Transcending The Atrocities of War Essay -- Literary Analysis

Warfare not only results in majority of casualties but also affect individuals both physically and psychologically. This can damage their sense of purpose and identity which can lead to difficulties in the way they relate to others. Art and religion proves to be the saviour of these individuals by helping them respond to the effects and aftermath of war with valour and resilience which not only helps them cope with stress and grief but also gives them the opportunity to interact and connect with others. David Roxborough argues that â€Å"Ondaatje’s method of alternating mythical identity allows the efficient construction of a panoramic religious framework with widespread mythical significance.† Similarly, Alice Brittan claims that â€Å"Ondaatje’s novel is filled with [†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦] scenes of reading and writing, and characters who delight in marginalia.† Both the authors agree that Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient utilizes imagery and mytholo gy to explain the atrocities of the Second World War, and to explicate that religion and the admiration of art attempts to defy the violent human displacements enabled by war, and helps to transcend the crude realities of the world. The novel The English Patient harbours four central characters namely Almasy, Hana, Caravaggio and Kip whose lives are devastated by the Second World War and British colonialism. Almasy, the English patient, receives austere burns during an escape from a â€Å"blazing aircraft† which makes him resemble â€Å"a [burnt] animal, taut and dark† (Ondaatje 6, 41). His injuries hinder him in making any kind of movement. Hana, a twenty years old Canadian nurse, is forced to leave her adolescence and step into adulthood at an early age. She loses her father, and has to suffer the pain of an aborti... ... English Patient.† The History of the Book and the Idea of Literature 121 (2006): 200-213. PMLA. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. Roxborough, David. â€Å"The Gospel of Almasy: Christian Mythology in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient.† Essays on Canadian Writing 67 (1999): 236. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17. Apr. 2012. Cook, Rufus. "Being and representation in Michael Ondaatje's 'The English Patient'." ARIEL 30.4 (1999): 35+. Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. Goldman, Marlene. "'Powerful Joy': Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and Walter Benjamin's Allegorical Way of Seeing." University Of Toronto Quarterly 70.4 (2001): 902. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. Scobie, Stephen. â€Å"The reading lesson: Michael Ondaatje and the patients of desire.† Essays on Canadian Writing 53 (1994): 92. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 Apr. 2012.