Peter Skrzynecki free essay sample

Belonging is feeling a sense of acceptance, familiarity and unity, whether it is in a group of friends, family or within the community; however, barriers to belonging can exist. Peter Skrzynecki’s poem 10 Mary Street, emphasizes belonging to the family. Skrzynecki’s poem St Patrick College, depicts alienation in a community. The advertisement, Financial Disadvantage is About More Then Just Money, by the Smith Family, explores the idea of not being able to belonging to society. Belong to the family is reflected in Peter Skrzynecki’s poem 10 Mary Street, which explores the strong connection the Skrzynecki family develops with each other and their new home in Australia. The use of anaphora with the collective pronoun â€Å"we† emphasizes the unity of the family existence. As the poet depicts the habitual routine of the family, which is shown through the simile of â€Å"like a well-oiled lock†, he evokes a comforting image of familiarity. We will write a custom essay sample on Peter Skrzynecki or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The use of imagery to portray the poet’s home displays a positive and caring environment, where vegetables and flowers flourish under care, representative of the family unit. We know from the poem Feliks Skrzynecki, that the poets father is the gardener.. The home was also a place where the family was able to preserve â€Å"pre-war Europe,† and maintain their cultural identity, through the exchange of memories, and the sharing of cultural food. Sustaining these cultural customs fostered a connection between migrants as they were able to share in each others experiences. Overall this poem is the portrayal of a cohesive family unit, working and living harmoniously together. In contrast, not belonging to a Community is demonstrated in Peter Skrzynecki’s poem St. Patricks College, which is a reflective piece that explores his institutional alienation. Skrzynecki’s mother enrolled him in St. Patricks College when she first saw the â€Å"uniforms of her employers sons. † She wanted to give her son every opportunity possible to belong to a school community and assimilate into Australian society. Instead, Skrzynecki became a outsider. Whilst recounting his daily routine of traveling to school, Skrzynecki’s words give of a sense of displacement. He uses the simile â€Å"like a foreign tourists† to indicate his lack of connection to the school environment. He also uses the paradox â€Å"uncertain of my destination every time I got off† to show his inability to seek comfort within this daily routine. Throughout the poem there are also several references to the school’s strong Catholic affinity, which contrasts with the non-religious standing of the poet. When Skrzynecki talks about his â€Å"Christian decorums for homework† and his ability to â€Å"say the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, all in one breath,† his obvious use of dismissive and sarcastic tones show his lack of connection to the spiritual life of the college. It is clear that in his time at the school, the poet’s individuality and identity has been stifled due to conforming to the strict educational codes. It is only after he leaves the school that his â€Å"light shines. † Similarly, inability to belong to Society is shown through the advertisement Financial Disadvantage is About More Than Just Money by The Smith Family. The Smith Family is an organisation that aims to help disadvantaged children by giving them educational opportunities. The salient image in this advertisement is the little girl, who’s posture shows that she has low self-esteem. Her facial expression indicates that she had given up. The positioning of the child alone on a bench, visually conveys her alienation and loneliness, due to her segregation from all groups. Second in the ‘reading path’ is the text, a block of handwritten words around the child, that suggest a constant fog of depression weighing her down. The text uses the multiple voices of, parents, teachers, peers and self, and their narrative choices to represent the negative interaction between them and the child. For example, the use of â€Å"we have no money for that,† â€Å"well below average,† â€Å"get away from us† and â€Å"what did I do wrong? Additionally, the eyes of the young girl serve as a vector to the text below, which gives the statistics that there are 680,000 disadvantaged kids, similarly â€Å"shunned and excluded† who need The Smith Family’s help. The Smith Family were trying to creates an emotional response in the reader, showing the child as powerless and therefore the onus is on the responder to take action. The effectiveness of this ad will solicit donations. In conclusion, Peter Skrzynecki’s poem 10 Mary Street, emphasizes belonging to the family. Skrzynecki’s poem St Patrick College, depicts alienation in a community. The advertisement, Financial Disadvantage is About More Then Just Money, by the Smith Family, explores the idea of not being able to belonging to society. In Peter Skrzynecki’s poems, any problems he might encounter with belonging stem from his Polish background rather then the lack of a loving family. Both poems examined show strong family support, first from his family unit and secondly from his mother.