Comparison of "Feliks Skrzynecki" and "Post Card"
How do the two poems “Feliks Skrzynecki” and “10 Mary Street” by Peters Skrzynecki convey the changing sense of belonging of different members of Peter’s family?
The two poems by Peters Skrzynecki, “Feliks Skrzynecki” and “10 Mary Street” paint a picture of a migrant family where the father and son have different perceptions of their belonging as a result of their different cultural experiences. In addition, their feelings about belonging change over time. This changing sense of belonging is conveyed effectively through a variety of poetic devices such as: imagery, metaphors, similes and hyperboles.
To start with, the poem “10 Mary Street” depicts a convergence of the two cultures – Polish and Australian. The image of Peter in his “little St Patrick’s College cap,” “ravaging” their Polish garden full of fruit and vegetables paints a picture of a happy childhood when Peter appears to embrace both his Polish heritage and Australian culture. The image of the cap links him to Australian education and symbolises Peter’s assimilation into the Australian society. Similarly, his use of an Australian idiom to describe the parents’ visitors’ smoking habit, “… smoked like a dozen Puffing Billies, “ again implies that culturally he belongs to Australia. At the same time, the image of his parents who “Kept pre-war Europe alive,” socialised with Polish “visitors that ate kielbasa … and drank raw vodka,” implies that the parents’ Polish culture dominates their life. But it does not frustrate the boy. Peter willingly participates in both cultures.
Peter’s attitude changes with time. The poem “Feliks Skrzynecki” explores the growing tension between the father and the son, non-existent in the poem “10 Mary Street.” The boy is more than willing not only to accept the new country but also to surrender his father’s Polish heritage. Peter develops a sense of alienation that comes from his cultural and educational context - he is a son of migrants who has never been to Poland,
The two poems by Peters Skrzynecki, “Feliks Skrzynecki” and “10 Mary Street” paint a picture of a migrant family where the father and son have different perceptions of their belonging as a result of their different cultural experiences. In addition, their feelings about belonging change over time. This changing sense of belonging is conveyed effectively through a variety of poetic devices such as: imagery, metaphors, similes and hyperboles.
To start with, the poem “10 Mary Street” depicts a convergence of the two cultures – Polish and Australian. The image of Peter in his “little St Patrick’s College cap,” “ravaging” their Polish garden full of fruit and vegetables paints a picture of a happy childhood when Peter appears to embrace both his Polish heritage and Australian culture. The image of the cap links him to Australian education and symbolises Peter’s assimilation into the Australian society. Similarly, his use of an Australian idiom to describe the parents’ visitors’ smoking habit, “… smoked like a dozen Puffing Billies, “ again implies that culturally he belongs to Australia. At the same time, the image of his parents who “Kept pre-war Europe alive,” socialised with Polish “visitors that ate kielbasa … and drank raw vodka,” implies that the parents’ Polish culture dominates their life. But it does not frustrate the boy. Peter willingly participates in both cultures.
Peter’s attitude changes with time. The poem “Feliks Skrzynecki” explores the growing tension between the father and the son, non-existent in the poem “10 Mary Street.” The boy is more than willing not only to accept the new country but also to surrender his father’s Polish heritage. Peter develops a sense of alienation that comes from his cultural and educational context - he is a son of migrants who has never been to Poland,