Micheal Ondaatje creates meaning and representation in The English Patient, through the structure of his novel. The author portrays the sequence of events in a non-linear fashion to incorporate them as a puzzle-like story. The puzzle is significant because, the reader is constantly unraveling the novels excerpts together. Symbolism is an important aspect of these passages because, it provides a better understanding of the issues related to the novel such as, destruction, identity, escape, unity, and love.

Fire is used symbolically and has an appearance in the lives of all characters as a destructive element. Once the bomb is dropped on Japan and, "It rolls across cities like a burst map, the hurricane of heat withering bodies as it meets them, the shadow of humans suddenly in the air." (284), Kip realizes the destruction fire causes in the world and decides not to live the life of an English...