The novel, The English Patient, by Michael Ondaajte constructs meaning through the use of tropes, images, and symbolism, rather than simply depicting a linear set of events. There are many intertextual references, hedging tropes, which serve to create and reinforce meaning, as well as bold imagery, which erects another level of meaning. Symbolism plays a vital role in the formation of meaning, with fire, religion, the English Patient's body, and the desert being essential to the novel's founding concepts. The self-awareness of the novel, as well as the multiple transmission of an event, also aids in the creation of meaning. There are many intertextual references throughout the novel, all of which serve to create and reinforce meaning. The Histories of Herodotus are constantly quoted and carried everywhere by the English Patient. It talks about the enmity between East and West and their irreconcilable differences. “…wonderful deeds displayed by both the Greeks and the barbarians…along with the reason why they fought each other.” This exercise from The Histories shows that while both the East and the West can accomplish great feats, they can never accomplish the greatest feat of all by overcoming their differences. This foreshadows the apocalyptic dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan and Kip's subsequent realization of this enmity. This is a key notion in the novel and the constant references help to foreground these differences, particularly highlighting the treatment of Asian nations by the English or Western nations. This harsh conduct on the part of the English is emphasized by the English patient's use of cigarette papers, which cover the text, in much the same way that the dominant English cover the culture of the Indians. The English Patient represents all that is English; he is informed and "cultured", capable of speaking on many "refined" topics. This hedging trope symbolizes the expropriation of their language and government, indeed the very burial of their culture, suffered by the Indians at the hands of the English. Herodotus' stories also draw parallels between the love story between Catherine and the English Patient and that between Gyges and the queen, as well as revealing the power of words. During Katharine's telling of the story, the English patient falls in love with her, the story can be seen as the mechanism of their love story. It becomes clear that Katharine is the queen, Clifton is Candules, while the English patient is forced to play the role of Gyges..