10 Mary Street Analysis

English Belonging Essay #1

The concept of belonging indicates a sense of connection and similarities with ones surroundings, encouraged through enduring relationships and comfort zones. With the absence of such feelings ‘belonging’ is replaced by alienation, accompanied by an emotional detachments from ones surroundings. Understanding these connections and surroundings nourishes rather than prevents these feelings. In Peter Skrzynecki’s poem “St.Patricks College” and “10 Mary Street” the connections with his surroundings are explored. They are explored through the environments and culture he grows up in. In the 2007 movie “Bra Boys” directed by Sonny Abberton and Macario De Souza the concepts of the landscape, culture and alienation are explored through their connections to the environment they are in.

“St.Patricks College” reflects on the poet’s time at school, revealing his feelings of separation from his surroundings and his mother’s aspiration for him to have a good education. The direct speech “What was best” and “Two fees and expenses” illustrate his mother’s determination for her son to have a good education. In the last stanza “Wasn’t for the best” once he goes through his schooling, juxtaposes what his mother originally thought. In stanza 2 the metaphor “Our lady watched” provides the reader with a sense of
comfort, which the school community also feels, but the opposite of Peter Skrzynecki’s feelings, revealing his separation from his surroundings. The personal possessive pronoun “Our” at the beginning of the line reflects the community’s comfort.

The time and direction are explored right through out the poem with the repetition of “For eight years” this re-enforces to the readers that his school life was a large part of his life. The imagery of “Playing chasings up and down” creates a feeling of kinetic energy showing his progression at school and shows the connection Peter Skrzynecki has to the school. The schools environment feels very foreign to the poet and this makes him feel alienated. Religious references are throughout the poem, “Mother crossed herself,” reveals that the poet grew up in a religious family and he feels a great connection through this. This aspect of his life makes him feel as though he belongs. The metaphor “Uncertain of my destination” explores this idea as he knows his destination and surroundings but these have not been endured by any relationships within this environment. His relationship with his mother motivates his experience at St.Pats and this is reflected on in the last stanza. The poet ends the poem with “Before I let my light shine” which refers to the school motto “Luceat Lux Vestra” showing readers that after 8 years of alienation he was ready to belong.

Peter Skrzynecki’s poem “10 Mary Street” demonstrates his connection and sense of belonging to the house he grew up in, through the landscape around him and his connection to his polish culture.
The poem presents the readers with a portrayal that Skrzynecki had a connection with the garden in his house, and the repetition of agriculture through the poem emphasizes his connection to it. The cumulative listing “Plants-grew, and rows of sweet corn, tended roses and camellias” creates and image for the readers and helps them to understand what the poet is connected too. The garden is a representation of the landscape he was familiar with in
Poland.

Skrzynecki’s Polish culture creates a sense of belonging, as it was 1 thing he couldn’t be disconnected from, his culture was like a sense of security. “We departed” displays this strong connected. The poet does this by using a 1st person plural “We” presenting a relationship. The poets connection to his surroundings is displayed through the metaphor “We became citizens of the soil” creating a new relationship to his new surroundings, with reference to the agriculture through the soil, further emphasizing his connection to the garden. The poet’s family relationship is a very strong and influential one and a great sense of belonging is created and displayed through the personal possessive pronoun in “My parents”.

In both Peter Skrzynecki’s poems “St. Patrick’s College” and “10 Mary Street” the ideas of connections to surroundings and family culture are explored. Through these ideas, feelings of belonging and alienation are created and these are nourished through the relationship with his family in both poems.

In the “Bra Boys” the landscapes of the beach and the surfing culture creates a sense of belonging due to the alienation created by the surrounding communities. This feeling of alienation is experienced because the gang known, as the ‘Bra Boys’ did not conform to societies attitudes, they were discriminated against and were detached from the community. As a result of this the gang found a sense of belonging down at Maroubra Beach. The landscape of the beach became a ‘mother’ to the boys; the beach became their lives. They grew up around a surfing culture and the beach became a place they truly belonged. From all the time hanging down at the beach together the ‘Bra Boys’ formed a brotherhood that “always got each others back” and this portrays there belonging to one another. Throughout the trailer captions are shot up onto the screen- “Survival”, “Family”, “Courage” and “Loyalty”. They are soundtrack with the sound of waves crashing. These captions emphasize there sense of belonging to the beach culture and the sound of the waves continues this emphasis.

Both Peter Skrzynecki’s poems and “Bra Boys” film trailer explore the idea of the landscapes and different cultures and there influence on belonging to part of society. The relationship of the Bra Boys and Peter Skrzynecki and his family have nourished these feelings and have prevent them from feeling alienated form certain aspects of there life.