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1984Blurb: Commentary on _________________ from 1984 by George Orwell that was published in 1949.

George Orwell was a British author and had volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He later

wrote an account of his experiences during the war, entitled Homage to Catalonia. His most notable

works are Animal Farm and 1984. Orwells works mainly focused on social injustice,totalitarianism, and democratic socialism. + context of the passage

1) Orwell uses imagery and symbolism to highlight the theme of power and oppression.

Imagery of a poor society

- Hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats

- This future society has not eradicated poverty, even white collar

workers, being part of the Party, like Winston live somewhere that was

previously seen as somewhere where the lower-class lived

- A lift that seldom works, although the telescreens do (prioritize surveillance)

-

Poor citizens, like Winston even though he is the working class, he is small, frail,rough skin

- Dull razors, coarse soap

- Theme of power because the Party has taken all the money to fund their Big

Brother campaign, which moves onto the next point of surveillance imagery

Surveillance Imagery

- Posters of Big Brother

- Big Brother is Watching You everywhere (each landing of the Victory

Mansions, the house front immediately opposite)

- Telescreen always on

- Constant one-way communication with the people from the Party

- Helicopters like bluebottles

- Common blowfly who often comes into houses searching for a suitable

food source on which to lay their eggs; after the description of poverty,

we see where all the money has gone = state of the art surveillance

equipment (helicopters, telescreens)

- Thought police vs patrols

- Patrols punished physical acts (Winston cannot commit bc of ulcer), but

the Thought Police punished the mere thought of going against BB

(which is why Winston only cares about them)

Modern and Military symbolism

- April, Clocks striking 13

- Overbearing power of BB to change and modify time and the perception

of time (never knowing what year it is, just the month) by using their

power to convince and manipulate others in ways that defy logic

(2+2=5)

- Military is very involved in Oceania so through using a 24 hour clock it

reinforces that fact to the citizens that the society is under their control


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- Modernization because old clocks used to chime and were 12 hour

clocks, whereas this one strikes and is a new 24 hour clock

- Blue overalls

- Symbol of totalitarianism where there is a dress code to emphasize

conformity within the society

- Posters of BB

- Governmental campaign to plant the idea of BB into the citizens minds

so that all they do is follow the what the Party wants them to do

- Helicopters and telescreens

- Modes of surveillance

2) Orwell uses paradoxes and imagery to highlight the Partys perverse view of how society

should work.

Paradox

- Four Ministries

- Ministry of Truth produces lies and propaganda- Ministry of Peace handles war efforts and commits to maintaining the

war

- Ministry of Love polices the city and enforces law and order

- Ministry of Plenty focuses on maintain a level of poverty among the

people

- Slogans because they are contradictory and do not make sense; Orwell

emphasizes that freedom is actually an evil in the eyes of the Party

- War is Peace because war is generally where there is armed conflict

between different groups of people whereas peace means tranquility

and freedom from violence. War and peace are complete opposites, yet

the Party says that they are one in the same

- In order to maintain peace, there must be war to unite the

nation, then everyone will cooperate with each other

- Freedom is Slavery because freedom is the right to act, speak, and

think freely, whereas slavery is being restricted and denied the basic

rights and forced to follow a master. Therefore freedom and slavery are

essentially antonyms and cannot be the definition of one another.

- When there is freedom, individuality is encouraged, which leads

to failure and weakness. Whereas as uniformity creates and

equal field where everyone is on the same level.

- Ignorance is Strength because ignorance is a lack of knowledge or

strength and ignorance would generally lead to weakness, not strength.

- When the people are ignorant about whats happening around

them, the Party is able to maintain control and they are able to

continue to have authority.

Imagery

- Broken and intact imagery


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- Landscape

- Description of a society that is in ruins and that is no longer

functioning properly

- The wealth is distributed unevenly, mostly used by the Party to

enforce a strict rule over Oceania and to power their Big Brother

campaign through the use of heavy surveillance- Amidst all the ruins from the bombings, the Ministries have not

been destroyed in any way and are seen as strong and steady

buildings for the citizens to look up to and make them their

cornerstones to grab onto when times are tough

- Victory Mansions is part of all the other things that the Party

applies the word victory to. Which is a complete contrast to

reality because Oceanias society is pretty much in a devastated

and poor state, the complete opposite of being victorious

- White imagery

- White concrete

- To give a sense of power and purity over the grimy landscape

of Oceania

- The Party is powerful and they seemingly have nothing to hide

therefore the citizens should all abide by their laws

- Big Brother is seen as their god, so its like heaven and the

clouds, where he reigns high above the city

- White face where the slogans are represent how they again say

and act like they have nothing to hide and that these slogans are

plain and true

- Size imagery

- Ministries vs city

- Like Big Brother is in heaven, acting like god, watching over the

country and making sure that everything is going according to

what he wants through the use of the ministries

3) Orwell uses foreshadowing, symbolism, and imagery to highlight to severity of the Partys

oppression over the citizens of Oceania by stripping them of their personal thoughts and

feelings and instead making them their weapons for maintaining power.

