10 Mary Street Belonging Analysis
Belonging is notorious for its complex nature. One person’s perception of belonging can vastly differ from another’s. This is displayed clearly in Peter Skrzynecki’s poetry, in this essay however Feliks Skrzynecki and 10 Mary Street will be discussed in detail. To support the points raised and provide further examples of belongings complexities the texts Dumb by Nirvana and the film Avatar directed by James Cameron.
Firstly, in the poem Feliks Skrzynecki the persona describes the father figure as self sufficient in the lines “My gentle father/kept pace only with the Joneses of his own minds making”. This is backed up later in the poem when we learn that Feliks has made no attempt to even learn English. This is the kind of complacency that …show more content…
For example in Avatar James Cameron uses biodiversity to convey his message about belonging. In the film, Jake Sully is a paraplegic and does not feel as though he belongs. This is why he travels to Pandora, a distant planet, to take over his deceased brother’s duties as a scientist. Jake belongs to the Na’vi people of Pandora because he has nothing to lose. James Cameron portrays Jake as, at first, incompetent. As the film progresses Jake’s relationship with his foreign counterparts falls apart. His love interest Neytiri screams at him “you will never be one of the people”. This line is perhaps the most powerful line in relation to belonging throughout the entire film. This line portrays that sometimes no matter how hard one tries to belong through changing to better suit their surroundings it doesn’t work. Of course, Jake ends up belonging but at this stage in the film he does not belong at all. The humans shun him and so do the Na’vi. This directly correlates to 10 Mary Street because both texts show the differing nature of belonging from person to person. In 10 Mary Street the parents have a garden which is symbolic of their roots in their new country. The garden in religiously maintained and gives the parents a sense of belonging in Australia. In stark contrast to this is the persona, he says “my parents’ watered plants - grew potatoes and rows of sweet corn: tended roses and camellias like adopted children. Home from school earlier I’d ravage the back garden like a hungry bird”. These lines tell the reader that the boy takes the garden for granted and does not particularly care about his parents roots, presumably through lack of
Firstly, in the poem Feliks Skrzynecki the persona describes the father figure as self sufficient in the lines “My gentle father/kept pace only with the Joneses of his own minds making”. This is backed up later in the poem when we learn that Feliks has made no attempt to even learn English. This is the kind of complacency that …show more content…
For example in Avatar James Cameron uses biodiversity to convey his message about belonging. In the film, Jake Sully is a paraplegic and does not feel as though he belongs. This is why he travels to Pandora, a distant planet, to take over his deceased brother’s duties as a scientist. Jake belongs to the Na’vi people of Pandora because he has nothing to lose. James Cameron portrays Jake as, at first, incompetent. As the film progresses Jake’s relationship with his foreign counterparts falls apart. His love interest Neytiri screams at him “you will never be one of the people”. This line is perhaps the most powerful line in relation to belonging throughout the entire film. This line portrays that sometimes no matter how hard one tries to belong through changing to better suit their surroundings it doesn’t work. Of course, Jake ends up belonging but at this stage in the film he does not belong at all. The humans shun him and so do the Na’vi. This directly correlates to 10 Mary Street because both texts show the differing nature of belonging from person to person. In 10 Mary Street the parents have a garden which is symbolic of their roots in their new country. The garden in religiously maintained and gives the parents a sense of belonging in Australia. In stark contrast to this is the persona, he says “my parents’ watered plants - grew potatoes and rows of sweet corn: tended roses and camellias like adopted children. Home from school earlier I’d ravage the back garden like a hungry bird”. These lines tell the reader that the boy takes the garden for granted and does not particularly care about his parents roots, presumably through lack of