An Analysis of Images in The English Patient by Ondaatje

Abstract

The English Patient is one of the representative works of Canadian writer Mikell Ondaatje. The author tries to use archetypal criticism theory to analyze the main archetypal images in this novel, including fire, water, desert and so on. Blending multiple themes is one of the characteristics of Ondaatje's novels, and the English patient is no exception. In the novel, the author skillfully conveys his thoughts and emotions through the characterization of characters, the description of concrete things and the arrangement of plot structure. There is no absolute opposition in Ondaatje's writing. The Barbarians and the civilised, the British and the Indians, the present and the past, chaos and order, the desert and the villa, water and fire, Elmasy and Catherine versus Lao Kip and Haner, they overlap and diverge. Almasy's desperate attempts to erase his nationality, Kip's desire to give up his cultural identity and follow the west, two couples struggling in different situations, and so on, these people's efforts in the face of reality has always seemed so pale. These images seem to be fragmentary, but they are related to each other. They bring together the theme of the novel and convey the author's deep understanding of the disasters that war brings to mankind, and the desire and belief of multi-cultural co-existence.