ENG252Y1 Lecture 19: Lecture 19
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
ENG252 Lecture 19
Anil’s Ghost
-Anil needs knowledge of the local in order to perform the forensic anthropology and
uncover the “truth” that she values so much
•Sarath fills the gap in this area, he has knowledge of Sri Lanka that Anil is out of
touch with
- Sarath’s view of the truth is more ambivalent (p.155)
•He wants Anil to reestablish her roots and links to/within Sri Lanka, he makes a
comment about Anil being similar to journalists who come in and report on
humanitarian issues but don’t/can’t do anything, its temporary empathy. They come
in, observe, and then leave and forget all about it
-From this the theme of Insider vs. Outsider is clear
•Sarath wishes to turn Anil from an outsider to an insider
-Anil’s profession (forensic anthropology) is more of a western established profession.
She is viewing the tragedy of Sri Lanka through a western gaze
•In a way can be seen as a form of “Orientalism”: the production of knowledge of
other cultures from a European/western perspective—comes from period of
colonialism throughout the orient, where cultural understandings and knowledge of
the orient (Mediterranean, south Asian, etc. cultures) came from the conquests of
Napoleon, what was taken and brought back. So not from the true perspective of
someone of that culture, but from the “conquerors”, the westerners.
-This is similar to what is happening in the story, Anil’s representation of the war in
Sri Lanka is a form of Orientalism because she understands things not
necessarily from a direct link to the tragedy but from a more western perspective
through her forensic exploration, Sarath tries to change this and enlighten her
from a more “insider’s” perspective
-Palipana is an eccentric, he does not think the rules apply to him and he rebels
against social expectations
•Palipana’s “disgrace” is tied to his unusual approach to the discovery of the “truth”,
he created the evidence on which his discovery is made and the narrator attempts
to suggest justification of this on the premise that it is the opening to the truth of a
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Document Summary
They come in, observe, and then leave and forget all about it. From this the theme of insider vs. outsider is clear: sarath wishes to turn anil from an outsider to an insider. Anil"s profession (forensic anthropology) is more of a western established profession. So not from the true perspective of someone of that culture, but from the conquerors , the westerners. This is similar to what is happening in the story, anil"s representation of the war in. This is maybe speaking to the way that the truth can be a very subjective thing, there is not necessarily an objective truth (anil"s main purpose is the hunt for this objective truth) Theme of con ict between sight and insight (politics of the gaze) The novel is suggesting that you need a combination of different approaches in order to discover the truth and the true reality .
