Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent something else, such as ideas and qualities. In the novel Life of Pi, the author, Yann Martel, did a very good job of using the literary device symbolism; in fact, the use of symbolism is precisely what has made it such a great novel. There are many places in the story where we see very notable use of symbolism, but the final “twist” story in the end really emphasized the symbolism mastery that Yann Martel achieved. Changing the animals into humans that Pi has encountered and matched the personalities perfectly really made the ending an enjoyable and wonderful surprise.
The zebra in the story was represented by the Taiwanese sailor because they resembled each other very well in terms of personalities
…show more content…
The orangutan saved Pi from being targeted by the hyena just like how earlier in the story, his mother helped him justify himself when Pi’s father was picking on him about his religions. These two symbolised perfectly what a motherly figure is suppose to be, but sadly the orangutan was killed by the evil. Orange juice magnifies a lot of Pi’s mothers traits such as sympathy and kindness, she protected by from his dads criticism: "Perhaps Piscine is marching to a different drumbeat of progress" (pg. 83). Pi also states that when orange juice was floating towards the lifeboat, she had the glow of The Perfect Mother: “She came floating on an island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely as the Virgin Mary. The rising sun was behind her. Her flaming hair looked stunning.” (pg. 123) Although orange juice seems to display courage and strength, protecting Pi from the hyena but, her fear the hyena brought her to her knees, and was ultimately killed, teaching Pi a lesson: Fear paralyzes you from doing what you need to …show more content…
His great writing skills led this book to becoming a big success and has made Yann Martel a notable person among the great authors. The novel Life of Pi was a great story with unexpected detail in the plot and the what the story shows readers. In summary, Yann Martel has achieved a great amount of skill and mastery in the novel Life of
Symbolism is a major literary device that helps people see a book through symbols that often have a deeper meaning. A symbol is used to explain something in a different way, using images, objects, etc. instead of just saying it in words. As you search for a deeper meaning in a work of art or literature it can help you understand the authors intentions and the deeper significance of a work. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, symbols help reinforce the major themes of the book.
Symbolism can be defined as “the representation of a reality on one level of reference by a corresponding reality on another” (“Symbolism” 564). The word symbol comes from the Greek word "symballein," which translates literally into “to throw together” and suggests the combining of two unrelated worlds. Much...
Symbolism is used in many ways and writers use symbolism to “enhance their writing.” It can give their work “more richness and color and can make the meaning of the work deeper.” In literary work, the actions of the characters, words, action, place, or event have a deeper meaning in the context of the whole story. The reader needs to see the little things like a dove symbolizes peace, or like the red rose stands for romance. Mostly everything can have a symbolic meaning to it.
In Martel’s Life of Pi, the color orange initially appears just before the scene in which the ship Tsimstum sinks into the Pacific Ocean. The narrator visits Pi and his family at their home in Canada and sees his daughter Usha holding an orange cat. This moment provides the re...
In literature, symbolism is a specific word, phrase, or action that represents a deeper, abstract meaning. Authors use symbolism to give an object or action more meaning and interest. Readers should care about symbolism since it gives the story emotion and meaning. I believe the three major symbols that S.E. Hinton uses in “The Outsiders” is Johnny stabbing Bob, Pony seeing dawn, and Ponyboy stepping in dew.
Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” shows all three of the main elements of a hero’s journey: the departure, initiation and the return, helping the story to greatly resemble Joseph Campbell’s structure of a hero’s journey. Through the trials Pi has to face, he proves himself to be a true hero. He proves himself, not just while trapped on the lifeboat with Richard Parker, but also before the sinking of the Tsimtsum. His achievement to fulfill the heroic characteristics of Campbell’s model are evident as he goes though the three stages.
