You must complete 3 written reactions (short essays), each of 450+ words. Additionally, you must include 319+ quoted words from Martel's novel. 450 x 3 = 1350 + 319 = 1669 total words. You must also include the views of one expert (religious, scientific, mathematical, historical, or other kind of expert). Of the 3, 1 topic/question must come from list created by students at our blog; 1 topic/question must come from Tomislav Torjanac's or Andrea Offermann's responses; and 1 topic/question must come from the Life of Pi anticipation guide (the blue sheet I gave you when we began this book).
_____ 1. We can see a lot of ourselves within animals.
_____ 2. Animals can see a lot of themselves in us.
_____ 3. Zoos are great places for animals to be.
_____ 4. The Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha—and the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls—brings a lot of revenue to the city; so, the animals are being exploited for the monetary gain of people.
_____ 5. Inside we are all African.
_____ 6. There is one religion that is accurate.
_____ 7. Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism.
_____ 8. All Islamic people are bloodthirsty.
_____ 9. Your mom should be there for you every step of the way, until you are 25.
_____ 10. Your dad should be a stern disciplinary force; otherwise, you will not learn valuable lessons.
_____ 11. There should be a “pecking order” among siblings; it is healthy, productive, and proper for the older and bigger to dominate (“survival of the fittest”).
_____ 12. Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts, because when we hurt other people, we realize they are being hurt; when cats play with and eat mice, the cat has no idea that the mouse is in pain. This makes people the least respectable of all species (concept from Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Race).
_____ 13. Good authors can provide endless thinking opportunities; without them, life would be dull.
_____ 2. Animals can see a lot of themselves in us.
_____ 3. Zoos are great places for animals to be.
_____ 4. The Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha—and the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls—brings a lot of revenue to the city; so, the animals are being exploited for the monetary gain of people.
_____ 5. Inside we are all African.
_____ 6. There is one religion that is accurate.
_____ 7. Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism.
_____ 8. All Islamic people are bloodthirsty.
_____ 9. Your mom should be there for you every step of the way, until you are 25.
_____ 10. Your dad should be a stern disciplinary force; otherwise, you will not learn valuable lessons.
_____ 11. There should be a “pecking order” among siblings; it is healthy, productive, and proper for the older and bigger to dominate (“survival of the fittest”).
_____ 12. Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts, because when we hurt other people, we realize they are being hurt; when cats play with and eat mice, the cat has no idea that the mouse is in pain. This makes people the least respectable of all species (concept from Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Race).
_____ 13. Good authors can provide endless thinking opportunities; without them, life would be dull.
_____ 14. It is one of the big tragedies in history—that people have caused extinction of species.
_____ 15. Global warming is not a big deal; in fact, it is being exaggerated by the media.
_____ 16. Seeing traumatic events will never leave your psyche.
_____ 17. Art is essential in schools and in life.
_____ 18. In their behavior, animals are as predictable and purposeful as people are.
_____ 19. The Pacific Ocean is a source of wonder, inspiration, danger, and awe.
_____ 20. Murder is all right when executed in self-defense.
_____ 21. Losing your mother is like losing the sun above you.
_____ 22. It is wrong to want to be alone.
_____ 23. Adults need reading groups (monthly book clubs) to keep their minds stimulated.
_____ 24. Your heart and mind have to work together to fully sustain your being.
_____ 25. In our minds, a constant battle is waged between good (superego) and bad (id).
_____ 26. People are irrationally obsessed with animals: our children’s books, our stuffed toys, our mascots, our pets, our television programs and characters...
_____ 15. Global warming is not a big deal; in fact, it is being exaggerated by the media.
_____ 16. Seeing traumatic events will never leave your psyche.
_____ 17. Art is essential in schools and in life.
_____ 18. In their behavior, animals are as predictable and purposeful as people are.
_____ 19. The Pacific Ocean is a source of wonder, inspiration, danger, and awe.
_____ 20. Murder is all right when executed in self-defense.
_____ 21. Losing your mother is like losing the sun above you.
_____ 22. It is wrong to want to be alone.
_____ 23. Adults need reading groups (monthly book clubs) to keep their minds stimulated.
_____ 24. Your heart and mind have to work together to fully sustain your being.
_____ 25. In our minds, a constant battle is waged between good (superego) and bad (id).
_____ 26. People are irrationally obsessed with animals: our children’s books, our stuffed toys, our mascots, our pets, our television programs and characters...
