Exploring Ethical Selfhood and Otherness in Michael Ondaatje’s The Cinnamon Peeler: A Levinasian Analysis

Abstract

This study analyzes The Cinnamon Peeler (1991) by Michael Ondaatje through Emmanuel Levinas's philosophy, particularly his concepts of "Ethics and the Other," shifting the focus from postcolonial to ethical and existential dimensions of identity. Levinas argues that the self is fundamentally shaped by encounters with the Other, emphasizing an ethical responsibility that deeply influences one's sense of self. This analysis explores how situations and events in the text construct an environment where the migrant experiences fragmentation, alienation, and a profound ethical connection to the Other. Levinas’s ideas suggest that identity is not a fixed essence but a continuous process of becoming, influenced by ethical demands from the Other. Migrants, whose pasts are marked by trauma and displacement, grapple with reconstructing emotional, psychological, and social connections in a new environment, where their identity is continuously redefined. The study investigates how the poetics of selfhood and otherness are reflected in the characters' lexical, psychological, and physical gestures, highlighting the continuous ethical engagement that shapes their existence. By tracing this ongoing process of ethical transformation through Levinas's philosophy, the analysis determines how the identity of a migrant undergoes profound changes when faced with the Other in a new cultural context. This approach challenges the notion of a fixed, singular identity, emphasizing instead the constant process of ethical responsibility and engagement that defines human existence, as articulated by Levinas.