Foreshadowing

- Writing how Winstons is confident at the beginning of his rebellion, but

then begins to panic and become frantic when he is caught and faced with

torture and death

Symbolism

- Big Brother

- The name suggests a family relationship, which is connected with

sympathy and caring and someone to look up to and admire. Yet he

is instead someone to fear and who is more powerful than everyone.


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- But he also does act as a reassuring face for Oceania, who knows

whats right for the country and who does his best for their well-

being

- Diary

- Represents Winstons desire to be free, but its such a dangerous

thing to have because its solid evidence of his thoughtcrimes. Hecan write whatever he wants in it, but there is still a chance of it

being discovered. The fact that his diary could be used against him

turns it into a weapon for the Party makes Winston even more

nervous for death

Corporal imagery

- Eyes, hands

- They are the things that betray you no matter how much you try.

These are the actions that happen because of instinct and they

cannot be controlled.

- Looking into OBriens eyes made Winston think that he was on his

side, whereas OBrien could have seen the rebellion in Winston.

4) Orwell uses dreams, allusion, and symbolism to highlight Winstons longing for freedom and

to be able to live life like in the ancient time, as he mentions in this passage.

Dreams

- Mother

-

- Represents better, pre-Party days when life was safe not oppressive

- The ancient time when feelings were normal and legal to have

-

How tragedy cannot happen in a totalitarian government becausethere is no more human dignity that someone might defend

- Golden Country

- Land of freedom, represents the hope of mankind

- Opposite world of Oceania, where there is totalitarianism and

oppression, and freedom of thought and speech have been denied

- Possibility of freedom, if he can believe in it, then he can believe that

he could live a better life, and live in a world where he can do and

think as he wishes

Allusion

- Shakespeare

- Pretty much the representation of English civilization, and the

highest achievements that the English mind is capable of with his

flowing and beautiful language and portrays a lot of emotion.

- Which contrasts to Newspeak, where all English literature will be

converted to that, which removes all the beauty and feeling from the

works because its shorter and straight to the point.


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- Its also showing how Winston wants to be like Shakespeare in the

way that hes writing with emotion and wants his works to be read

generation after generation to produce a feeling of rebellion

Symbolism

- Golden Country

- Freedom

- Julias act of throwing the overalls (Party)

- A simple movement could throw away the Party

- Ancient time = provoked feelings

5) Orwell uses symbolism, imagery, and setting to highlight how Winston feels that he is only

one who is rebelling against the Party, and he is the only hope for freedom.

Symbolism

- Paperweight

- Beautiful among the vast amount of useless junk

- A piece of history that has not been altered- Inside the glass the coral is protected and unharmed from the

changing events, like a true memory of the past. It is a safe place that

is unable to be harmed by the Party

- But its also fragile so he knows that he cannot go around advertising

his movement because one word from someone and he could be

vaporized

- Buys it in an attempt to connect with the past to give him some

strength in his rebellion

Imagery

-

Colour = Pink- The coral is pink which is a sign of hope, a positive colour that

connotes comforting feeling and a sense that everything will be okay.

- Pink can also remind one of earlier childhood memories, associated

with nurturing and comfort from a mother

- Lack of willpower, lack of self-reliance, self-worth

Setting

- Crowded shop

- Lots of useless junk = citizens

- Paperweight = beauty and worth = Winstons mind, the only one

who can fight the Party

6) Orwell uses symbolism, imagery, and foreshadowing to portray that the Inner Party finds

individual thoughts worthless and not beautiful, whereas Winston sees beauty and

immense worth in the antiques just as he sees it in the ability to find faults in the Party.

Symbolism

- Picture

- Cannot be controlled by Party, symbol of the past


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- Paperweight

- Beautiful among the vast amount of useless junk

- A piece of history that has not been altered

- Inside the glass the coral is protected and unharmed from the


is unable to be harmed by the Party- But its also fragile so he knows that he cannot go around advertising

his movement because one word from someone and he could be

vaporized

- Symbol of hope

Imagery

- Sound imagery

- Bells foreshadow the chopper that comes to chop of the head =

Winstons rebellious thoughts

Foreshadowing

- Childrens game/song

- OBrien, Mr Charrington, Julia have all let Winston run around and

play his game, but in the end they all betray him

- Rhyme represents Winston; he is representative of the few

remembered lines, with the other lines being the rest of the world,

that are being forgotten and abandoned. Winston stands alone, like

the few lines he knows, and he will slowly be forgotten, just like the

few lines when they cease to exist and have any meaning in a few

years when everyone who can remember them will be dead

7) Orwell uses foreshadowing, symbolism, imagery, and paradox to highlight how no oneescapes the Party and the inevitableness of Winstons defeat.

