Laughter, a common reaction from the humor spoken of others explains the meaning of comedy; comedy occurs only at the expense of others. Although the ages of jokes may range, the scars of emotions left behind forever torture the mind. Two characters noticed the reality of comedy as it takes a toll on each of them: Piscine Patel and Mrs. Brill experienced life changing events due to the laughter of others in the occurrence of embarrassment that each received. Piscine Patel, a young boy that played the protagonist in Life of Pi :A Novel written by the author Yann Martel, related to another character by sharing a similar problem to the main character, Mrs. Brill, in the short story “Mrs. Brill” by Katherine Mansfield. Throughout each piece of work, each character found themselves in a predicament of negativity that they must learn overcome to live in such a world of obscure people. The themes provoked in each writing express the true reality of the human races decisions to dominate the weak. The cruel words spoken by those around them has set them back in life; however, the way each character chooses to grasp their predicaments sets the two apart.
Piscine Patel, at the young age of fourteen, experienced a devastating situation when those around him gave him a nickname not within his desired approval. The teachers and classmates he attended school with, including his older brother, evoked him of his name because of the pronunciation of “Piscine Patel” as “Pissing Patel,” in the meaning of another term for the bodily function, urinating (Martel, 20). “With one word, my name went from an elegant French swimming pool to a stinking Indian latrine. I was pissing everywhere” (Lee, Life of Pi). For a young child to be put in su...
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...ving to face the embarrassment of fur coat once more. The words spoken by the couple paralyzed Mrs. Brill, but the cruel words naming Pi as “Pissing” mobilized him into a person of desiring the need for justice (Martel, 24). The power of words will forever affect others in different ways as scars have been beaten into their minds, but the way one may choose to handle their ordeal defines their personality. “After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested” (Lee, Life of Pi).
Works Cited
Life of Pi. Dir. Ang Lee. Perf. Suraj Sharma and Irrfan Khan. Rhythm & Hues Studios, 2012. DVD
Mansfield, Katherine. “Mrs. Brill.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th edition. Edgar V. Roberts. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2008. 177-179. Print.
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: A Novel. New York: Harcourt, 2001. Print.
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Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2002.
Stanley, D. A. (Ed.). (1999). Novels for Students Volume 7. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research.
Pi Patel in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is a young Indian boy who is put through a tremendous traumatic experience; he gets lost at sea! Not only does he lose all his family, but he is forced to survive 227 days at sea with very limited resources. This ordeal causes great psychological pressure on Pi and causes his mind to find ways to cope with all the stress. When asked to describe what happened, Pi tells two stories: one with him surviving with animals including an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and a parallel story with humans in which Pi is forced to bend morality. Pi’s story of his survival with Richard Parker is a fiction that he creates to cope with a reality that is too difficult to face.
The Onion's "Girl Moved to Tears by Of Mice and Men Cliffs Notes" is an article with satirical and critical tone about a young communication major, Grace Weaver, who is emotional moved by reading the synopsis of the American classic Of Mice and Men over the original novel. In this article, the author describes Weaver's process and reaction to the assigned reading that aims to entertain an audience who has read the book. By using subtle satire and descriptions that let the reader understand the dangers of Weaver's shortcomings, the author is able to emphasize the importance of doing your own good work in a humorous and interesting manner.
Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 10: Dorothy Allison." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap10/allison.html (provide page date or date of your login).
Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft. Perf. Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, and Bradley Darryl Wong. Walt Disney, 1998. Film.
Breit, Harvey. Shirley Jackson. The New York Times June 26, 1949, 15. Rpt. in Modern American Literature, Vol. II. Ed. Dorothy Nyren Curley et al. New York: Continuum, 1989.
Charters, Ann & Samuel. Literature and its Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 137-147. Print.
Harmon, William, William Flint Thrall, Addison Hibbard, and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.
“The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi 63) In Yann Martel’s riveting novel “Life of Pi” The basic plot of survival unfolds, however, this essay will show how the hidden yet the dominant theme of religion throughout the story is what helped the main character Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) survive.
The Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is the story of a young man, Piscine, or Pi for short, who experiences unbelievable and unrealistic events, which are so unrealistic ambiguity is aroused amongst the reader. Duality reoccurs over the course of the novel through every aspect of Pi’s world view and is particularly seen in the two contradictory stories, which displays the brutal nature of the world. Martel wonderfully crafts and image of duality and skepticism though each story incorporated in this novel.
Roberts, Edgar V., Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th Compact Edition, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008, print
Meyer, M. (2013). Bedford introduction to literature: Reading, thinking, writing. Boston: Bedford Bks St Martin’s.
Imagine losing all of your family without being to say goodbye, only to be stuck in the middle of the ocean, and no one coming to your help. The story “Life of Pi” is a story that makes people believe in miracles. The protagonist name is Piscine Molitor Patel, but he calls himself Pi to avoid people mispronouncing his name. The first half of the book Pi talks about his background and his religions. The main story talks place in the second half of the book. His family is moving their zoo to Canada, so they decide to go on the boat with the animals. A few days later the ship sinks and Pi is the only one human to survive. Pi is stuck on the life boat with hyena, tiger, orangutan, and a zebra. He is lost at sea for 227 days and only he and a tiger named Richard Parker are alive. When he tells people about his survivor story they don’t believe him. Pi then tells a story that makes the animal represent humans and people start to believe him more. Yann Martel in “Life of Pi” uses conflict, character growth, imagery, and epilogue to make the audience think the story is real.