. This is illustrated through the double page with a black border, drawing the reader into the centre and to each unique thing. It filled with different ‘things’, of different size, shape and colours, each unique in its own right. Due to its uniqueness, the “lost thing” perceives a strong sense of acceptance and inclusion, making an “approving sort of noise. Through strong relationship with shaun, a stable sense of affiliation to place was found enhancing the lost things perception of inclusion.