The extract ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ is an excellent poem to study as it predominately contains the idea of belonging throughout each stanza. A poetic portrait offers us a glimpse of hid ‘gentle’ yet ‘hardworking’ father from the subjective perspective of his son. Skrzynecki shows admiration for his father’s stoic optimism as he endures all the hardship. From this, we can see that the poet is paying a tribute to his father, in order to demonstrate the strong link between the family and the feelings of belonging as he emphasises the ‘5 years of forced labour’ that his father has suffered. The poet uses these images such as, ‘hands darkened’ and ‘cement, fingers with cracks’ to imply that the father challenges of being a prisoner of war which made him migrated to Australia to find a sense of belonging. (Refer Poland was undergoing WWII and cold war with Soviet Unions) A distinct parallel can be made in Delacroix’s painting as the figure of Liberty is composed to the centre of the painting exactly in the middle of the frame. This composition itself denotes the main figure with the flag, depicting a determination towards the cause and the struggle to achieve it. From looking at the imagery we can see the manner, in which humans will rise together against injustice and oppression, seeking freedom, and instead of ‘escaping’ conflict the people of liberty have adapted to the challenges in life by instigating a revolutionary war to fight for an idea in which they belong to. (Which brings me to my next point)
Steven Kloves once said that, ‘Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times of adversity, if one only remembers to turn on the light.’ This idea is present in each of the texts studied as it presents the idea that a sense of belonging can stem from a connection sculptured by the sharing of similar cultural values and beliefs, even during the challenging time within a community. As revealed throughout the painting, Delacroix creates a strong sense of connection through the people, holding the French flag, Lady Liberty turns to the men she leads, exhorting them to fight. Though a woman amongst male rebels, the bayonet she holds symbolically identifies her position as a member of the group, representing both the working class and the bourgeoisie; illustrating that the ideals that initiate belonging are not constrained by social barriers. Similarly in the ‘Feliks’ poem, the father’s peasant agricultural background is highlighted by his conversation with ‘his Polish friends’ and fellow immigrants as they ‘always shook hands’ and “reminisced/about farms where paddocks flowered/horses they bred”. The accumulations of these positive verbs convey a sense of their shared nostalgia, binding the migrants together and fostering their belonging to the world in which they now live. A significant example can also be seen in Skrzynecki’s ‘Migrant Hostel’. The technique of metonymy is used in the line, “Nationalities sough each other out”; stressing how the challenges to gain personal allegiances and human companionship drives migrants to actively seek out those ‘recognised by accents’. They gravitate towards each other for cultural support and comfort. The simile, ‘like a homing pigeon’ effectively draws on the imagery of a ‘cultural or racial instinct’ and travelling distances covered by migratory birds. However this also creates a paradox as “pigeons” represent freedom and lack of restriction. The long distanced travelled by the migratory birds represent the adversity that each individual must experience to get to the other side, where they may reunite with their identity and beliefs.
Belonging is a complex, multi-faceted concept that encompasses a wide range of different adversity, challenges and barriers which often creates feelings of isolation, depression and loss of identity. A struggle for cultural belonging is evident in Migrant Hostel’s first stanza where a sense of uncertainty is expressed in the line ‘sudden departures’ and ‘who would be coming next’ permeates the poem. The emotional instability of the migrants is also expressed through the alliterative ‘h’ in ‘Memories of hunger and hate.’ Moreover, the connotations of ‘a barrier at the main gate’ reiterate the migrant’s segregation from the host society, implying the chance of belonging is limited. This is also depicted in the simile “like a finger/Pointed in reprimand or shame”, demonstrating their alienation. The visual imagery of ‘tents’ implies transience while references to ‘Hadrian’s Wall’ reinforce the idea of separation. However the pessimism ends as Skrzynecki depicts a stark contrast between death, “dying” and rebirth, “begun” and therefore implying of belonging into a new social context despite past challenging experiences. This idea is seen consistently in the painting, as Delacroix portrays the meaning of the image, the content through the pile of dead bodies during the battle to gain liberty represents their willingness to self sacrifice in order to belong to their values and ideals. Similarly to the migrants, there is still hope to belong to liberty and freedom despite the challenges, even if the obscurely painted swords, rifles and smokes between both opposing sides depict a barrier. Throughout ‘Migrant Hostel’, the repetition of ‘we’ unifies the migrant through an underlying commonality regardless of their individual racial origin, as the hostel portrays a unifying entity; allowing them to share the same despair, frustrations and experience. In the same way the bourgeoisie of France, led by Liberty, has been united by challenging the monarchy for their ideals and freedom.
As you can see the experiences of Peter Skrzynecki as a migrant to Australia through his poems and the visual imagery portrayed by Delacroix show us that there are a number of important elements that surround the concept of belonging. So you must agree that both examples are the perfect texts to study as they reflect the idea that in order to belong, we must adapt and overcome the challenges life throws at us.
by
dannieandre (student)
