Mikey Maceda
B period
Explication on passage
Hana’s assumption that the English patient and Kip would not get along is quickly reputed by the English Patient’s exclamation, “We’re getting along famously!”(88.) One day Hana walks into the English Patient’s room to find Kip standing above him almost machine-like in his handling of himself and the gun. Ironically he is found very gregarious by the English patient who starts conversing with Kip about the aspects of war. The two are from different countries and sides of the war, yet are brought together by it. The subjects of bombs, guns, and fuses serve to unite the two opposites. I find it ironic that in times of relative peace, besides the diffusing of bombs all around their encampment, two scholars of war are brought together through common knowledge. This passage impresses upon me that finding common ground can put an end to disputes. If two beings so different can be brought together by discussing the tactics that their respective sides are using to combat each other, than it should be possible for anyone to stop the world of continuous war in which the story takes place.
An exploration of the atomic bomb as a symbol in the novel.
The atomic bomb destroyed many lives when it was dropped on Japan. Along with the Japanese loss of lives, Kip loses his life, figuratively. As a sapper diffusing bombs, Kip’s job is one of the lesser-known occupations in war. Instead of a soldier whose fight entails taking lives to save their country as a whole, Kip defuses bombs to directly subvert attacks on his companions. Though he carries a rifle and is trained militarily, his main focus is prevention not combat. When he sees that his so called comrades commit an atrocity on a scale virtually unparalleled he is devastated. He had been working so hard to prevent explosions that could hurt him and few others, yet the side of the war that he is working for commits an arguably unnecessary attack on millions. In essence, the atomic bomb blows up his mind, objectives, and ignites his temper. Outrage is a understandable feeling, a pariah in his own country because of his choice to side with the English, he is also treated as an outcast because of his culture while on the British side. Though an outsider he still works because he believes in his cause. This ideal is destroyed and so is his desire to work for the English. The atomic bomb severs his ties to the English and shows us that there is never a “good” side in war.
Central symbol/motif/theme
Throughout the story, the characters seem to be alone. The villa and surrounding countryside where the majority of the story is held is in itself somewhat aside from either faction. Though some relationships are created such as Hana and Kip, they are ephemeral in nature and result in the parting of ways between the two. The desert also evokes a solitary nature. There is often no life on the surface for miles and it brings almost certain death to those who get lost in its clutches. Almasy loses Katharine to it, and is left weak, burned, and without his lover. This chain starts with Hana’s and Almasy’s seclusion in the villa. After this we see how Kip is an outcast in the army, and loses his teacher and companions in a bomb blast. Caravaggio enters the plot as a spy working solo, and the plot later ends with Kip going his separate way. Nothing truly ends happily and we are left wondering if this is due to the effects of war or if this is really how all life ends- alone.
Character Analysis
I think Hana is the protagonist of the novel. Other possibilities would include The English Patient and Kip but I think they are disproved as options by their actions. The English Patient is a spy working for the Germans, though portrayed as a loving and intellectual man he is also portrayed negatively. He works for the Germans, engages in adultery, and comes across as conceited or superior to the others around him. Kip Is hardworking, truthful, and kind yet at the end he hurts Hana by leaving. He makes unfair assumptions against all white people because their military dropped the atomic bomb. On the other hand, Hana not only works to help everyone around her, she is sincere and trusts others as well. She is constantly being hurt emotionally; we find out that her lover dies in the war and she loses her child, we see her father die, then Kip leaves her as well. Through this sequence of events, we do not have much of a choice in developing feelings of pity and sympathy for her. Despite this she maintains her job and others rely upon her. She is unyielding throughout numerous circumstances and she has a personable nature. Hana is a person I interpret as understanding, meek, and humble on the outside, yet carries a depth of power within.
The Real László Almásy
László Almásy was indeed a real man and did hold many similarities to his counterpart in The English Patient. Almásy was born in current day Austria into a noble family. During World War I he joined the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops and later became a member of the Eastbourne Flying Club. In the 1920’s he worked for an Austrian company called Steyr Automobile and won many races on their behalf. As mentioned in the book he was tied to Zerzura. He lead expeditions and supposedly found the site, befriending Bedouins on the way. He actually did catalogue the caves mentioned in the book and seen in the movie. Though he did not discover them (Bedouins knew that they were there, they were just wary because of superstitions) he did map each cave and draw the paintings he found. His wife died in a mysterious plane crash, just like Katharine, and he was suspected of being a spy. However, both the Italians and the British thought he was a spy employed by the other because he took contracts of exploration from both. In 1940, Hungary joined the Axis powers and he was recruited. During that time he did lead missions that snuck German soldiers into Egypt. At the end of the war he helped plan an Egyptian revolt, which never happened, and was later arrested in Hungary and put into a Soviet prison. Acquitted of his crimes of treason, he was later aided in escape by the (some think) British Intelligence, only to be re-captured by the KGB. With the help of King Faruk of Egypt he was released and became technical director of the Desert Institute. We do not see Almásy in his later life within The English Patient but it would have probably led a different path than his real life. High lights of his life were used, the planes, the explorations, the allegations of him being a spy, but the book turns from his true history when he is said to have bee burned in the plane crash that never occurred.
