Colonial Echoes Beyond Borders: Unveiling Orientalism in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient

Abstract

Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient (1992) is a profound exploration of the enduring legacies of colonialism, memory, and identity, set against the backdrop of World War II in the North African desert. This paper analyzes the novel through the lens of Edward Said’s seminal work Orientalism (1978), arguing that Ondaatje critiques the binary opposition between East and West, revealing the complexity and fluidity of colonial and postcolonial identities. Through its fragmented narrative structure and the portrayal of characters such as the enigmatic English patient and Kip, a Sikh sapper, the novel critiques Orientalist stereotypes, deconstructing traditional colonial narratives. The desert motif symbolizes the intersection of memory, war, and cultural displacement, serving as a space of both Western fantasy and Eastern mystique. This paper argues that The English Patient interrogates colonialism’s lasting effects while presenting the postcolonial experience of trauma and identity fragmentation. Ultimately, Ondaatje’s text compels readers to question the persistence of colonial ideologies and how they shape historical and cultural narratives.