Considered a fundamental aspect of being human, belonging or our idea of belonging is a result of the choices we make. It can offer individuals a sense of identity, security and attachment. Experiences of belonging are closely related to a person’s interaction with others, as positive experiences can enrich a person’s sense of belonging. It is only through our personal choice and perceptions that we choose to belong or in some cases not belong. Positive notions and experiences are both extensively explored throughout Peter Skrzynecki poems 10 Mary Street and Feliks Skrzynecki from the anthology immigrant chronicle. We are given an insight into distinctive familial bonds, culture and acceptance. The issues of acceptance and inclusion are also explored and can all be related to Melina Marchetta’s novel Looking for Alibrandi.
Skrzynecki’s poem 10 Mary Street provides its reader with insight into the distinctive concept of familial bonds whilst belonging to a home. Through the use of a time reference we find that Skrzynecki has been living the Australian life style “For nineteen years”, this sense of routine continues throughout the poem. As Skrzynecki chose the Australian lifestyle his parents decide to “keep pre-war Europe alive”. It allows them to escape the minds of narrow minded people, as they travelled “over that still too narrow bridge” and reminence about the positive experiences of the past, they “tended roses and camellias like adopted children” proving their love towards their garden unlike the persona who would‘ravage the backyard like a hungry bird”. Furthermore the collective listings of polish foods ‘Kielbasa’, ‘Rye Bread’, ‘Salt Herrings’ and ‘Raw Vodka’ adds authenticity of polish heritage throughout the home allowing visitors of the same background to feel comfortable within the household, after their displacement do to the war. This situation is also explored in depth when we, are told the house is a site of numerous “heated discussions and embracing gestures” this in turn demonstrates a sense of attachment and friendliness throughout the home.
Similarly the novel Looking For Alibrandi my Melina Marchetta, explores the issues of acceptance and inclusion as Josephine struggles to find a community to belong or to be a part of only to recount certain incidents such as the walkathon and come to the conclusion that she had belonged all the time, this only appears to happen after the tragic death of John Barton. Josephine had believed that he was part of and lived a happy, inclusive and accepting life, only to realise that none of this was true and that all along she had been complaining all along feeling illegitimate when in reality she was part of a wide loving family, a father and friends
The issues of acceptance and inclusion are present in skrzynecki’s poem Feliks Skrzynecki which highlights the fact that a person has the choice to either include or isolate his/herself from a certain community. In the opening stanza a brief description is present in the form of first person narration presenting a positive connotation of Feliks