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In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje

This material was written by Karen Yager,
Richmond River High School

"never again will a single story be told though it were the only one"
Ondaatje

Introduction

  1. Syllabus requirements
  2. NSW Board of Studies Notes from the marking Centre

Critical Study of the Novel

  1. Context
  2. Setting
  3. Ideas and issues
  4. Characters
  5. Values
  6. Structure
  7. Style and Language Features

Others' Perspectives

Personal and Critical Responses

Introduction

Syllabus Requirements:

To appreciate what is required of you in this module you must be familiar with the English Stage 6 Syllabus requirements for study and the relevant rubric for the critical study of a novel. The syllabus states that students are required to:

The HSC questions are designed to reflect the expectations of the syllabus and the rubric; therefore, you must understand what is you are required to do when you study the text. The "2005 Notes from the Marking Centre" reinforce this point:

"Many responses suggested that candidates had prepared for the examination but not for the expectations of Module B."

The key aspects of a critical study are as follows:

Own Understanding:

One of the main expectations of a critical study of a text is evidence of personal engagement. The markers must be able to recognise that you know and appreciate In the Skin of a Lion. Your personal response to the ideas, values, characters, construction, setting, language features and so on should be privileged in a critical study of a text. Your reception of the novel based on your context is relevant. Your response should not be a superficial overview of the novel, followed by a closer analysis of a litany of critical readings. The "2005 Notes from the Marking Centre" strongly supports the importance of a personal response:

"Far too many candidates' critical readings about the text have been substituted for study of the text. In many scripts, the readings seem to be a barrier placed between the candidate and the text."

The ideas, construction, content and language:

As already indicated, you must have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the novel. Depending on the set question you should be able to refer to key incidents, the characters' actions, attitudes and relationships, the setting and its significance, and how meaning is conveyed through the construction, content and use of language:

"Highly detailed analysis of textual features was most relevant when the candidate was able to demonstrate an understanding and an appreciation of the effectiveness of the use of these features" (2005 Notes from the marking Centre).

Textual integrity:

You must be able to demonstrate an appreciation of whether the novel has integrity. This requires an understanding of whether the novel has unity and coherence.

Others' Perspectives in a range of contexts:

Although this module was intended to be a critical study of a text, students have tended to make others' perspectives their main focus in their responses. Personal engagement has been subsumed by a detailed overview of readings rather than critical readings or others' perspectives being used to support or challenge the students' own reading of the novel.

A range of imaginative, interpretive and analytical compositions:

You could be required to respond to the novel in a variety of forms such as a speech, a transcript or an essay. It is imperative that you practise composing numerous responses in a variety of forms.

NSW Board of Studies Notes from the Marking Centre:

You should take note of the examiner's feedback on the NSW Board of Studies site as it will direct you to what you are expected to do in the HSC exam and explore the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates' responses for previous years. The "2005 Notes from the Marking Centre" stated that:

"It was evident that candidates needed to be more aware of the requirements of this module as well as responding more thoroughly to the advice provided in previous Notes from the Marking Centre."

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Critical Study of the Novel

"I love that sense that history is not just one opinion. I prefer a complicated history where an event is seen through many eyes or emotions…It is only when one steps back from those small things which are knitted together in the narrative that one can see, as Henry James said, 'the figure in the carpet.'"Ondaatje

It is imperative that you have a detailed understanding of all aspects of the novel so that you are able to:

As you read and re-read the novel make notes on the key aspects of the novel and include relevant quotes. Key aspects could include:

  1. Context
  2. Setting
  3. Ideas/Issues
  4. Characters
  5. Values
  6. Structure
  7. Style and Language Features

a. Context

Michael Ondaatje was born in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in1943. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country that has been divided by internal conflict and has been largely ignored by the west. As a result Ondaatje highlights the significance of the local narrative and the need for the voices of the marginalised to be heard. Ondaatje's use of actual historical events, places and people gives credence to these voices and their stories, inviting empathy and understanding.

