44 pages • 1 hour read
Michael OndaatjeIn the Skin of a Lion
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1987A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Choose three to five significant appearances of water (e.g., the frozen swimming hole, the frozen river, the viaduct, the waterworks, the lake by Anne’s house). Compare and contrast the way they are depicted. Is water violent? Destructive? Healing? Cleansing? How do the characters in these scenes perceive the role of water in their lives?
Compare and contrast Patrick’s relationships with Clara and Alice. How do these two women influence him? How does his character develop as a result of these relationships? You may want to consider conversation versus silence, introversion versus extroversion, and socioeconomic status, among other factors.
Tracing references to skin and animals in the novel (as well as any other images you consider relevant to the question), explain why you think the novel is entitled In the Skin of a Lion.
Patrick, Nicholas, and Caravaggio are the novel’s three viewpoint characters. Considering Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 for Patrick, Chapter 2 for Nicholas, and Chapter 6 for Caravaggio, compare and contrast several characteristics of each protagonist’s perspective.
Consider the appearances of dynamite in the novel, especially its role in the lives of Patrick, Alice, and Hazen Lewis (Patrick’s father). Why do you think Patrick and Hazen are drawn to dynamiting? Are explosions always destructive or can they be constructive?
Compare and contrast Alice’s appearances in Chapters 2, 3, and 4. Is it possible to perceive the seeds of her Chapter 4 personality in her Chapter 2 personality? If so, what are the clues?
Trace the appearances of smell and odor in the novel. Compare and contrast any associations, negative and positive. You may want to consider smell associated with human bodies, smell associated with mechanized industry, and the role of smell in the absence of sight (in darkness or blindness).
Compare and contrast Patrick and Nicholas’s language skills and their relationships with speech and conversation. Consider whether geographic nativeness has bearing upon language fluency.
What is a protagonist? Is Patrick a protagonist? Why or why not? Is there another character in the novel who deserves to be called the protagonist more than Patrick?
The novel is narrated alternately in present and past tense, without any obvious pattern to the choice of tense. What is the significance of tense in the novel? Is there a reason why certain passages are narrated in the present and others in the past? What do present tense sections have in common with each other? What do past tense sections have in common with each other?
Related Titles
By Michael Ondaatje
