Looseness In Ondaatje

A detailed Summary of Looseness In Ondaatje

"Let me now re-emphasise the extreme looseness of the structure of all objects" How Ondaatje makes use of "loosness" in the novel.

In "In The Skin Of A Lion" by Michael Ondaatje, "the extreme looseness of the structure of all objects" is carried into the themes, characters and into the nature of the novel itself. Ondaatje uses a "looseness" in the style of the novel - post modernism, and "looseness of structure" in the way that people are able to stretch and expand their boundaries: transform or mask themselves into someone not typical of their social group.

This novel was written in the late 1980s and is classified as a post-modern work. Essentially, "In The Skin Of A Lion" has many traits of a post-modern novel, it deals with chaos and order, has multi-layered interpretations, provokes an ambiguous and mixed reaction from the reader, and has varied approaches to the conventional storyline; beginning, exposition, and closure. There are liberties taken with the time structure of the narrative.

The story itself is like a "mural, [the] falling together of accomplices." Ondaatje tells of ordinary people who's stories interlock and intersect, with many "fragments of human order". Ondaatje does not tell the stories loose

Even when the book is finished, there is no distinct closure and finality of the narrative; the story itself is in the process of being told. "This is a story a young girl gathers in a car...", and in that same way, it tells of how that car trip started, so the tale backs up on itself.

The novel constantly brings attention that it itself is a work of fiction. There are constant references to art, music, drama, film, photography, and literature, as well as devices used "You reach people through metaphor". It implies that it is a creation, "Only the best art can order the chaotic tumble of events.." and even "The first sentence of every novel should be...". Authors, painters, singers and actors all feature highly in a book about peoples' creation of their lives and history.

Ondaatje's language in the novel borders on poetry. Imagery, figurative language and emotive words abound whenever he is being descriptive, or making a point. The second paragraph at the beginning of "Caravaggio", "by noon [...] onto the blue metal", has a certain rhythm in the words and sentences, "Taking an innocent step/He would fall through the air and die", "joined by a rope - one on each slope", that somewhat mirrors lines in poetry. Poetic devices are in the scene of the puppet-show. Similes "Machine locked in habit", economic use of words "exhausted statuary", and repetition "There. There. There" effectively convey a vivid image to the reader.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1215
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English