When you begin reading the novel it is worthwhile briefly investigating some of the factual aspects of the novel so that you can appreciate the context and the times. Use the internet to find some information on some or all of the following:

  1. Migrant workers in Canada – Finns, Macedonians, Bulgarians, etc.
  2. Michelangelo Amerighi da Caravaggio – Italian painter (1569 – 1609) who painted the poor, the disenfranchised and symbolically used light and dark (chiaroscuro).
  3. Ambrose Small – a millionaire who went missing in 1919.
  4. Bloor Street Viaduct and the Queen Street Waterworks.
  5. Rowland Harris – Commissioner of Public Works.

b. Setting - 1913-1940

Ondaatje is able to capture the essence of a setting with a minimalist's touch; such as the opening chapter where Patrick recalls, for Hanna, his boyhood experiences is evocatively conveyed through imagery, contrast and verbal cinema:

"There he stands at the bedroom window and watches: he can see two or three lanterns between the soft maple and walnut tree. He hears their boots on the gravel. Thirty loggers, wrapped up dark, carrying axes and small packages of food which hang from their belts."(P. 7)

The recurring leitmotif of moths being drawn to the light and the symbolic use of light and dark are introduced: "moths pinioned against the screens, clinging to the brightness."(P. 9)

Exercise:

Select two or three settings that aptly convey Ondaatje's use of language and are effective backdrops for significant moments in the novel, and closely analyse the following:

  1. Language features used to convey the setting.
  2. The settings' significance in the novel.
  3. What the settings reveal about the character/s.
  4. The issues and ideas associated with the settings.
  5. Your personal response to the settings.

You could elect to closely analyse the following settings:

  1. The opening setting
  2. The farmhouse with Alice and Clara
  3. The Palace of Purification
  4. The puppet show at the water works
  5. The Garden of the Blind

c. Ideas/Issues

As you read the novel, certain incidents, characters' attitudes, actions and relationships, memorable lines and even the gaps and silences will raise significant issues and key ideas that leave a lasting impression. You need to make notes on the issues and ideas, and reflect on how you feel about what is being said about life and humanity.

A table has been started for you; complete the table and add any others that resonate for you.

Issue/Idea Key quotes & Language Features Significance Personal Response & Others Perspectives
Power of language: Language can be silenced, used to marginalise and maintain power or give voice to the local narratives. The hegemonic English language is used to control the migrant workers. The workers are given English names that mock and deny their culture and heritage, "Charles Johnson, Nick Parker…The names strange in their foreign language were remembered like a number, much like the numbering in prison."

The migrant workers are forced to communicate in English, a language they are not conversant in, "if they speak…in any language other than English, they will be jailed. A rule of the city." Thus the migrant workers are disempowered. The fractured, abrupt sentence – "A rule of the city." – conveys the rigidity of the laws of the rich.		 The migrant workers must learn English in order to be heard. Nicolas Temelcoff has struggled to grasp this new language. At the end of the novel Harris is able to defeat Patrick with words.

