Belonging

The idea of belonging is an important and fundamental value in our lives, it makes you feel part of something. The perceptions of belonging most commonly come from the connection made with people and places. This idea is represented particular well in various ways throughout the film Billy Elliot directed by Stephan Daldry, the anthology ‘immigrant chronicle   by Peter Skrzynecki and the short story ‘ Belonging Is More Important Than Walls’ by Isabella May. Each of the texts has a wide range of ideas on how belonging is created though those texts.

When a group of ‘new migrants’ moves to a new society, their sense of belonging will be challenged because of lack of understanding to the new place. The anthology ‘immigrant chronicle’ represented that how a connection to place may influence a sense of belonging. In ‘Felix Skrzynecki’, Felix’s attempts to create a sense of belonging in his new country are portrayed in his attitude to his garden. In the first stanza, the simile of he ‘loved his garden like an only child suggest us the strength of his attachment to, and obsession for the garden. Together with the simile in the description of Felix’s fingers ‘with cracks/like the sods he broke’ shows Felix sense of belonging to the soil. Through the hyperbole swept its paths/Ten times around the world. It conveys his work ethic shows how much he loves his garden and how much he can get a sense of belonging made with his garden. In the third stanza, ‘About farms…Five years of forced labour in Germany. Helped us builds image of stoicism, establishes a sense of belonging and details of shared experiences in their homeland. Lawns-geraniums younger/than both parents helped us builds a image of peace and appreciation, the iconic of AU background. In ‘St. Patrick’s College’, the poet used lots of symbolism created sense of not belonging in the opening stanzas. His mother’s decision to enroll Peter in a private Catholic school establishes her hope that this will provide a way of...