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Essay for In the skin of a lion
In the skin of a lion by michael ondaatje essay
In the skin of a lion by michael ondaatje essay
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The Bloor Street Viaduct is a landmark bridge linking the eastern part of Toronto with the downtown core. Completed in 1919, the controversial bridge spans 490 meters across and 40 meters in the air above the Don River valley. (Carr 165-166)Designed by Edmund Burke and pushed through by public works commissioner Rowland Harris, the bridge plays a central role in the history of Toronto and in the Michael Ondaatje’s novel In the Skin of a Lion. The description of constructing the bridge in the second chapter of book one introduces the reader to several important characters and themes that carry throughout the narrative but whose importance and connection are not fully realized until much later in the novel. Ondaatje seeks to focus the reader’s attention on the stories that take place behind the written history of the city. The Bloor Street Viaduct is a central part of the city’s history both written and unwritten. In his fictional narrative, Ondaatje links real and created characters to paint a picture of life for working class immigrants in Toronto in the 1920’s and 30’s.
In a moment of self reflexivity Ondaatje reveals part of his own experience with history through Patrick. “The articles and Illustrations he found in the Riverdale Library depicted every detail about the soil, the wood, the weight of the concrete, everything but information on those who actually built the bridge.” (Ondaatje 145) This statement is strikingly similar to comments made by Michael Ondaatje in an interview regarding his novel. “…I can tell you exactly how many buckets of sand were used, because this is Toronto history, but the people who actually built the goddamn bridge were unspoken of. They’re unhistorical!”(qtd. In Sarris 186) Powerful scenes thr...
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...he city of Toronto recently had a barrier built to deter jumpers. Dereck Revington, the architect responsible for the addition to Edmund Burke’s bridge found inspiration in Ondaatje’s novel. “‘The character of Temelcoff became a kind of icon for me, the way he scoops the black bird out of the sky,’ Revington said, ‘A barrier needs the same kind of elegance and grace as Temelcoff’” (Elve)
The Bloor Street Viaduct acts as a catalyst in Michael Ondaatje’s revision of Toronto’s civic history to weave together the stories of those responsible for building the city, rather the “functionaries and their visions” who ordered the city built. (Gamlin 68) “One of the principal objectives-and successes- of the novel is to ‘betray official history’ and reveal, however faintly, the presence of the human element in such Toronto landmarks as the Bloor Street Viaduct.” (Sarris 188)
Gregory Wigmore’s article Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland covers the main theme of local history during the 19th century in Detroit and Windsor. In particular, Wigmore looks at how the Detroit River served as an escape route between the transnational borders for slaves living on both sides of the river. Wigmore explores how the border was the godsend for the slaves because a simple cross across the river would allow them their freedom. Wigmore’s main focus is the many factors and laws that happened between the 1810’s and the 1820’s that played an important role in this freedom.
Eden Robinson’s short story “Terminal Avenue” presents readers with the dystopian near-future of Canada where Indigenous people are subjugated and placed under heavy surveillance. The story’s narrator, Wil, is a young Aboriginal man who struggles with his own inner-turmoil after the suicide of his father and his brother’s subsequent decision to join the ranks of the Peace Officers responsible for “adjusting” the First Nations people. Though “Terminal Avenue” takes place in Vancouver there are clear parallels drawn between the Peace Officers of Robinson’s imagination and the Canadian military sent to enforce the peace during the stand-off at Oka, Quebec in 1990. In writing “Terminal Avenue” Robinson addresses the armed conflict and proposes
This article study will define the important aspects of space and racial identity that are defined through Canadian Constitutional law in “When Place Becomes Race” by Sherene H. Razack. Razack (2002) the historical premise of a “white settler society” as the foundation for spatial hierarchies in the Canadian society, which reflect a racial divide in the community. The white settler society was based on the Anti-Terrorism Act, within Canadian law, which reflects the post-9/11 culture of the Canadian government that has become racialized in the early portion of the 21st century. Razack utilizes the important method of “unmapping” to reconstruct the racial histories that
Pierre Elliot Trudeau was arguably one of the most vivacious and charismatic Prime Ministers Canada has ever seen. He wore capes, dated celebrities and always wore a red rose boutonniere. He looked like a superhero, and often acted like one too. Some of the landmark occurrences in Canadian history all happened during the Trudeau era, such as patriating the constitution, creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the 1980 Quebec Referendum. However, it is Trudeau’s 1969 “white paper” and the Calder legal challenge which many consider to be one of his most influential contributions to Canadian history.
