In Running in the Family, Michael Ondaatje uses motifs, syntax and analogies to create a mythical Ceylon and convey its fragmented identity through the destiny of history. By using a sarcastic and ironic tone, he creates an analogy between what people did in Ceylon in the past and what he does in his memoirs; he paints a “picture” of his father. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Ondaatje first uses the motifs of uncertainty, unanswered questions, and what gets lost in translation to emphasize that subjective reality precedes objective reality. Thinking about Ceylan during his stay in Toronto, he introduces the motif of in-betweenness and hybridity, emphasizing that he is stuck between the two worlds: Ceylon and Canada. He combines fragmented syntax with “old portraits” (2-3) as a metaphor for “false maps” (2) in order to highlight these motifs. Patterns of uncertainty, unanswered questions, and what is lost in translation are also highlighted through the paradox of “rumors of topography” (19); the paradox is that since topography is a science, how can there be rumors? Ondaatje uses what these cards project to empower subjective truth and undermine facts and objective truth. The motifs of uncertainty, unanswered questions, and what gets lost in translation are then combined with the motif of what it means to be foreign. Ondaatje uses these aspects of his story to show that truth is based on perception and that the course of history fragments his and his family's identity. He also combines these motifs with allusions to mythical images to justify his own myth-making. Using images of "satyrs" (17) and a "cherub" (9), Ondaatje creates a magical realism to juxtapose the Greek mythical creature and Asian images, thereby emphasizing motifs of hybridity and inter- two. Together, these motifs allow Ondaatje to create his own mythmaking, and therefore to be able to create his own fiction and ultimately know his father. Ondaatje also uses syntax to emphasize his fragmented and hybrid identity; his authorial devices also fragment time and space in memories. Using the fragmentary phrase “the island has seduced all of Europe. The Portuguese. The Dutch. The English. And so her name changed…” (22-23), Ondaatje personifies Ceylan as a decidedly attractive woman, emphasizing the fact that her memoir is a postcolonial commentary. This extract also echoes the title “Tabula Asiae” (1), which means blank slate; Ondaatje uses it sarcastically to criticize the colonizers who only saw in Ceylon what they wanted to see and did what they wanted with the land. The repetition of fragmented syntax also develops the construction of the identity motif. Fragmentary syntax is used here to describe Ceylon. However, when Ondaatje explains the name “Ondaatje. A parody of the ruling language” (34-35), he uses fragmentary syntax to describe himself and his family. The sentence fragments reflect the fractured and hybrid identities of Ondaatje and his family. He points out that even at the core of his identity, his name is hybrid. The last sentence of an early passage reads: “here.” At the center of the rumor. At this point on the map” (36-37). These final sentence fragments once again reflect the fractured and hybrid identities of Ondaatje and his family. They quickly transport us from a distant past to the present, fracturing time and space. All these fragments of,.