Peter Skrzynecki

Belonging essay points
Idea of belonging
Belonging is the feeling of comfort and acceptance within ones environment and oneself. Despite all our differences we all belong to the one human race.
Both poems show that strong cultural and linguistic ties enhance our sense of belonging.

Texts
Immigrant Chronicle
  * Written by Peter Skrzynekci
  * Feliks skrezynecki
  * St Patricks college
Gran Torino
  * Directed by Clint Eastwood
  * 2008
  * Main characters ( Walt Kowalski, Thao, Sue)
Analysis
Feliks Skrzynecki
  * Peter illustrates both belonging and not belonging in this poem.
Belonging
  * Peter describes his fathers love and devotion for his garden. “loved his garden like an only child” showing his connection to this object. The fathers hard work towards the garden shows how he nurtures it. This is a metaphor for his attempt to nurture his own belonging in this environment. Feliks feels that he can find peace within the garden thus why he belongs with it.
  * The father has a close group of polish friends who he is able to connect with. “They reminisced about farms where paddocks flowered” shows that they have a similar past which is connecting them in the present. By “reminiscing” about their shared memories of Poland the group of friends can belong with each other. By sharing this same experience they are able to relate to one another and this creates the group of which Feliks can belong in.
Not belonging
  * The poet peter Skrzynecki illastrats how he does not belong in the environment in which his father does so well. “Always shook hands to violently” depicts Peter Skrzynecki lack of understanding for his culture and thus why he cannot belong within his father’s environment. the notion of the hand shake is a symbol for the Polish culture and because the poet has neglected his culture he will not belong within this environment.
  * The poets lack of belonging is shown through his quote   of “happy as I have...