Migrant Hostel And St Patrick's College: A Comparative Analysis
Analyse how any two texts emphasise the difficulties and/ or benefits of belonging to.
The various texts explore the difficulties and inadequent benefits of belonging. The poems “Migrant Hostel” and “St Patrick's College” by Peter Skrzynecki and the related texts The Ride of Zhu Bao Sheng a short story by Nick Long and the novel Stolen by Lucy Christopher effectively portray that being alienated can be the catalyst for a true sense of not belonging. A sense of not belonging can emerge from the dislocation and displacement made with people, places and the larger world this is shown through different narrative feautures and various language techniques.
Migrants and refugees often feel a loss of connection and identity which leads to a …show more content…
lack of belonging. “Migrant Hostel” a poem from Immigrant Chronicle by Peter Skrzynecki depicts the poet and is family and their time they spent two years at Parkes Migrant Hostel after arriving in Australia. The phrase “Like a homing pigeon/circling to get its bearings” is an effective simile. It suggests that they have established a loss of power and that they are unable to have control of their lives, this then creates a sense of isolation. The word “circling” in the simile depicts a feeling of dizziness and dislocation to the migrants. Alliteration was implemented in the poem. It effectively creates a harsh tone sound which emphasises the migrants unhappiness and feeling of dislocation of the place. “By the memories of hungar and hate” implies that they are in a negative environment which acts as a catalyst in a sense of displacement. The metaphor, “A barrier at the main gate” is meant both literally and figuratively, one being the physical gate and the other being that barrier that separates the migrants from the rest of society. This conveys disconnection to both the people and the larger world, it creates a sense of isolation for the migrants, they feel they are unable to get started on the next part of their journey. Skrzynecki has effectively outlined how the hostel strips the migrants of their identitly and their sense of belonging.
When being in a foreign environment you feel a sense of absence. The Ride of Zhu Bao Sheng by Nick Long displays Zhu Bao Sheng a Chinese man, that feels isolated and home sick as he trys to connect with a new society.Nick Long challenges Zhu's lack of belonging through the use of irony. “He was alone In this place, True the town is full of people” emphaises Zhu's detachment from the rest of the town. This is caused by his sense of belonging being challenged after he moved from his hometown. The phrase “If I don't talk to myself,” he asked himself one morning, “who will I talk to?” is an example of monologue. This suggests that the protagonist is secluded, he has no one else to converse with but himself. It portrays his disconnection from the world around him and allows the reader to empathise with him. Reflective tone has been implmented in the short story. “He thought about the autumn in Shanghai” shows his reminiscing on his old home town and shows that he feels home sick. It creates an ominous mood for Zhu as he feels displacement in the current foreign environment, therefore we feel his need to try and overcome this feeling that surrounds him. Nick Long has successfully portrayed the challenges of belonging in a foreign environment, which create a sense of dislocation.
A sense of belonging is challenged through different factors and experiences.
The poem “St Patrick's College” from Immigrant Chronicle by Peter Skrzynecki demonstrates how belonging to a school could be difficult and hard to adjust and fit in to. The repetition of the phrase “For eight years” has a tone of resentment as it reminisces how long he spent at school. It reinforces the isolation and detachment and how long it lasted for. This emphasises his sense of not belonging “for eight years”. The use of first person narrative “I” creates a sense of loneliness. The dreary tone further empathises his dislocation at school with no friends and no relationshipwith any teachers. This conveys his sense of unhappiness in this environment in which he didn't want to be in. Skrzynecki utilises a cliché in his poem. The direct speech of “what was best” suggests that, thats what the mother thought was best for him, but Skrzynecki thought the “eight years” were wasted. It is also ironic because he thought that going to school “wasn't for the best” showing his lack of commitment into trying to belong.Peter Skrzynecki shows that St Patrick's College was a hard environment to try and belong to, because it wasn't his decision to go to that school and being their he formed no real relationships or sense of
belonging.
Similarly, being in a foreign environment can create a sense of alienation. Stolen by Lucy Christopher depicts a teenage girl who was taken from an airport to the desolate Australian outback.“When the darkness gets easier, you know you're sinking deeper, becoming dead to yourself.” This phrase demonstrates emotive language which invokes the reader to empathise with the protagonist. It portrays that she feels isolated, that the longer she is trapped the more alone she feels in this foreign country.The ominous tone creates a sense of terror, we feel her need to escape this sense of not belonging and her uncertainty of feeling trapped by the vast open space of desert that surrounds her. Christopher has implemented the sense of dislocation in her novel through the language technique of alliteration. The phrase “And it's hard to hate someone once you understand them” depicts a harsh sound and a somber tone. The words “hard” and “hate” emphasise Gemma's unhappiness and creates ambivalent feelings towards the antagonist. The negative environment filled with hostility creates a sense of lonlieness and therefore shows her separation from her previous life. The sense of alienation is further demonstrated through the use of imagery which helps the reader visualise and connect with the protagonist of the novel. “There was only flat, continuous brown land leading out to the horizon. Sand more sand.../ I was nowhere,” allows the reader to further empathise with Gemma. This strange environment she has been taken to shows her dislocation and conveys her sense of not belonging, she was “nowhere”. This phrase allows us to feel her horror as she establishes that she is trapped in the unknown place where she has been taken away from everything that she once knew. Lucy Christopher has effectively expressed a negative sense of belonging due to isolation and disloaction in a foreign place.
The poems “Migrant Hostel” and “St Paticks College” by Peter Skrzynecki and the ralated texts the Ride of Zhu Bao Sheng by Nick Long and Stolen by Lucy Christopher successfully explore that alienation is not a true sense of belonging and effectively emphasise the difficulties of belonging. This is shown through the various narrtive and language devices.
