Feliks Skrzynecki Poem Belonging

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Belonging is defined as acceptance and interconnection within social, cultural, historical and personal contexts of the wider community. This makes an individual feel comfortable and happy to live among similar people. A sense of belonging can emerge from the connection made with communities. Individuals have a choice of involving and committing …show more content…

This is conveyed in the poem 'Feliks Skrzynecki', which demonstrates a sense of not belonging mentally through father still reminiscing in his past rather than accepting an Australian culture. This is displayed through the use of idiom and colloquialism, "Kept pace only with the Joneses of his own mind's making". This implies Feliks is not trying to keep up with his surrounded Australian community and living in his own world by holding on to his past. This conveys the detachment of progression in his life and disconnecting from the Australian community. The persona's father being rejected by a crew cut department clerk, who ironically asks "did your father ever attempt to learn English". This further emphasizes Feliks doesn't want to detach from his Polish culture and heritage so he faces discrimination leading to exclusion from being part of the Australian community and language barrier further disconnects him from the Australian community. Furthermore, "A sacrificed shouldered loyalty pledged beyond words" also exemplifies this idea through the Persona's mother being "felt isolated" because she couldn't speak English and she was "too shy to speak to anyone". The use of sibilance reflects the mother's quiet nature and implies the persona's mother chose not to be part of the Australian community due to her poor literacy and English skills. Moreover, in 'The China Coin', Leah rejects to accept her Chinese identity. The use of a rhetorical question, "couldn't the woman see?... not even an ABC", reflects Leah's negative attitude towards her Chinese identity and exposes no desire to belong, nor any empathy for the sights or new experiences. In addition, through the use of the third person pronoun, "After a while Leah became exhausted with the effort of translating the Cantonese in her head... conversation flow over her",

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