Isolation In The English Patient

When a work of literature is capable of transcending time and evoking emotions within its audience it has a lasting impact. Whether it be happiness or anger, readers can better understand the sentiments of a character when they are able to resonate with them. These commiserations are linked through literary techniques such as symbolism, imagery, and intertextual references. In historical fiction, it is necessary to create a link between historical legitimacy and an author’s vision while engaging readers on an emotional or intellectual level. In the novel, The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje expresses the theme of connection versus isolation within the tale’s characters at the end of World War II in an Italian villa.

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For instance, the novel is written in third-person omniscient with slight moments of first person, narrated by the English patient. “She pours calamine in stripes across his chest where he is less burned, where she can touch him. She loves the hollow below the lowest rib, its cliff of skin,” the speaker describes the actions of Hana and her feelings towards the English patient (Ondaatje 4). Writing in this point of view allows readers to acknowledge specific details about each character and create a stronger bond with them. It also aids in the interpretation of the novel’s plot and allows for a more objective understanding of the events that happen (“The Making” n.p.). Whereas, when writing in different point of views, such as first-person, there is a limitation faced by the audience because they are only given one character’s perception of what is occurring in the novel (“The Making” n.p.). Another crucial literacy device in The English Patient is imagery. Michael Ondaatje is widely known for the way he is able to captivate the attention of readers by giving them a clear vision of what is transpiring within his works (Price n.p.). In the novel, he alludes to imagery with darkness. He uses the image of darkness in the way that Almásy’s life is illustrated: “Sometimes at two am he is not yet asleep, his eyes open in the darkness,” as Hana examines him (Ondaatje 5). This displays how Almásy is in the darkness from a literal state and in the way that he is only capable of reflecting on his past in his dreams and memories; a dark and ill-fated place. Similarly, another character that is portrayed in darkness is Caravaggio, “The rhomboid of light moved up the wall leaving Caravaggio in the shadow. His hair dark again” (Ondaatje 255). This emphasizes the contrast of light and darkness, how the light physically moved away