Belonging

Belonging is a way of having acceptance, security and fulfilment whether it’s connecting to a group of friends, family or race and culture. The poems “10 Mary Street” and “Feliks Skrzynecki” by Peter Skrzynecki and the short story “Neighbours” by Tim Winton contains elements that contribute to a sense of connection to people, place, and community. In “10 Mary Street” by Peter Skrzynecki, their connection to their house is established through the nurturing of their garden. The simile “tended roses and camellias like adopted children” emphasises their strong connection to their garden and their immense care towards it. Peter gains joy and fulfilment from his garden and this enables his attachment to his home to grow. In the fourth stanza, it is evident that the family has established connections with people of similar cultural background, where a sense of familiarity is provided. They have a strong connection with their past and through the use of listing, Peter demonstrates the various memories and common values that they share. The “embracing gestures” evokes a sense of comfort and reassurance with this particular community. This reveals the strong connection that the family has with their house.  “Neighbours” by Tim Winton presents us with the idea that common interests can bring people together. In the beginning, the newlyweds move into a new environment and experience a cultural barrier. Tim Winton clearly illustrates this through the simile “like sojourners in a foreign land”. This shows that the couple felt unwelcome and frustrated due to their new and unfamiliar surroundings. This is reinforced through the short sentence structure “the street was full of European migrants” which demonstrates how they know little about their neighbours and have no connection established. It is only when they choose to interact with the neighbours do they create a connection with the neighbours and their attitudes shift. This is shown through the shift in tone from “He watched in disgust” which uses emotive language to show discontent which is juxtaposed to “In the street they no longer walked with their eyes lowered. They felt superior and proud” highlighting the change in attitude through the emotive words ‘superior and proud’. The symbolism of seasons is used to illustrate how over time belonging can change –“As autumn merged into winter...the young couple found themselves smiling back at the neighbours” conveying the growing connection the couple have to place and therefore how it affects their relationships with the people in the neighbourhood. This highlights how the perception of belonging to people and communities can be influenced by connections to place. Peter Skrzynecki’s poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ explores the need to belong through his use of describing his father through his childhood memories. The first stanza express’s the poet’s admiration for his father by using first person pronoun, ‘My gentle father’ this shows familiarity and possession. Which is then again shown through his hyperboles ‘from sunrise to sleep’ and ‘ten times around the world’ it puts emphasis’s on Skrzynecki’s will to exaggerates his father and the sense of connection to his garden, cleverly using the garden as a symbol highlighting his father’s creation of his own world to find that fulfilment and connection of that sense of belonging when he felt he had a detachment from the Australian society. Furthermore Skrzynecki uses the simile ‘Loved his garden like an only child’ to emphasize the parental aspect of his father demonstrating how his father nurtures his garden to form a sense of security. Through this individuality we can see how an individual can create their sense of belonging. In “10 Mary Street” belonging is shown through the connection with his home. The use of personification of the house with its “china blue coat” gives a sense of security and warmth to the house, highlighting its significance in terms of their belonging. And in “Feliks Skrzynecki” belonging is shown through the connection with his father. The use of descriptive language such as “gentle” shows his admiration to his father, wanting him to accept Peter. In the short story “Neighbours” Belonging is shown by the idea that having common interest can bring people together. This is shown through the juxtaposition of “he watched in disgust” and “In the street they no longer walked with their eyes lowered. They felt superior and proud”. Through language techniques such as personification, descriptive language, juxtaposition and other techniques, both Peter Skrzynecki and Tim Winton explored the concept of belonging that connects us with people, places and community.