Anil's Ghost

During my presentation in class I discussed the massive amounts of symbolism that seem to be very prominent in Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje, for this blog I plan on going into a little bit more detail over a few things that I found to be very symbolic. The issue that a reader can get into when discussing an author’s use of symbolism is that, (unless there is some sort of interview with the author discussing symbolism) it is all speculation. “Problem” may be too strong of a word to use because it seems like if readers were engaged enough in an author’s work to recognize symbolism, then the author would have done their job. However, what is the author supposed to think if students and scholars had analyzed their works incorrectly? Sorry that was just a side note that I think about every time I try and analyze the books we read. Ok, so the biggest piece of symbolism that I could pick up on was the title “Anil’s Ghost.” It seems to me that there are three possible meanings for this symbolism, or the author uses all three in to prove his overall point. The first meaning being that this “ghost” is Anil’s past. The author gives enough information to know that Anil is originally from Sri Lanka, but left at a very early age and was educated in the West. However, the longer she works in Sri Lanka the more attached she becomes to the people and she becomes much more empathetic to what is happening. At one point in the novel she even says “we” referring to her and the Sri Lankans as one. Another way this symbol could be interpreted is that this “ghost” is in fact the skeleton, Sailor, she finds and is investigating. The whole novel they are attempting to use this skeleton to find fault in the government, almost as if they are on a “ghost hunt.” Finally, the last bit of symbolism that could be interpreted from the title is that Anil’s “ghost” is actually Sarath. After all, Anil does owe her life to him, even though his methods and trustworthiness were often brought into question throughout the novel; in the end he appears to be the hero. The reason he could be qualified as this “ghost” is because for the rest of her life Anil will live knowing that Sarath saved her life, thus keeping Sarath alive in memory. Overall, this was my favorite book that we read in class. There are many reasons, but the main one is the glaring symbolism in almost every word. To me, it seems like it takes so much skill and accuracy in order to write this way and Ondaatje, does it to near perfection.