Identity is constantly in flux and is continuously being constructed, reconstructed
and deconstructed. In Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje, Anil and Sarath uncover
Sailor’s identity by piecing together information to shape past experiences from not only
Sailor’s life, but also the lives of the innocent Sri Lankans victims. Anil’s identity is
shaped through her insight into both the Eastern and Western culture which has a
striking impact on the person she becomes. Many aspects of Anil’s life are combined to
define her altering identity. In Michael Ondaatje’s novel, Anil’s Ghost, identity is a
combination of different traits that piece together to make up one’s identity.
Anil and Sarath take little pieces of the skeleton’s life and information
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on his appearance to piece together his identity. Anil feels that by attempting to establish the identity of the skeleton, ‘Sailor’, and find the family to whom he belongs, she will be locating all those who Sailor represents. Anil thinks to herself, “[who is] he? This representative of all those lost voices. To give him a name would name the rest” (Ondaatje 56). Sailor is a representation of all those who remain nameless and rely on others to locate them. In this sense, to be nameless is to be without identity, a lost voice that must be called back into existence. For Anil, herself as a Sri Lankan who has returned to her home country after an education and career in the west, this soon becomes not just a forensic task, but an insight into the truth and to bring identity to the lost souls. Anil says to Sarath, “‘[b]ut we can prove this, don’t you see? This is an opportunity, [it is] traceable. We found him in a place that only a government official could get into’” (52). Anil represents western rationalism; a belief in science, truth and justice. To bring insight to the reality of government secrets, Anil’s fight to identify Sailor is witnessed in her determination to bring a voice to stop war and bring justice to the victims. Sailor’s identity transforms from a nameless, faceless victim to that of a true human being. In the beginning of the novel, nothing is known about Sailor, but piecing together the bits of information brings life to this unknown dead man. This is shown through the quote “Sarath and Anil had identified Sailor at the third plumbago village. He was Ruwan Kumera and he had been a toddy tapper” (269). Later Ananda reconstructs a face of Sailor however “the face [is] in no way a portrait of Sailor but [shows] a calm Ananda [has] known in his wife, a peacefulness he [wants] in any victim” (187). Now that Sailor is no longer nameless and faceless, the broken identity begins to fade away, bringing life to him and the countless other victims. By meeting Anil and Sarath ‘in death’, Sailor’s identity, and the identity of countless victims, have been pieced together to shape past memories and experiences. Anil possesses insight into both the eastern and western culture, and yet is fully distinctive of neither. The contrast of experiencing western and eastern culture has a striking impact on shaping the person that one becomes. A prime example of this is when Anil reads in the West “The dawn comes up like thunder and she knew she was the only one in the classroom to recognize the phrase physically” (9). This exemplifies the contrast between Western and Eastern culture. The eastern culture is plagued by the horror of living with murder as an everyday reality. Living in this devastation is sadly just another fragment of what shapes identity. Anil’s association with Cullis represents her uncertain relationship with the West, in that she conducts a relationship with him and appreciates some of his qualities, but at the same time she refuses to be controlled or contained by him.
Anil and Cullis form a relationship that spans the cultural definition
between East and West. Cullis’ lack of freedom is implied when Anil tries to “strip off his
carefulness [and tries] to unbuckle his worried glances” (263), which display the
constraints imposed on him by a fixed cultural identity; however Anil’s transnationalism
offers no struggle in disobeying these boundaries. Anil’s uniqueness is empowered by
both Western order and Eastern disorder, all of which work together to make up her
identity. Throughout the investigation in Sri Lanka, Anil begins to identify with the people
again, showing that she is finally finding her identity in the East. At the hearing in the
Armoury Auditorium she says “I think you murdered hundreds of us” (272). This
statement shows how Anil includes herself in the group of innocent Sri Lankan victims.
Sarath thinks to himself, “fifteen years away and she is finally us” (272). Demonstrated
by the word ‘finally’, Anil’s quest to identify herself among the Sri Lankan people has
ultimately ended. Through her varying insight into both cultures, Anil’s identity is shaped
by piecing together the cultures she has grown and developed in.
