He is a jazz musician experiencing life very differently from the average person. However, people today have such vivid imaginations due to television and movies that Bolden's character can be created in the reader's mind. Bolden is living in confinement where not only are his creative abilities inhibited, but he is also reduced to a life less than human. At some point in one's life there are instances where one must do things that they do not want to and there are times when higher authorities reduce your being to nothing. The rise and fall of Bolden's life is very well chronicled and a sense of who he is as a person is pretty well understood. As the protagonist of the novel Bolden's plight leads the reader to become a cheerleader who hopes for a change and a better life for Bolden. .
The Ondaatje passage is to the point and very matter-of-fact. It is not superfluous with words and lacks description. The sentences are short, choppy, and sometimes incomplete: "Rose early", "Place was noisy", "Some isolation blocks". The passage is overly structured and the font is smaller than the rest of the novel generating a feeling of unwelcoming and coldness. Ondaatje's decision to show what Bolden's life has been reduced to through a sort of timetable entitled "Typical Day" is seemingly emotionless. Upon reflection however, this passage encourages the reader to pity Bolden. There is an ache in the reader's heart after realizing that this meticulous, monotonous life is in stark contrast to the unstructured and colourful life that was once lead by Bolden. As a musician, structure was far from existence in his life. Jazz itself is a very improvised form of music with only a few loose guidelines. Ondaatje has cleverly and triumphantly said more by saying less in this passage. It is so different to who Bolden was before he went crazy that the reader is forced to feel uncomfortable and aware of these differences.