Words in the hands of a storyteller such as Patrick are empowering and give voice to the stories of all those he meets.		 "Patrick's struggle with Harris fails, not because he lacked the power to kill Harris, but Patrick's failure happens on the level of language." Gilbert McInnes, "The Struggle of Postmodernism and Postcolonialism in Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion"
Danger of Ideology: Alice's fervent Marxist perspective is as dangerous as society's capitalist, materialistic values. "The trouble with ideology, Alice, is that it hates the private. You must make it human." Patrick expresses a post-modern fear of ideology and how the individual is lost when the focus is on a cause. As a postmodernist Ondaatje rejects zealous ideology. When Patrick meets Elizabeth she is the human element that counters Alice's ideological criticism of the wealthy. Alice's death induces Patrick to embrace her ideology, and in so doing, he returns to the shadows and silence.  
Plight of the worker: The workers are pawns, easily discarded and not valued by history. The workers are only seen as parts of the bridge as shown through the metaphor "a man is an extension of a hammer, drill flame." The night before the bridge was opened the workers held a silent vigil for those who died constructing the bridge. The imagery of the workers as they move across the bridge is moving and evocative, "their candles for the bridge dead like a wave of civilization, a net of summer insects over the valley."
As well as being anonymous, the workers endure terrible working conditions. They ironically work on the "Palace of Purification," but they will later die from "tuberculosis, and arthritis and rheumatism." The repetition of the connective "and" emphasises the extent of their suffering. Allusion to animals is used to signify the value of the workers, "The brain of the mule, no more and no less knowledgeable than the body of a man who dug the clay wall in front of him."		 History remembers the bridge and the viaduct, but not the men who died constructing them. Temelcoff is the skilled worker swinging agilely from the bridge, but his identity and courage are irrelevant. Harris moves in a privileged world far removed from the workers with "his expensive tweed coat cost more that the combined week's salaries of five bridge workers." Graciela Moreira Slepoy in her essay "Historical Obliviousness in Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion states that the novel" narrates the forgotten stories of those who contributed to the building of the city Toronto, particularly immigrants and marginal individuals."
History is 'faction': History needs to be questioned as those in power construct it. Ondaatje believes that the local narratives need to be told and acknowledged. Even Patrick was unaware of the past and the suffering of others until he met Alice. When Patrick is at Riverdale Library he discovers Hine's photographs of Canada's workers. He realises that "Official histories and news stories were always soft as rhetoric, like that of a politician making a speech after a bridge is built, a man who does not even cut the grass on his own lawn." (P. 145) He finds a photograph of Temelcoff working on the bridge and suddenly the power of individual stories is evident: "Patrick's gift, that arrow into the past, shows him the wealth in himself, how he has been sewn into history. Now he will begin to tell stories." (P. 149) When Patrick talks to Harris after breaking into the waterworks to destroy it, he tries to make Harris understand how unfair and potentially dangerous the class structure is. He forces Harris to "think about those who built the intake tunnels. Do you know how many of us died in there?" To which Harris can only reply in a clipped sentence "there was no record kept." The workers are "never accepted or acknowledged."
Patrick only came to understand his own country after he met Alice and is taught about the lives of the workers: "And all of his life Patrick had been oblivious to it, a searcher gazing into the darkness of his own country…" (P. 157)		 Graciela Moreira Slepoy noted "History is implicitly considered as a master narrative that allows no space to articulate local narratives and to account for the richness, variety and complexity of human experience. To counterbalance the omissions and partiality of the historical master narrative, the alternative Ondaatje proposes is to privilege and celebrate a plurality of private and local narratives that give voice to the forgotten of History."
The significance of stories: Garth Boomer once said that "Stories are the lifeblood of our nation." Ondaatje acknowledges the importance of the storyteller. They invite empathy and understanding, and they tell of the richness of our culture and our lives. Patrick as the major storyteller is a watcher who "absorbed everything from a distance…" p. 19; " …he himself was nothing but a prism that refracted their lives." This eloquent metaphor symbolically conveys how Patrick, without realising it, brings light to so many different issues and lives, such as the terrible conditions of the workers and their marginalisation, and the need for all individuals to be heard. His prism-like qualities allow others to see the importance of stories such as Temelcoff who calls it Patrick's "gift" and Hanna who will know her mother's story because of Patrick. "Each person had their moment when they assumed the skins of wild animals, when they took responsibility for the story" (P. 157). The quote taken from the Epic of Gilgamesh: "I will let my hair grow long for your sake, and I will wander through the wilderness in the skin of a lion" stresses society's need for a storyteller who has the strength to face hardship and survive to tell the stories that enrich the lives of others. When Temelcoff is given the power of language he is able to realise that "he has been sewn into history. Now he will begin to tell stories." (P. 155) "The Epic of Gilgamesh", the first recorded myth, is appropriated to create Patrick's story. Storytellers have a significant role to play in our culture, history and lives as heroes. The difference is that heroes are the main thread of a story, but storytellers are the facilitators for a tapestry of stories. As Ondaatje's voice, Patrick expresses Ondaatje's concern that history ignores the stories of the individuals and only gives voice to those in power.
Patrick is an observer who notices the little things considered insignificant by history. He gives voice to the stories of those neglected by history.
 "As the title of the novel indicates, to take responsibility for one's own story and for its narration is a way of legitimising and appropriating one's life in order to compensate for historical omissions." (Graciela Moreira Slepoy)

"Patrick is ready to take responsibility for his own story. This is suggested by his saying "Lights" (244) meaning that, as Alice one explained to him, it is his turn to get on the stage and wear the skin of a lion, i.e., tell his own story." (Graciela Moreira Slepoy)
Identity: The characters such as Temelcoff and Patrick search for who they are, and until they find their true identity, they lack confidence.      

