If in a hypothetical situation I was asked if tragic flaw was an issue in the novel In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondattje I would have to say:

If someone like a hypothetical English teacher hypothetically named Mrs. Lavender created a question which asked, hypothetically, “Is tragic flaw an issue in this novel?” and then hypothetically continued “Choose one character and explore how their tragic flaw resulted in disaster.” Then I would have to say the following:

Tragic flaw is not only an issue in this novel, it is in fact a leading theme throughout, and may in fact be what gives this novel any important message or purpose. The character which I choose is Ambrose Small because his disaster and flaw are easy to see. His flaw is obvious;

“Ambrose Small, as a millionaire, had always kept the landscapes of his world separate, high walls between them. Lovers, compatriots, businessmen, were anonymous to each other. As far as they knew there were no others, or they assumed the others lived in far countries.”

Ambrose suffered from detachment. He attempted to divide his life until he divided so much he actually divided himself. In the end paragraphs before his end we see that he became confused and his mind began to jumble so much to have Clara “shocked…in the intricacy of his knowledge”. The disaster was death.

This is the title for my post on a chracter(Patrick) who I most identify with in the novel "In the Skin of a Lion" by Michael Ondaatje; the Canadien.

If I were to pick one character to be the one I most identify with it would probably be Patrick. I know everyone thinks they identify with him as well, and my class…I mean my book club!- will probably be filled with people who believe that Patrick exemplifies their traits, but I believe he also is like me. Of course, we all may choose him only because we understand the aspects of his character the best, due to the fact that he is the protagonist. It would be natural for us to pick him because each of us can see at least a little of ourselves in him.

I personally identify with him because of his background, his emotional state, and the ladies. His background is similar to mine because we both were raised in a single parent household in the middle of the countryside. Also his father’s teaching style was very similar to my Father’s, being the watch-and-pray teaching style. Where his father simply did the things he wanted to teach and made his son watch in order to learn. His emotional state is similar to mine as well, being the detached observer (my classmates…I mean fellow book clubbers!- will probably disagree with me, but in more formal situations or in situations of which I am less comfortable I tend to be…reserved). He also has the classic emotions-bottled-up attitude that most men have. This is one of the reasons he blows up the dock after Alice’s death. His emotions finally have built up far too much. I personally relate to the dock incident because of my minds tendency to do things mentally which would be considered wrong in society. Blowing up a dock is child’s play. The matter of ladies being something I identify with is absolutely incorrect.

I would never have someone break up with me. :O

The most beautiful passage in the novel "In the Skin of a Lion" by Michael Ondaatje; a Canadien author of great skill in the art of boredom.

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje has numerous scenes of astonishing brilliance and beauty. Of course his background in poetry surely helped this immensely, but still one scene stands out amongst them all, and it starts on page seven and continues to the break on page eight. Although this is the first scene in the novel and no plot has really been built yet I still stand firm that this section of text holds the most beauty (not functionality).
“If he is awake early enough the boy sees the men walk past the farmhouse down First Lake Road. Then he stands at the bedroom window and watches: he can see two or three lanterns between the soft maple and the walnut tree. He hears their boots on gravel. Thirty loggers wrapped up dark, carrying axes and small packages of food which hang from their belts. The boy walks downstairs and moves to a window in the kitchen where he can look down the driveway. They move to a window in the kitchen where he can look down the driveway. They move from right to left. Already they seem exhausted, before the energy of the sun.”
Of course the passage continues, but to me I can even shorten its most beautiful part to this initial paragraph. As you can see the descriptive words make the section come to life, but this is not all that makes it beautiful. I can also relate to this scene quite a lot, as a little boy…uh I mean girl!-I encountered a similar phenomenon when I lived in the countryside alone with my father. This section also holds incredible importance artistically to the future of the book and it holds functionality for the reader’s future understanding. It gives the foreshadow of Patrick being a poor boy (one lantern to ten men), and it gives the foreshadowing to his type of work; which, common to immigrants at the time, was something difficult enough for them to be “exhausted, before the energy of the sun.” Artistically this passage begins our search for symbols and motif’s throughout the novel. The biggest one introduced in this section are; light, work, and temperature.
Although I believe this section to be one of the most beautiful it is not the only beautiful passage in the novel.