Preview

Peter Skrzynecki The Arrival Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
544 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Peter Skrzynecki The Arrival Analysis
To belong or not to belong

A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. To find where one belongs isn’t always a pleasant journey. It depends on your personal experience, to whether you find it pleasant or not. Peter Skrzynecki shares his personal experience of migration and the years after through poems not all so pleasant, which I would like to show you parts of his journey today. I would also like to explore the picture book The Arrival by Shaun Tan also about migration experience.
Born in 1945, Peter Skrzynecki moved from Germany at the end of WW2, travelling by sea to Australia spending time in migrant hostels in Sydney. Skrzynecki presents feelings of belonging

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Humanity thrives on a sense of belonging and acceptance. The most powerful influences that impact on an individual’s sense of belonging include identity and heritage. These aspects are observable in Peter Skrzynecki’s collection of poems, Immigrant Chronicle, which brings to life the cultural plight of migrants in a mainstream Australian society; Anna Spudvilas’ award-winning picture book Woolvs in the Sitee, which details the importance of withdrawing from adverse circumstances, and Katherine Mansfield’s short story The Doll’s House, which describes the impact of social hierarchy on an individual’s sense of belonging.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peter skrzynecki emigrated from Germany to Australia in 1949, shortly after the conclusion of World War two. His first two years in Australia were spent living in a migrant camp in New South Wales. It is from this brief section of his life where the inspiration for Migrant Hostel derived. Migrant Hostel deals with the emotions surrounding the detainment migrants experience after arrival in Australia. Skrzynecki manipulates the use of poetic devices to portray the absence of belonging in this poem. One device in which this can be seen is where he utilizes tone effectively. He chose to depict a tone of insecurity and instability by placing significance on the nouns in the first stanza. Such as “comings and goings”, “arrivals”, “busloads” and…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order for one to feel a sufficient sense of belonging, they must first experience the sensation of not belonging. “Immigrant Chronicles” is a poetry anthology by Polish/Australian poet Peter Skrzynecki and includes the poems ‘St Patrick’s College’ and ‘Migrant Hostel’. They explore the notion of belonging and the lack of it, and how one’s experience of it can be limited or enriched through interactions with other, and the world. ‘Migrant Hostel’ and ‘St Patrick’s College’ regards the belonging, or absence of it he felt in those places, as well as the watercolour ‘Alienation’ by Ian Kim.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Migrant Hostel is an account of Peter Skrzynecki’s time in the migrant hostel, yet it is ambiguous and could apply to many immigrants. This suggests that many people were struggling to find belonging as immigrants in Australia.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peter Sckerznki Summary