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d. Characters

"You're getting everyone's point of view at the same time, which for me, is the perfect state for a novel: a cubist state, the cubist novel."
Ondaatje

You must have an intimate knowledge and understanding of the characters, from the main character, Patrick, to the minor characters such as Elizabeth. As you read the novel make notes on:

  1. Their stories.
  2. Their values and beliefs.
  3. Personalities, attitudes and actions.
  4. Relationships with self and others.
  5. Issues associated with them.
  6. Key quotes.

Add to the table that has been started for you:

Character Values & Beliefs Traits, attitudes & actions Relationships with others
Patrick He is a passive, kind and compassionate individual who is trying to find his place and his identity. It is important to remember that his father imparted no ideas or values to Patrick other than a strong work ethic so he would be eager to embrace other ideas, identities and values:
"Hazen Lewis did not teach his son anything, no legend, no base of theory." (P. 19)
Thus, Patrick devoid of any strong ideology does not judge others. He is a watcher who "absorbed everything from a distance…" (p. 19); "…he himself was nothing but a prism that refracted their lives." This eloquent metaphor symbolically shows how Patrick without realising it brings light to so many different issues and lives, such as the terrible conditions of the workers and their marginalisation and the need for all individuals to be heard. His prism-like qualities allow others to see the importance of stories such as Temelcoff who refer to it as Patrick's "gift" and Hanna who will know her mother's story because of Patrick. 		Ondaatje uses Patrick as the narrator as he knows the value of having a voice. He is a silent observer of people and life. Patrick has lived a lonely childhood with his father. The lack of communication has meant that like his father there is a part of him that cannot be reached. It was not until he met Clara and Alice that he learnt to love and gain confidence. The two women realise that Patrick is a gentle, vulnerable man who can be effortlessly shaped and guided – "I've noticed. Like water, you can be easily harnessed, Patrick. "(P. 122). When he loses Alice he retreats back into the world of shadows and becomes bitter and isolated. He had always believed that men had to be heroic so his actions reflect his desire to be courageous and manly. Harris' empathy and his responsibility for Alice's daughter Hanna, release his pain and transform him into a storyteller – "I'll tell you the whole story." (P. 244) Patrick has suffered because of the lack of communication he had with his father Hazen.Patrick wants to belong and be loved, to be part of a family like the migrant workers who, ironically, are isolated from the locals and separated from their families, but have found their own "strange" community:
"He longed to hold their hands and skate the length of the creek…" (p. 23) and "He passes this strange community most mornings during the winter months, the companionship a silent comfort to him in the dark at five am." (P. 8)
Alice Alice believes in giving voice to the marginalised and she is highly critical of the wealthy. She uses her skills as an actress to convey the plight of the workers. Her forceful, narrow ideology frightens Patrick. Alice is a tenacious, determined individual who fights for the rights of the migrant workers. Her performance as a puppet highlights the workers struggle for the right to be heard "unable to speak their language" (P. 117), not a word emerged, "it could say nothing…it stamped a foot to try and bring out a language…The figure knelt, one hand banging down on the wooden floor as if pleading for help…" (P. 117) Alice is seen as fighting against this class structure and she tries to persuade Patrick to adopt her ideology. She argues that "three quarters of the population of America… can't afford your choices!" Alice is an enigma for Patrick. "Alice came to him it seemed in a series of masks or painted faces..." (P. 128) He is drawn to her strength and her convictions. When Alice is accidentally killed, Patrick tries to become the type of hero that he believes Alice would have wanted him to be. He embraces her Marxist ideology and sets out to shock the rich into acknowledging the plight of the workers. Alice's emotional performance as a stereotypical migrant puppet moves Patrick to stop the banging as he knows what it is like not to have a voice.
Nicholas Temelcoff Nicholas values communication as he knows that it is the key to success. He realises how important it is to speak the language of those in power – "if he did not learn the language he would be lost." (P. 46) We first meet Nicholas on page 33 where he is described as "The man in mid air." The anonymity indicates the plight of the workers on the bridge, like Nicholas, who do not matter to the privileged officials and those in charge. When Temelcoff is given the power of language he realises that "he has been sewn into history. Now he will begin to tell stories." (P. 155) As a migrant worker, Nicholas had been denied communication. Alice reached him, inspiring him to seek a change in his anonymous existence. "What holds them together is not the act which saved her life, but those moments since," (P. 49) those moments when Nicholas discovered meaningful communication and a closeness to woman who, as a nun, lived an isolated existence. Alice's willingness to listen allowed Temelcoff to symbolically slide free of the bridge and find freedom from the weight of isolation and silence. When she leaves, Nicholas "knows he will find her." (P. 48)
Ambrose Small Ambrose has realised the American Dream. His ruthless pursuit of riches has meant that he has sacrificed his humanity. He values power, position and wealth. Ambrose Small represents the gap between the rich and the poor. "He was a jackal", "buying up every field of wealth" (P. 57) in pursuit of money and power. "In the tenth century, he liked to say, the price of a greyhound or hawk was the same as that for a man." (P. 58) Ambrose is at the top of the class structure and he does not value the working class; he sees them as animals to be used and abused. Ironically, Ondaatje portrays Ambrose as animal – a predator who feeds off others' leftovers. When Small disappeared, "it was an opportunity for complaint about the state of the world; Small's blatant capitalism had clarified the gulf between the rich and the starving." (P. 59) Ondaatje has juxtaposed the metonymic term "rich" with the emotive word "starving" to create a binary opposition that is critical of the wealthy. Ambrose with his relentless pursuit of wealth has been willing to exploit and sacrifice others. He is Clara's lover but they are not close. He buys her expensive presents such as the car and enjoys her company: "With his lover Clara Dickens he was gregarious, generous, charming." (P. 58) He chooses to live a secretive and isolated existence.
Elizabeth      
Caravaggio      
Clara      

