The Experience of a Journey in Literature

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“People create their own Questions because their too afraid to look straight. But all you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it don’t sit looking at it walk”. (Ayn Reed)

Physical journeys can involve a range of experiences and emotions. They can be taken for a range of reasons, they also involve choices being made when individuals encounter obstacles or move to new places. This idea is conveyed through Peter skrzynchi’s poems “Crossing the Red Sea” and Migrant Hostel”. In addition to David Marr’s article “Life in Limbo” and Nooria Wazefadost life story article “A young refugees plea for a better future”. It is through these texts that the composers convey their experiences of the journey, using effective techniques, which helps the responder, understand that the choices being made by individuals have an overall affect on the journey they are undertaking.

As we venture out on our journeys, obstacles can often shape the motives for our journeys and the paths we may choose to travel on. This is clearly demonstrated in skrzenchis “Crossing the Red Sea” as he traces a physical as well as a shared emotional journey in which the migrants sail through the Red sea, as they escape from war torn Europe. The image “from behind sunken eyes” suggests the past sufferings and misery that the migrants have encountered during WWII. Also the exhaustion they feel after such a long and tiresome journey. The migrants are metaphorically described as “Neither masters nor slaves” emphasising that although they have escaped, their journey is full of uncertainty, and they do not have complete control of their destiny. Through describing the harshness and brutality of the physical journey, we also see the emotional impact and ...

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... was an unexpected obstacle in their journey, the migrants have to fight it, in order to secure their futures and live happily in Australia as Nooria did.

All these texts contribute to choices being made when individuals encounter obstacles or move to new places. In “Crossing the Red sea”, the migrants experience several emotions as they made a choice to leave Europe and move to a new country. Also in “Escape from a life in limbo” by David Marr, al kateb made a choice to come to Australia and face all the obstacles that were stopping him. However, in “Migrant Hostel”, the migrants have arrived at their final destination, but are still making decisions about their future. Moreover, in Nooria Wazefadosts life story of coming to Australia, she arrived at her final destination and fought to live as a free resident would, as she was free to leave the detention centre.

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