A Study On Cultural Identity In Michael Ondaatje's Novels

As an immigrant writer,Michael Ondaatje not only reflects his thinking on the status of contemporary people in his novels but also reflects his understanding of self-cultural identity.The novels Running in the Family,Anil's Ghost,and The Cat's Table which related to his cultural identity are set up in the background of Sri Lanka in different periods by Michael Ondaatje.The protagonists in those novels can be regarded as his projection about the cultural identity in literary creation.Michael Ondaatje looks back on his Sri Lankan identity through fictitious in Running in the Family,then he doubts his western identity seriously in Anil's Ghost.The Cat's Table reviews the initial experience which causes his identity confusion--a sailing recess from homeland.This paper researches Michael Ondaatje's attitude towards Sri Lanka and his thinking about cultural identity,it also reveals Michael Ondaatje's identity confusion and rethink because of cross-ethnic identity.This paper is divided into three parts: The first part is based on Running in the Family,in this novel,Micheal Ondaatje always reviews Sri Lanka in a westerner's perspective,which shows that his acceptance of western culture has seriously affected his attitude towards homeland.He became a "stranger" who couldn't integrate into the life of local people in Sri Lanka.This part explains Michael Ondaatje's cultural identity in two ways,the first is analyzing the autobiographical features in Running in the Family,and the second is a deep analysis of the self-awareness of cultural identity behind his autobiographical writing.The second part of this paper mainly analyzes Michael Ondaatje's understanding of self-identity in Anil's Ghost.Influenced by the civil war in Sri Lanka,Michael Ondaatje turned his attention to Sri Lanka again.Anil is a major character in Anil's Ghost,she entered Sri Lanka as a member of the UN Human Rights Organization,and she accepted the western identity.However,With the revelation of the identity about "sailor",Anil began to gradually doubt her cultural identity as a westerner.Finally,she could view the civil war in her motherland as a "Sri Lankan person" eventually.This part mainly shows Michael Ondaatje's pursuit of identity through the analysis of Anil.The last part is based on The Cat's Table.In this book,Ondaatje revealed his disgust at race discrimination and the common acceptance of Sri Lankan identity and Canadian identity as a citizen of the world through his writing about the first sailing experience and the brilliant description of various characters in the "Oronsay".