In The Skin Of A Lion Sparknotes
Life is not cohesive or linear. The past affects the future, the future affects the past, and both shape the present. When one thinks of their life, it is not told as a continuous story, but as fragmented pieces of intertwined memories, thoughts, and feelings that create who they are. The structure and style of Michael Ondaatje’s novel In The Skin of A Lion creates a feeling as though one is traversing through memories. His fragmented style shows connections in the characters memories, thoughts and feelings, and jumps backwards and forwards through time to tell each of their stories from every angle. This gives a realistic feeling to the story, as though it is a chain of memories that someone is recounting rather than a book. This gives a deeper
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In the novel, Ondaatje shows the reader the little pieces of the characters lives that do not necessarily further the plot, but give a deeper understanding of their personalities. One prominent example of this is the main character, Patrick Lewis. Many pieces of his life are shown to the reader that give deeper meaning to his beliefs, thoughts and actions throughout the rest of the novel, such as the story of his childhood. In the beginning of the book, Patrick is a child living with his stoic father, observing and learning about the small world that surrounds him. He faces a kind of isolation in his relationship with his father, which most likely had a role in stunting his ability in giving and receiving intimacy due to the lack of a close parental figure to show him how relationships work. The effects of this can be seen in instances such as his inability to cope with Clara leaving him for Ambrose. Without knowing about his childhood and his lack of interpersonal contact, the reasoning behind his actions and feelings at that time would have been left to speculation. With that knowledge though, the reader can see that Clara was one of the only known people at that point to be in a meaningful relationship with him, which understandably holds importance to him. Another
In the novel, Ondaatje shows the reader the little pieces of the characters lives that do not necessarily further the plot, but give a deeper understanding of their personalities. One prominent example of this is the main character, Patrick Lewis. Many pieces of his life are shown to the reader that give deeper meaning to his beliefs, thoughts and actions throughout the rest of the novel, such as the story of his childhood. In the beginning of the book, Patrick is a child living with his stoic father, observing and learning about the small world that surrounds him. He faces a kind of isolation in his relationship with his father, which most likely had a role in stunting his ability in giving and receiving intimacy due to the lack of a close parental figure to show him how relationships work. The effects of this can be seen in instances such as his inability to cope with Clara leaving him for Ambrose. Without knowing about his childhood and his lack of interpersonal contact, the reasoning behind his actions and feelings at that time would have been left to speculation. With that knowledge though, the reader can see that Clara was one of the only known people at that point to be in a meaningful relationship with him, which understandably holds importance to him. Another