Michael Ondaatje's Running In The Family

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Nature often plays an important role in the books and poems. Through the use of imagery, an author is able to help the reader to visualize the surroundings and the habitat in which the book is set up. In Michael Ondaatje’s memoir Running in the Family nature is interspersed here and there with the newly discovered family history. In addition to facts that Michael Ondaatje discovers, through the use of nature he associates the behavior of some of his family members. Michael Ondaatje connects his father with dogs and snakes, and his grandmother with horses and gardens. By connecting the nature with one of the most important characters in the book, the author uses symbols to imply his father and grandma’s true personalities. By doing this he is

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