Comparison Of Migrant Hostel And 10 Mary Street
Poem Section A (1)
The poems “Migrant hostel” and “10 Mary St” both written by Peter Skrzynecki contain elements of belonging to people and places through techniques used by peter within these poems.
“For nineteen years” the family owned their home, their place of belonging that within only 4 years of hard work they paid it off and made it their own. The house was unsold until the parents died, so the long “nineteen years” at their home was demonstrates how much it meant to the family as it is the place where they established their belonging. In “10 Mary Street”, the family’s connection to their house (place) is established through the nurturing of their garden. A simile is used “tended roses and camellias like adopted children” emphasises
this strong connection to their garden and their immense care towards it. Peter gains joy and fulfilment from his garden and this enables his attachment to his home to grow, the quote “I’d ravage the backyard garden like a hungry bird-until, bursting at the seams of my little blue St Patricks College cap” resembles this. The personification of the house with its “china blue coat” gives a sense of security and warmth to the house, highlighting its significance in terms of their belonging. In the forth stanza, it is evident that the family has established connections with people of similar cultural background, where a sense of familiarity is provided. “Visitors that ate kielbasa, salt herrings and rye bread, drank raw vodka or cherry brandy and smoked like a dozen Puffing Billies, Represents this. They have a strong connection with their past and through the use of listing as they kept the “pre war Europe alive”, Peter demonstrates the various memories and common values that they share. The “embracing gestures” evokes a sense of comfort and reassurance with this particular community.
Although the family has the established belonging to their home and there visitors, they do not belong to the community. “To school and work over that still too-narrow bridge, Around the factory that was always burning down” this reinforcing their lack of belonging to the Australian government that is not going to make it wider, it’s as if they don’t fit into society, like its one side to the other. The factory always burning it’s a metaphor for the family as they are creating something (their belonging) it’s burning down, it also resembles there challenges of the new country, that there life can be unstable.
The poems “Migrant hostel” and “10 Mary St” both written by Peter Skrzynecki contain elements of belonging to people and places through techniques used by peter within these poems.
“For nineteen years” the family owned their home, their place of belonging that within only 4 years of hard work they paid it off and made it their own. The house was unsold until the parents died, so the long “nineteen years” at their home was demonstrates how much it meant to the family as it is the place where they established their belonging. In “10 Mary Street”, the family’s connection to their house (place) is established through the nurturing of their garden. A simile is used “tended roses and camellias like adopted children” emphasises
this strong connection to their garden and their immense care towards it. Peter gains joy and fulfilment from his garden and this enables his attachment to his home to grow, the quote “I’d ravage the backyard garden like a hungry bird-until, bursting at the seams of my little blue St Patricks College cap” resembles this. The personification of the house with its “china blue coat” gives a sense of security and warmth to the house, highlighting its significance in terms of their belonging. In the forth stanza, it is evident that the family has established connections with people of similar cultural background, where a sense of familiarity is provided. “Visitors that ate kielbasa, salt herrings and rye bread, drank raw vodka or cherry brandy and smoked like a dozen Puffing Billies, Represents this. They have a strong connection with their past and through the use of listing as they kept the “pre war Europe alive”, Peter demonstrates the various memories and common values that they share. The “embracing gestures” evokes a sense of comfort and reassurance with this particular community.
Although the family has the established belonging to their home and there visitors, they do not belong to the community. “To school and work over that still too-narrow bridge, Around the factory that was always burning down” this reinforcing their lack of belonging to the Australian government that is not going to make it wider, it’s as if they don’t fit into society, like its one side to the other. The factory always burning it’s a metaphor for the family as they are creating something (their belonging) it’s burning down, it also resembles there challenges of the new country, that there life can be unstable.