Passage/Quote #1: "Animals in the wild lead lives of compulsion and necessity within an unforgiving social hierarchy in an environment where the supply of fear is high and the supply of food low and where territory must constantly be defended and parasites forever endured. What is the meaning of freedom in such a context? Animals in the wild are, in practice, free neither in space nor in time, nor in their personal relations” (16). Response/Reaction: This section is at the center of Pi 's logic on flexibility. He doesn 't characterize flexibility by an absence of bars, yet by the capacity to practice choice with one 's chance, space, and relations. Creatures, and anybody whose survival is persistently debilitated, don 't have this extravagance.
This being thus, misery is the thing that Pi fears most, and this tiger, perilous and fatal as it seems to be, stands in the middle of Pi and sadness, diverting Pi from falling into it. Because of being there for each other, Pi and Richard spare one another from misery. This quote makes me glad that I have a family. Being distant from everyone else and not knowing your family since you were born is terrible. Pi 's parents died on the boat and the main reason he has not took his own particular life is the presence of Richard Parker. Neither one of the creatures needs to be separated from everyone
Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals? ' Mr. Okamoto: 'That 's an interesting question? ' Mr. Chiba: 'The story with animals. ' Mr. Okamoto: 'Yes. The story with animals is the better story. ' Pi Patel: 'Thank you. And so it goes with God. '"(317).
Response: This key passage from the book was one of the most influential quotes I have ever read. It is intriguing that after so much battle and hopelessness, Pi still keeps to his three religions and regularly shouts out "Jesus!" or starts loving Allah of the Muslim religion in times of satisfaction. It demonstrates the amount of confidence this man really has. Many people would have just said that there was no god if this circumstance would be permitted to let happen, however Pi 's line of reasoning does not stray that route by any stretch of the
Pi was afraid and surprised that Richard Parker was in the boat once he had lifted the blanket. Then Richard Parker had roared at him and tried to attack by his claws ,but pi had gotten away as soon as he did. Pi and Richard Parker started to roamed slowly around the boat in the middle of the ocean. Pi didn't trust Richard Parker because he knows that he only wanted to kill and eat pi. Pi tried to get rid of the tiger and then he tried avoiding the tiger, but as time goes on he got tired of trying get rid of Richard Parker. So then he began tame the tiger by using his whistle he had gotten from his locker. As he and Richard Parker started to get along through the past days,they have become really close friends.
...ieve what I see” as the basis for all justification is unreasonable though because not everyone has seen every fact known to man. Simply believing everything Pi has told them would be irrational due to lack of scientific evidence. There is a lot more to prove that Pi’s condition just prompted him to create such an incredible story to deal with the immense tragedies he was put through.
Many people today are astounded at the atrocities that the prisoners of the Nazi Death Camps survived; I can presume what my fate would be if I were ever forced into such a situation. Similarly, it is hard to imagine surviving a shipwreck in the middle of the largest ocean, but that is what Pi Patel did. On his way to Canada with his father and a shipment of a variety of large zoo animals, Pi’s journey on a large freight is ended due to an accident, and a new one begins on a life raft. Pi and a Bengal Tiger, named Richard Parker, are the last survivors on the lifeboat, and Pi manages to survive despite the elements and shark infested water. “It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose form that I’ve made none the champion,” Pi describes of his 227 days at sea. The experience at sea was not only horrific because Pi struggled to save his own life, but also because he witnessed the death of his mother and father, as well as his beloved zoo animals. The sinking of the freight carries great symbolism because Pi’s entire life as he knew it was sank along with the ship: “I looked about for my family, for survivors, for another lifeboat, for anything that might bring me hope.
Richard Parker’s obligation to Pi Patel defines who he is as a being. And lastly what made Richard Parker unique and peculiar was his act of independence. His act of freedom illustrated a trait of his kind. Tigers are generally solitary creatures that prefer to live alone and that is what Richard Parker validated. Due to the fact that Richard Parker demonstrated perseverance, obligation and independence during his first attempt at adventure he proves that one’s identity is shaped by unique life experiences.
Pi is a very religious person who had many beliefs, which causes some issues with his family. At one point, all of his religious teachers were in an argument over Pi’s beliefs, in which he replies “Bapu Gandhi said ‘all religions are true’ I just want to love God.” (Martel, 69). This furthered Pi’s bravery when he was able to stick up for himself in
Religion is and always has been a sensitive topic. Some choose to acknowledge that there is a God and some choose to deny this fact to the death. For those who deny the presence of a higher being, “Life of Pi” will most likely change your thought process concerning this issue. Yann Martel’s, “Life of Pi”, is a compelling story that shows the importance of obtaining religion and faith. Piscine (Pi) Patel is both the protagonist and the narrator of Martell’s religious eye-opener who undergoes a chain effect of unbelievable catastrophes. Each of these catastrophic events leaving him religiously stronger because he knows that in order to endure what he has endured, there has got to be a God somewhere.