The various texts explore the difficulties and inadequent benefits of belonging. The poems “Migrant Hostel” and “St Patrick's College” by Peter Skrzynecki and the related texts The Ride of Zhu Bao Sheng a short story by Nick Long and the novel Stolen by Lucy Christopher effectively portray that being alienated can be the catalyst for a true sense of not belonging. A sense of not belonging can emerge from the dislocation and displacement made with people, places and the larger world this is shown through different narrative feautures and various language techniques.
Migrants and refugees often feel a loss of connection and identity which leads to a …show more content…
lack of belonging. “Migrant Hostel” a poem from Immigrant Chronicle by Peter Skrzynecki depicts the poet and is family and their time they spent two years at Parkes Migrant Hostel after arriving in Australia. The phrase “Like a homing pigeon/circling to get its bearings” is an effective simile. It suggests that they have established a loss of power and that they are unable to have control of their lives, this then creates a sense of isolation. The word “circling” in the simile depicts a feeling of dizziness and dislocation to the migrants. Alliteration was implemented in the poem. It effectively creates a harsh tone sound which emphasises the migrants unhappiness and feeling of dislocation of the place. “By the memories of hungar and hate” implies that they are in a negative environment which acts as a catalyst in a sense of displacement. The metaphor, “A barrier at the main gate” is meant both literally and figuratively, one being the physical gate and the other being that barrier that separates the migrants from the rest of society. This conveys disconnection to both the people and the larger world, it creates a sense of isolation for the migrants, they feel they are unable to get started on the next part of their journey. Skrzynecki has effectively outlined how the hostel strips the migrants of their identitly and their sense of belonging.
When being in a foreign environment you feel a sense of absence. The Ride of Zhu Bao Sheng by Nick Long displays Zhu Bao Sheng a Chinese man, that feels isolated and home sick as he trys to connect with a new society.Nick Long challenges Zhu's lack of belonging through the use of irony. “He was alone In this place, True the town is full of people” emphaises Zhu's detachment from the rest of the town. This is caused by his sense of belonging being challenged after he moved from his hometown. The phrase “If I don't talk to myself,” he asked himself one morning, “who will I talk to?” is an example of monologue. This suggests that the protagonist is secluded, he has no one else to converse with but himself. It portrays his disconnection from the world around him and allows the reader to empathise with him. Reflective tone has been implmented in the short story. “He thought about the autumn in Shanghai” shows his reminiscing on his old home town and shows that he feels home sick. It creates an ominous mood for Zhu as he feels displacement in the current foreign environment, therefore we feel his need to try and overcome this feeling that surrounds him. Nick Long has successfully portrayed the challenges of belonging in a foreign environment, which create a sense of dislocation.
A sense of belonging is challenged through different factors and experiences.
The poem “St Patrick's College” from Immigrant Chronicle by Peter Skrzynecki demonstrates how belonging to a school could be difficult and hard to adjust and fit in to. The repetition of the phrase “For eight years” has a tone of resentment as it reminisces how long he spent at school. It reinforces the isolation and detachment and how long it lasted for. This emphasises his sense of not belonging “for eight years”. The use of first person narrative “I” creates a sense of loneliness. The dreary tone further empathises his dislocation at school with no friends and no relationshipwith any teachers. This conveys his sense of unhappiness in this environment in which he didn't want to be in. Skrzynecki utilises a cliché in his poem. The direct speech of “what was best” suggests that, thats what the mother thought was best for him, but Skrzynecki thought the “eight years” were wasted. It is also ironic because he thought that going to school “wasn't for the best” showing his lack of commitment into trying to belong.Peter Skrzynecki shows that St Patrick's College was a hard environment to try and belong to, because it wasn't his decision to go to that school and being their he formed no real relationships or sense of
belonging.
Similarly, being in a foreign environment can create a sense of alienation. Stolen by Lucy Christopher depicts a teenage girl who was taken from an airport to the desolate Australian outback.“When the darkness gets easier, you know you're sinking deeper, becoming dead to yourself.” This phrase demonstrates emotive language which invokes the reader to empathise with the protagonist. It portrays that she feels isolated, that the longer she is trapped the more alone she feels in this foreign country.The ominous tone creates a sense of terror, we feel her need to escape this sense of not belonging and her uncertainty of feeling trapped by the vast open space of desert that surrounds her. Christopher has implemented the sense of dislocation in her novel through the language technique of alliteration. The phrase “And it's hard to hate someone once you understand them” depicts a harsh sound and a somber tone. The words “hard” and “hate” emphasise Gemma's unhappiness and creates ambivalent feelings towards the antagonist. The negative environment filled with hostility creates a sense of lonlieness and therefore shows her separation from her previous life. The sense of alienation is further demonstrated through the use of imagery which helps the reader visualise and connect with the protagonist of the novel. “There was only flat, continuous brown land leading out to the horizon. Sand more sand.../ I was nowhere,” allows the reader to further empathise with Gemma. This strange environment she has been taken to shows her dislocation and conveys her sense of not belonging, she was “nowhere”. This phrase allows us to feel her horror as she establishes that she is trapped in the unknown place where she has been taken away from everything that she once knew. Lucy Christopher has effectively expressed a negative sense of belonging due to isolation and disloaction in a foreign place.
The poems “Migrant Hostel” and “St Paticks College” by Peter Skrzynecki and the ralated texts the Ride of Zhu Bao Sheng by Nick Long and Stolen by Lucy Christopher successfully explore that alienation is not a true sense of belonging and effectively emphasise the difficulties of belonging. This is shown through the various narrtive and language devices.