Patrick Lewis is “a searcher gazing into the darkness of his own country,” an image of setting that forms a striking contrast to the ‘light’ that draws the migrants.

The quotation from Lucretius, “Let me now emphasise the extreme looseness of the structure of all objects,” is of fundamental importance to Ondaatje’s novel, reflected in the interactions of every character, and the underlying settings of the novel. Ondaatje employs setting to challenge conventional notions of demarcation and compartmentalisation.

“They had leapt into different colours as if into different countries.” Ondaatje’s image explicitly recalls setting, the harsh reality of the new world running as a constant undercurrent to his exposure of official history’s partiality. Through the narrative device of his story teller, Ondaatje illuminates the plight of the migrants, themselves ‘colonised’ by the setting they enter. He “arrived in the city of Toronto as if it were land after years at sea.” Patrick’s characterisation emphasises the importance of setting, and the perspective of setting, as Ondaatje establishes through his main character the migrant’s outlook, and thus explores a story denied by official history. Their stories are set in tunnel and abattoir, grim settings that illustrate the flaws in an official history focusing on the grand ‘vista.’ Ondaatje brings Patrick into this harsher setting, making him a migrant entering a ‘new world’ not only for Patrick Lewis, but also for the reader. This ‘dangerous’ landscape is a far more accurate depiction of North America, than the illusory but hopeful ‘vista’ perceived from a distance. “Feet tested the air before each step was taken on this dangerous new country of the stage.” The stage setting is symbolic of the wider setting, Canadian society in microcosm, as the puppet play illustrates the harsh repression of the migrants. Ondaatje uses the setting ironically, contrasting the ideal sought by the new arrivals and the grim reality of their lives. “Emerging from darkness, mothlike.” As with the moths’ attraction to light, however, the lure of the ‘New World’ is a dangerous illusion. The migrants are repeatedly associated with the motif of insects, and moths in particular, illustrating the power the setting holds over them. “The vista was Upper America, a New World.” The ‘New World’ is symbolic of the American dream, suggestive of a hopeful future, a setting that lures the migrants to its light. The ‘new world’ of North America is a notable aspect of Ondaatje’s exploration of the migrants’ stories. The Canadian setting at its broadest is a powerful and important aspect of the novel.

In the skin of a lion review