Politics of Memory in Michael Ondaatje’s Warlight

Abstract

This thesis explores traumatic memories of an abandoned teenage boy during the World War II in Michael Ondaatje’s Warlight. Nathaniel, the protagonist of this novel, represents the distressing life experience of Ondaatje. This study critically examines the politics of author’s memory, which appears in the novel through the narratives of Nathaniel. As the survivor of the World War II, Ondaatje uses Nathaniel as his alter ego to deal with his traumatic experiences. Because the narrative or the memory of the survivor of the traumatic event is guided by the novelist’s ideology, Warlight is mostly taken up by psychological observations that are clearly in the author’s rather than the narrator’s voice.While doing it, the researcher has incorporated the theoretical insights of ‘working through’ by Dominick LaCapra from the field of Trauma theory. This novel is characterized by death, loss, departure as well as lies that haunt him repeatedly at present, leading him to trauma. This enduring effects of trauma on the life of author, leads him to articulation. In order to get rid of the trauma, he engages himself in narrating his experiences through fictional character. In this regard, the temporal gap plays a significant role for narrating traumatic experiences of victim. This qualitative study claims that Warlightis actually the story of Ondaatje rather than Nathaniel. Ondaatje tries to release his atrocious experience with the help of temporal gaps. Key words: trauma, politics, memory, working through ,fictional character, Second World War