Foreshadowing

- We shall meet in the place of no darkness

- Foreshadows because Winston does go there, the Ministry of Love,

where the lights never go out, where he meets his ultimate, doomed

fate

- From the very beginning he had this thought instilled in his mind,

which shows that his capture was inevitable and planned from the

beginning

- Oceanias ironic language where the place of no darkness is

metaphorically the darkest and gloomiest place in Oceania

Symbolism

- Diary

- Symbol of the freedom that he wanted to achieve, but through that

he was committing the ultimate crime: thoughtcrime and as he says

in the novel that there is no way to escape it and therefore he

shouldnt be an exception because he does the same thing


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Imagery

- Corporal

- Uselessness of the body when it freezes when you need it the most

- Foreshadows how he will do that in the end

- Body swells up and fills the universe = their life is the most

important thing to them so they whatever they can to save it- Tobacco on tongue how thoughtcrime (he talked about rebellion) it

was hard to spit out because you cant take back a thoughtcrime

once it has been committed

Paradox

- Slogans since they are self-contradicting and illogical, it shows how the Party

rules the country and how they are ever present and there is no way of

escaping their grasp

- Since Winston pretty much went against these slogans, it shows how much

he went against the Party, and how likely it is for him to get caught

- War is Peace because war is generally where there is armed

conflict between different groups of people whereas peace means

tranquility and freedom from violence. War and peace are complete

opposites, yet the Party says that they are one in the same

- In order to maintain peace, there must be war to unite the

nation, then everyone will cooperate with each other

- Freedom is Slavery because freedom is the right to act, speak, and

think freely, whereas slavery is being restricted and denied the basic

rights and forced to follow a master. Therefore freedom and slavery

are essentially antonyms and cannot be the definition of one another.

-

When there is freedom, individuality is encouraged, whichleads to failure and weakness. Whereas as uniformity

creates and equal field where everyone is on the same level.

- Ignorance is Strength because ignorance is a lack of knowledge or

strength and ignorance would generally lead to weakness, not

strength.

- When the people are ignorant about whats happening

around them, the Party is able to maintain control and they

are able to continue to have authority.

8) Orwell uses symbolism, imagery, and theme to highlight how every minute of Winstons and

Julias oncoming affair would be precious and yet the more time they spent together would

increase their chance of getting caught.

Symbolism

- Note

- Seen as Julias first act of rebellion that puts her on Winstons good

side and evaporates all preconceived notions of her being part of the

thought police


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- Its the only way Julia can express her love, which is secretly, because

the Party would not approve of them starting any kind of affair

- Like Winstons diary, they are free to think that this is secretive and

no one will know about it, but actually there is that chance that they

will be caught

Imagery- Surveillance

- Telescreens are constantly monitoring them, and this happens right

in front of one

- There was no place where you could be more certain that the

telescreens were watched continuously = washrooms, ironic

because thats a place where you should have the right to privacy

like the apartment where they think its safe, but insteadthey were

being watched the whole time

- Temporal

- Counting the minutes when he gets the notes and after as if hes

counting how long hes been with it, how long his rebellion has

lasted so far

Theme

- Repression = Love

- It is seen as a restriction and it is a crime to love, which arouses the

sense of forbidden love in Winston, another great rebellious act that

he thinks the Party doesnt know about

- 3 types of love: one meant to revolt, one that is forced which is

meant to benefit society and repopulate, and forbidden love

9) Orwell uses symbolism, imagery, and juxtaposition to highlight the Partys overbearing and

ever-present control over the citizens of Oceania, as well as to foreshadow Winstons

yearning for freedom as well as his defeat by the Party.

Symbolism

- Thrush

- It sings just to sing, which is the type of leisure and freedom that the

Party has removed from society

- It is a reminder of the past where emotions and meaningless activities

still mattered

- Bird symbolism = air = mind (intellect, perception, awareness, thoughts)

- Wood thrushes = relationships = have one partner for their entire life =

Winstons yearning to be with someone he loves for his life

- When the bird sees them kiss, it flees as if to give them privacy,

something the Party wont allow anyone to have

- Sun

- Happiness, joy, a time where no would be punished for speaking out,

doing what they wanted, like the thrush


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- Music

- Free speech, thoughts, actions

- The thrush sing loud, like it isnt afraid = no punishment in ancient times

Imagery

- Flowing and wet

- Liquid stuff = stopped thinking and merely felt = thought and

possibility of freedom and a world without oppression

- Simple

- Julias single movement that removes the overalls and throws away the

Partys totalitarianism society

- One thrush provoked such thought and reflection in Winston

Juxtaposition

- Silence vs Noise

- Silence is being restricted and following order and rules

- Noise is expressing oneself to the fullest extent

- Light vs Dark

- Light is freedom and potential and possibility

- Dark is the Partys oppression

10)Orwell uses symbolism and imagery to highlight Julias role in Winstons rebellion.

