Skin Of A Lion By Ondaatje Essay

, Research Paper

"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 loosely and scattered with no real purpose in

mind, he employs recurring images and motifs, for e.g. moths and insects,

feldspar. This is to provide continuity and relevance, and helps him to give a

view on the untold history of Toronto. An emphasis is placed on the story that

comes from different viewpoints and angles – the ?chaos?, and then

structures it so that its order of history is ?very faint, very human? as

opposed to official histories. It takes every single word from the first page to

the last, in order to make sense of the meanings, which ?travel languorously

like messages in a bottle?. The novel?s storyline is not linear, it slides

from one character to the next, then slips and loses itself in the time that it

created, ?five years earlier, or ten years into the future…? The prologue

only makes sense once the end is reached, and the bits in between all mingle and

melt into one another until most of the completed narrative is achieved. In

fact, it takes a few good readings to pick up the events and stitch them

together to create order, and only then are the meanings apparent. ?Meander if

you want to get to town?. 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. There is not just flexibility in the

structure of the novel and how it is written, it is also carried into themes.

One of the issues deals with the looseness of boundaries, especially the

boundaries of stereotype and class, ?Gestures, and work and bloodline are the

only currency?. This attitude is one that Ondaatje aims to challenge in the

novel. Boundaries could be physical, e.g. the bridge with the ?lanterns

tracing outlines?. This kind is symbolical, the nun loses the boundaries and

falls over into a new existence. She takes on a new character and her past life

is obliterated, just by having stretched her boundaries. Boundaries could be

somewhat physical, in the mental sense. When Patrick sees the loggers skate

across ice holding fires, ?his mind raced ahead of his body.? i.e. he has

been exposed to a realisation outside of his world. Language and people often

have barriers to cross, they ?br[oke] through [their] chrysalis into

language? and by doing so, the structures of their world changes. P

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