William Asquith

YR 11 ENG ADV MJA

The traumatic nature of the migrant experience often has detrimental effects
to the individual moving to a new environment. Whilst this can be riddled
with trepidation, anxiety and uncertainty, the unending desire to belong
leaves us with a new hope. Peter Skrzynecki, in his poems migrant hostel
and immigrants at central station explores his families experience of
moving from Poland to Australia in 1949 after world war one. These poems
provide insight into how migrants are disturbed by their past memories,
attempting to make an unfamiliar, confronting reset. However in both texts,
Skrzynecki alludes to a future hope.
Peter Skrzynecki uses symbols and motifs in his poems to represent the
experience of a migrant. Skrzynecki repeatedly uses the metaphor of birds to
portray how birds are the most successful migrants. Like a homing pigeon
circling to get its bearings peters use of a simile in migrant hostel clearly
portrays a migrants will and desperation to find home, in which they have not
found yet. This transitory experience that ALL migrants have in common is
also represented in immigrants at central station: watching pigeons that
watched us Skrzyneckis use of a metaphor of the pigeons reiterates how
much Skrzynecki and other migrants are fantasising and coveting over the
freedom of birds (in this case pigeons). Peters metaphorical use of birds to
portray how they are the only successful migrants really adds depth and
meaning to how the migrant experience is represented in his poems.
Anxiety is something in which we all face and can empathise with; some face
more anxiety than others, migrants are some of those people. Peter and his
family experience anxiety but they are not the only ones; time waited
anxiously with us in this quote from immigrants at central station, peter
clearly represents the collective anxiety experienced by all the immigrants,
not just peter. Some of the cause of anxiety is due to the unknown. To pass
in and out of lives that had only begun or were dying this quote (from
migrant hostel) is essential in understanding the cause of anxiety
experienced by migrants. The absence of autonomy induces the migrants to
feel anxious and uncertain about the future. Trepidation is a common feeling
experienced by migrants who are transferring into a foreign land when
autonomy.

William Asquith
YR 11 ENG ADV MJA

The hardship in migration is ever present and profound in peter skryzneckis

poems immigrants at central station and migrant hostel. Peter explores
this hardship through a range of techniques and emotive language.
Throughout all the negative imagery peter still gives a glimmer of hope.