"An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge." Classic Reader. 2009. BlackDog Media, Web. 2 Dec 2009. .
In his essay, “ Brooklyn Bridge,” the author explores the “appetite” of a particular New Yorker. This woman is described as staring,full of awe,at the New York Skyline from another borough. She is ambitious and sees New York as full of endless possibilities. Throughout the collection he portrays New York transplants or prospective residents as being driven by the longing to grab a piece of the city for themselves.This drive is a pattern that is repeated in these works of Whitehead. In his essay “Port Authority instead of focusing on the New York ideal of one individual Whitehead focuses on a body of people about to move to New York. Througout the collection Whitehead switches back and forth between focusing on an individual and focusing on a crowd. In this essay Whitehead also highlights the sameness within the people hustling and bustling in and out of Port Authority. He implies that the same quality of brokenness has led them all here, “They’re all broken somehow… Otherwise they would have come here differently,”(15). Even though they are all from different places and all have different destinations the essence of New York has drawn them all here. Colson’s account of the passengers shows that they are all feeling the same feelings of hope in regards to coming to New York. Although they all hope for different things the theme regarding the passengers is
Any person, place or event that has held the honour of being commemorated in Canada has been recognized of an extreme importance to the country. It is impossible to research commemoration in Canada without reading about world war one and two; The great wars are arguably the most commemorated events in History let alone Canada. Understanding this they are not the only events that receive attention from Canada, the government recognizes many other occurrences as, well, anything from Sir John A. Macdonald day on the 11th of January to the anniversary of the statute of Westminster on the 11th of December. I do not believe that any one event can be placed above or below another, and that they all hold a value in whatever way that may be. This Essay
Lawson, Mary. The Other Side of the Bridge. Vintage Canada ed. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2007. Print.
Official Plan: Archaeology and First Nations Policy Study. Toronto: Archaeological Services Inc., Web. 14 Nov. 2013. .
Pearson, Lester B. Mike; the Memoirs of the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson. Vol. 1. Toronto:
Detroit: Gale Books, 2007. Literature Resource Center -. Web. The Web. The Web.
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a story of illusion, decision, and fate. It presents one with a very powerful scenario - one that questions the protagonist 's ultimate destiny, and the concept of good vs. evil. It defines the grey area of deeds by which most humans live, and uses powerful thematic concepts and devices to convey the author 's own value while leaving some space for the reader to make their own choice. Furthermore, this story discusses the life of a man who ended up on the wrong side of history, humanizing yet criminalizing him for his beliefs. This can all be attributed to a wide array of symbols and interactions- all which support the theme of illusion vs. reality. The complex thematic value of this piece stems from multiple aspects – the most important of which are the bridge through both its literal and symbolic meaning, the colour grey in all its depth and broad variations, the essence of time in all of its distortion, and the story 's style of writing.
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
The growth of art in Canada has played a pivotal role in the development of Canadian culture. An individuals ability to connect themselves to their country has increasely been linked to artistic works and their representation of national ideals. Earlier pieces such as After the Rain by Homer Watson represent an artistic sense of agrarian society, which later shifted to an increasely modern perspective through the work of the Group of Seven. Group member Arthur Lismer’s, A September Gale, reflects represents a dramatic departure away from earlier styles of panting and its representative ideals feed into a similar vision the North portrays for Canada.
Ed. W. Gordon West and Ruth Morris. Toronto, Canada: A Canadian Scholar? Press, 2000. 89-99.