Peter Skrzynecki Summary And Analysis Of The Poem Belonging

‘Belonging doesn’t just happen; it involves many factors and experiences in order to feel that you truly belong’.
It is very true that or an individual to feel they truly belong. Belonging is a complex process and concept; it is not something that is felt strongly or sustained unless many elements work together. Feliks Skrzynecki lost his sense of connection with his son because his son peter Skrzynecki lost his sense of identity, connection with his background, culture and heritage.
Felix Skrzynecki explores the relationship between the poet and his, father, and contrasting experiences of belonging in a new land. The poem opens with a positive description of peter Skrzynecki claiming him as “My gentle father” and “the softness of his blue eyes”, indicating his dual nature; tough and uncompromising at work, soft and gentle inner nature at home.
This is a subdued poem in
A harmonious and peaceful atmosphere is created through the accumulation of positive images: My father’s sits out in the evening/ with his dog, smoking, / watching the stars and the street lights come on’’. Feliks’s self-sufficiency and contentment contrast to Peter’s discontent: ‘’ Happy as I have never been.’’ This is ironic, considering that Feliks’s life has been more difficult. Feliks’s capacity to enjoy a sense of belonging has come through his experience of suffering. His mind has been broadened to understanding what really matters in life.
The final stanza shifts the poem’s focus from Feliks to Peter’s lack of belonging in the domain of his heritage. Peter tells how he ‘forgot his first Polish word’, and then pegged his ‘’tents/Further and further south to Hadrian’s Wall.’’ This wall symbolizes the barrier between father and son, and the barrier that Peter self-imposes to impede his belonging in Polish culture. Yet, his belonging in his new culture is somewhat