Abstract:
Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost published in 2000, depicts the ‘dark’ almost anarchic
period in Sri Lanka, during which the armed forces had to combat the Sinhalese
insurgents in the South, the Tamil separatist guerillas in the North and certain other
disruptive elements in the country. Anil Tissera, Sri Lankan, an expatriate and a forensic
specialist is forced on the government by the UNO to investigate the mysterious
happenings of this period. Unable to accomplish her assignment because the proof of
the case she builds up is spirited away, Anil is compelled to leave the country.
Critics (Ismail, Kanaganayagam, Mukherjee and Sugunasiri) of Anil’s Ghost, accuse
Ondaatje of being partial, apolitical and ahistorical. Even if so, this can be justified,
because Ondaatje is neither a historian nor a sociologist, but a fiction writer. Hence,
having no obligation to be committed to history. The author’s mixed origins, his multiple
experiences obtained by residing abroad, interwoven with his status of a migrant writer,
enables him to look at his country’s problems with a different point of view. Therefore,
perhaps a mellow approach towards ethnic separations. Ondaatje seems to use doctors
– those who have taken the vow of Hippoclytes – by design to present his opinion.
At present, when an uneasy peace prevails in Sri Lanka, a paper of this nature seems
opportune as its objective is to interpret Ondaatje’s attempt to attenuate the communal
differences between the Sinhalese and the Tamils by giving priority to humanity than to
ethnic identities. Reading critical works on the author and the novel, obtaining
information through the Internet, and participating in discussions (study groups, literary
circles) contributed to the writing of this paper. To conclude, though visibly Anil’s Ghost
is a rendering of the troubled times in Sri Lanka, it holds a theme of universal importance
where humanity could transcend racial barriers.