Symbolism

- Pigeon

- Seen as blessed and pure, but also dirty pests, like how Julia sleeps

with a lot of men but is part of the Anti-Sex League, which is part of

her faade to maintaining her place in the Party so that she and

Winston do not become suspects- Have excellent navigational ability determined, stays in an area as

long as there is food, despite when humans or other birds chase it

away, like how Julia plans their secret meetings very well

- Encourages you to be stubborn and hang in there regardless of what

challenges are thrown your path, like when Julia tells Winston to

stop thinking about death, but rather about her, which keeps him

motivated

Imagery

- Merging

- Julia is sharing her youth into Winston that allows him to keep on

track and keep pushing through

- The rebellion really wouldnt be anything if both were doing it

individually, whereas when they are together they have both the

physical and mental aspect of a rebellion, one of which both sides

lack

- Corporal


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- Julia and Winston are physically attracted to each other, which

prompts their rebellion, and is the basis of all their rebellious acts

and meetings

11)Orwell uses the symbolism, foreshadowing, and imagery to highlight the destruction of

Winstons hope of a successful rebellion, but also the inevitableness of his defeat. Symbolism

- Red-armed prole woman

- They seem simple, but they are happy and they truly enjoy

themselves

- This woman is ignorant and overweight, but happy

- Winstons one legitimate hope for the long term future: the

possibility that they proles will eventually come to recognize their

strength and rebel against the party

- But those are all thoughts, never actions, because he never

approaches her- Apartment

- A seemingly protected place, but there is nowhere to run and hide,

which foreshadows when they do they caught in the exact room, they

cant do anything

- Represents hows theres only one way to escape, and that is to leave

the way you came in, through the front. And the way Winston

started all of this was through thoughtcrime, so in order to escape he

has to give up his thoughts

Foreshadowing

-

Song- It was a hopeless fantasy (rebellion), passed like an April day (like

the first page), with words they stirred dreams (diary), stolen my

heart away (his thoughts and the only things that meant anything to

him was taken away)

Imagery

- Sound

- Singing of the woman masks the horrible sound of the machine,

scraping of her shoes, crying of the children, roar of traffic

- Silence because of the absence of the telescreen

- Even through the noise, they notice silence of something

missing, so it foreshadows how something is wrong

12)Orwell uses symbolism, imagery, and irony highlight Winston and Julias oncoming and

inevitable defeat by the Party.

Symbolism

- Paperweight

- A piece of history that has not been altered


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- Inside the glass the coral is protected and unharmed from the


is unable to be harmed by the Party. When the glass is smashed, the

coral is exposed.

- Symbol of hope: How small it really was! shows how his hope

really was small and didnt have much back up. And now its out inthe open for people to manipulate and take advantage of, like he is.

His hope is shattered.

- Clock

- Ancient time clock, like his hope, is something that is deceiving him

because he cannot determine what the actual time is

- Solar plexus

- One of the 7 chakras of the core body, where Julia is hit and causes

her to hit Winston (how shell betray him in the end)

- Connects us with the energy to act, emotions, warmth, intellectual

understanding, self-confidence, awareness of personal power = all ofwhich Julia loses during his scene and after leaving the Ministry of

Love

Imagery

- Naked imagery

- Vulnerability of the two and they are completely exposed to the

Party and at the hands of their power

- Corporal imagery

- The body is what betrays us

- Urination is not something you can control most of the time

- Keep still and give them no reason to hit you is what will happen if

our body does something to betray us

- Winston met his eyes, which are the window into ones soul which

leaves him even more exposed and vulnerable

Irony

- Hideout = been watched the whole time

- The hidden telescreen, the Party knew exactly where they were and

what they were doing. Contradicts their total sense of safety in that

apartment and if they Party knew about that, they pretty much knew

about everything

- Mr Charrington

- He was the one who set up the room and pretty much was the spark

in Winstons rebellion and led his to believe that he could actually

succeed, but in the end he was the thought police

- Pick up those pieces represents how he didnt even care about

Winstons rebellion at all and that he has no second thoughts about

destroying it


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- He represented the intellectual and sophisticated past, but in fact he

is not that person, he is in fact part of the people who want to rid the

country of people like that

13)Orwell uses symbolism, imagery, and allegory to highlight the Partys plan to ultimately

defeat Winston and his rebellion. Symbolism

- Represent fear and the preying on it

- Rats are Winstons ultimate fear, shows that the Party knows intimate

details about him and can use them against him

- Rats (DEPRAVITY) carry disease and thrive on human garbage, Winstons

universe if filled with humans who act like and are treated like beasts. Outer

Party members and proles become meaningless. Essentially Winston and

his fellow citizens become rats who are trapped in BBs cage. If people allow

forces such as those represented by BB to rule, then they will become no

better than mindless, multiplying rats = fear of Winston Imagery

- Space imagery

- The cage is closing in, like how the Party is closing in on Winston and

that he will soon give up and succumb to the Partys wishes by

betraying Julia

- Mask shut out all vision so there was only one way to think, which

was of him and to save himself

Allegory

- OBrians story about rats

-

Rats = predators- It shows how you do not leave anything personal out in the open or

else someone will take advantage of it and attack it, leaving nothing

left = Party

- Attack the sick and dying = Winstons ulcer

- Show astonishing intelligence in knowing when a human being is

helpless.

