Area of Study: Belonging. Year 12 Standard English.

This lesson our learning intentions are: Overview of Migrant Hostel. Read Migrant Hostel x2. Migrant Hostel annotations. Representations of belonging. Migrant Hostel analysis questions.

Migrant Hostel. Migrant Hostel is a poem composed by Peter Skrzynecki. It is a moving account of the experiences of migrants living in an overly-crowded lodge. The first stanza captures the temporary nature of the immigrants stay at the hostel; “comings and goings”, “arrivals of newcomers” and “sudden departures”. The second stanza goes on to express the cultural divisions existing within the hostel; “nationalities sought”. The next stanza reminds the responder of the seasonal, short time spent in the hostel and the boredom, tedium and uncertainty which results. The final stanza concludes the poem by creating a strong sense of oppression, explaining that the hostel controlled the migrants’ every action. Overall, Skrzynecki communicates that his stay within Migrant Hostel is a negative experience: chaotic, depersonalised and imprisoning.

Migrant Hostel Parkes 1949-51   No one kept count Of all the comings and goings – Arrivals of newcomers In busloads from the station, Sudden departures from adjoining blocks That left us wondering Who would be coming next. Nationalities sought Each other out instinctively – Like a homing pigeon Circling to get its bearings; Years and place names Recognised by accents, Partitioned off at night By memories of hunger and hate. For over two years We lived like birds of passage – Always sensing a change In the weather; Unaware of the season Whose track we would follow.   A barrier at the main gate Sealed off the highway From our doorstep – As it rose and fell like a finger Pointed in reprimand or shame; And daily we passed Underneath or alongside it – Needing its sanction To pass in and out of lives That had only begun Or were dying.

Migrant Hostel Annotations. On Friday, you were asked to use the information and have a go annotating Migrant Hostel. I have also annotated it, and we will go through them now – if there is anything new, or if you haven’t completed your annotations – DO THEM NOW! This Powerpoint will go on Moodle – but you need to annotate the poem as well – this will help you remember the poem and its ideas.

Subtitle: time and place – stipulates the poem is historically and autobiographically correct. the labelling as migrants immediately excludes the people in the people from those in the society of which they have arrived while Hostel connotes a temporary dwelling and an isolation and/or confinement restricting entry and belonging to the new culture. Migrant Hostel Parkes 1949-51   No one kept count Of all the comings and goings – Arrivals of newcomers In busloads from the station, Sudden departures from adjoining blocks That left us wondering Who would be coming next. No clear sense of belonging established – migrants felt like they were of no importance. Instability and insecurity is emphasised by the enjambment. These lines evoke a sense of anonymity. Migrants in the hostel were never certain about other migrants who arrived. Connotations of confusion and absence of certainty. Stanza 1 suggests feelings of confusion and disorientation.

Plural – suggesting many different people live at the camp – little connection to each other or new country. Nationalities sought Each other out instinctively – Like a homing pigeon Circling to get its bearings; Years and place names Recognised by accents, Partitioned off at night By memories of hunger and hate. Simile – suggests that people instinctively recognise their own. Suggests accompanying feeling of dizziness and dislocation. Sense of alienation of migrants in the hostel. Stanza two conveys the human side of the camp.

Simile: the reference to birds show the sense of belonging and need to be with people of a similar culture while the birds of passage shows the personas sense of not belonging to a given place as the birds are migratory and constantly moving. For over two years We lived like birds of passage – Always sensing a change In the weather; Unaware of the season Whose track we would follow. Connotation – refers to all residents. Unlike birds who sense change and leave, these migrants are trapped and their sense of uncertainty about when they will be allowed to leave is highlighted.

Stanza four opens with strong use of imagery and ‘barrier’ Is a physical barrier which isolates these people. Both lines should be interpreted literally and figuratively. A barrier at the main gate Sealed off the highway From our doorstep – As it rose and fell like a finger Pointed in reprimand or shame; And daily we passed Underneath or alongside it – Needing its sanction To pass in and out of lives That had only begun Or were dying. Simile – patronising nature and attitude of authorities – sense of shame at being treated like criminals. Idea of captivity reinforced. Attitude reinforced by metaphor that conjures ideas of a need for constant approval. Their lives were “dying” because as migrants they were expected to drop their “cultural baggage” and take up the “Australian way of life”, thus killing their old traditions, values, beliefs and culture. Emotively emphasises the metaphorical death of their hopes and dreams – the fragility of their hopes for a new life in Australia. Emphasise migrants confusion and feeling of depression – also suggests that they are losing their grip on their past lives.

Migrant Hostel. In addition, the small number of sentences and enjambment and long pauses caused by punctuation suggests the fractured nature of his memories (was only five) and of the migrant experience.

Representations of Belonging. The personas experience of not belonging to a place such as the hostel and the familiarity of belonging to a culture, shared experience. Conveys the concept that belonging in one place such as the hostel does not necessarily mean belonging universally such as in Australia. Belonging physically is easier than belonging mentally/spiritually.

Migrant Hostel Analysis Questions. Complete the following analysis questions for Migrant Hostel. What is a migrant hostel? What phrases / lines suggest there were large numbers of migrants at the hostel? What phrases / lines suggest that people came and went constantly? What does “Nationalities sought each other out instinctively” mean? What does the simile “like a homing pigeon / circling to get its bearings” suggest? How did the different nationalities recognise people from their original country? What separated the migrants? How long did they stay at the migrant hostel? Explain the meaning of the simile “we lived like birds of passage”. What “change in the weather” did they “sense? Which lines suggest that their future was uncertain and they did not know when they would leave or where they would go? What was the “barrier at the main gate”? How was it like a “finger”? Why did it “point in reprimand or shame”? Why did the migrants need “its sanction” (permission or consent) to leave or enter the hostel? What ideas about belonging are evident in the poem? What ideas about not belonging are evident in the poem?

Peter Skryznecki Poetry Summary Table. Next lesson: