In both Life of Pi and Castaway, the main characters survived by anthropomorphizing what was around them and created a companion. Pi anthropomorphized Richard Parker and Richard Nolan created a friend named Wilson out of a volley ball. These anthropomorphized companions helped both characters survive and remain sane in different ways. Wilson helped keep Richard Nolan sane because it gave him a friend to talk to. Richard Parker kept Pi alive and sane because he kept Pi busy and kept his mind off of his troubles. Most of Pi’s time was spent training Richard Parker or finding food for the two of them. Without Richard Parker’s reliance on Pi, Pi might have given up and died. The two castaways also used different tools to keep up hope for survival. Pi used the pen and paper he found to make a journal so he could talk about what was on his mind and Chuck Nolan thought about his wife-to-be to keep up his spirits. Both characters were in very different situations and survived in different ways but anthropomorphism helped them maintain their sanity and aided in their survivals.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Do you believe Pi’s story, or the story that he tells the investigators?
After reading Life of Pi and thinking about the differences between the two stories I am forced to believe that the second story is the true story. Just like the Japanese investigators I find it too difficult to believe that anyone could survive with a tiger in a confined space. Even if Pi was able to train Richard Parker, the tiger's animal instincts would force him to fight Pi for his life before he would let himself starve the way Pi says he did. The natural wonders are also too absurd for me to believe. A swarm of flying fish is a possibility, as this type of fish really do exist, but a drifting island of algae is implausable. While carnivorous algae do exist they are not found in such large colonies as Pi says and don’t change pH levels according to the time of day. The thought of Pi happening upon another castaway in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is another aspect of Pi’s first story that it is difficult for me to believe. The Pacific Ocean is massive and the current that Pi drifted along was very narrow. It is very unlikely that anyone could have found themselves on the same current without Pi noticing as he scanned the horizon. I think that Pi’s second account of his survival is the more likely, believable account but the first account is certainly the better story.
The Japanese investigators ask Pi for the real story, so Pi indulges them in another story. Which do they believe?
After Pi tells the investigators his story they are very skeptical. They are likely agnostic and are unable to see the better story that Pi presents to them. When they ask Pi for the real story, Pi tells them a dry, yeastless factuality where Orange Juice is replaced by Pi’s mother, the zebra is replaced by a Japanese sailor, the hyena is replaced by the French cook, and Richard Parker disappears. The investigators believe Pi’s second story and think that he created the version with the animals to relieve his conscience. All the characters in the first story have a place in the second except for Richard Parker and they the investigators believe that Pi is Richard Parker. They think that Pi placed Richard Parker in the first version of the story to take the guilt of his atrocities of of his conscience. In the first account, Richard Parker eats human flesh and in the second version, Pi admits to cannibalism. The Japanese men believe that this is the reason for the creation of the original story, to cover up the things that Pi was ashamed of doing.
Compare/Contrast the algae island with Eden
When Pi was on the brink of death and needed food and water, he found an island made entirely out of algae. He was able to eat and drink as much as he needed and, with time, grew very strong. There were even meerkats living on the island to satisfy Richard Parkers hunger. Pi was content to stay on the island forever until he found what he thought was a fruit hanging from one of the algae trees. It turned out to be several leaves wrapped tightly around each other. When he un-wrapped all the leaves he found a tooth inside. He did this to another thirty-one "fruits" and they all contained teeth; there was a full human set of teeth. This lead him to discover that the island was carnivorous and became acidic at night. He quickly abandoned the island because he didn’t want to die there, alone, with no one knowing. The algae island is very similar to the Garden of Eden in a number of ways. Both are like heaven on earth to their inhabitants. Eden is devoid of any evil and Algae Island has everything that Pi needs to survive. In both cases the reason for the inhabitants leaving stems from a fruit. In Eden, Satan, disguised as a snake, persuades Eve to eat a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When God finds out he expels Adam and Eve from Eden and forbids them from ever returning. In Life of Pi when Pi found the teeth wrapped in the leaves he discovered that the island could kill him. He decided that he did not want to die alone with no one knowing about it so he left the island. Both the island and Eden, despite appearing perfect, have one crucial flaw that indirectly causes the inhabitants to leave. On Algae Island it is that the island is carnivorous and becomes acidic at night and in Eden it is the presence of Satan.
Who is Pi talking to when he and Richard Parker go blind?
During Pi’s time on the lifeboat Richard Parker goes blind. Soon afterwards Pi also loses his sight. It began with a dark spot in the middle of his vision that eventually grew to consume his entire range of sight. During this time Pi hears a voice. Initially he believes it to be his imagination as he goes insane but then he came to the conclusion that it must be Richard Parker because the voice was speaking so fondly of eating meat. At this point in Pi’s story he is very weak and his mind is working very slowly. After a while he realizes that the voice must be another person because he has a French accent, one that Richard Parker, having been raised in India, could never have. The man came on to Pi’s boat and tried to kill and eat him but he was killed by Richard Parker once he steped into the tiger's territory. The Frenchman that Pi meets is likely the same Frenchman that is in his second version of the story. Both men have killed a man and a woman and both men tried to kill Pi. The Frenchman in Pi’s second account of his survival was the ships cook and it is very likely that the man Pi meets was also a cook because of his knowledge of obscure dishes. The reason Yann Martel created such obvious similarities between the two characters was to make Pi’s first story seem like the true account while the second one was just a dry, yeastless factuality that was based off the true events.
If God has been keeping Pi alive with natural phenomena, why have the tanker miss him?
During the course of the entire book, a religious reader would argue that God has been keeping Pi alive. God stopped the sharks from attacking, kept Richard Parker at bay and gave Pi the means to obtain food and fresh water. God was keeping Pi alive but when a tanker came across Pi’s path, it did not stop to rescue him. The reason Yann Martel had a ship come across Pi’s path that did not stop to rescue him up was to show that Pi had not yet realised the purpose of his journey, to find himself. Pi has not yet found a true sense of identity and will not find it until later in the novel. According to the philosophy existentialism, ones true identity is defined by what they learn as they are children. Pi is only able to survive God’s tests because of what he has learned as a child. God has sent Pi on a journey to find his true self and will not allow for Pi to be rescued until he has found identity and meaning in life.
Why was part of Pi’s daily routine praying? Hope faith/ritual, or psychological? Has Pi become a part of nature or is he merely an observer of nature?
After a time on the life boat, Pi developed a routine that involved praying. It involved praying five times a day, a custom of the Islamic faith. The reason for the routine prayer was psychological. Pi spent two hundred and twenty-seven days at sea with only survival to occupy his mind and his time. By praying as often as he did, he was able to take his mind off of his ordeal and he was able to occupy some of his extensive free time.
During Pi’s time drifting on the Pacific he became a part of nature. He spent his days much like an animal would, with the finding of food and water driving most of his actions. He became a top predator of the Pacific Ocean, constantly fishing and catching sea turtles, and he became a part of nature because he lost everything that separates humanity from nature. He had no home, no company of his own species and he had no freedom. His actions were controlled by his instincts, just like an animal in the wild.
How realistic are the natural wonders that Pi encounters when he is in a time of need? Is this just fiction to keep the story going or is there some realistic appeal?
In Pi’s greatest times of need on the life boat, he always seems to stumble upon natural wonders that save his life. When Pi’s food is running low and he can’t catch any fish, a swarm of flying fish jump around his boat, some of them landing inside and some of them being used to feed Richard Parker. Later in the novel, when there had been no rain, Pi’s water supplies were running low and he needed food, he drifted up to an island of algae. The algae were edible and produced fresh water. The reason that Yann Martel included these wonders in the story was to both add some realistic appeal and to cast some doubt. They add realistic appeal to the story because, without some type of aid it would be hard to believe that Pi was able to survive so long in the pacific. Without the flying fish for bait, he would never have been able to catch fish and without the algae island he would have died of thirst and hunger. The religious reader would see these events as acts of God as he helps Pi to survive. An atheist reader would see these events as impossibilities, especially the algae island, and would think that the wonders cast doubt on Pi's original story, making the second story involving humans more realistic in comparison.
How does the relationship between the Hyena and Orange Juice compare/contrast with the relationship between religions (as seen earlier in the novel)
While on the life boat there was clearly a lot of tension between the hyena and Orange Juice. They were both unfamiliar with each other, because they were from different parts of the world, and they didn’t know how to act around each other. It seemed remarkable to Pi how a frugivorous orangutan and a carnivorous hyena could possible live without conflict. This relationship was in complete contrast with the relationship between religions, as seen when the three wise men who speak with Pi’s family. It seemed that the animals were much more accepting of the unknown than were humans. The three wise men immediately came to blows about who was right and who was wrong but the animals peacefully ignored each other. The animals appeared to be what humans should try to be, accepting, until the hyena finally attacks and kills Orange Juice. At this point, the hyena represents all that is bad in humanity and seems very akin to the three wise men. The religious leaders all jumped at each other’s throats, just like the hyena jumped at Orange Juice’s throat.
What is you impression of Richard Parker before his identity is revealed? How does the personification of Richard Parker affect Pi’s story? How did you react to Pi’s speech about losing everything and being in hell? What theological point is Martel trying to make by having Pi alone?
When we first learned that Pi’s ship had sunk and he was in a life boat, he was calling out to Richard Parker, trying to encourage him to swim to the life boat. When Richard Parker got closer to the boat Pi realized that he didn’t want to have Richard Parker on the boat with him. He suddenly switched from trying to help Richard Parker to trying to drown him. The reason for this sudden change became clear when it was revealed that Richard Parker was a three year old, 450 pound Bengal Tiger. Before Richard Parkers identity was revealed I thought though that the reason Pi changed his mind from wanting to help him on the boat to trying to facilitate his death was because he was a bully from school. I thought that Pi initially wanted to help Richard Parker onto the boat because he didn’t want to be alone but then realized that he would rather be alone than share a boat with a cruel bully. The personification of the tiger affects the story because it is foreshadowing the anthropomorphism of Richard Parker as the ordeal at sea continues.
Before Pi came to his senses about Richard Parker’s identity, he makes a speech about how unfair it is that he is to suffer in hell with no account from heaven. Then he asks Richard Parker why he can throw a question farther that he can pull in an answer. When I read this speech I was overcome by pity for Pi. He felt like he was living in hell and, despite living his life and remaining faithful, he received no explanation from heaven. He was never told what he did wrong. When he asked why he could throw a question farther than he could pull in an answer, I felt empathetic towards him. I, and likely every other person on the planet, have had questions that can never be answered. I have wonderen why we are here, how we got here, where are we going and many other immposible question. These questions can be religious or scientific but everyone asks them. Pi's speech is a great part of the novel because it is another part of Life of Pi that a religious person and an atheist could read and both get the same meaning out of it. By having Pi alone, Yann Martel is showing that Pi’s ordeal is to be a test of faith. God has placed Pi alone on the boat to see if Pi will cast God aside, or keep his faith that god will not abandon him, but will give him what he needs to survive.
What is the relevance of chapter 32? What does this say about society (how might it relate high school society)?
In chapter 32, Pi discusses many accounts of unusual living arrangements that have been found in zoos. He mentions the rhinos living with the goats again and also adds an account of a mouse that lived in a cage full of vipers. Pi also mentions the lion tamers again and says that he believe the answer to why these arrangements work is that there is a certain measure of madness that moves life in mysterious ways. This chapter is important to the story because it gives some sort of explanation as to how Pi survived with Richard Parker that doesn’t involve religion. To an atheist reading the story it is the measure of madness in the world that keeps Pi alive. This allows for the book to be read in two ways, as novel about religion and a test of faith or as a young boy’s remarkable ability to survive because of what he learned as a child.
This chapter also makes a point about society. It shows that despite animals’ differences, they are often able to overcome those differences and live together in harmony. This leads the reader to the question: if animals, like the rhinos and the goats, can overcome their differences and live in harmony, why can we humans do the same? Why can’t we ignore the different religions in the world and live in peace? The chapter relates to high school society in a different way. You can relate a grade nine student stepping into high school for the first time with a lion stepping into the ring. In both cases there is already a dominant person present: the senior students or the lion tamer. You can see in high school that the “alpha,” or coolest, grade nines are the least likely to be pushed around by the seniors while the “omega,” or most un-cool, grade nines are the most likely to be hazed. The same can be seen in the lion ring. The alpha lion is the one that the tamer commands the least but he makes the more pliable omega animal do the most challenging tricks.
Why is the philosophy of faith so important?
The philosophy of faith is extremely important for Pi and billions of other people. Religion offers answers to the question we can’t answer ourselves. Questions like why we are here, how we got here and where we will go when we die. Religion also offers incentive to be a good person. In Hinduism you are rewarded according to how you act in life by Karma. If you do good, good things happen to you but if you do bad, bad things happen to you. The same can be said for Christianity. If you go through life being a good person, you will be rewarded with entrance into heaven but if you go through life being a bad person, doing bad things you will be punished and cast into hell. Faith essentially explains all the most important aspects of our lives; creation, life, death, and our path in life.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
What is your take on the story of animal habits? What is the relevance of Pi’s fathers lesson that an ‘animal is an animal’?
In Life of Pi, Piscine talks about animal habits of animals living in zoos. He brought up the rhino enclosure that was shared between two rhino’s and a herd of goats and I think that the living arrangement is perfectly plausible. As Pi said in the novel there are numerous examples of unlikely pairings of animals living together. Pi called upon two other instances from within the Pondicherry zoo where there was a mouse that lived for several weeks alongside pythons and the common ploy of using a dog as a surrogate mother for a lion cub. These living arrangements do not only occur in zoos but in our homes as well. Dogs and cats are stereotypically sworn enemies but are often found in peaceful cohabitation in people’s homes. These strange living arrangements are not unbelievable because in a zoo, or in a home, animals are given everything they need. Most animals do not enjoy fighting and know the high price of an injury therefore; most animals will not attack without need or provocation.
When Pi’s father, Santosh, saw the way that Pi anthropomorphized the animals in his zoo he realized that he needed to show his sons a lesson. After starving the zoos Bengal Tiger for three weeks he showed the tiger to Pi and Ravi and made them watch as a goat was released into the cage and promptly butchered by the tiger. This was extremely important to the story for two reasons. First it showed Pi that it is extremely dangerous to anthrtopomorphize animals and think of them as friends because "an animal is an animal" and will do what it needs to survive. This lesson was given to prevent Pi from anthropomorphizing animals but we learn almost right away that the lesson didn’t work when Pi imagined the rhinos frowning the next day over the loss of one of their friends. It is very important that we see that Pi has disregarded the message behind the lesson because if he hadn’t, he would not have survived his ordeal at sea because he would have been unable to form a companion. The lesson also shows the capabilities that the tiger has and how dangerous it is to be in close proximity to a hungry tiger. This is important because Pi was able to survive with this tiger for two hundred and seventy-seven days on a life boat with little food. It begs the question was Pi really alone with a tiger or was god on the boat with them?
What do you make of Pi’s relationship with his uncle, nature, and animals? What are your philosophies on zoos in regards to keeping them in zoos rather than in the wild: agree or disagree?
Pi had an interesting relationship with his uncle because Mr. Adirubasamy is not actually his uncle. He was just a very close friend of the Patel family. He was especially close to Piscine because he was Pi’s swimming coach. Pi practiced with mamaji three mornings a week at the Aurobindo Ashram swimming pool in Pondicherry
Pi’s relationship with nature and animals is even more abnormal than his relationship with his “uncle.” Unlike most kids growing up whom only have one or two pets, Pi had hundreds of pets. His father was the owner of the Pondicherry Zoo when he was growing up in India
Before reading Life of Pi I always thought that seeing animals in captivity was a disgrace. I imagined the previously majestic animals turning into sloth, gluttonous beings. I thought of the zoos as places where the will to live and the will to be active were literally fed out of the animals. An image from my most recent trip to a zoo comes to mind when I think of this. It was at The Elmvale Zoo and I was looking at the two leopards that the zoo imprisoned. The leopards were housed in a large enough cage but they seemed unwilling to do anything, even to move anything more than their eyes to follow me. Little did I know that leopards are nocturnal and were likely glaring at me for interrupting their sleep. Piscine’s philosophy on zoos completely changed my mind on the feelings of the animals. A zoo is to an animal as a house is to a human. They offer easily accessible food, water, and shelter; all of the necessities of life. “If you went to a home, kicked down the front door, chased the people who lived there out into the street and said, ‘Go! You are free! Free as a Bird! Go! Go!’ – Do you think they would shout and dance for joy? They wouldn’t,” is the perfect summation of the point that Pi tries to impress upon Yann Martel; the fact that animals in the wild are not free. They are confined by their needs of food and water. A zoo frees animals by making the necessities readily available.
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