Allegorical Connection Of Historical Fragments:A Study Of Historical Practice In The English Patient From Benjamin's Conception Of History

As the most representative novel written by Michael Ondaatje,The English Patient has attracted many scholars at home and abroad.Many published papers are devoted to this novel in terms of narrative style,post-colonialism,identity,history,etc.Since in China little attention has been paid to its theme of history,this thesis aims to examine how Ondaatje makes historical practice and what kind of history the author presents with reference to Walter Benjamin's philosophy of history.In The English Patient,Ondaatje attributes the fascist WWII to the grand narrative,linearity,and progressiveness of future-oriented conventional history.Centered on four victims of WWII and history,this novel becomes an experimental base where Ondaatje and his four main characters engage with various forms of historical practice,such as anti-apocalyptic writing,chiaroscuro,historical juxtaposition,historical re-inscription and orality,historical collection and connection of the past and the present.The dangers brought by the fascist appropriation of such kind of historical conception give Ondaatje an urgent incentive to provide new approaches of retrieving history.Ondaatje interrupts the linear,incessant progressive movement of conventional history and explodes the homogeneous vacuum of history.From the debris of history,he picks up silenced voices,overlooked events and scenes,buried traditional values.He then establishes connections between the fragmentary past and the fractured present.He stresses the importance of the activation of the valued past,which is regarded as conducive to the development of the present because of the embedded collective wisdom,great spirits,valued traditions,etc.With reference to the historical practice of Benjamin,in which allegory is regarded as the best vehicle to express history,this thesis analyzes the fragmentary allegories in the novel.Furthermore,it probes into another two strategies of perceiving history,i.e.historical re-inscription of conventional history and historical orality,exploring the relationship between the medium of sound and history.Finally it explores the Benjaminian historical collection with a view to stress the importance of the bridge connecting the past and the present.