How does a sense of belonging shape through the continuation of time and an interaction with their environment?

A sense of belonging is shaped through the continuation of time and the intertwining relationship an individual has with their world. It is changed by the beliefs and attitudes that allow us to embrace or reject the values of society, giving us the choice to conform or not to conform. In many occasions, the individual will find a way to reject this primordial ambition or will be isolated due to the lack of assimilation presented by others. The Peter Skrzynecki poems; an Immigrant Chronicle, the Angry Kettle and Shaun Tan's Arrival explore ideas of developing a sense of belonging and how further interaction with their environment can enrich or limit their belonging experience. Belonging is shaped through the developed childlike attitude of the persona in 10 Mary Street. The persona describes how he ravaged his parents home garden. The negative connotations of ravage and the simile like a hungry bird create a sense of Peters lack of awareness of the significance of this place and the amount of time his parents have invested into it. Also, in parenthesis, the adult persona is informing that (The whole block/ has been gazetted for industry). The juxtaposition of the rustic images of spinach, carrots and tomatoes with the industrial foreshadowing is opposing. The image is the more agonizing with the personification of the house as standing in its china-blue coat. Irony that is used as the love that has clothed this house makes the destruction of it all the more piercing. The poem also addresses cultural identity; imagery is used in Inheritors of a key that will open no house when this ones pulled down. The personas use of imagery symbolises the house as a physical representation of their remaining cultural identity. In the act of tearing it down and naturalising the family, there is a feeling of severe loss of their environment, creating another barrier of belonging through culture. A similar feeling is shaped in Ding Xioqi's The Angry kettle as it demonstrates the conflictions of a young Chinese woman against her Caucasian flatmate due to the conflicting perspectives of a shiny kettle. Being "unable to fathom why someone would spend $399.99 on a kettle" puzzles her. The use of rhetorical question "why do people look in mirrors? They could just as well look in the kettle" further represents her alienation from the obscurities of her world. The kettle is a symbolic metaphor of the white purity of Australia. So too, Shaun Tan's "the arrival" graphically portrays the experiences of migrants. The apparent reproduction of an old leather bound book is a structural feature of the text that is used to convey meaning to the envisioned audience through the intended familiarity it establishes. This initiates the reader into an experience that involves the continuation of time and things that are valued sentimentally, like books and photographs and interactions, a technique which generates a feeling of colloquial normality that is easily recognised. 10 Mary Street has found an ulterior sense of belonging as the persona has evolved his response to belonging through his own experiences within his environment. The enjambment of the first two lines in the fourth stanza causes the emphasis to fall heavily on we lived together. This shows the persona to be in the activity of keeping pre-war Europe alive and gives positive imagery of belonging through culture. Unlike the persona in the Angry Kettle, the Skrzyneckis have found content in their new found home. They have adapted to Australia becoming Citizens of the soil/ That was feeding us in the process of Naturalizing the family. The positive connotations of the soil establish the personas connection to the new land that they are a part of. However, this is juxtaposed in Ding Xioqi's The Angry kettle as her opinion is contrasted with Michaels worshipful attitude towards the kettle. While Michael adores the kettle, the protagonist disagrees, it was like a

conquering hero determined to flatten everything in his path also seeing the kettle, using this simile to emphasis her point, the kettle is destructive. Similarly, Shaun Tans The Arrivals artistry is used to dislocate the reader in order to better explore the idea of being an immigrant in a completely foreign culture. Throughout the story, the migrant is helped or shown something by random strangers. The narrative digresses to reveal something about other strangers context. There is a couple who have fled from their country invaded by aggressive giants being a metaphor for Nazism or Communist ideologies. Through these stories, the responder observes through the continuation of time how they are living with new lives in their new environment. Quite similarly, the poem Feliks Skrzynecki demonstrates the organic sense of belonging associated with the soil and the environment. Imagery is used to turn Feliks Skrzyneckis simple pleasures into something creative and more fulfilling boarders of golden cypress and watching the stars highlight the contentment which is juxtaposed against the melancholic recognition Happy, as I have never been. The Persona cannot mutually share the content that his father has. So too, the persona within the Angry Kettle is experiencing a clear loss of cultural identity through the lack of assimilation presented by others. For example, her flatmate; Michael has started to correct every aspect of her English speaking. Simile is used in I tried speaking like a machine gun to stop him interrupting me. The use of simile emphasises the brevity in which she must speak to finish her sentence. The initial idea of improving her grammar is juxtaposed against the fact that it only made her language worse, making her too nervous to open her mouth. Hence, through the personas interaction with her world, there is a loss of cultural context. However, The Arrival shows a situation where the elderly one-legged man is able to reconnect with his past context and integrate his old memories within his new life in the new country. Shaun Tans use of sepia tones highlights the past time feeling and the use of many frames that gradually increase in darkness of the sky exemplifies the passing of time through the weather. The final scene where the man returns to his bomb ridden home is portrayed through the artistic reproduction of the crinkled paper and creased edges that help resemble the aged condition of the photo as it has been worn through time and use, symbolic, much like the one-legged man. This contrast highlights the mans ability to reconnect is past despite the continuation of time. That said, an individuals interaction with their world, whether positive or negative, can enrich or limit their experience of belonging. The idea that negative an interaction between an individual and their environment is directly related to their limited experience of belonging is extensively seen in Peter Skrzyneckis poems and The Angry Kettle by Ding Xioqi. Indeed, the personas use of language will alter the way readers are to respond to these texts and through the selective choice of techniques. Nevertheless, belonging is a fundamental aspect of an individuals life and one should endeavour to make as many positive interactions with others in order to enrich their experience of this essential human need. Word count: 1196