Peter Skrzynecki Belonging

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“The connection towards a certain culture is essential in the shaping of one’s identity.” Establishing a sense of identity is an intrinsic element of the human condition, dictated by an individual’s innate need to ascertain connections with [Answer Question]. However, its complex process can be attributed to its transitory nature, making it imperative The relationship between person and place is a significant element in shaping one’s identity. In Post Card, Peter Skrzynecki’s confusion about his connection to his homeland creates a fractured identity, having a major influence on his feeling of acceptance. The negative personification of the postcard throughout the opening stanza, “A post card…haunts me since its arrival — Warsaw: Panorama …show more content…

Skyrznecki’s subjective reflection about his enigmatic and “gentle father” displays contrasting views of contempt. The poem’s ambiguity can be attributed to its blank-verse structure and underlying bittersweet tone. The simile and high modality of “he loved his garden like an only child” accompanied by the hyperbole of “swept its path ten times around the world” conveys Feliks’ tenderness and stoic optimism towards his garden whilst revealing aspects of Skrzynecki’s forlorn emotions of his father. Additionally, the regrettable undertone in “Happy as I have never been” underlines Skrzynecki’s lack of understanding regarding his father’s contentment. This notion is further emphasised by Skrzynecki’s confusion of his father’s companionship with others of common heritage, “His Polish friends always shook hands too violently…talking they reminisced” revealing his disconnection from his Polish heritage as well as his lack of understanding of social customs, “That formal address I never got used to.” The diction of the exclusive pronoun “they” accentuates the cultural detachment from shared history and experience that bind the other men. Furthermore, Skrzynecki’s alienation from his Polish roots derives from the strained filial relationship between the poet and his father, with his native language becoming a metaphor of severance

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