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Question from student's blog: Have you ever moved? How did you feel about moving? Were there a lot of emotions? Explain about a time you moved and your experience with it.
I choose to do Nicole’s essay question about moving. Moving is a big part of people’s lives these days. It seems like some people are moving are moving one or more times a year. Chapter 29 has a great quote in answering the question why people move. “The answer is the same the world over: people move in the hopes of a better life” (pg 77). This quote sounds very familiar to my family. We moved to Brandon from Pierre in 1997. My parents move us for many different reasons. First my dad just wanted a job change. Second my parents were seeing that the teenage life of a teen in Pierre had a lot to do with drinking, drugs, and almost the most popular thing was suicide (not that this is not a problem everywhere, it just seemed more dominate in Pierre). Realizing that they did not want my brother and me to experience this type of lifestyle, they decided to move to Brandon. I have a lot of different feelings and emotions that came along with moving. When I first heard about moving I was like cool, but did not fully understand what was happening. I did not realize that moving meant that you are picking up your life and moving to a new setting. You are leaving behind all your friends and an environment that you have lived with your whole life. I never thought that you could move to a place and that there would be no place to put a boat in. In Pierre that is what everyone did on the weekends or during the summer. Then when we moved here the environment changed completely. There was no where within ten minutes that you can put a boat in and if you found somewhere to go, it was always crowded. Also the environment changed in the aspect of size. Pierre had the small town feeling to me. My mom would drop me and some friends off at either the movies or the mall and not have to worry about us. Remind you that this happened when I was in first and second grade. But the town had more of a safe and trusting feeling to it. In the book Pi’s mother has a freak out before they boarded the boat. She ask, “Should we get a pack or two?” (pg 91). Then it goes on to say, “Yes, they have tobacco in Canada—but do they have Gold Flake cigarettes? Do they have Arun ice cream? Are the bicycles Heroes? Are the televisions Onidas? Are the cars Ambassadors? Are the bookshops Higginbothams’?” (pg 91). These are the kinds of questions that go through a child’s mind when they move. Are they going to have the same amenities that I have now? For the first couple of years living in Brandon, I had a hard time adjusting. I had made many friends at school and church, but something in me just wanted to go back to Pierre. It got to the point that when teachers ask us to write papers on what we wish we could do or have, I would always write that I wanted to go back to Pierre and that it was my true home. Looking back now I see that the move was the right thing for my family to do. I see what my friends from Pierre have turned into and I am always asking myself one question: What would I have been like if my family had never moved to Brandon?
“People are irrationally obsessed with animals: our children’s books, our stuffed toys, our mascots, our pets, our television programs and characters…” I am going to mainly be talking about people obsessing about their pets. People these days are beginning to like their pets more than they like people. Some are even spending more money on their pets than their children. According to Bob Vetere, "People are no longer satisfied to reward their pet in pet terms; they want to reward their pet in human terms." Do not get me wrong, I have to dog who I love very much, but I do not spoil them rotten. They both sleep outside and hardly ever get to come in the house. The only time they get to come in is either when there is a nasty storm outside or when it is below freezing. Other than that you can always see them in their cage. One day when I was flipping through the channels, I found a TV show on Animal Planet that resembled Nanny 911. It is about this lady that comes into your house and teaches you and your animals how the animal should behave. The episode that I watch was about this family that had like a three month old and two rottwieler dogs. The couple did not know how to fully care for these dogs. In the show there was a point where the baby was one the floor and the two dogs were fighting. Instead of taking care of the baby first and getting her off of the ground, the lady decided that she should take care of the dogs first. She tried breaking up the fight without paying attention to her daughter. The dogs were stepping all over and almost stepped on the girls face. Luckily the host of the show picked up the little girl before she got hurt. Eventually the fight was broken up. After this situation happened the host sat down the lady and told her the facts. She said that the couple needed to do what was best for their daughter, and that could mean getting rid of the dogs. They were not creating a safe environment for the girl. This came to a shock for the couple. To me, it looked like the thought had crossed their mind to get rid of the girl so they could keep their precious dogs. I was so appalled by these people’s reaction that I could not finish watching the show. I annoys me to know that people are more willing to do what is best for their pets than they are willing to do for their own flesh and blood. According to MSNBC and the Packaged Facts report, last year people spent more than $41 billion on their pets and next year the number is suppose to go up to $52 billion. Both of these numbers exceeds the amount of money Americans spent on movies, video games, and music combined. These numbers make me think hard about what is really important and how are other countries viewing America as being pet obsessed.
Question from a student’s blog 4JohnsonT: What do you think about being many different religions at once? If you had a choice would you want to be more than one religion at once? Why or why not?
I really honestly think it is the funniest and stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life being more than one religion at a time. Let’s think about it for a second. Hindus believe in Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet like John the Baptist, and Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to heaven. Not to mention each belief believes in a different holy readings. Ex. Christians believe in the Bible, Muslims believe in the Koran, and Hindus do not have a bible. More differences in the three beliefs. Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God. There is one God and only one God. He is personal and knowable. He manifests Himself in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, born of a virgin, without sin. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, was buried, rose again for the dead, ascended to heaven, and will one day return to this earth to take his followers to heaven to be with him for ever and ever. Salvation from sin, death, and hell is by God’s grace. Eternal Life is a gift Jesus gave to us when he died for every ones sin on the cross. Unbelievers face eternal punishment. Believers face eternal life. Christian also believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Muslims believe there is no god but God; Muhammad is the prophet of God." Hindus believe in Karma the law that good begets good, and bad begets bad. Every action, thought, or decision one makes has consequences-good or bad- that will return to each person in the present life, or in one yet to come. Reincarnation is a journey on the “circle of life,” where each person experiences as series of physical birth, deaths, and rebirths. With good karma, a person can be reborn into a higher caste, or even to godhood. Bad karma can relegate one to lower caste, or even to life as an animal in their next life. Nirvana is the goal of the Hindu. Nirvana is the release of the soul from the seemingly endless cycle of rebirths.
For the last part of the question would you want to be more than one religion at once? I am sure I have proven that it would be impossible to believe in more than one religion at a time. Their core beliefs have nothing in common at all. It makes no sense at all to believe in more than one religion at a time. Lets take all three believes on what happens after death. If you believe in all three religions at one time when you die you will go to heaven if you believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart, you will also go through a rebirth on this earth hopefully getting higher on the caste or being reborn into an animal or reaching Nirvana, deeds you did on earth shape your soul to where you will end up. WOW that is a lot to happen all at the same time I hope you have a lot of clones so you can experience all this. As for me I will continue to be a follower of Jesus for my whole life even though I will slip and fall some time from Jesus he will always be there to help me up and will never forsake me even when I drift faraway from him.
Excellent, Mckenzie and Luke. Really excellent. And impressive that you're not procrastinating.
Blue sheet number 7: Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism.
It is obvious that every organism strives to survive; it is very rare that we hear about someone or something giving up on life. We as a class have seen this occurrence more than once recently. In 1984, Winston gave up his love for Julia to stay alive, in Life of Pi, Pi and Richard Parker do everything they can to stay alive. It seems that they kill everything/everyone but each other to say alive. Here is an excerpt from the book that shows Pi’s efforts to stay alive:
-- I sat against the mast and thought over our problem. The biscuits and fishing gear assured us of the solid part of our diet, it was the liquid part that was the rub. It all came down to what was so abundant around us but marred by salt. I could perhaps mix some sea water with his fresh water, but I had to procure more fresh water to start with. The cans would not last long between the two of us – in fact, I was loath to share even one with Richard Parker – and it would be foolish to rely on rainwater. The solar stills were the only other possible source of drinkable water. I looked at them doubtfully. They had been out two days now. I noticed that one of them had lost a little air. I pulled on the rope to tend to it. I topped off its cone with air. Without any real expectation I reached underwater for a distillate pouch that was clipped to the round buoyancy chamber. My fingers took hold of a bag that was unexpectedly fat. A shiver of thrill went through me. I controlled myself. As likely as not, salt water had leaked in. I unhooked the pouch and, following the instructions, lowered it and tilted the still so that any more water from beneath the cone might flow into it. I closed the two small taps that led to the pouch, detached it and pulled it out of the water. It was rectangular in shape and made of thick, soft, yellow plastic, with calibration marks on one side. I tasted the water. I tasted it again. It was salt-free. “My sweet sea cow!” I exclaimed to the solar still. “You’ve produced and how! What delicious milk. Mind you, a little rubbery, but I’m not complaining. Why, look at me drink!”-- (Page 187)
In this part of the book, Pi is analyzing his choices and how he is going to stay alive despite the fact that Richard Parker is along for the ride. I think that Pi became much more comfortable with Richard Parker at this point, he worried less about being attacked and he just wanted to have adequate food and water for the two of them. The two companions have food and fishing gear as Pi states in the reading, but what they don’t have is an endless amount of drinkable water. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if Richard Parker wasn’t with him in the boat; a 450 pound animal surely drinks a lot more than a scrawny sixteen year old boy. I think that when Pi put the solar stills to work, he didn’t have much faith that they would be their life saver. Although Pi didn’t have this faith, he was willing to try anything to make it work for the two of them. Thus, showing the point of this essay, Pi “naturally” wanted to survive and tried everything that came to his mind. Pi now had a good supply of water and was as careful as possible with them knowing that they were his prime lifeline. As Pi starts continually getting water from the stills, he realizes that they have a way better chance of being rescued. This brings up another part of human or animal nature. Once a struggling creature gets some sort of a boost of confidence, it will have more will power and drive to continue to try to survive. I think that if Pi was to not get any sort of water from the stills, he would have eventually lost the will to keep going. If Pi hadn’t ever used the stills or hadn’t ever got them to work, it is questionable if he would have continued to try to live. I know if I was on a boat with a huge bloodthirsty tiger I would not be thinking about how to get water and food and such, I would be thinking about how to not become food. Overall, I think that Pi does a good job in surviving with Richard Parker, this (as well as many other parts in the book) makes the reader question whether this whole story is impossible or implausible. I think that Pi’s and Richard Parker’s situation is a prime example of how wanting to survive is anything’s nature. They could have easily given up considering their slim chances at rescue and their slim food and water supply, but I don’t think that either of them could give up their nature took over.
How did you choose what to paint? Is there a certain process that you go through when you decide to paint a scene?
Well, first of all there were several scenes I knew I simply HAD to illustrate. But also, I wanted to stay true to my concept for the book and find a “red thread” (do you say that in English?) that would lead the reader through the book. The images were supposed to compliment and not distract, and fit harmoniously with the rhythm of the book, while enhancing the atmosphere and impact of the words. Those were my goals. I spent a lot of time trying to achieve that, rereading the novel several times, selecting possible scenes, sketching ideas. I would then put the sketches up on the walls in order and check the “flow” of the images. Did one naturally lead to the other? Did any image stand out? Did anything not fit? It was a great challenge for me.
This is the questions I asked Andrea. I find it interesting that she reread the book multiple times in order to get her images to fit just right into the book. If I personally had to come up with some scenes to paint or draw would do some the following scenes.
“The day I came of swimming age, which, to Mother’s distress, Mamaji claimed was seven, he brought me down to the beach, spread his arms seawards and said, ‘this is my gift to you.’”
“’And then he nearly drowned you,’ claimed Mother.”
“I remained faithful to my aquatic guru. Under his watchful eye I lay on the beach and fluttered my legs and scratched away at the sand with my hands, turning my head at every stroke to breathe. I must have looked like a child throwing a peculiar, slow-motion tantrum. In the water, as he held me at the surface, I tried my best to swim. It was much more difficult than on land. But Mamaji was patient and encouraging.” (pg 9).
For this scene I would paint three different versions of this story. First I would paint what Mamaji sees going on, then Pi’s next, and finally Mother’s version. This would show the progression one what happened to a mother’s point-of-view of what is happening to her child. It would mainly show the distortion how of stories become after multiple times of telling them. The next scene I would paint would be the following.
“There are three hills within Munnar. They don’t bear comparison with the tall hills—mountains, you might call them—that surround the town, but I noticed the first morning, as we were having breakfast, that they did stand out in one way: on each stood a Godhouse. The hill on the right, across the river from the hotel, had a Hindu temple right on its side; the hill in the middle, further away, held up a mosque; while the hill on the left was crowned with a Christian church.” (pg 51).
It is here that we find out Pi’s fascinations with different religions and how he comes to like them. This would be a cool scene to paint for many different reasons. First these are the most popular religions in the world being represented in one place. Each has their own characteristics shown from the “top of the world”. That these religions are above all of the other religions in the world.
“To start with details, I saw that the whole island was covered with the algae, not just its edges. I saw a great green plateau with a green forest in its centre. I saw all around this forest hundreds of evenly scattered, identically sized ponds with trees sparsely distributed in a uniform way between them, the whole arrangement giving the unmistakable impression of following a design.
“But it was the meerkats that impressed themselves most indelibly on my mind. I saw in one look what I would conservatively estimate to be hundreds of thousands of meerkats. The landscape was covered in meerkats. And when I appeared, it seemed that all of them turned to me, astonished, like chickens in a farmyard, and stood up.” (pg 265).
This scene is an amazing scene and would probably be my most favorite one to paint. Here is the irony of the story. Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with a Bangle tiger, believes he is going to die at any moment, and some how come upon an island. But with even more irony is that this island is floating, has fresh water, and is covered with meerkats. This would be an amazing site to anyone that had been stranded on that ocean for as many days as Pi has been. Then to even come upon fresh water and meerkats, a form of protein for both Pi and Richard Parker that is not fish, creates an even more amazing site for Pi. With this quote has the perfect amount of imagery and descriptiveness in it to create a beautiful painting.
To me Andrea has some of the most descriptive painting that relates to the book the best. I also find it interesting that in order to relate her painting to the book the best she reread the book multiple times and had to do a sort of timeline of how she was going to get to the finished product. I enjoy learning about other people’s way to finish and work through a problem. Not everyone is going to treat a problem the same way the person next to them is treating the same problem. That is what creates the individuality in each and every one of us.
Traumatic Event
I know from first hand experience that traumatic events in your life stay with you even if you do not want them to. The memories come and go out of my mind. There is one thing that triggers my mind to think about the traumatic event of loosing my cousin, Leslie, in a plane crash. She was only 27 years old, had a husband and a little baby girl who was not even one year old. The thing that triggers the memory of the funeral and all I loved about her is the song My Little Girl by Tim McGraw. No matter where I am, even while I’m working at Walgreen’s and the song comes on over the sound system it brings me back to the church in Pella, Iowa. When the visitation was going on this song was playing while photos of Leslie where displayed on a projector. Family from all around was gathered remembering all the amazing things Leslie had accomplished in her short time on earth.
Today in Web Design we were working on our websites and Ms. Johnson is playing music and Tim McGraw’s song My Little Girl is playing .Without really thinking at all I just stopped for a moment and remembered everything I could about my cousin. I will never forget what an amazing person she was. Lots of people want to forget their traumatic experience because they are not pleasant to remember, but I believe they will always be there in certain ways that triggers their mind and will bring vivid pictures and memories back like it just happened. When I first found out that my cousin had died I got this very sickening feeling it’s hard to describe in words but I will try. It was the most sickening and saddest thing all at the same time. Going online to the news sights and seeing the crash site made me so very mad that, that was the way she had to leave this earth. I was mad because there could not be an open casket to say our final good-byes but later got very happy knowing I will see my cousin again when God calls me home. At first I got very mad at God for taking a person that was so on fire for God and had a very loving family, but then when I though about it I remembered that Leslie is God’s Little Girl and it was her time to see her heavenly Daddy. I hope I will always remember Leslie when that song plays because she reminds me how precious and how short life can be on this earth and you have to live every day for the Lord like it is your last.
Here is an excerpt from the book Life of Pi that I feel is a traumatic event in Pi’s life. “Do you see this lifebuoy, Richard Parker? Do you see it? Catch hold of it! HUMPF!”
He was too far. But the sight of the lifebuoy flying his way gave him hope. He revived and started beating the water with vigorous, desperate strokes.
“That’s right! One, two. One, two. One, two. Breathe when you can. Watch for the waves. TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE!”
My heart was chilled to ice. I felt ill with grief. But there was no time for frozen shock. It was shock in activity. Something in me did not want to give on life, was unwilling to let go, wanted to fight to the very end. Where that part of me got the heart, I don’t know.
“Isn’t it ironic, Richard Parker? We’re in hell yet still we’re afraid of immortality. Look how close you are! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE! Hurrah, hurrah! You’ve made it, Richard Parker, you’ve made it. Catch! HUMPF!”
I threw the lifebuoy mightily. It fell in the water right in front of him. With his last energies he stretched forward and took hold of it.
“Hold on tight, I’ll pull you in. Don’t let go. Pull with your eyes while I pull with my hands. In a few seconds you’ll be aboard and we’ll be together. Wait a second. Together? We’ll be together? Have I gone mad?”
I woke up to what I was doing. I yanked on the rope.
“Let go of that lifebuoy, Richard Parker! Let go, I said. I don’t want you here, do you understand? Go somewhere else. Leave me alone. Get lost. Drown! Grown!
He was kicking vigorously with his legs. I grabbed an oar. I thrust it at him, meaning to push him away. I missed and lost hold of the oar.
I grabbed another oar. I dropped it in an oarlock and pulled as hard as I could, meaning to move the lifeboat away. All I accomplished was to turn the lifeboat a little, bringing one end closer to Richard Parker.
I would hit him on the head! I lifted the oar in the air.
He was too fast. He reached up and pulled himself aboard.
“Oh my God!”
Ravi was right. Truly I was to e the next goat. I had a wet, trembling, half-drowned, heaving and coughing three-year-old adult Bengal tiger in my lifeboat. Richard Parker rose unsteadily to his feet on the tarpaulin, eyes blazing as they met mine, ears laid tight to his head, all weapons drawn. His head was the size and colour of the lifebuoy, with teeth.
I turned around, stepped over the zebra and threw myself overboard (98-100).
Here is an experts finding on common responses to traumatic events: A person’s response to a traumatic event may vary. Responses include feelings of fear, grief and depression. Physical and behavioral responses include nausea, dizziness, and changes in appetite and sleep pattern as well as withdrawal from daily activities. Responses to trauma can last for weeks to months before people start to feel normal again (CDC).
Pi’s reachin to his traumatic event with Richard Parker was fear because he jumped of the lifeboat when he realized what he had done. Pi also had a change in sleep pattern because he did not get much sleep because he was thinking about all the animals on the lifeboat.
My respone to my cousins death was a feeling of deep grief in my heart that took away to go away.
Tomislav Torjanac- This book deals with what is, in my opinion, the ultimate truth: that reality is what we make it. That perspective creates perception i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them. (Not much different from what the quantum physicists have been telling us in recent years.) So, once we reach the end of the book, the ball is obviously in our court, and we don’t just get to choose one of the two stories told to the investigators but much more than that. In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality.
I agree this book does make you think about a couple ultimate truths. One of the ultimate truths it makes you really think about is how much of the book you believe could really happen and what part could never happen. You have to use a sense of reason when it comes to reading this book just like you have to use reason in your everyday life. It is impossible to go through your day and not reason through hundreds of decisions you make. Our reasoning is what keeps us from going crazy. If I could not reason through a day of my life I would go crazy. That is what Pi is going through on the lifeboat. He is trying so hard to reason through what has happened with the sinking of the ship, the loss of his family, and now being stuck on a lifeboat with all kinds of animals and not knowing what to do. It would be so hard for Pi to reason through what to do after having everything he loved ripped away from him for a reason he has no explanation to satisfy his needs. When people get in situations they normally do not find them in, it makes it that much more difficult to reason your way through decisions you have to make. In Pi’s situation he is just trying to find a simple way of reasoning how he is going to stay alive. Pi is just trying to fill his hierarchy of needs like everyone in the world is trying to do. Pi just happens to be at the very bottom of it like so many people around the world are and that is to fulfill your need for physiological needs like: food, sleep, water, shelter, and air. When Pi found these things he then had to find a way to have security. Pi needs physical safety from Richard Parker. Pi makes it to the next level of social. Being able to make friends, love, and belonging. You could say Pi made a friend with Richard Parker because it was him that keeps Pi alive all those lonely days and nights out on the sea. The next level Pi reaches is esteem, respect and recognition. Pi gives a lot of respect to Richard Parker by not invading his side of the lifeboat. Being on a boat with a tiger I did not think you could make it all the way up the hierarchy of needs, but Pi made it with the last step that is self-actualization. Pi realizes his potential in being able to train Richard Parker because Pi will not get eaten if Richard Parker stays on his side of the boat and has a sense of accomplishment when he trains Richard Parker. Pi set out on a goal of training Richard Parker and accomplishes it. How I have just explained how I feel about how Pi reached the hierarchy of need may not be what you think at all but that is the best thing about this book is that you can come to so many different conclusions and all be very close to being right.
As Pi spends more and more time on the lifeboat with Richard Parker, he is transforming into a killer who is "guilty as Cain". Under what circumstances would one have to be in in order to cause such dramatic change to one's personality?
Well, if someone were to be transformed from a vegetarian boy into an animal killer, they would have to have something extremely traumatic happen to them. For example, Pi, he was a kind hearted young boy in the beginning of the book, he was amazed by animals and didn’t like to see them suffer. He chose vegetarianism because he didn’t want to promote the suffering of animals. Pi also was very passionate toward humans just as every normal person is. Pi change dramatically throughout the book, he was once this boy who didn’t want anything to do with killing. At the point in the book where he is hunting for his survival, some would say he turned into a monster, much like that of Richard Parker. Now to answer the question, the circumstances Pi was in on the life boat made him become this. He was desperate for food, water and the continuation of life, so he did what any creature would do, he sought food any kind of food and from anything. At the beginning of his abandonment his mind was still set on how it was usually set, to stay away from eating meat. As the story continues onward, he realizes that his vegetarianism is not going to keep him alive in the middle of the ocean. Pi finally resorts to fishing and catching any type of sea creature. Here is a part in the book when Pi kills a fish for the first time:
--I went about the job in a direct way. I took the hatchet in both my hands and vigorously beat the fish on the head with the hammerhead (I still didn’t have the stomach to use the sharp edge). The dorado did a most extraordinary thing as it died: it began to flash all kinds of colures in rapid succession. Blue, green, red, gold, and violet flickered and shimmered neon-like on its surface as it struggled. I felt I was beating a rainbow to death. (I found out later that the dorado is famed for its death-knell iridescence). At last it lay still and dull-colored, and I could remove the hook. I even managed to retrieve a part of my bait—(page 185)
In this scene Pi makes a huge break through. He starts his morphing process from a vegetarian boy to a killing man. I think the sea is finally getting to him because he says he went about the job in a direct way. This means he has no regrets in killing the fish he does it directly and doesn’t hesitate. In the next sentence, he is talking about how he killed it with the hammer head side instead of the bladed side. Like I said, he is in the morphing process, not totally morphed, just in the process. I imagine he uses the hammerhead side because he thinks it will be more humane than cutting the fish’s head directly off. He then starts talking about how the fish flashed colors when it died. I think that he has finally overcome the fear of killing an animal. I take it that he is observant of the animal not really caring about its death considering it is going to be his food. Now Pi’s inner hunter is coming out, he says he retrieved part of his bait as if he cherished every bit of bait he had. I think these instances are the type of traumatic things that could make someone transform into a killer like Pi’s transformation.
Anticipation guide 13. Good authors can provide endless thinking opportunities; without them, life would be dull…
Yann Martel is an excellent author, especially with this book, Life of Pi. When I first read the book, I took it as it was; Pi actually being on the lifeboat with the zebra, hyena, orangutan, and the Bengal tiger (Richard Parker). Recently in class, we discussed different theories of what actually happened on the lifeboat. When Pi was being interviewed by Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba, he came up with a more realistic story involving people. When Pi told the story, there was a close resemblance between the animals and the people. ‘“Both the zebra and the Taiwanese sailor broke a led, did you notice that?’…‘And the hyena bit off the zebra’s leg just as the cook cut off the sailor’s.’…‘The cook killed the sailor and his mother.’…‘His stories match.’ ‘So the Taiwanese sailor is the zebra, his mother is the orang-utan, the cook is…the hyena-which means he’s the tiger!”’(311). I believe Yann put this other story into the book to keep people guessing on what actually happened during Pi’s journey in the Pacific. There were potentially three theories we discussed: believing the original story to be true, believing the one he told the Japanese reporters to be true (with the people) and the original one to be a made up, a more acceptable version, or believing that there was no Richard Parker, that he was actually Pi’s split personality. There is no right way to interpret this book, which provides us readers with endless thinking opportunities.
Call me simple minded, but I believe the original story is best. It is more acceptable for animals to be killing and eating things alive then it is to think of humans being cannibals. I preferred reading the original story more than the one made up to the Japanese reporters because the made up one with the people was a lot more gruesome and sad. Cannibalism is one of the worst ideas to think about succumbing to. “‘He tried to be discreet, but she saw him bring his hand to his mouth. She shouted, ‘I saw you! You just ate a piece! You said it was for bait! I knew it. You monster! You animal! How could you? He’s human! He’s your own kind!’ While I read this part with the people, I was grossed out. It was hard to read because it’s hard to imagine going through such a tough time. Pi is not only surrounded by trying people and trying things, but the one person that is with him that he loves is killed right in front of him. “‘He killed her. The cook killed my mother. We were starving. I was weak. I couldn’t hold on to a turtle. Because of me we lost it. He hit me. Mother hit him. He hit her back. She turned to me and said, ‘Go!’ pushing me towards the raft. I jumped for it. I thought she was coming with me. I landed in the water. I scrambled aboard the raft. They were fighting. I did nothing but watch. My mother was fighting an adult man. He was mean and muscular. He caught her by the wrist and twisted it. She shrieked and fell. He moved over her. The knife appeared. He raised it in the air. It came down. Next it was up--it was red”’(309). The original version is much easier to read for me.