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Peter Skrzynecki’s poems explore the experiences of migrant families who grapple with what it means to belong in a foreign country. Having left the familiarity of their home, they encounter barriers that hold them back from fitting in such as language barriers and the different cultural practices and beliefs. During the poetry, Skrzynecki talks about how as a younger migrant he was able to move past the barriers but he felt like he was alienated from his Polish heritage, ancestors and family friends. Conversely, he continues on about how his parents were too slow on the process of fitting yet, where as unlike him they still maintained their ties with their polish heritage, friends and traditions.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the notion of ‘belonging’ entails a need for acceptance by others, the first barrier one must face is coming to terms with one’s own identity. This essay, I will explore two interrelated issues. First, it is the inability to reconcile one’s identity that prevents one from belonging. Second, it is only through engaging with one’s surrounding that a better sense of self may be achieved. These themes are expressed in Peter Skrzynecki’s suite of poems, the Immigrant Chronicles (1975), where the author’s sense of alienation from both his Polish and Australian heritages stems from his own ambivalence towards his identity. In particular, the poems In the Folk Museum, and 10 Mary Street articulates his internal struggles during his teenage…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The various texts explore the difficulties and inadequent benefits of belonging. The poems “Migrant Hostel” and “St Patrick's College” by Peter Skrzynecki and the related texts The Ride of Zhu Bao Sheng a short story by Nick Long and the novel Stolen by Lucy Christopher effectively portray that being alienated can be the catalyst for a true sense of not belonging. A sense of not belonging can emerge from the dislocation and displacement made with people, places and the larger world this is shown through different narrative feautures and various language techniques.…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    One’s understanding of belonging can broaden their understanding and acceptance of themselves and the world around them. The statement that we all strive to belong is true, however it may take time to belong to a certain person, place, group, community or even the larger world. This issue is explored in Raimond Gaita’s biographical memoir Romulus, My Father and Khaled Hosseini’s confronting novel The Kite Runner. Throughout these texts, the themes of personal relationships, migrant experience and morals and values arise from the concept of belonging and are explored through the use of language devices.…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some may say, in order to associate with certain people or a particular place, we must identify ourselves. But Peter Skrzynecki’s ‘Immigrant chronicles’ namely the ‘Migrant Hostel’ suggest that to belong we must conform to social expectations and in turn suppress our individuality. The uncertain nature and impermanence of the Hostel creates a metaphoric barrier to inclusion along with the juxtaposition of “Comings and goings” which implies a sense of chaos and instability. This constant changing of the hostel “arrivals of newcomers” averts Skrzynecki from discovering a place of affinity. The poet ultimately accentuates the great burden migrants must undergo in a contradicting society, further reinforcing the distinct sense of inclusion an individual may gain from cultural and societal influences. Furthermore the migrants isolation from the outside world is displayed as a physical symbol of alienation “A barrier at the main gate, sealed from the highway…as it rose and fell like a finger”. This strengthens the migrant’s entrapment and marginalization through bureaucratic oppression.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A sense of belonging can be created from the connections people make throughout their lives. Belonging can also allow for people to form positive connections; however there are also many barriers to belonging. Some of these barriers are explored in peter Skrzynecki’s poem “Ancestors”. The poem shows Skrzynecki’s failure to comprehend his own cultural identity. Skrzynecki uses the idea of ancestors and ghosts to show familial, cultural and historical belonging.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Belonging is an instinctive factor in human nature which is embedded in everyone. The sense of belonging or not belonging can have a significant impact on a person’s life, their personality and their position in society. A person may find a strong sense of belonging through representations of symbolic places, relationships or events. Through these different aspects which create a sense of belonging, a strong individual identity can also be formed. Peter Skrzynecki explores these concepts in his poem “Feliks Skrzynecki” and presents the idea that there does not always have to be a conflict between an individual’s desire to belong and their duty to themselves. In this poem, Skrzynecki demonstrates how Feliks’ bond with his home country of Poland and his desire to continue to belong there, play a defining role in shaping his own individual identity in his new country, Australia. He retained his individual identity throughout the many experiences in his life and it is this strong sense of personal awareness that fuelled the desire to further strengthen his sense of belonging with Poland, as opposed to Australia. Through this motion, Skrzynecki demonstrates how Feliks does not feel obliged to change his identity in order to feel a part of or fit into his new society. He does not have a distinct desire to belong to his new life, rather he chooses to surround himself with what reminds him of Poland – his home country in this new environment, hence eliminating the conflict of the individual’s duty to themselves and their desire to belong. Along with this, Skrzynecki is also able to portray how his father’s behaviour has affected him by making it difficult for Skrzynecki to develop his own sense of belonging in Australia. This representation of a significant place is shown through Feliks’ garden…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through studying belonging, one can recognise that acceptance and understanding of one’s cultural and racial differences can enhance the sense of belonging, although a lack of understanding prevents it. Peter Skryznecki’s poem “Feliks Skryznecki” and Tom McCarthy’s film “The Visitor” are two texts which explore these ideas. The composers of the text use techniques such as contrasting imagery to convey both these ideas. Through studying these two texts my understanding of the concept of belonging has widened, as I have come to recognise and understand of how and what shapes and enhances one’s sense of belonging.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By studying the poetry in ‘Immigrant Chronicle’ by Peter Skrzynecki as well as my related text ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman, it can be seen that although most people wish to feel the experience of belonging, it is not everybody who are willing to make some hard choices to achieve it.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    People have different experiences of belonging, some of these are positive and others are negative. This concept will be explored through the prescribed text, the poems Immigrant Chronicle by Peter Skrzynecki, the film Looking for Alibrandi directed by Kate Woods and the novel Ten things I hate about me written by Randa Abdel El Fattah. These texts highlight the different aspects of belonging in varied negative and positive ways.…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Feliks Skrzynecki Analysis

    • 1269 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Feliks Skrzynecki is an individual physical and cultural journey experienced by Felik’s and narrated by Peter Skrzynecki. It seems Felix Skrzynecki never was culturally accepted in Australia, except by other immigrants, “Did your father ever attempt to learn English?” Despite this, Felix Skrzynecki is at peace, he made the best of his journey and finds contentment in the simple…

    • 1269 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays