Migrant Hostel Poem Analysis

Peter Skrzynecki’s “Migrant Hostel” and “Immigrants at Central Station” enlightens its audience with a tale of a journey of migration from post WWII Europe to Australia. The poems portray the fears and anxieties of the travellers, by using imagery, symbolism and similes. The poems are ones of hope but also uncertainty.

“Migrant Hostel” expresses the migrant’s emotions as they are transitioning between the long voyage from Europe and beginning a new life in Australia. The migrants feel constantly uncertain as they are continually being moved around. The resemblance of the hostel and prison camps back home, would have been distressing. The beginning of the poem is negative and a juxtaposition of opposites. This is shown throughout the poem in lines such as “…comings and goings” “…arrivals and departures”. The effect upon the readers is to recognise that the …show more content…
On arrival, migrants sought out others from their own country, “like a homing pigeon, circling to get its bearings”. This simile suggests that this was the natural thing to do. Readers empathise with the migrants who are instinctively seeking out others who may be culturally or racially similar. The simile also refers to the great distances travelled. Such bonding provides certainty for the migrants and sharing their anxieties can lessen them. In “Immigrants at Central Station”,
Skrzynecki describes how the migrants feel a negative sense of claustrophobia, as they anticipate the next stage of their journey. “The air was crowded with a dampness that slowly sank into our thoughts.” This line is a metaphor and shows metonymy with the word “dampness”. Readers empathy is aroused as they recognise the fear and uncertainty of the migrants as they prepare to embark on the next stage of their journey. This line also depicts to readers the fear and uncertainty the migrants are

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