14)Orwell uses imagery, characterization, symbolism, and allusion to highlight Julia and

Winstons defeat by the Party.

Imagery

- Lifeless

- Grass seemed dead, earth like iron, frozen they had no more life and

urgency in them

- Elemental

- Inability to rebel because of the frozen hands and watering eyes

- Represents how their minds have been formed to fit the Partys

goal (a shape that conforms to its container)


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- Cant write in diary because hands are frozen

- Freezes at the thought of rebellion

- Wind = breath and life

Characterization of Julia

- Stiffened, thicker waist, corpse-like- Scar = lobotomy

- Operation that disables one from moving freely

- Physical, because that was her weapon of choice when rebelling

Symbolism

- Crocuses

- The only plants to be alive right now, shows that they have some life left

in them

- Twig

- Tool uses to draw one of the plans of their secret meetings, and Julia

crushes it because she no longer has that urge to rebel and go behind theParty because she is too tired and lifeless. She deliberately did this kill

any thought of rebellion in her mind

Allusion

- Bible

- Ragged, leafless shrubs, useless for either concealment or as protection

from the wind

- Garden of Eden after they committed sin, BB is seen as a god in this

novel, so its kind of like the aftermath after having committed the

greatest sin: thoughtcrime

15)This passage portrays the ultimate defeat of Winston by the Party. Orwell does this through

the use of symbolism, imagery, allegory, and juxtaposition.

Symbolism

- Arrow, bullet

- Piercing his mind like how the Party took control of his mind forcefully

and planted their owns thoughts in it

Imagery

- Light vs dark

- White arrow across the tail of the black, seen as purification of Winstons

mind

- Soul white as snow = pure, sunlight, white-tilled corridor

Allegory

- Defeat of Africa = Winstons defeat

Juxtaposition

- Chaotic vs calm

- Chaos outside and in his mind (running), cheering


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- When he thinks of the Ministry of Love and BB hes calm and he finds

order in BB, which he likes (walking)

Back up: Irony

- He loved BB = love is against the law, but he does it and its allowed =

doublethink


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ENGLISH PATIENTBlurb: Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lanka-born novelist who lives in Canada. He is a writer, whose

work consists of the tensions inherent among races, cultures, and nationalities. He won the Booker

Prize for his novel The English Patient, which is a story about a burned, Hungarian man, a Canadian

nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief turned British intelligence operative, and an Indian-born British Armysapper who live in an Italian villa near the end of World War Two. + context of passage

1) Ondaatje uses imagery, symbolism, and setting to highlight the dependant relationship

between Hana and Almasy.

Imagery

- Elemental

- Fire (burns) = Almasy

- The place of fire in natural places is represented in deserts

and mountains, which is where he feels at home and most

comfortable

- Fire usually symbolizes human emotions, especially

emotions associated with sexual power

- It could also symbolize irrationality, which caused this crash

in his life, and made all these terrible things happen =

Katharines death, his injuries

- Fire caused these burns = his affair with Katharine that

began in the desert

- Water = Hana

- She washes his black body with water, she is the water

- She is cleansing him and of both his physical injuries and

emotional injuries by caring for him and cooling him- Corporal

- Hana knows his body well to have a favourite place

- The emancipation of the patient shows how much he needs care and

nursing

- Hana pours calamine lotion on his chest where he is less burned,

where she can touch him meaning that his body may be far beyond

repair, but his heart is mendable

- Black and Light

- Light at the end of the hall, like Hana is that for Almasy because after

the crash, shes there to care and help him get better- Black body symbolizes how he is close to death, Hana must know it,

but she still chooses to stay with him and take care of him

Symbolism

- Plum + stone

- Hana is the plum, and she removes the stone (war effects) from it so

that her heart is free to listen and care for the patient and she gives it

to him because her heart is vulnerable and mouldable


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- Surrogate for her lost baby, maternal instinct

- Water

- Hana because she is caring for him and cleansing him. She can be

influenced easily, like water can.

Setting

- Garden

- How Hana is a nurturer by nature and she constantly is trying to find

this to care for, like Almasy. She needs someone to love.

- Artificial garden

- Represent how Almasy led an artificial life, being different

nationalities, but here with Hana he doesnt have to do that and gets

to know who he really is. He needs to be loved.

2) Ondaatje uses a story within a story, imagery, simile and theme to highlight how deep

Almasy is lost in the details of his past.

Story within a story- Falling into desert

- His mind is located in the depth of his memories

- Constantly reverts back to them, where the fire comes back to him.

All the emotions of Katharine, the desert, all the scars, where he is

vulnerable and naked

Imagery

- Elemental

- Fire = emotions, irrationality is what caused this to him, now his

body bears that scar because of the past

-

Colour- Purple?

