As we journey, both literally and vicariously, our exploration and heightened understanding of individuals and their experiences in the surrounding world allows individuals to undergo transformations and develop new perceptions, which can engender both negative and positive outcomes. Through this, our lifestyle and the paths we choose are influenced. In the texts Migrant Hostel and The Pursuit of Happyness, the concept of journey, physical and emotional, is effectively explored through a wide range of visual and literary techniques. Although the texts both encourage the consideration of journey, they differ as the Migrant Hostel portrays the understanding that not all journeys incur positive outcomes whilst the Pursuit of Happyness presents the idea of positive change through journey. Both the poem and film involve phases of disjointedness, feelings of disconnection and the concept of emotionally and physically challenging journeys.
Journeys contribute to significant changes in physical and mental state, providing both challenging and rewarding new understandings. In The Pursuit of Happyness, the main character Chris Gardner is portrayed as inferior to those of a higher socio-economic status. This is
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The simile “We lived like birds of passage” portrays the journey experienced by the persona; the comparison of the migrants to birds expressing a common mentality of inferiority and loss of individuality, allowing a connection through shared literal and vicarious journey and highlighting the detrimental effects journey can have on identity and culture. Skrzynecki articulates the understanding that journey, if performed vicariously through interaction with the surrounding society, although detrimental in this text, can foster strong connections between individuals through shared understanding of emotional and physical state produced by