Michael Ondaatje’s autobiographical novel Running in the Family is an imaginative reconstruction of the author’s family history. A mixture of fact and fiction‚ the novel chronicles Ondaatje’s attempt to gain insight into his own identity by better understanding his parents and relatives. In the novel Ondaatje returns to Ceylon for the first time since his childhood in order to meet relatives and learn about his family. The novel consists of stories about Ondaatje’s aristocratic family interspersed
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In one of his most notable works‚ Running in the family‚ Michael Ondaatje attempts to write fiction‚ which he claims to be more truth-telling then attempting to tell fact. In the final acknowledgements for his memoir Ondaatje praises many relatives and friends for providing the raw material his memoir is built upon‚ however he then adds: “While all these names [of real people] may give an air of authenticity‚ I must confess that the book is not a history but a portrait or ‘gesture.’ And if those
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In the novel‚ In The Skin Of A Lion Michael Ondaatje anatomizes the relationship between power and language and their effect on oneself establishing a sense of identity. The manipulative language and the complex structure Ondaatje uses explores this idea of power and its inevitable relationship with a sense of identity‚ which is even further accentuated through use of characterization throughout the novel. Ondaatje shines light on the unheard corners of history to give the disenfranchised migrants
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Running in the Family By Michael Ondaatje Language The language used in Running in the Family is descriptive and poetic. The variety forms of figurative languages (especially metaphors and similes)‚ vivid imagery‚ and unusual sentence structure Ondaatje utilized elaborate the sentences making the novel Running in the Family sounds more of a poem than a novel. For instance‚ the description of Hetti Corea’s voice is written as a poem using simile and imagery: "Your voice sounds like a scorpion being
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Philip Michael Ondaatje‚ wrote Running in the Family. He is best known for writing The English Patient. But this book is not a work of fiction; instead‚ it is a memoir from his youth in Sri Lanka. The events happening in the book can be classified as creative non-fiction. The book is written in postmodern style‚ with writing from the perspective of different real-life individuals and refraining from stringing narrative together in an orderly fashion. The focus of the book is Michael’s family. The Ondaatje
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http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html THE ENGLISH PATIENT a novel by MICHAEL ONDAATJE Michael Ondaatje is a novelist and poet who lives in Toronto‚ Canada. He is the author ofIn the Skin of a Lion‚ Coming Through Slaughter‚ andThe Collected Works of Billy the Kid; three collections of poems‚The Cinnamon Peeler‚ Secular Love‚ andThere’s a Trick‚ with a Knife I’m Learning to Do; and a memoir‚Running in the Family. He received the Booker Prize forThe English Patient. Generated by ABC Amber
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Professor D English 1001 February 1st‚ 2010 Poetic analysis of To a Sad Daughter The poem‚ "To a Sad Daughter" written by Michael Ondaatje‚ sends a powerful message regarding a father ’s love‚ and his hockey idolizing daughter. Through analysis it is clear that Ondaatje does not use many overt poetic devices‚ but his subtle figurative language and specific word choice makes for an extremely effective poem. His decision to use common language and keep it simple helps to relate and understand his
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novel‚ Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje‚ the author uses figurative language in Ceylon where which the story of his family unravels. He uses figurative language to connect Ceylon to the people who live there‚ particularly his family. As the story goes on‚ Ondaatje has the climate and earth of Ceylon form who people are‚ and how they act. At the beginning of the novel‚ Ondaatje is just starting to piece together his family’s past. He starts to realize how stubborn the whole family is‚ and
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Entry #13 – Running in the Family: Rather than being a memoir‚ this book is a blend between a memoir and fiction. There is no way for us to tell what did and did not happen. Some events that take place seem to be fiction and others appear to be real. There are them some memories that seem to have elements of fiction mixed in. The line between fiction and reality in this book is constantly blurred so that we don’t really know whether or not the events that took place are real or made up. I like this
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meaning to novels. It can either have a significant‚ insignificant or negative impact on the progression of the novel. In Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient‚ the lives of four individuals are scarred due to the destructiveness of the war. Four individuals gather at one common area in Tuscany‚ Italy known as Villa San Girolamo (hereafter cited as the Villa). Ondaatje represents the Villa in many ways. As a representation of a Sanctuary‚ the Villa protects the lives of the characters‚ act
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