Skin_of_a_Lion

Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion effectively explores the notion of migrant experience and development of an individual but also the successful integration of the text to create textual integrity, allowing the text to be commended for the values that it holds. This is explored through the protagonist and the use of post-modern features, allowing for the further realisation of history as a construct. The migrant experience is a feature that is collective and applicable to individuals despite passing of time. The voicelessness and powerlessness of migrants portrayed in “In the Skin of a Lion” is a clear example of migrant experience and their many struggles. The accumulation of negative images depicting the workplace of the migrants, “grunt into hard clay” and “brown slippery darkness” also incorporating the symbolic reference to darkness, being that of negativity and hardship, reflects the experience of the migrant workers. Furthermore the utilisation of hyperbole, “feels the whole continent in front of him”, indicates helplessness and the work effort being futile but also highlighting the difficulties of the work. However it is also the voicelessness of the migrants that is also explored in the novel. The puppet scene is a significant section as it shows the inability of migrants to express their voice and speak their language of origin. The imagery, “emerging from darkness” is representative of the migrant’s actions in that it asserts that migrants are only able to come out in the dark, highlighting their powerlessness but also marginalisation from society. The helpless tone in, “the puppet…could say nothing”, where the puppet depicts the migrants, signifies their lack of voice and consequently absence of any possibility for power. The metaphor, “stamped a foot to try and bring out a language” clearly indicates the migrant’s efforts to express themselves but also illustrates the unfortunate realisation that they do not have the capacity to do so. The powerlessness and voicelessness are features of migrant experience and this exploration of universal values allows the text to be prized. The constant determined process by an individual through various experiences and understandings they gain, allow them to be able to take control. The characterisation of Patrick Lewis and his experiences clearly demonstrates this turbulent growth. Patrick is introduced as a simple boy living with his father on a farm. His life on the farm is constantly referred to through the motif of insects. An example of this is the imagery of, “moths pinioned against the screens, clinging to brightness”. This shows how Patrick was never really in control and dominant over aspects of his life. Patrick’s once solitary life was offset by his affair with Clara as suggested through the seductive tone in “clicked her tongue and jerked her head to the side”. His lack of love, metaphorically conveyed in “wall in him that no one reached” led to him not being able to express himself and come forward and “disclose the truth of his past”. But with Clara, he was able to open up his feelings towards her and repress his past. “When he spoke of his past he was not calm”, demonstrates how Patrick did not reveal his past but only because of Clara, he could move on. Clara then introduces Patrick to Alice who further gives Patrick the sense of power and understanding which as we see later, allows him to become a hero. A significant part of the text is the puppet show in which Alice plays in. The play depicts the life and troubles of the migrants which include Patrick himself. The metaphor “giant in their midst was the central character” is representative of a hero and Patrick slowly starts to feel as if he somehow is responsible for becoming a hero. “Hero not by size but by gesture” utilises a supportive tone which suggests that even though an individual doesn’t have the strength or wealth, through the actions they do, they are able to take control. Patrick’s response is hyperbolically conveyed through “Patrick was unable to move his eyes, his eyes locked upon the crouched figure” which shows that Patrick had responded differently to others, suggesting he feel some kind of connection or relation with the play. Towards the end of the novel, Patrick takes control of himself and finally becomes a hero. This is evident when Patrick blows up the marina and also when he sets alight the hotel as evident through the imagery, “the fire round and round the circular mezzanine”. Also when he carries the bomb to the waterworks and asserts his own name in a confident voice, “I’m Patrick Lewis”, it clearly demonstrates how individuals are able to learn and change to eventually be able to challenge the heroes of history. Official history is a construct, composed by those with power and authority, challenged by perspectivism. Ondaatje’s metafictive approach in “In the Skin of a Lion” demonstrates how by having multiple perspectives, historical truth is tested and that what is recorded in history may not always be true. The struggles and hardships of those excluded from history are the migrants, but also their clear marginalisation is established from the beginning of the text as highlighted through the powerless tone in ,”they do not own this land, as the owner of the cows does.” The construction of the waterworks is the central example of the construct of history and its role in the novel. When Patrick goes into the library, the ignorant voice in ,”deaths of workers fleetingly mentioned” emphasises the lack of information an records regarding the sacrifice and contribution of the migrant workers. This contrasts with the abundant material that of Ambrose Small, a man of great power and authority as shown through the accumulation of media reports about Ambrose Small, “Mystery man of north resembles Small”, “Iowa detective is certain he has found”. When Patrick, a migrant worker, asks Harris, a man of power, rhetorically asks, “do you know how many of us died in there'” reveals his frustration concerning the lack of recognition for the efforts of the workers. The blunt response by Harris, “there was no record kept” clearly highlights that notion that those powerless are not recorded in history and are forgotten and it is those with authority are those who construct it. The fragmented structure suggests a decentred meaning as the perspective and characters involved in particular event are constantly changing. The shift in protagonist in each segment allows for change in perspective which gives responders additional insights but also different understandings and interpretations. This asserts the notion that vital knowledge is being withheld and readers are forced to create their own truths which may not necessarily be the truth, leading to possibilities of false history. The epigraph presented at the beginning, “never again will a single story be told as though it were the only one” clearly represents Ondaatje’s agenda and universal notion that history is not always the truth. The notion that history being a construct and being affected by perspectives is clearly evident in Ondaatje’s “In the Skin of a Lion”. The text’s textual integrity is also upheld through the exploration of the universal idea of migrant experience and individual growth which allows it to transcend time and be valued.