English Individuality Theme

“The Theme of Identity Showing the Character’s Person, Cultural and National Individuality”

The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje, mainly focuses on the theme of identity. Specifically the obliteration and rebuilding of the character 's personal, cultural and national identities. The three main characters in Ondaatje 's novel, Hana, Almasy and Kip, help each other in signifying each of their individual characters. They are described by their attributes externally, most of the time but, many times they show their internal identity. Hana 's identity is unrecognized in her own eyes. She has lost everyone she has loved and as an outcome feels as though she has lost her own identity. Kip and the English Patient share many similar character traits.

Kirpal is a British solder from the British Ruled India, and his identify is neither a Indian nor a British Man. His national identity is the most promenade conflict in this character’s life and his desires. This conflict has confused both him and the people around him causing a mass uncertainty of his uniqueness and individuality. Kirpal or as stated in the book by the westerner, Kip; is unstable of his heritage as a Indian man and believes that he should be a British man. He want to have no connection to his Indian identity and want to keep his British Identity which was in retrospect given to him when the British invaded India and declared it a colony in 1842. He believes that he belongs as a member of the British socity and wants to keep no correlation with his Indian sector, including changing his first name from the commonly used Punjabi name, Kirpal to a easy to pronounce and westernised name, Kip. This shows his identity as a Indian starting to erase it’s self and starting to show a more international standard. “Kip and I are both international bastards-born in one place and choosing to live elsewhere.”( Ondaatje 176). He is not accepted by the British bomber like himself due to his skin colour being different then the common Caucasian skin tone. This directly correlates with the quotation of a international bastard along with The English Patient, who believe that they are nor a part of the Indian identity nor a part of the English circle. In the spectrum, they are the people that are unknown and have no identity to show for, they have nothing that they can show to people about the real them and the way that this comes into effect has much to do with the different time and the way they think about their national selves. They have non to