Simile

- Hawk in ancient Egypt it symbolized a part of the soul that would be freed

up after death and come back to the world of the living in the shape of a bird.

They are like the announcers of death.

- Married man and wife

- Alluding to Katharine and Clifton, and his affair

Theme

- Identity

- Because of everything that happened in the past, he no longer has a

grasp of who he is because he has been playing all these different

characters in his life

3) Ondaatje uses imagery, setting, and symbolism to highlight Hanas state of half child and

half adult, as well as the effect the war of her.

Imagery

- Child/adult


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- Hopscotch shows how Hana is still child-like and finds escape in

games such as this

- Adult because shes neat and knows her way around medical

supplies

- Light/dark

- Light = childhood because she begins to play after she lights the

match

- Dark = adulthood because in the game she moves farther and farther

away from it

- White chalk, metal

Setting

- Villa

- Represents her broken state where one piece is child-like and on is

adult-like and how she cannot find balance, but instead she is either

one or the other

Symbolism- Two Pockets

- Represents her two selves

- She buries he thoughts and who she is in two separate parts,

never in the same pocket

- Chalk uses to create the basis for her game

- Piece of metal used to move forward in the game, which is a

remnant from the war

- Hopscotch

- When she plays it brings out the child, and the adult shadow is being

supressed- The act of throwing metal represents how she is always trying to

find ways to free herself from the scars of war, but always picks it up

again, and then hides it in her pocket

- Hopscotch in a dark place = in-between state

4) Ondaatje uses imagery, irony, and symbolism to highlight Caravaggios profession as a thief

and spy.

Imagery

- Sexual

- To make is seem awkward for him to be in the same room

- To add to his vulnerability because he is also naked

- Vulnerable

- How is job puts him in vulnerable positions like this one

- Here its just the act of being caught, but its also being caught and

faced with death

- Light/dark

- Pros and cons, dangers and safeties to his job


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- You get to be someone else and you dont have to make

emotional connections with others. You can be free to do

what you want, unafraid of someone holding you back

- Being a spy you stay away from the light, trying not to get

caught, and you keep to the darkness and behind the scenes

- Youre totally safe when no one knows your identity, but

once someone does, your life in a lot of danger

- Silence/noise

- When there is silence he cannot leave, but once the woman makes a

sound he is able to leave

- In silence he must stay stealthy and hidden because there is

nothing there to cover him, every move can be heard

- He finds safety in noise because he being watched less

closely

Irony

- Villa Cosima

- Cosima means order and decency, but in his villa a sexual

relationship is happening

- Spies are sometimes seen as brave and patriotic for doing this job to

fight for their country, but at the same time they are invading

another countrys space, through infiltration. Sometimes through

gaining their trust. Most the time they are given terrible tasks such

as assassinations.

Symbolism

- Camera/photo

-

The only solid proof of his existence that could ruin his life. But hetakes it both to protect his identity and himself, but also to have a

reminder of who he really is, instead of the different personalities

that he has to adopt as part of his job

- Words as tricky things much more tricky than violins.

- Music is romantic and its like his job is being romanticized, whereas

in reality its the opposite because it requires great strength and the

ability to manipulate people to your gain, with words, which is really

hard because there are different ways to use words and how you say

them.

5) Ondaatje uses the characterization of Hana, symbolism, and imagery to highlight Hanas

physical and mental change throughout the course of the war.

Characterization

- Face

- Short hair for praticality

- Tougher, leaner = wearied because of what shes seen and

experienced


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- Body

- Thinner = tired to the war, always hungry because of the physical toll

the war has put upon her

- Buddy

- Distancing herself mentally from the patients to prevent emotional

attachment to them- Shes protecting herself from harm.

Symbolism

- Mirrors

- She is afraid how to see how the war has affected her

- Food (biblical)

- Devoting herself to caring for the soldiers, needing only the

essentials

- Bread/meat

- General diet for her

- Jerusalem artichoke, doesnt want it, but receives it as a gift

- She sees it as a blessing, taking in all the little pleasures that

are available to her

- Shoes

- Filling in the shoes of a nurse, which is a mature role that takes

experience to handle, too big but comfortable shows how she is

comfortable taking in the role despite her youth

- Taking in a role beyond her years

Imagery

- Mechanical

-

Shrapnel out of the human body- Shes been able to remove remnants of the war in the patients,

numerous patients, but she is unable to do that for herself

- Seasons

- They come and go, but they are what remain constant and able to be

expected

- She has lost that because of the war, shes lost a stable thing that she

could hold onto

- Elemental

- Rain = water

- When she began she was vulnerable and easy to mold, and

now she took the shape of the war

- When moving down, it has more masculine aspects to it,

which shows how shes grown more masculine and harder

- Air

- Breathing in human stench, wants to be able to breathe

something not associated with war


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6) Ondaatje uses symbolism, allegory, and imagery to highlight how Kip views his relationship

with Hana. (wants to purify himself and teach Hana to be self-sufficient)