Exercise:

Select a character that appeals to you the most in the text and prepare a detailed justification of why this character is so appealing. Discuss how another reader might respond to this character.

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e. Values

Identify the core values and beliefs that are conveyed by the characters, the incidents and Ondaatje's authorial intrusions. Decide if these values are relevant to your time and place. You could closely examine the following values:

f. Structure

"His own life was no longer a single story but part of a mural, which was a falling together of accomplices."

The non-linear, elliptical structure of the novel resembles the way in which an individual tells a story. Memories are fragmented, incomplete and shift from one moment to the next. You will need to make notes on the structure of the novel focusing on features such as:

g. Style and Language Features

The style and use of language in a novel work to convey the author's message and serve his purpose and intention. As you discuss the characters, key incidents, setting, issues and ideas and so on, you should critically note how the use of language positions you to respond and what meaning is conveyed. The following notes can be used as a guide:

Exercise:

Read Patrick's descriptions of his childhood memories of his father, his interest in the insects and nature and his impression of the migrant workers; and compose your own description of a childhood memory using a similar style to Ondaatje.

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Others' Perspectives

There is no stipulation about whose other critical reading you should refer to in a response. It could be your friend who rejects the dominant reading of the text and is resistant to aspects of the novel or it could be an alternative reading such as a feminist or a postcolonial perspective. You could refer to actual critics who present an alternative reading. The most important thing to remember is that your own reading is paramount. Use others' perspectives to support and/or challenge your own reading of the novel.

The following alternative readings could be used:

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Personal and Critical Responses

  1. Imagine that you are Michael Ondaatje, the author of In the Skin of a Lion, describing to a year 12 audience his most significant character.

    In his discussion, he refers to:

    • The influence of his personal, cultural, social and historical context
    • His purpose for including this character
    • His representation of the character: traits, relationships, key scenes, language features, form and structure, etc
    • A key issue raised by the character
    • Another's perspective of the character, such as Karen Overbye's feminist perspective or Graciela Moreira Slepoy's post-colonial perspective

    The above aspects should be integrated and synthesised in your response.

  2. Sometimes when we read a novel we remember a key scene or incident that seems to capture the intentions of the composer. It can reveal something interesting about the character/s, focus on a significant issue and typify the language features, form and structure of the novel. It can also be responded to differently by another reader.

    Explain and analyse a key scene focusing on the language features, form and structure, what it reveals about the character/s and the significant issue that is conveyed. You should also integrate into your discussion an explanation of how another reader could respond differently to the scene or incident.

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