“Religion is that system of activities and beliefs directed toward that which is perceived to be of sacred value and transforming power.” (James Livingston) In the story “Life of Pi”, the main character Pi practices 3 religions all at once. (Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism) Although the 3 are very different from each other, Pi ignores the clashing views and finds coexistence and equal love for them. Pi born
Pi miraculous journey was as emotionally draining as physical. Pi animal story gives great insight of his spiritual journey whereas the human story was gruesome, harsh and straight to the point. “I was giving up. I would have given up – if a voice hadn 't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so
The best part of the story is the end. (Stop reading if you don't want to know). This is a true story. It doesn't need all the longwinded interpretation you just read. It stands on its own as truth. Maybe it's just a story of a boy and a tiger on a boat. Either way, Pi Patel shows us the compelling power of the human spirit in the face of deep suffering.
Life of Pi begins with an author’s note in which Martel describes being told by the character Mamaji that Pi has “‘a story that will make you believe in God’” (ix). This essentially sets up the basis for the entire theme of the novel. The main character, Pi, claims to practice three religions simultaneously: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam (Martel 81). Much of Pi’s explanation of his own childhood consists of his own religious journeys. He begins with an explanation of how his aunt introduced him to Hinduism upon ...
This unimaginable tale, is the course of events upon Pi’s journey in the Pacific ocean after the ship that Pi and his family were aboard crashes, leaving him stranded with a tiger named Richard Parker, an orangutan, a zebra, and a hyena. Pi loses everything he has and starts to question why this is happening to him. This is parallel to the story of Job. Job is left with nothing and is experiencing great suffering and he begins to demand answers from God. Both Pi and Job receive no answers, only being left with their faith and trust. To deal with this great suffering Pi begins to describe odd things which begin to get even more unbelievable and ultimately become utterly unrealistic when he reaches the cannibalistic island. Richard Parker’s companionship serves to help Pi through these events. When the reader first is intoduced to Richard Parker he emerges from the water, making this symbolic of the subconscious. Richard Parker is created to embody Pi’s alter ego. Ironically, each of these other animals that Pi is stranded with comes to symbolize another person. The orangutan represents Pi’s mother, the zebra represents the injured sailor, and the hyena represents the cook. Pi fabricated the people into animals in his mind to cope with the disillusion and trails that came upon him while stranded at the erratic and uncontrollable sea,
The protagonist, Pi is initially apprehensive to accept Richard Parker on the raft, but later comes to appreciate the tiger once he realizes this animal’s presence is crucial for his survival on the boat. First, Pi is scared and reluctant to accept his shadow self because it conflicts with his character and complicates his beliefs. This is evident when he says, “Together? We’ll be together? Have I gone mad? I woke up to what I was doing […]. Let go […] Richard Parker […] I don’t want you here […]. Get lost. Drown! Drown!!” (Martel 123). Though Pi recognizes his shadow self by encouraging Richard Parker to come on the boat, he soon realizes that he is about to accept his shadow self. He instantly regrets his decision and throws an oar at him in an effort to stop Richard Parker. His action symbolizes his denial and confusion he feels towards the extent of br...
When Pi discovers the tiger, Richard Parker, on the lifeboat after his ship sinks, Pi is horrified. In this panicked state, Pi mentions that he “...hatched several plans to get rid of him” (198). The Pi from before being introduced to this type of suffocating anxiety would have never even considered making another creature suffer, but by being cornered by both fear of death and terror of Richard Parker’s might, Pi can think only of how he can survive. Pi also begins to make rash decisions when he tries to tame Richard Parker out of fear of being killed. Pi takes a dangerous risk the first time he tries to tame Richard Parker, reflecting on the whole experience: “Richard Parker bared his teeth, rotated his ears full round, vomited a short guttural roar and charged. A great, full-clawed paw rose in the air and...sent me flying off the boat” (260). In this particular incident, Pi runs on his fear of death and attempts to do something that ends up putting him in even more danger. However, his decision-making skills had been greatly inhibited by his sense of trepidation and were replaced by pure instinct telling him that he had to do something dramatic to
Pi is an indian, but except Hinduism, he also believes in Christianity and Islam. It is pretty unusual. However, these three religions save his life when he meets storm on the sea. Religion is a key component in Pi’s survival because it lets him understand that he has to coexist with other creatures, it leads Pi to accept that even if he did not survive he would be redeemed, and it gives Pi the hope for survival.
As the reader examines the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the reader recognizes the similarities between the story of the animals and the factual story. The main character Piscine Molitor Patel, known as Pi, goes through many struggles once he is stuck on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean which are shown between both of his stories. Throughout the novel, Martel describes to the readers the relationships the Pi has between the animals in the story of animals and the real people in the factual story. In Life of Pi, Pi meets many different animals on his journey on the lifeboat that influence him in many ways, including the zebra, which represents the Taiwanese sailor; the hyena, which represents the chef; Orange Juice, the orangutan, which represents Pi’s mother; and the Royal Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, which represents Pi himself.