Symbolism

- Lavender

- Purity, silence, caution, femininity, luck, promise of new adventure

- He is still deciding his stance on the relationship- Kip wants to purify himself and wants to proceed with this

relationship with caution

- Church

- Wants to purify himself from the relationship

- Gun

- His guard is always up, he hasnt yet become sensitive and

vulnerable to Hana

Allegory

- Caravaggios dog

- Teaching it to be self-sufficient like with Hana so that she can live

without him

Imagery

- Corporal

- Hana mostly notices his arms, self-sufficiency

- Elemental

- Rain more masculine, allowing her to be self-sufficient and not

needing to rely on others to survive

7) Ondaatje uses symbolism, paradox, and juxtaposition to highlight Caravaggios hatred

towards the war and how its affected Kip. Symbolism

- Milk vs brown skin

- Representation of the West and how he was immersed in the culture,

now it is a part of him. However since it is only being poured on his

skin shows that he is not truly an Englishman, he has not completely

adopted and internalised their culture

- English Patient

- Representation of the West, which is why Caravaggio wants to kill

him because of what he is. He has been exploited by the Western

world to gain an upper hand in the war, but he instead lost his

thumbs in the process. He wants revenge over them. He wants to

know why people like him and Kip were thrown in the war to fight

the war of the English.

Paradox

- I want to kill the Englishman

- Caravaggio is against the war, but says that he wants to kill the

Englishman because of what he represents. To him, the patient is


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stuck in the past and in his dreams, which represent how the English

are stuck in their little cocoon where they arent in trouble, but

instead they put others below them in danger.

- Be irresponsible

- You wouldnt think that an authority figure would say such a thing,

but Caravaggio believes that its the only way to be free from theexploitation by the West. To not follow orders and protocol is what

he sees as correct.

Juxtaposition

- Free vs owned

- Caravaggio claims that they are free now, but I think that during the

war he believed himself to be owned by the English, being used and

exploited for the skills that he had, just like Kip

- Now he feels that theyre free because they are off their radar, no

longer owned

8) Ondaatje uses symbolism, setting, and imagery to highlight the theme of identity and

colonization.

Symbolism

- Foreign names

- Foreign, nationality and identity

- Animals

- Nationality and war between countries affect them too

- Dog represents loyalty (to a country) after the storm, it is not

mentioned as if their loyalties to their countries is gone too

-

Horses = freedom of expression, even though it is domesticated byhumans

Setting

- Desert

- Defies national identity because is disappears and reappears as a

changed landscape and can only be define by its indefinability. It

refuses to be mapped (borders being imposed on them). Patient

suggests that it is a place of freedom where artificial boundaries are

shown as destructive

- Lines on maps and places are artificial and destructive

Imagery

- Empty

- When colonizers colonize, they take everything and leave barely

anything for their colony

- Night

- Worst terrors happened at night = stationary, vulnerable

- Stationary vs moving

- Stationary someone has the chance to control you and possess you


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- Moving means youre hard to catch, hard to control, possess

9) Ondaatje uses imagery, symbolism, and setting to highlight Almasys dryness and emptiness

after his affair with Katherine.

Imagery

- Elemental

- Rain

- When he is with Katharine in the apartment, they rush out

when it rains

- Whenever theyre together they bathe themselves in their

love and immerse themselves in each other. That is when

their relationship is new and still feels like there is the

possibility of its continuation

- Brief downpour = brief affair

- Corporal

- Possessive of her shoulder

- Wet vs dry

- River = Katharine

- Desert = Almasy

- Together they make light

Symbolism

- Rain symbolizes change, making way for new things

- Sunlight, Almasys hope that their relationship will go on, but when the rain

comes, he takes it all in because he knows that it isnt going to happen

- Smoke = communication

-

He has all these feelings that he wants to tell her, but she wontcompromise so it remains in him unsaid

Setting

- Apartment

- Enclosed, private affair

- Garden (public)

- Wants to communicate, gets to know everything he loves about her

- Nurturing, but he is left without that nurturing element in his life

- Groppi Park

- Image preserved by man

- Almasy is preserving his affair with Katharine

10)Ondaatje uses imagery, setting, symbolism to highlight the violent downfall of Almasys

affair with Katherine.

