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Presentation Title
The Instinctual Self: An Analysis of Identity in Michael Ondaatje's English Patient
Location
Young 111
Abstract
This paper explores Canadian author Michael Ondaatje's novel The English Patient, a story of four characters and their attempts to return to normalcy in the aftermath of World War II. My paper argues that the conscious efforts made by each character to reconstruct his/her identity are ineffective and result only in diversion, displacement, and further fragmentation. It is inevitably the subconscious—through acts of memory, instinct, and reverie—that triggers the re-solidification of each character's identity. In arguing this, I aim to demonstrate Ondaatje's belief that the true self— even when submerged by trauma—is an entity as organic as it is resilient.
Presentation Type
Individual Presentation
Start Date
4-8-2014 2:40 PM
End Date
4-8-2014 4:00 PM
Panel
Panel: The War of the Soul: Adrienne Rich and Michael Ondaatje
Field of Study for Presentation
English
The Instinctual Self: An Analysis of Identity in Michael Ondaatje's English Patient
Young 111
This paper explores Canadian author Michael Ondaatje's novel The English Patient, a story of four characters and their attempts to return to normalcy in the aftermath of World War II. My paper argues that the conscious efforts made by each character to reconstruct his/her identity are ineffective and result only in diversion, displacement, and further fragmentation. It is inevitably the subconscious—through acts of memory, instinct, and reverie—that triggers the re-solidification of each character's identity. In arguing this, I aim to demonstrate Ondaatje's belief that the true self— even when submerged by trauma—is an entity as organic as it is resilient.