"If Everything is Stable, One is Not Going To Move Very Far": Reality as Illusion in Ondaatje's The Cat's Table

Authors

  • Jessica Kristie Barratt Grant MacEwan Univsersity - Bachelor of Arts Program - Honours English.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31542/j.muse.101

Abstract

This essay examines one of the major themes of Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table: Perception and Reality. While on the surface the novel is about a young boy on a journey, it is Michael's unique perspective that reveals an elusive truth about our reality: that it is a fragile illusion, at best. Via a comparison of Michael's past (specifically the twenty-one days he was aboard a ship named Oronsay) and present realities, then, both Michael and the reader come to realize the highly subjective nature of our collective 'reality.'

Author Biography

  • Jessica Kristie Barratt, Grant MacEwan Univsersity - Bachelor of Arts Program - Honours English.
    English Department - English Undergraduate

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Published

2014-10-22

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Arts

License

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How to Cite

"If Everything is Stable, One is Not Going To Move Very Far": Reality as Illusion in Ondaatje’s The Cat’s Table. (2014). MacEwan University Student EJournal, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.31542/j.muse.101