Imagery

- Elemental

- Fire


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- The place of fire in natural places is represented in

deserts and mountains, which is where he feels at

home and most comfortable

- Fire usually symbolizes human emotions, especially

emotions associated with sexual power

- It could also symbolize irrationality, which caused

this crash in his life, and made all these terrible

things happen = Katharines death, his injuries

- Fire caused these burns = his affair with Katharine

that began in the desert

- Falling

- Downfall of affair

- Symbolizes that he set unrealistic goals for his affair

Setting

- Desert

- Represents Almasy and where hes comfortable

Symbolism

- Airplane

- The crash = the love, the hope, efforts might die

- Oil is weighing him down, but is what the fire catches onto to burn him

- The past is bringing him down and not letting him move forward, but

the recollection and bringing it back up is what ignites the emotion

and feeling in him

11)Ondaatje uses imagery, symbolism, and characterization to highlight the way Kip has been

completely immersed in the Western world and how it has become a part of his life. Imagery

- Dry vs wet

- Kip feels whole when in English society (bread and milk), enjoys it

- Stabbing of the can (piercing)

- Kip has kind of forced his way into being integrated into the culture

Symbolism

- Condensed milk

- Western world becoming a part of him, and he loves it and cant get

enough of it

- seems irritated that he does not have possession of it

- But he isnt completely English, so he constantly needs to fuel his

Englishness

- Bayonet is a weapon, but it is used to pierce the can

- His job is how he got himself to be respected in the English society

Characterization

- Kips relationship with Almasy


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- He bonds with the English patient, thinking that they are like peers

because they come from the same background, he believes that he is

English

- Job as sapper

- Allowed him to integrate into English culture and become respected

among them

12)Ondaatje uses characterization, imagery, and symbolism to highlight the theme of identity.

Characterization

- Caravaggio

- Entitled a thief, just a thief

- He just wants to have a good time

Imagery

- Desert

- Defies national identity because is disappears and reappears as a

changed landscape and can only be define by its indefinability. Itrefuses to be mapped (borders being imposed on them). Patient

suggests that it is a place of freedom where artificial boundaries are

shown as destructive

- Lines on maps and places are artificial and destructive

- War and industry

- Causes the naming game, to claim what is your and what they do or

else you dont have an identity

Symbolism

- Names

-

Possessions, owned- Titles

- The thief

- Second-rate spy

- The sapper

- Wife

- Husband

- These all identify the characters, without them they would

just have their names which dont describe as much

- Because of his foreign name they refused to help him

13)Ondaatje uses imagery, symbolism, and pathetic fallacy to highlight Kips devastation and

inner conflict when the culture that he learned to admire and immerse himself in, could

commit such a terrible act against another country.

Imagery

- Sound

- It resounded in him, surrounded him, could not escape the truth

- Perfection


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- English are perfect, were in Kips eyes, but now they are something

that he wants to destroy he despises having been converted. What

they did was not perfect, but terrible and cruel.

Symbolism

- English patient

- Epitome of English culture to Kip

- Gun

- Becoming like the English, threatening to kill what represents the

goal

- Uncle

- Making fun of how he believed to be close and related to him, he

despises it now. He is spitting it out like dirt.

- Had wars like cricket

- An everyday thing, normal

Pathetic fallacy

- Thunder

- Inner conflict, and rage

- Darkness

- Everything hes known has just collapsed on him and now hes in

darkness because he doesnt know how to proceed

14)Ondaatje uses imagery, symbolism, and characterization to highlight the mental and

physical state that Kip is in after the bombing of Japan by the United States

Imagery

- Elemental

-

Fire = intense emotion- He fear he might burn things, he fears that hell breakdown

- Winds/air = fire and air could not exist without each other

- He lived and breathed English culture, but now he feels as if

all the air has been sucked somewhere else and hes

suffocating because he is struggling to deal with this

- Mechanical

- Bomb, as if a bomb went off in his head too and is trying to destroy

any connection to English society

- Size

- Small bombs he can handle (small indiscretions) not big bombs,

because thats the only thinghe can focus on right now

Symbolism

- Nighthawks

- Represent clear vision, but now his vision is hazy and unclear, he is

conflicted and unsure of what to do

- Clothes


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- Trying to disown himself from the country, hes no longer proud to

wear their uniform, he is disgusted

- Bomb

- Symbolizes the worst fears of western aggression

- Rips through their sense of isolation, their oasis, waking them up,

especially Kip to the reality of the world- Reminds him of the foolishness and power of the western world

Characterization

- Kip

- Bare feet, wearing minimal clothing = he is vulnerable now

15)Ondaatje uses characterization and symbolism to highlight how Kip has returned to the

tradition that he was raised in, but yet still has unbreakable bonds with the Western culture.

Characterization

- Kip

- Doctor, family, thinks of Hana, part of the Indian culture

- He has moved on from the Western culture, but still thinks

back to it

- His bond with the west has not been completely erased, nor

does he want that to happen

- Returns to the traditions in which he was raised

- (Imagined) Hana/West

- Growing up, maturing, serious

- Worked for her beauty, not born with it

Symbolism

-

Hana cannot erase feelings for her = west- She represents the west and how he still cannot shake out what hes

known his entire life, and he still loves it, secretly

- Letters

- Tried to make a connection, but it failed because he could not bring

himself to reply, but he regrets it because he urges to talk to her

- Children/Family

- Hes moved on, trying to settle down and return to his old traditions,

seemingly good life, but hes still got Hana in the back of his mind

and they love that they shared

- Dog

- Loyalty

- Still has a small sense of loyalty towards the English

ib iop prep

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