Peter Skrzynecki Journey

The migrant experience varies for each person, some will have endured traumatic episodes in their life and these experiences are explored in Skrzynecki’s poetry. Through thorough interpretations of Peter Skrzynecki poems, ‘Crossing the Red Sea’, ‘Migrant Hostel’ and ‘Immigrants at Central Station’ the responder gains insight into the emigration experience which encompasses the physical and emotionally draining journey which is a result of the grave uncertainty and doubt lingering around the migrants future. Despite this, through each of his poems the composer also alludes to a future filled with hope and a sense of belonging.

The poem titled Sea Rose by Hilda Doolittle tells about a rose, but not just a rose like any other. The poem instantly begins by going against the common connotation of a rose, the reader is given this passage “Rose, harsh rose,” (line 1). When the thought of a rose comes to mind the last word used to describe the soft petals and beautiful color would be harsh. H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) wants us to think about this rose as not an ordinary or normal rose but to see it as something more or something less. She goes on to say, “marred and with stint of petals” (line 2). To mar something is to disfigure or impair the quality/appearance of something, in this case a rose. Stint means to have an ungenerous amount; by this line we can understand that H.D. has begun to take a rose something commonly associated with beauty and love and twist into a disfigured and battered depiction of what it once was. The rest of the stanza goes on to say, “meagre flower, thin, sparse of leaf,”. A rose is meant to be a strong symbol of love and beauty, yet the depiction of the rose H.D. is giving the reader goes against the preconceived notions of what a rose should be. H.D.’s language and perception of the rose challenges to the reader to think of the rose as something more.

A Journey can be a process of self-discovery, a movement of one’s location, a shift in direction leading to an understanding of the world and themselves. In order for a journey to take place it must have one key ingredient, that is, a traveller. Journey is happening all around us to deny it is to deny the very meaning of life itself, it is a necessary part of human nature and it’s how we act upon it that defies the impact felt and destination found. Through Michael Gow’s ‘Away’ and ‘The Blind Side’ produced by John Lee Hancock, applications of both dramatic and film techniques allow the responder to see the direct impacts a journey puts on the traveller, either physically, emotionally or spiritually.

The theme of poem “Crossings,” by Judith Ortiz Cofer is evaluating and reacting upon the tough decisions that come up in life. The cracks represent the flaws you can find and the inevitable accidents that will occur. “But each day more and more fissures / crisscross your path, and like the lines/ on your palms, they mean something.” (6-8) These lines show that each days more incidents and troubles, “the fissures”, will come up in your life, the bad things will happen in your life time, “crisscross your path, and like the lines on your palms, they mean something,” however, every time you experience a bad accident or disaster, which it seems at the time, you will learn something. It also seems like fate is a big theme in this piece and the human reaction to fate’s doings. On lines 8 and 9, “on your palms, they mean something/ you cannot decipher,” shows fate’s working in manufacturing these cracks. What they incidents mean, or what you can learn from them however, is still a mystery because it is brought on by fate, such as the example of lines on your palms, and how some people believe they are a representation of one’s future. The lines “Finally you must choose between / standing still in the one solid spot / you have found, or you keep moving / and take the risk: / Break your mother’s back.” (10-14) show the choices humans have to make in relation to the events brought on like fate. This poem describes that like in Romeo and Juliet fate isn’t just responsible for Romeo and

“I remember a field of red poppies” is a pleasant allusion that Skrzynecki had about his past life but is then juxtaposed by “Blood leaves similar dark stains”. The juxtaposed quotes shows the emotional impact his past life as had on him, as he remembers the happy memories he quickly replaces them for memories of lives and blood that has been lost. This emphasises that even though you can leave the past behind you, past events and memories can still be the cause of an emotional journey that must be overcome, as emotions can also be an obstacle that has to be faced on a physical journey. “The equator still to be crossed” shows that the immigrants have a long way to go and still have many obstacles to face including their emotions. Crossing the Red Sea therefore shows that a physical journey can be epic and momentous in both literal distance and process but also with relation to emotional change that inevitably accompanies such a situation/event.