Anil’s identity is revealed in three phases. It is the combination of these
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phases that piece together the aspects of her life to reveal her true identity. Anil created an identity for herself based on fierce internal motivation that is at odds with her parents’ wishes for her. Anil says, “I should have been a doctor [like my father], but I swerved off into forensics. [Did not] want to be him at that time in my life, I guess” (47). Anil is initially dependent on the individual identity given to her by her parents, but her need for independence leads her down a different career path. This independence is first witnessed when at the age of thirteen, Anil grasps control of her own identity when she no longer wants her birth name but literally changes her name by taking her brother’s unused middle name. The force of her desire to control her identity is so strong that she agrees to give him “one hundred saved rupees, a pen set he had been eyeing for some time, a tin of fifty Gold Leaf cigarettes she had found, and a sexual favour he had demanded” (68). Anil craves the control of her identity so much that “[she had] hunted down the desired name like a specific lover she had seen and wanted, tempted by nothing else along the way” (68). By naming herself, Anil claims territory of her own identity and gains a measure of empowerment and independence. Anil rejects the imposed cultural identity of the colonial female and instead constructs a gender that assumes both male and female traits. Anil’s identity is one that is fragmented in nature. In her work she loves “being one of the boys” (147), although appreciates that being female makes her “better at dealing with calamity in professional work than men” (137). Given in her business deal with her brother, she assumes her past subordinate female status and provides a sexual favour to gain her new name, because adopting a masculine name will empower her.
It is the blurred boundaries of Anil’s gender that
gives her the empowerment that she seeks. As Anil works through phases of her career
choice, her literal name change and her blurred gender, she pieces together the fluid
whole that becomes her identity.
In Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje many aspects of one’s life are pieced
together to form an identity. Anil and Sarath uncover Sailor’s identity when pieces of his
life are combined to shape the past which also allows the countless other innocent Sri
Lankan victim’s identity to be shaped. Anil’s exposure to both the East and West is
combined with the many phases of her life to reveal her true identity. It is the
everchanging aspect of Anil’s life, such as her varying insight into both the East and
West and her three phases in which she develops, that shape her true identity. This is
parallel to the idea that as one ages, their thoughts and ideas change; opinions and
behaviours differ from that of what they once were at a younger age. These changes
do not happen overnight, but gradually as experiences and memories change one’s identity.
place for her to determine that she was in fact a border dweller. This awakening is crucial to her
...e relationship with men, as nothing but tools she can sharpen and destroy, lives through lust and an uncanny ability to blend into any social class makes her unique. Her character is proven as an unreliable narrator as she exaggerates parts of the story and tries to explain that she is in fact not guilty of being a mistress, but a person caught in a crossfire between two others.
...inds love along the way. She makes rash decisions in bad situations, faces the truth that she has been avoiding, and finds her place in the world. While her journey takes some unexpected twists, Lily learns to make the best of what she has, and go for what she wants. She learns to move on from the past, and make a brighter future. But most importantly, Lily learns to accept that life is unpredictable and that by doing her best Lily is living life the way she wants to.
The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. The novel is about a Pashtun fellow, Amir, who realizes his childhood mistakes and begins a journey to emend them. Hosseini commenced inditing the novel in 2001 while practicing medicine (source). Therefore, his cognizance regarding health care is limpidly reflected in the novel by his writing style, and the conflicts in the lives of characters. For instance, Ali, who is a servant in Amir’s house and his father’s childhood friend, suffers from congenital paralysis of lower facial muscles and polio. Author’s description of his leg as “twisted, atrophied …. sallow skin over bone with little in between except a paper- thin layer of muscle“ shows his deep knowledge about diseases and symptoms (10). Moreover, these conflicts not only have noticeable impact in the development of the plot but also reflect on the miserable condition of healthcare in Afghanistan. Amir’s mother die during childbirth reveals the pathetic status of neonatal care in Afghanistan. Amir witness several health related issues and consequences in the lives of other characters throughout the story. Thus, the author utilizes him to highlight important themes relative to health care in Afghanistan like maternal death, child mortality, disability, addiction due to excessive drug use and deformities. In essence, the novel prompts certain questions like “What factors are downsizing the population of afghanistan? What is the overall condition of hospitals and healthcare professionals? Why do women face health care crisis? What home remedies are available as a substitute for poor health care conditions and are they truly helping people to recover?” Thus, this research...
influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can
For my Anthropological observation study, I will be writing about my culture which I will be familiar with since I have a greater understanding. And also I will be able to analyze some aspects based on my observations that I have received throughout my life. I was born in Srilanka in a Hindu family and lived there for twelve years, until I came to Canada. I would like to write about Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus, that I have observed so far in Srilanka and Canada. I will be focusing on family relationship and social life. In this essay Ill argue that Tamils culture has changed in Canada over time and why it is important to adapt to a new culture in a different country.
deeds. She wants the night to hide her thoughts and actions about killing Duncan while
...ualities and influences we want to accept as truth instead of blindly accepting the book of myths. She encourages women to descend the ladder and find the “thing itself” and the meaning that thing has for each individual woman.
Kothari employs a mixture of narrative and description in her work to garner the reader’s emotional investment. The essay is presented in seventeen vignettes of differing lengths, a unique presentation that makes the reader feel like they are reading directly from Kothari’s journal. The writer places emphasis on both her description of food and resulting reaction as she describes her experiences visiting India with her parents: “Someone hands me a plate of aloo tikki, fried potato patties filled with mashed channa dal and served with a sweet and a sour chutney. The channa, mixed with hot chilies and spices, burns my tongue and throat” (Kothari). She also uses precise descriptions of herself: “I have inherited brown eyes, black hair, a long nose with a crooked bridge, and soft teeth
We understand that the author’s purpose is to show how degraded he feels by the events that took place that morning in Burma.
point of sacrifice. And while the relevance of this theme to her character is clear,
Her realization that she is not alone in her oppression brings her a sense of freedom. It validates her emerging thoughts of wanting to rise up and shine a light on injustice. Her worries about not wanting to grow up because of the harsh life that awaits her is a common thought among others besides the people in her community. As she makes friends with other Indians in other communities she realizes the common bonds they share, even down to the most basic such as what they eat, which comforts her and allows her to empathize with them.
In the Third and Final Continent, Jhumpa Lahiri uses her own experiences of being from an immigrant family to illustrate to her readers how heritage, cultural influences and adaptation play a major role in finding your true identity. The Third and Final Continent is the ninth narration in a collection of stories called the Interpreter of Maladies. In this story, it discusses themes such as marriage, family, society, language and identity. In this story, we focus on an East Asian man of Bengali descent who wants to have a better future for himself so he leaves India and travels to London, England to pursue a higher education. His pursuit for higher education takes place on three different continents. In India, he feels safe in his home country and welcomed, but when he travels abroad he starts to have fear and anxiety. Through his narrations, we learn how he adapts to the European and American and through these experiences he learns to assimilate and to adapt to the new culture he travels to.
Bhabha, Homi K. Interview by J. Rutherford. Identity, Community, Culture, Difference. 1990. J. Rutherford. London, Lawrence and Wishart: 207-221
The uncivilized character of Indian men exhibited violence that now has turned to the silences many of them unwillingly endure years later. The topic of the Indian partition is a controversial topic, it was a time where women were symbolized as national subjects, and faced the horrific procurement of religious catastrophe. The confusion of not understanding such mental lapse is the silence is best depicted through children in the movie, 1947 Earth. It is the battle Lenny and writer Butalia deal with, as Butalia paints a vivid picture of silence though her oral history, The Other Side of Silence. Butalia recounts the silence that lies within an interviewee’s memory, as she recounts, “‘I cannot ...