Acceptance of oneself, ones past and one’s future is essential in a search for belonging. Belonging as a shared experience can bring about an understanding of the past which can help an individual find a sense of belonging. Shared society and culture can make an essential connection of acceptance towards the belonging of an individual. The poem “Feliks Skrzynecki” by Peter Skrzynecki and the short story “The tattooist” both explore these two concepts of belonging and use a variety of techniques to display these ideas.
Shared experience can bring about an understanding of the past which can help an individual find a sense of belonging. Shared experience can come from past historical events, places or people which can lead to a common understanding. The poem “Feliks Skrzynecki: by Peter Skrzynecki is a poem that explores the relationship between the poet and his father contrasts the shared experiences of belonging in a new land. The poet’s father struggles to find his sense of belonging outside his carefully nurtured garden which he chooses to stay inside the boundaries of. Loved his garden like an only child,” This use of simile emphasise the love he had for his garden and the importance of what the garden means to him. Feliks garden to him represents the past and his past life back in Poland and his understanding of the vast farmlands and garden back where he used to belong. The garden in the poem represents the acceptance of one’s past through shared experiences. Anne Vick also explores the concept in her poem the tattooist.
The short story “The tattooist” by Anne Vick explores the ideas of shared experiences and understanding of the past. The story is about a tattooist running a shop in the country. When two younger city girls come in, the perceptions of the tattooist’s views on the younger generation are shaped through the shared experiences and the events that tie them together. The tattooist first fells alienated from the girls because he stereotypes them as young and uncaring. The short story shows the clash of the two generations and the shared experiences that bond them together.
The tattoo of the girls grandfathers POW number connects her history back to the war as with the tattooist who which fled his home country to escape from the war. The use of contrast in the story at the beginning to the end shows how shared experiences can link people together. The start of the story the man instantly judges them, “flashing gold card “shows how he has no connection with the modern generation. Contrasted to “reached out and took the tattooist by the hand” shows how the connection of the war has made the generations become closer together and has bridged the gap between them.
This shows how shared experiences can bring about an understanding of the past which can help an individual find a sense of belonging. Shared society and culture can make an essential connection towards the belonging of an individual. This shows how past historical events, people, places or things can link back to ones past and present and can bring about reconcile and a new understanding. In the poem “Feliks Skrzynecki,” Peter describes about Feliks friends with uncertainty and confusion. “His Polish friends…
Always shook hands too violently. ” This use of word choice emphasises his discomfort and misunderstanding between his father and his friends. “About farms where paddocks flowered” This nostalgic is springing from the past, their shared experiences and lives back at Poland. The reminiscing of one’s past makes Feliks belong and brings him and his friend close together. Peter is viewing this as an outsider because he did not share these experiences so he cannot understand the culture of his heritage as he now belongs in a new land.
Peter demonstrates that shared society and culture can make the essential connection towards the belonging of an individual and is clearly shown between Feliks Skrzynecki and his polish friends. The essential connection through shared society and culture is shown through the tattooist and the girls. The essential link from past events bonds the two generations together. The girls belong together; they have a shared ancestry and also a shared desire to celebrate their grandparent’s life. This is shown through the importance they placed on the symbol of the tattoo.
For them the tattoo provides a connection to the past. A past that also happens to have a direct relationship with the tattooist. The tattooist embraces this connection and cries with the girls. The tears of the girls and the tattooist symbolise the benefits of making a connection and how this can be a source of healing for both. This healing comes from belief and understanding of an individual’s past and from the shared society and culture and makes that essential connection to the belonging of the individual.
Acceptance of oneself, ones past and one’s future is essential in a search for belonging. The two texts explore this idea through two concepts. Shared experience can bring about an understanding of the past which can help an individual find a sense of belonging. Shared society and culture can make an essential connection toward the belonging of the individual. These concepts have been shown through the two texts “Feliks Skrzynecki” by Peter Skrzynecki and “The tattooist” by Anne Vick.