...rker, the tiger. But Miss Brill just walks away, goes home, and gives up. She is much more simpleminded than Pi. A stranger upsets her happy fantasy while Pi has had his family killed and is still living through the traumatic life experience of trying to survive the ocean. “It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I’ve made none the champion (123).” Pi also had to enjoy the company of a hungry, scaverous hyena. It ate away the zebra and killed the orangutan. But he did not give up. He keeps living his life. Finally, he gets a break when Richard Parker killed the cruel hyena. “Richard Parker’s jaws closed on the side of the hyena’s neck [...]. Its eyes went dull (150-151).”
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, is a fictional novel written in 2001 that explores the primacy of survival by employing symbolism, foreshadowing and motifs. This story follows the life of the protagonist, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, as he embarks on his journey as a castaway. After boarding the Tsimtsum which carries Pi and his family along with a menagerie of animals, an abysmal storm capsizes the ship leaving Pi as the only survivor, though he is not alone. The great Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, also survives the shipwreck and during the 227 days that Pi and Richard Parker are stranded at sea together, the two must learn to coexist and trust one another for survival. Through Pi and Richard Parker’s struggles to remain alive, Martel explores the primal idea of survival by employing literary techniques.
Symbolism is a literary technique that is used to clarify the author's intent. Sometimes it is used to great effect, while other times it only seems to muddle the meaning of a passage. In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses objects and people as symbols to allegorically reveal his message to the reader.
Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities and it is found in several places throughout the short story and the movie of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Both the story and the movie use the literary technique of symbolism by using objects or ideas to represent something bigger. This gives these stories a more profound meaning and make the reader think beyond the surface to find the bigger picture that the author or director intended. Whether its skateboards, beards or overshoes, almost any object can be used to represent an idea that the author wants to convey to their audience.
A quick glance at Life of Pi and a reader may take away the idea that it is an easy read and a novel full of imagination, but take a Freudian view of the work and it transforms into a representation of the human psyche. Martel’s novel takes the reader on a journey with Pi as he struggles for his own survival. Pi experiences a breakdown of each component that makes up one's personality, according to Freud throughout the novel. One by one, ego and super ego both express a huge factor in Pi’s choices and emotions throughout his story. Readers are also introduced to an alternate ending to choose from.
Symbolism is when an author uses a symbol or an object to relate it to another meaning other than its literal meaning. It is normally used
Pi thinks of God and Richard Parker every time as they are the reason for Pi to live on. Faith kept Pi from giving up. Many symbolisms are seen throughout the book which represent the themes of the novel. One of them is the orange lifebuoy.
In the first place, Pi spends more time telling the animal story, instead of the true account, which shows that he prefers a zebra, a tiger, a hyena, and an orangutan over the real people involved because with real people the tragic events must also be real. While telling his story to the two Japanese men investigating him once he
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel was a fascinating and exciting narrative that described the journey of a young boys life starting with the formation of his beliefs moving all the way through an adventure that changed his life forever. I found it extremely engaging on both a philosophical level and a psychological level as I saw Pi, a young boy, curious about life, discover both religion and go through an extremely traumatic experience. I found Pi's devotion to God to be an uplifting example that many people throughout the world should see. Although I do believe that Pi was confused about how to best love God, I admire his efforts and believe that his dedication is sincere. I also found the psychological aspect of Pi to be almost as fascinating as religion. I could see from the beginning that Pi was quite thoughtful and always tried to think before he acted. However, what I found even more fascinating than his pre-planning cognitive abilities was how he thought when he was under great stress. Perhaps the best example of how he coped with stress was towards the end of the book when he tells what may be the true story, and we can see that he may have represented everyone as an animal in order to deal with the situation. This provides valuable insight into Pi's mind and opens a whole new area of possibilities when considering how Pi thinks. This ending leaves how Pi thinks open to interpreting which adds a intriguing aspect to the book. Beyond the religious and theoretical aspects of the book, the adventure seen kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Every time it seemed Pi was about to die or give up hope, an astounding miracle would suddenly save him. I found the effect of these suspenseful moments to cause me to want to...