Michael Ondaatje's Book Anils Ghost - Essay Example

Michael Ondaatje's Book Anil’s Ghost Sigmund Freud suggests that society takes shape around the expression and suppression of aggressive tendencies. In Anil’s Ghost the expression and suppression of aggressive tendencies definitely define Sri Lanka’s civil warring society. During the backdrop of the Civil War in Sri Lanka the different characters of this book express or suppress aggressive tendencies. There are many examples, such as Anil and Sarath’s aggressive behavior in determining Sailor’s identity, or Palipana’s suppression of aggression by living in solitude. All of these characters define the Sri Lanka society. Assimilation and aggression, depending on the society given as an example, do not necessarily have to be in conflict. If the example is the Sri Lanka society in Anil’s Ghost, the answer would be yes and no. If assimilation meant abiding by the governmental rules, then Anil’s aggressive search for Sailor’s identity would be in conflict with the assimilation. All of the Sri Lankan citizens that fought for change would be in conflict of assimilation. On the other hand, all of the soldiers and government officials killing, stealing, and otherwise acting aggressively, would not be in conflict with assimilation. It depends on how aggression is displayed in what society whether or not assimilation is in conflict with aggression. Anil records her observations mainly through memory. Although she writes notes and takes specimens, she is always weary the government will destroy or take them away. In her memory, Anil recalled: European office doors meant nothing when there was crisis. If and when you were asked by the government to leave, you left. You took nothing with you. Not a slide tray, not a piece of film. (Ondaatie 29) She had suspicion of losing anything written down. Her observation or proof lay with the body of Sailor and her memory. The methods of Anil, Sarath, and Palipana, even though tall were anthropologists, differed drastically. Anil’s technique was more modern and Western, whereas Sarath and Palipana’s methods were more old fashioned and Eastern. An example would be when they were determining the age of Sailor. Sarath examined Sailor with the following findings: I photographed the skeleton with and without the head for a record. Meanwhile we’ll continue to examine this skeleton—its soil traces, palymology. The brinjals are very good….Sir, you and I work on ancient rocks, fossils, rebuild dried-up water gardens, concern ourselves with why an army moved into the dry zone. We can identify an architect by his habit of building in the winter and summer palaces. But Anil lives in contemporary times. She uses contemporary methods. She can cut a cross-section of a bone with a fine saw and determine the skeleton’s exact age at death that way. (Ondaatie 95) Anil was trained in the West. Sri Lanka did not have or was hard to obtain all of the equipment available in the West. Sarath and Palipana had to work with what they had. In the end, Anil had to rely on a reconstruction of the face to help identify Sailor. Each character in this book interprets evidence through their experiences and memories. Anil, for example, returns home to Sri Lanka after fifteen years with an international human rights organization to investigate murders in conjunction with the Sri Lanka Civil War. Anil’s fixation on a murder victim’s skeleton, who she dubs Sailor, shows that she identifies with Sailor. Whether she feels that when she left Sri Lanka, that part of her life died, or that Sailor’s fate could have been her own if she had not gone abroad, Anil is obsessed to find Sailor’s identity. Anil feels that Sailor was a murder victim of the Civil War. She does not go down the path that Sailor might have been murdered or died of something else. Sailor was her proof of war crimes. In the West, she learned that mass killings were war crimes. This influenced her interpretations as well. Sarath also interpreted the evidence through the influence of his experiences and memories. His wife’s suicide affects him. Sarath’s brother drug addicted brother could also be an affect on Sarath. Throughout the novel, Sarath’s allegiance is not known. When he returns Sailor’s body to Anil, at his own risk, Sarath interpreted the risk, but decided to do what was right. The suicide of his wife, witness of government corruption, and other atrocities helped Sarath do the right thing. Palipana, Sarath’s former teacher, interprets evidence differently. He lives in isolation. Palipana is blind, which has a major impact on his interpretations of evidence. He has to rely on others observations, but still can feel and hear about the evidence. Just because he is blind, does not erase his knowledge and expertise. His interpretation of the evidence led to the advice of facial reconstruction through an artist. Anada, the sculptor and painter, interprets evidence through his wife’s absence, the atrocities of war, and his drinking habit. These traits allow Anada to give Sailor a peaceful expression. Anada wishes his wife had that peace, so he expresses this in the art of Sailor’s face. If he would have had other memories and experiences, Anada might have given Sailor a different face. If all of the evidence in the book is true, then Sailor did not have a peaceful expression in life. Gamini, Sarath’s brother, is a doctor. Several memories and experiences make Gamini interpret evidence the way he does. First, Gamini feels like he is in Sarath’s shadow. This could have been the reason he was in love with Sarath’s wife. When he helps with Gunessena, Gamini is trying to prove his worth in Sarath’s eyes. Gamini is also addicted to speed. All of these traits help Gamini view all of the hospital patients as evidence of his helplessness. That is why he stays around the clock at the hospital. All of these characters are observers to the situation in Sri Lanka. Some like Anil and Sarath want to change the system for the better. They try to go about this with action. Other observers want to help, but within the system. Gamini is an example of this. He wants to help the wounded or ill, but does not want to try and bring about change in the society. Others want to be left alone. Palipana is an example of just wanting to be left alone. The observers are influenced by their life experience. For this reason it is the responsibility to acknowledge one’s bias. However, this is an ever continuing process. This is shown through the memories and flashbacks in this book. Life is that way. Memories and flashbacks are routine in the human psyche. This is a way to grow psychologically. Some people repress, but healthy humans acknowledge their bias and move on. All observers to the tragedy in Sri Lank are participants. Whether the observer intervenes, like Anil and Sarath, or do not intervene participate. In a war zone, people live or die due to someone intervening or turning a blind eye. This makes every person in Sri Lanka at the time of the conflict a participant. Gamini participates when patching up war victims. Palipana remains in isolation, not harming his fellow citizens, but not helping them either. Each reaction contributes to the conflict, or the resolution of the conflict. It is difficult to determine whether a person should intervene or not. Personal experience would dictate whether or not an individual would intervene. It is very easy to say unequivocally yes, a person should intervene. However, what about Palipana? He was blind and old. It would not have mattered if he died without accomplishing any real goal. A healthy person might have a family. It is real easy to live in America and judge what others should do. Is speaking about the characters in the book, yes Anil, Sarath, and others like them should intervene. The others did not have the choice to intervene, due to mental and physical challenges. The characters in this book are not objective. The Civil War in Sri Lanka could not remain objective after enduring the conditions in the country at the time. One can not remain objective when finding murder victims, having relatives commit suicide, or in a war zone. Objective would be an observer looking from the outside in. None of these characters can be objective when their land is being torn apart. Even Anil’s participation in an outside human rights organization is not objective, since she is from Sri Lanka. Objective is when an observer has no preconceived ideas or thoughts about the situation. It is easy to apply Freud to a book like Anil’s Ghost. Humans are humans, whether in the West or a war zone in Sri Lanka. Humans will act like humans depending on their situation. All of the observers, Anil, Sarath, and the others acted and interpreted their situations, like others in war zones. It is hard to remain objective in a land with no law. Intervening is also hard, even though some brave souls like Anil and Sarath. Morality is the first to go in a war torn land, but some retain their morality. Works Cited Ondaatie, Michael. Anil’s Ghost. New York: Vintage, 2001. Read More