Belonging
Belonging to a group, culture, nationality or school all have an effect on the individual’s sense of self. This shown through ‘the china coin’ by Allan Baillie, poetry ‘10 Mary st’ and ‘migrant hostel’ by Peter Skrzynecki, as well as the related text ‘neighbours’!
In ‘The China Coin’, the main character Leah and Joan went on a journey to China in purpose to find out the mystery of the broken coin. As the journey progresses, this ultimately gives them a sense of their Chinese identity and belonging and this brings a positive change in both of them. Baillie depicted that the characters gained new insight and understanding of themselves through the journey by using numbers of techniques. Compelling adjectives” evil aunt”, “snake woman” compares Leah’s attitude towards Joan, and effectively to show that Leah’s maturity has been developing. Written in the first person and used of monologue “you are not Chinese; you don’t even look like them.” In this quote, Baillie illustrates Leah’s inner thoughts which reveal her sense of no belonging with China. However as the plot continuous, Leah’s belonging starts to change with mainly influence through the continues experience of social environment. ‘Now shanghai was as familiar as Chatswood’. It is not her wiliness but her experience which has made her open up her mind slowly towards China. From this we can see the individual’s attitudes to belonging over time.
In Peter Skrzynecki’s ’10 Mary St’, the poet expresses a strong sense of belonging towards his family home and garden. The use of the first person perspective, enjambment, simile, metaphor and alliteration in describing everyday routines create vivid imagery of the family’s activities and reinforces the concepts of belonging. The recount poem utilises effective images of the family’s daily routines, such as securing the house “each morning … like a well-oiled lock”. The concept of time runs throughout the poem, such as the repetition of the term” nineteen years”,
In ‘The China Coin’, the main character Leah and Joan went on a journey to China in purpose to find out the mystery of the broken coin. As the journey progresses, this ultimately gives them a sense of their Chinese identity and belonging and this brings a positive change in both of them. Baillie depicted that the characters gained new insight and understanding of themselves through the journey by using numbers of techniques. Compelling adjectives” evil aunt”, “snake woman” compares Leah’s attitude towards Joan, and effectively to show that Leah’s maturity has been developing. Written in the first person and used of monologue “you are not Chinese; you don’t even look like them.” In this quote, Baillie illustrates Leah’s inner thoughts which reveal her sense of no belonging with China. However as the plot continuous, Leah’s belonging starts to change with mainly influence through the continues experience of social environment. ‘Now shanghai was as familiar as Chatswood’. It is not her wiliness but her experience which has made her open up her mind slowly towards China. From this we can see the individual’s attitudes to belonging over time.
In Peter Skrzynecki’s ’10 Mary St’, the poet expresses a strong sense of belonging towards his family home and garden. The use of the first person perspective, enjambment, simile, metaphor and alliteration in describing everyday routines create vivid imagery of the family’s activities and reinforces the concepts of belonging. The recount poem utilises effective images of the family’s daily routines, such as securing the house “each morning … like a well-oiled lock”. The concept of time runs throughout the poem, such as the repetition of the term” nineteen years”,