<What ideas about belonging have been expressed in your three texts?>
In the poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ by Peter Skrzynecki, the stories ‘The China Coin’ by Allan Baillie and ‘The Peasant Prince’ by Li Cunxin, explore different concepts and ideas about belonging. First is finding something familiar in a new environment can help you have a sense of belonging, we all belonged to an address. The second idea that links the three texts to belonging is forcing someone to change their environment presents difficulties or challenges which when accepted or not accepted can result in belonging or not-belonging. Never the less, the last idea is an individual’s sense of belonging must emerge from their heart/soul otherwise they will be filled with resentment which will impede their acceptance of belonging. In the following essay, the three ideas about belonging will be discussed with the three texts.
The poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ expresses Feliks’ sense of belonging after he moved to Australia. Feliks was a farmer when he was in Germany, so he’s familiar with gardening. After he moved to Australia, he didn’t feel an attachment to Australia itself, he makes his garden in a place where he feels he belongs, a place that reminds him of his birth country, Poland. Simile is used in ‘Love his garden like an only child’ shows how Feliks belongs to his garden in Australia, the garden is he, and he is the garden. Feliks’ belonging to his garden links to the first idea of the concept of belonging. He found something familiar which is his garden in a new environment, Australia that ables him to have a sense of belonging, he belonged to an address, he belonged to his garden. Feliks found his belonging to the garden, the next text ‘China Coin’s Leah also found her belonging to China.
The story ‘China Coin’ expresses Leah’s sense of belonging in China. Leah was born and brought up in Australia, she never accept her Chinese identity and her Chinese family, but not until...