An Individual's Escape From Exploitation

An Individual's Escape From Exploitation Michael Ondaatje's novel, In the Skin of a Lion, depicts some of the hardships faced by the working class in the early part of the century. It is a seemingly pro-working class novel that portrays exploitation and unfairness by the upper class. The novel, then, would be expected to offer some resolution for the working class, but it does not. Instead of giving a solution for the class as a …

…as a way to achieve happiness. All of the escapes from the imposition of the upper class on the working class in the novel show the focus on the individual as opposed to the working class as a whole. Although Ondaatje writes about the exploitation of the workers, the escape he advocates lies in the individual-through entrepuenership or through the family. Work Cited Ondaatje, Michael. In the Skin of a Lion. New York: Random House, 1987.