Belonging Essay Example

to the Polish culture through practising it. This mutual sense of belonging to the culture is extended to a sense of belonging within the family.

The imagery ‘heated discussions/ And embracing gestures’ expresses the poet’s acknowledgement of the Polish custom, and along with the fluent use of the foreign italicised word ‘kielbasa’, the poet’s strong connection and sense of belonging to not only the family but the Polish culture is expounded. However, as time passed by, Peter Skrzynecki develops his sense of belonging to Australian culture and rejection to his Polish heritage in ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’.

In contrast to his acknowledgement of Polish custom in ’10 Mary Street’, the poet expresses his judgemental opinion towards his father’s social manner that emerge from the Polish heritage through the imagery ‘shook hands too violently’ and ‘that formal address/ I never got used to’. This lack of understanding between father and son then results in a distant relationship between them, which is suggested by the imagery ‘My father…watching stars and street lights come on/ happy as I have never been’.

The father and son’s psychological journeys diverge as the son is ‘stumbling over tenses in Caeser’s Garllic War/ I lost my first Polish word’. This metaphor suggests that the son has forgotten his language, which he was able to use fluently in ’10 Mary Street’, and hence the Polish culture it carries. As the son immerses himself into the Australian culture, the father and son have embarked on a totally different psychological path, and this idea is enhanced by the allusion of ‘Further and further south of Hadrian’s Wall’.

The use of Hadrian’s Wall symbolises

the social and culture barrier that prevents the father and son from feeling belonging to each other. The father remains entrenched in his Polish heritage while the son has adapted to the Australian culture. They can no longer communicate with each other and consequently the absence of understanding between them results in the son’s lack of belonging to not only the father, but more importantly to the Polish culture the father represents.

Therefore, by comparing the poet’s different attitude towards different cultures expressed in the two poems as well as the consequent differing senses of belonging developed, the audience can deepen their understanding of the nature of belonging to recognise that a sense of belonging to a culture can be changed depending on one’s attitude and degree of engagement with that culture. Shaun Tan also shows a similar idea in his graphic novel ‘The Arrival’ which chronicles the protagonist’s struggle to develop a sense of belonging to his new country.

Tan reinforces the importance of one’s active engagement to the development of a sense of belonging. A message of isolation is delivered to the audience in an early graphic where the protagonist stands in the middle of a spacious land, holding his suitcase, with facial expression indicating that he is confused and withdrawn from the crowd who are in groups engaging in their own business, leaving the protagonist isolation. The grey colour reinforces his lack of belonging to the foreign, unwelcoming country. However, similar to Peter Skrzynecki who ‘stumbles over Ceasar’s Garllic

War’ and tries to fit into the Australian culture in ’10 Mary Street’, the protagonist attempts to understand the new

place. This idea is shown to the audience through a graphic in which the protagonist is playing a game with other migrants. Bright colours created by the beams of sunlight shinning on the migrants develop an atmosphere of joy. The symbol of cogs in the wheel is implemented in the sun which symbolises the migrants, metaphorically and literally, fitting together. Furthermore, playing a game implies an active move to understand and accept not only the rule of the game but also other players.

Their body language of standing in a circle and looking at the same direction suggests that a sense of belonging is developed among them and hence to the new country. Therefore, The Arrival enriches our appreciation of the concept that one’s positive attitude and active engagement is crucial to the development of a sense of belonging to both people and places. Nonetheless, Phillip Noyce proves, in his film ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’, that a person can choose not to accept a new culture but strengthen their sense of belonging to their original culture.

The audience can hence further refine the idea that attitude influences belonging in this film. In the beginning of the film, a mid shot showing Molly’s proud facial expression which then cut to a wide shot of natural landscape conveys Molly’s sense of belonging to her homeland as a result of her pride. A mid shot of Maude, Molly’s mother, teaching Molly about the tribal totem and culture with body language of bending down to Molly’s level and embracing her effectively emphasises the intimate relationship between the mother and the daughter.

Through a low angle shot showing

Molly’s joy facial expression, the audience can appreciate that Molly’s sense of belonging to her mother and the broader Aboriginal tribal culture is developed. Similar to ’10 Mary Street’, in which the poet expresses his acknowledgement to a culture through language and gesture, the Aboriginal language Molly and her mother speak in further enhances the strong spiritual relationship between Molly and the Aboriginal community and hence a sense of belonging is firmly developed.

Conversely, Molly vigorously rejects the white culture forced on her in the Moor River settlement. Molly refuses to form any meaningful connections with the place and people and hence any sense of belonging. This is shown by the montage scene where Molly sees images of Mr Neville, Moodoo the tracker, the Sister and Riggs when lying on her bed. Each time their face appears she repeats ‘this place makes me sick, sick, sick’. The repetition of ‘sick’ emphasises her rejection and unwillingness to make connection which results in a lack of sense of belonging to the Moore River Settlement.

Moreover, the scene is juxtaposed with a low angle shot of the spirit bird which is a symbol of freedom foreshadowing Molly’s escape. This symbolises that Molly elects to maintain a sense of belonging with her Aboriginal culture rather than the newly-introduced white culture, which is in contrast with The Arrival in which the protagonist actively make connections with the place and eventually develops a sense of belonging there.

The responders can deepen their understanding of Molly’s sense of belonging with the Aboriginal culture through the escape scenes in which Molly cleverly tricks the tracker Moodoo and arrives home safely

with her sister. The music of didgeridoo and kookaburra highlights the intimate bond the children have to the land and that they are at home in this environment. Molly’s innate ability to survive in bush environment is conveyed by her sensitivity to sound of horses in a rapid river and her body language of responding quickly and hiding behind a rock to avoid the tracker.

This reinforces Molly’s connection with the natural environment and the associated Aboriginal society. In conclusion, unlike Peter Skrzynecki and the protagonist in The Arrival, Molly does not choose to understand the white culture, thus her relationship with the Aboriginal society and culture remain unaltered. The responders can therefore refine their appreciation of the concept that one’s attitude can influence their sense of belonging and rejection to a culture is detrimental to the development of a sense of belong.

To conclude, ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ and ’10 Mary Street’ by Peter Skrzynecki, ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ by Philip Noyce as well as The Arrival by Shaun Tan all deepen the responders’ understanding of belonging as a changing concept. The responders’ appreciation of the influence of attitude is broadened as the poems and The Arrival both suggest that only active engagement can stimulate the formation of a sense of belonging, while RPF enhances that one’s rejection to a new culture can help to maintain and strength their existing sense of belonging. All three texts use a variety of techniques to assist in the responders’ understanding.