Belonging

“an individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging”
Discuss this view with detailed reference to your prescribed text and one other related text

An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can limit their experience of belonging solely due to their culture. This is portrayed in both Peter Skryznecki’s poetry and in the short film directed by Michael Weisler, Missing Her. The poem “Migrant Hostel” identifies that a culture will seek out people of the same culture in order to create a sense of belonging. The poem “Postcard” identifies that belonging to a place is achieved through experience. The short film Missing Her shows how ones culture can alienate.

A culture will often seek out other people the same culture in order to belong. This can be seen clearly in the poem “Migrant Hostel” by Peter Skryznecki. The use of the metaphor of the animal tracks identifies how people will seek out others of similar qualities as the line “unaware of the season whose tracks we would follow” clearly shows. This not only shows how an individual will follow similar individuals, it also shows how important a culture is in order to belong. This is also portrayed through the symbolism of the ‘tracks’ as they are the cultures tracks and where in society they are. The line “nationalities sought each other out instinctively” conveys the idea that this occurance of seeking out people of similar qualities is natural and is therefore an instinct used in order to feel as though they belong to something. However, this natural instinct can negatively affect an individual as it isolates them from others limiting their experiences. This can be seen through the metaphor of the highway as it shows how the culture itself has been alientated from others. The line “A barrier at the main gate sealed off the highway” clearly identifies the petaphor and its effect on the people within. Although this can be seen...