Ondaatje’s Root Consciousness In Running In The Family

Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje portrays a series of diasporas in a heterogeneous cultural environment in his works.The characters he portrays always find it difficult to let go of their deep-rooted sense of nationality and their affection for their homeland.Trace its cause,this characteristic in his creation comes from his root consciousness which is especially evident in his semi-autobiographical novel Running in the Family.This thesis analyzes Ondaatje’s root consciousness in Running in the Family with the help of Stuart Hall’s diaspora theory.Chapter One explores the origin of Ondaatje’s root consciousness.Firstly,his diaspora experience brings Ondaatje a deep sense of dislocation.Although he is in the West,he cannot fully integrate into Western culture,and his wandering and longing for homeland make him eager to go back to Sri Lanka again and again.Secondly,the trauma caused by his absent parents haunts him,pushing him to find his childhood memories and to understand his absent parents.Chapter Two focuses on Ondaatje’s root-seeking journey in Running in the Family.Centering on the search for his parents and family history,Ondaatje mainly explores the three Ondaatje family members.Through the descriptions of relatives and friends,Ondaatje attempts to restore their images in history.In addition,Ondaatje also provides an extremely detailed description of the geographical and cultural environment of his homeland,Sri Lanka,incorporating the customs of this subtropical island into his work.Chapter Three describes the failure of Ondaatje’s quest and how he reconstructed a multicultural root for himself through his advantage as a diaspora writer.His mixed family lineage predestines him to find no fixed root,and his diaspora experience prevents him from returning to where his root exists.But Ondaatje accepts this reality and actively recreates for himself a diversified cultural root through a unique multi-cultural perspective and exquisite post-modern art techniques.By exploring the change of Ondaatje’s root consciousness from"being fixed" to "being diversified," this thesis intends to provide both a positive perspective of dispersion and an enlightenment to the diasporaestablish a positive sense of diaspora and not obsessed with the search for fixed root.