Belonging in Ancestors and Feliks Essay Example for Free

Belonging in Ancestors and Feliks Essay Fundamentally one can only really feel a true sense of belonging for a nominal moment in time. The actual instance of belonging is intangible and not permanent. Due to this, any form of belonging will involve compromise, sacrifice and some degree of tension as different ideals compete for supremacy. We will continue to accumulate different senses of belonging and disregard the others as we grow, evolve and adapt to different situations. Due to the varying and conflicting belonging ideals, we will become frustrated and the joy of belonging may become a burden upon us at times. This frustration and momentary joy of searching for ones place of belonging are explored in Skrzynekcis Ancestors and Feliks, as well as Homecoming a novel by Cynthia Voigt. It implores the audience of these texts to relate to the happenings of the characters in the texts. The texts requires us to place ourselves in the shoes of the characters feeling their sense of connectedness, belonging and self identity through the links of family ancestors and or heritage. The poem Ancestors allows the reader to be positioned to feel the connection through our own ancestors and the attributes they bring to the forefront. They allow us to delve into the unknown or forgotten realms of our own history and allows us to draw upon these memories in order to feel content with our own sense of identity within society. It is a basic human notion of feeling as though we are not alone and we are apart of something greater then ourselves. In the poem Shrzynecki, there is an attempt to illustrate to the audience that he feels a sense of isolation in regards to the separation from his ancestors. The poem represents that without a clear understanding of our own history or ancestry we lack a clear sense of self as we are unaware of our past values, motives and/or attributes. This representation of ideas is presented through the use of metaphor and narrative voice. The Star metaphor To what star do the footprints lead? represent an unclear sense of direction the star being the focal point of navigation which demonstrates the idea that without knowledge of your ancestry we cannot be certain of our place in this world. Another prominent language feature in this poem is the use of rhetoric. The rhetorical questions of who, what, why and where represent the uncertainty of the Authors own past as there is a missing link from his ancestors and himself. The use of second person narrative voice in Ancestors, for example why do you wake positions the reader to look beyond the constraints of Skrzynekcis written words and to consider our own ancestry. A The second text Feliks illustrates to the audience that we need some type of belonging in order to fit into society. In the poem the father drew upon his memories of Poland through his garden. Skrzynekci on the other hand was unable to create a link to his heritage or the present as he was torn between the new society and his old traditions. He failed to create a solid link to either of his heritages and thus conflict is presented to Skrzynekci. This conflict is one that creates many difficulties in regards to the way Skrzynekci related to his family and friends. In the first stanza of the poem My gentle father kept pace only with the joneses of his own minds making link to the fact that his father was not affected by the outside happenings and he was the only one whom dictated the way in which he did things. This then put strain on Shrzynecki as he began to feel more and more isolated from the new society as his father was rejecting the new practices rather then assimilating. Another present language feature is the use of hyperbole. The hyperbole ten times around the world is used to exaggerate Skrzynekcis thoughts in regards to his father. Throughout the poem it is evident that Skrzynekci holds his father in high esteem and wishes not to disappoint his parents by choosing to assimilate into the Australian culture. This leaves Skrzynekci in an isolated state as he does not feel a sense of belonging to either the old or new heritage. In the novel Homecoming the theme of belonging runs throughout the entire novel. The novel tells the story of the 4 Tillerman children as they find themselves alone in their car (being abandoned by their mother), some miles from their home, in a shopping mall parking lot in Peewauket, Connecticut. The children go on a journey in order to find a place to live; a search for a home, a physical place where they can belong. They end up living with their grandmother. Through their journey in the novel they search for belonging within themselves, realizing that they are stronger as a family and that, although they have different personalities, strengths and weaknesses, they belong together. The children also struggle to see where they belong in the wider world, in society, as individuals and as a unit. It becomes apparent though the novel that family is a major symbol of belonging as within the home front the children learn this vital concept. Their Homecoming is a journey that leads them to a long-lost grandmother who remains the key to unlocking their family history and ancestry. They start to learn that families can be fragile, and that if they are not nurtured and protected, they can fall apart as in the case of their family. In regards to the contrasting of the three various texts one must position themselves both in the own realms of society and that of the author. We have to adapt to the authors context in order to fully comprehend the text and its entirety. All three texts present the themes of belonging/not belonging within themselves and society. In regards to Skrzynekcis poems we are able to understand that any link, either being that of family ancestors or even heritage creates a sense of belonging due to the link we have created to something greater than ourselves. The novel Homecoming links to the poems through the use of not belonging and the sense that Peter Skrzynekci felt and expressed through his poems. Homecoming links indirectly to Ancestors as both texts bring family and its importance to the vanguard. Homecoming and Feliks contrast as they allow the audience to become aware of different senses of belonging, such as the garden in Feliks and the mother in Homecoming. However in both instances the texts allows one to feel as though they are connected even when they feel as though there is absolutely no sense of belonging present. To conclude, all the three texts above illustrate the importance and the evolving nature of belonging. Thus the fundamental necessity to belong brings to the forefront that motivation for living, the reason for feeling placed within society and the drive for continuing growth and development on our journey through life. SUPERFLUOUS SHORT SENTENCES ARE MORE IMPACTUAL CONCISE It may be as though we are unable to really feel a true sense of belonging and the only essence that is closets to true belonging is that to oneself. This would ultimately mean that we cannot be truly be connected to anything until at the end of ones life when we reflect upon all the different places of belonging. It also brings to the vanguard that one can only really feel a sense of connectives or understanding of self if they are aware of their own history. It allows us to no longer feel isolation as we can clearly see where our ideals, motives and values originated. The language features that are present in this text demonstrate these factors and enable us as the reader to further understand the text and its meanings.