Belonging: Perception and St Patrick
Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places.
In your response, refer to your prescribed text and at least one other related text of your own choosing.
“Home is where the heart is” was quoted by Pliny the Elder and is now used to signify a personal connection to a place and the personal sense of belonging received when at this place. Perceptions are influenced by connections to places and sometimes made by connections and disconnections to places. Looking at Peter Skrzynecki’s poem”10 Mary Street” and “St Patrick’s Day” that are part of the “Immigrant Chronicles” and contrasting them you look upon how the perception of belonging and not belonging is inextricably linked and is influenced by places. Unsung Ordinary Men by Sally Dingo is a text that explores in itself how connections to places influence our perceptions of belonging and not belonging. This text is non-fictional and represents the soldiers’ attitudes and perceptions of the places they were in and is symbolic of their perceptions of belonging and not belonging. Perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be and is often influenced by connections felt to places.
In “10 Mary Street” the house has both literal and symbolic significance of belonging. On a literal level it is typical of the kind of house a migrant family might choose to live in. Symbolically, the house represents Skrzynecki’s search for security, identity, safety and a place to belong. The house acts as a refuge from the strange environment and provides a safe place to belong. The personification of the house’s “china blue coat” reveals its fragile state. It is well cared for and idolised and Skrzynecki predicts with anxiety the sorrow that will be experienced when it has to be vacated. His connection to this house represents where he belongs and how a sense of connection a specific place influences perceptions of belonging and not belonging. The place you live is how he associates
In your response, refer to your prescribed text and at least one other related text of your own choosing.
“Home is where the heart is” was quoted by Pliny the Elder and is now used to signify a personal connection to a place and the personal sense of belonging received when at this place. Perceptions are influenced by connections to places and sometimes made by connections and disconnections to places. Looking at Peter Skrzynecki’s poem”10 Mary Street” and “St Patrick’s Day” that are part of the “Immigrant Chronicles” and contrasting them you look upon how the perception of belonging and not belonging is inextricably linked and is influenced by places. Unsung Ordinary Men by Sally Dingo is a text that explores in itself how connections to places influence our perceptions of belonging and not belonging. This text is non-fictional and represents the soldiers’ attitudes and perceptions of the places they were in and is symbolic of their perceptions of belonging and not belonging. Perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be and is often influenced by connections felt to places.
In “10 Mary Street” the house has both literal and symbolic significance of belonging. On a literal level it is typical of the kind of house a migrant family might choose to live in. Symbolically, the house represents Skrzynecki’s search for security, identity, safety and a place to belong. The house acts as a refuge from the strange environment and provides a safe place to belong. The personification of the house’s “china blue coat” reveals its fragile state. It is well cared for and idolised and Skrzynecki predicts with anxiety the sorrow that will be experienced when it has to be vacated. His connection to this house represents where he belongs and how a sense of connection a specific place influences perceptions of belonging and not belonging. The place you live is how he associates