Sometimes the destination of your journey matters and in other cases the destination is pointless. These characters go on journeys to to learn lessons or reach a destination. In “The Odyssey” by Homer and “The Cruelest Journey” by Kira Salak, goes through obstacles into their journey where they endure new things during their journey.

I have been a Central Academy Cougar for the past three years. I suppose it’s about time for me to try something else my senior year. Perhaps I’ll try to be a Monroe High Redhawk. I’ll learn how to do things the “Redhawk” way, I’ll get rid of my Cougar terminology and adapt the Redhawk slang.

Representations of journey can foreworn us of challenges, often life challenges we are yet to face. How do the unfamiliar journeys undertaken by others relate to ourselves in challenges life may present us? An example is found in Peter Skrynecki’s poem ‘Migrant Hostel’ as he explores a common, yet individually unique journey embarked upon by immigrants as they confront life changing challenges, arising along their migratory journey in seeking acceptance and new beginnings.

As Grendel is introduced in the poem, the quote immediately tells the reader that Grendel is an outcast compared to others. As a natural instinct, people assume a flaw is a flaw and there is something bound to be wrong with the individual, because he is not like the rest of the others, he is different. However, less emphasis is placed on the quote which helps to justify why the creature is as it is, The quote, once analyzed, helps to explain the creature itself from how it was brought up and the background behind all its actions. It so happens to be a trait that was carried throughout each generation. Having been a part of the Germanic culture, the role of Grendel plays a major role when it comes to picking and choosing one's destiny.

“By choosing our path, we choose our destination” A journey always contains a destination. In “An Ancient Gesture” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, the characters Ulysses and Penelope are in love but Ulysses is stuck on a journey while Penelope is left at home and her people don’t believe he is coming home while she still has hope that is slowly fading. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, the character Odysseus has been wandering for ten years on the seas, to find home to his family in ithaca. The authors use characterization and details to convey that people embark upon journeys to find what’s been lost and they learn to value trust.

A common theme in both Welcome to Nightvale and War of the Worlds is that original assumptions can misleading. War of the Worlds utilises sentence structure to bring the concept that experiencing death and horror will increase the appreciation of life to the forefront of the reader’s mind. Contrastingly the serious elements of death and horror are masked under the aural techniques of Welcome to Nightvale through music. The audience expectations of Welcome to Nightvale are inverted through the weather section in Welcome to Nightvale which is non-diegetic sound because it is a song or instrumental item that alludes to the darker elements of the episode. These elements are contained within the lyrics or tone of the music to explain more about

“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty is a journey of Phoenix Jackson, an elderly woman who wanted medicine for her grandchild. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson is about a passenger which did not go on journey but she was taken on journey. “So she left that tree, and had to go through a barbed-wire fence” (Welty 57) Phoenix was almost blind and followed rugged path through the countryside in which she overcame every obstacle in her way, such as wire fence, animals, high hills, bright sun, etc. In Dickinson’s poem, the passenger doesn’t face any obstacle like Phoenix did but Death stopped the passenger because she could not have stopped for him.

If I Knew What I Knew Then is an oil painting created by Maggie Newman in 1997. It has the beautiful qualities of an impressionistic painting, and gives the audience a Dionysus style experience. Meanwhile, The Fall of Icarus is an aesthetic, bronze sculpture with Greek mythological background, and Hellenistic characteristics. Both artists present their own unique style of art, and raise multiple diverse questions from the audience in their work.

Hi, teacher and fellow classmates. Today I will be talking about how a journey can have positive and negative impact on an individual. Journeys are not just limited to the process of physically travelling as an emotional journey can be seen in self-exploration and imaginative journeys can occur to transport an individual from reality into an unreal world. Michael Gow’s play script of Away, relates to the challenges, goals and discoveries which are achieved by the characters Tom, Coral and Gwen as they endure physical, emotional and imaginative journeys, whilst the film To Kill a Mockingbird, directed by Robert Mulligan in 1962 utilises the innocence of childhood to convey three personal journeys as demonstrated through characterisation and

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.