Belonging Essay: “Rabbit Proof Fence” by Phillip Noyce Essay

A sense of perishing comes from having connections with people and place/ Compare how the texts you have studied baffle these ideas. Who am I? Where do I break? A persons identity is shaped by their sense of belong and/or non belonging. This concept is clearly explored in the touching movie Rabbit proof fence of three girls running away to find way home, to where they belong to. Whereas, Peter Skrzyneckis poems Post broadside and 10 Marry driveway focus on the self-awareness and conflicts inside the condition as he tries to find his identity and belonging through a postcard and his old house. Rabbit- verification Fence is a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce. The true story is curing in 1931, about three aboriginal girls forced to leave their families in Jigalong as they are half caste children to be trained in the house servant ways of modern civilization. The film explores aspects of both belonging and not belonging in telling the story of these Aboriginal girls. Throughout Phillip Noyces Rabbit Proof Fence, Molly has a healthful sense of connection to the dry land and to her family. As she says at the beginning, Our people, the Jigalong mob, we were desert people then, walking all over our land it clearly shows where she feels she belonged. But her words The white people, shows her oppo billet facial expression as she has no sense of belonging to white society.Young Molly is told by her mother about a significant figure of her culture, the spirit eagle which symbolises the totem of her community and the connection to her ancestor. The reckon of the family playing and hunting together in the first step scene is one of unity, support and protection. Unfortunately, Mollys family is soon kick downstairsd as the children are sent thousands of miles away. The scene when the children are taken by the police force is extremely dramatic and intense. The sense of loss is made greater by the screaming of the children and mother, her rep eating the word mine showing her ownership of her children and the frenzied feeling created through hand-held camera work. The childrens new home at Moore River is so unfamiliar and is juxtaposed with the natural world of their bushland home. The image of Molly, her sister and her full cousin sleeping together in the same bed focuses our attention on their need to feel secure and protected. They are forced to speak English, and their language was horizon wangka, jabber.The girls are taught to give up their culture and their language to learn the white culture which is completely strange tothem. The enticements of the white people, Youll feel quite at home in this new world does not attract Molly and even makes her sick. The climax is when Molly decides to escape from Moore River. They walked 1500 miles along the longest fence in the world being hunted by Constable Briggs and an Aboriginal tracker. The fence in the movie represents a symbol of the way to their home. When they grip the fence, the film juxtaposes image of their mother also gripping the fence, and a close-up shot of their smiles reveal their joy of being connected by beautiful emotional music. Molly and her sister then continue their long journey home overcoming many obstacles to be finally reunited with their family. The slow motion image of the mother crying, hugging the kids emphasises the significance of their need to belong and the strong connection to family. The movie would not have a happy end as Molly is then taken away after she gets home, unless it cannot stop her from running away all her life to be where she belongs.If Rabbit-Proof Fence leaves the audiences beautiful images of a familys strong connection and the desire to belong to a real home, the poem Postcard by Peter Shrzynecki explores the concept of belonging on the personas sense of cultural identity. It is a postcard that the author received, which depicts the city of Warsaw in Poland, his homeland. However he does not fee l the same sense of connection to his homeland that his father feels, but rather feels alien and disengaged. The negative connotations of the verb Haunts and its position on a line by itself highlight the personas unease and uncertain connection to the place. This contrasts his friends intelligence that his parents will react decreedly to this postcard, feeling a sense of connection to it he requests I show it to my parents. The separation of I and his parents on a separate line suggests their different perceptions to the postcard. The poet described the picture in the postcard without enthusiasm, from the Red buses to The River and its concrete pylons and the skys brightest shade.The colours in the post card are unnatural and his unfamiliarity with Warsaw is emphasised when he cannot tell whether something is a park. Skrzynecki however, is stuck by the moment. The usage of personification gives the effect of the poets conversation with Warsaw, I never knew you, which is his dire ct refusing of relation to the place. The following Except in the third person emphasises the poets sheer distance and detachment in his life from the city. pedigree to Skrzyneckisnegative to the city, his parents and their friend as dying generation are continuing the attachment to the city with a strong sense of belonging. They shelter, contend Despite living in a new city, these older migrants find a sense of collective belonging in reminiscing about their Old townspeople. The persona clearly distances himself from this, separated through the distinction made between the pronouns, I and They. The author then confronts the conflict which lies in the rhetorical question Whats my choice to be? as his parents will be proud and speak of their Beloved Ukraine.The poet recognises the citys offers but concludes that he cannot give it more than sightedness and praise and his response will not come from his heart. Yet, it then ends with a tone of desperation as he asks, What more do you want overly the gift of despair? Which reinforces the poets conflict to acknowledge his connection and loss with the city. The use of direct speech A lone tree whispers, we will play off before you die personifies Poland and suggests it is calling him home. It is a prophecy that he must visit Poland in order to understand his identity. The reason he could not hitherto belong to Australia is simply because he did not understand his original heritage. For Skrzynecki, to belong to Australia he must first belong to, and understand Poland by visiting it and giving in to its calling. The experiences of belonging on the other hand, are often initiated at birth within family, as it is the first group an individual becomes a break apart of. 10 Mary Street is the address of Shrzyneckis family, and the poem that conveys with insight into the concept of familial bonds, and our instinctive choice to belong in the home.The sense of the cheer is established in the beginning of the poem with the simile A well-oiled lock indicates the positive image of the Skrzynecki household going through the sense of ownership and security system it provides. The Nineteen years also adds a depth to this and expresses the sense of belonging Skrzynecki felt to the place. Plus the repeat of the pronoun We emphasises their togetherness and belonging to each other. In another simile, devastate the backyard garden like a hungry bird, Skrzynecki compares his early boyhood days of hunger after school with a young bird in the dwell revealing the delights of the familys vegetable garden and it creates an image of comfort, security and familiarity. The garden is an important aspect of their lives where the poets parent watered plants- grew potatoes like adopted children,stressing their strong connection to their home. The positive images For nineteen years, we lived together, and later of visitors sharing their common interests, discussions, embracing gesture present their home as a trusted site of the liveliness and friendliness. Contrasting to the warmth and security inside, outside of the house with its china-blue coat, represents a refugee for them, and an unwelcoming culture into which the family must go, but do not really belong. erst mend again there was a barrier, the still too-narrow bridge that separated the two worlds. Besides giving them a haven from nature, the enclosed space gives them a pretend to preserve a private life and include their past life in pre-war Europe. For nineteen years, Skrzynecki lived his Australian life style while his parents kept prewar Europe alive with photographs and letters. This juxtaposition portrays the adopted nature of the home for his parents as a refugee, and for the persona as a home. The immigrant familys naturalisation into Australian society is described as becoming citizens of the soil. This metaphor creates a feeling of being connected as Skrzyneckis family legitimate and became a part of the land.Throughout the poem is tone of positive feeling and contented. The familys only regret is leaving the home. In essence, belonging is a fundamental aspect of an individuals life and one should make as many positive interactions with others in order to enrich their experience of this essential compassionate need. Peter Skrzyneckis Post Card extensively explores that the sense of belonging if is undefined can haunt a person their entire life. This is contrasted with the idea that positive interactions of an individual to a group or their family as is highlighted in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence and especially in Peter Skrzyneckis 10 Marry Street, as the members of the Skrzynecki family feel an enriched sense of belonging to one another.