Michael Ondaatjes Relationship with his Father in his...

Michael Ondaatjes Relationship with his Father in his Work, Running in the Family The jacket description embossed on the back cover of the Vintage publication of Michael Ondaatjes Running in the Family gives the reader a false sense of what the book is about. To some it is a lyrical and witty tale of broken engagements, and drunken suicide attempts, and to some it may be an inspired marriage of travel narrative and family memoir (jacket). The front cover, however, provides the most valuable information about the book. It is a detail from Paul Gauguin painting of a man walking through a tamed arboreal area. A scene from a tropical countryside the colors are bright and vibrant; off to the left side is a small hut. Gaugiun was a†¦show more content†¦Ondaatje writes of his own absolution of his fathers misdeeds, and through the portrayal of his father as a sympathetic character, encourages the reader to absolve his father, as well. Ondaatje begins the book with the revelation that he has had a bright bone of a dream (21). The dream is of his father, surrounded by jungle and wild dogs. The dream that Ondaatje speaks of is more a nightmare, the chaos of it startling him into wakefulness. Siemerling states, In this beginning of Ondaatjes exploration, the father appears to the narrator chaotic, surrounded by dogs (Siemerling 144). This is in contrast to the account of the actual event that influenced the dream, given much later in the book.. In the retelling of the event, Ondaatje specifically states that he cannot come to terms with this story of his father (Siemerling 149). The retelling is much more grave than the description of the dream. As Siemerling states, While the initial dreams association of his father with chaos and the jungle †¦ The Bone offers an account in which this scene had no humour or gentleness in it (182) (Siemerling 150). The dream can be interpreted as a symbol for Ondaatjes relationship with his father as well as Mervyn Ondaatjes relationship with the rest of the world. Ondaatje is not actively present in the dreamscape, nor was he actively present for very much of his fathers life. In his biography onShow MoreRelatedSummary Of The Family Notebook 2051 Words   |  9 Pages9/14/2016 2B Running in The Family Notebook Assignment Section 1 – Chapter Summaries Prologue: Drought Since December – shows the author getting used to the climate of Ceylon because of how much it differs from where he came from. †¢ Intense heat †¢ Reminiscing of when he used to be in Ceylon Asian Rumors: Michael longs for a return to Asia. This section expresses his feelings for Ceylon and how important the place is to him. Asia – analyzes and dreams about Asia during Michael Ondaatje’s farewellRead MoreRunning in the Family3954 Words   |  16 PagesPhilip Michael Ondaatje, wrote Running in the Family. He is best known for writing The English Patient. But this book is not a work of fiction; instead, it is a memoir from his youth in Sri Lanka. The events happening in the book can be classified as creative non-fiction. The book is written in postmodern style, with writing from the perspective of different real-life individuals and refraining from stringing narrative together in an orderly fashion. The focus of the book is Michaels family. The Ondaatje