Another thing Yann does in this book is that he writes it as fiction. The fact that this book is fiction leaves us readers wondering whether Piscine Molitor Patel is based on a real person or not. The events in this story are so implausible that it’s easy for it to be fiction, but it is told in such a way that it seems like a real survival story. So many parts of this book are debatable, but that is what keeps things exciting.
If we never analyzed or debated things, life would be dull. Good authors, such as Yann Martel, are blessed to be able to provide so many different thinking opportunities in their works to their readers. If all books told you exactly how to interpret them, there would be no need to analyze books, and there would be no excitement in reading them because you wouldn’t be able to use your imagination. Thinking opportunities keep life exciting!
I am going to do number 26 on the blue anticipation guide sheet: People everywhere are obsessed with animals whether it is in books, magazines, television, puppets, and stuffed animals. Animals are everywhere we turn whether they are real or not real. Animals play a big important part in everyone’s lives. If your animal is real you care for them just like you would care for your own child. They are in books because everyone loves animals or some sort. Kids like to look and pet animals. I was just at a graduation party last weekend and this little boy, who had to be around 4 or 5, he started crying when he saw that there was this cute little dog in this person’s house. A minute later he changed into this whole new person and started following the dog around but wouldn’t touch it. He would start jumping up and down he was so excited about the dog and just started to fall in love with it. Animals can change the way people act and most of the time when people are around animals they are happy. People are obsessed about animals because they are just free and happy. Animals make humans happier by being around them. I treat my cat, Snuggles, like it is a person. My cat drinks out of the faucet so she is a little more human than most cats. I feel bad when I am not nice to Snuggles because it is like I’m hurting a human. Most of the people in the world have some sort of animals, whether it is a dog, cat, horse, rat, snail, fish, bird, hamster, ect I also think people are obsessed with animals because they are so cute, unique and do not talk. People like to have a friend that you can talk to but they will not talk back. You can express your feeling but they will not judge you or disagree with you. I think that most kid’s stories have animals in it because animals are unique and that grabs little kids attention. Kids like to see things that are different in books so they catch their eye. Kids absolutely love books with the animal’s sounds. They like to push them and hear the cool animals talk or the sounds they make. I think they like these kind of sounds because they get to push buttons but also get to hear unique sounds they probably have not hear before. People in general are just so impressed and surprised at what animals can do. That is why people go to the zoo because they like to look at all the different/unique animals that the world has. When people go over to different countries, like Australia, they normally come back and talk about the awesome different kinds of animals they saw. “In zoos, as in nature, the best times to visit are sunrise and sunset. That is when most animals come to life. They stir and leave their shelter and tiptoe to the water’s edge. They show their regiments. They sing their songs. They turn to each other and perform their rites. The reward for the watching eye and the listening ear is great. I spent more hours than I can count a quiet witness to the highly mannered, manifold expressions of life that grace out planet. It is something so bright, loud, weird and delicate as to stupefy the senses (pg 15).” This shows how much Pi is still amazed at the animals and he sees them everyday.
4ahlersn--KOBE said...
I’m doing the essay question that I made up about moving.
I was born in Denver, Colorado. I lived there for three years and then moved to Brandon, South Dakota. I was not old enough to experience the difficulties with moving at such a young age but I can imagine how when your older, especially in high school, it can be very challenging. There was this guy in middle school that moved from like Texas or something. He said that he had moved at least 4 times in the last couple of years. I know he had a hard time with the moving process because it was very difficult for him to make friends. He was always scared to make friends because he knew that he and his family would probably move again pretty soon and he did not want to get attached. He was shy at first but then opened up and being the new kid he started to make up nonsense stories that could not possible be true. He made up these stories so people would notice him and he would get new friends. This kid made everyone laugh with his ridiculous stories and people made fun of. Soon everyone started getting fed up with his bogus stories and just did not want to hang out with him anymore. I think when people move, at first they try to be someone they are not and that ends up leading to people not liking them or people liking them for who they really aren’t. I once moved from a different English class at semester time sophomore year and that was tough. I had to leave all my friends that I became so accustom to and go to a class that I didn’t even who was in there. Also, I had to leave the teacher I had just gotten use to. I knew how her tests were and how things were done. I knew her tendencies and I just got use to all her things she did in her class. When I went to my new English class at the beginning of second semester I recognized a lot of the kids in my class and I knew I would be alright. I felt like I was behind because my new English class didn’t study or had already studied things that I hadn’t in my old English class. I didn’t know the teacher which made class that much harder. Eventually, I got to become great friends with a lot of the people in my class and I decided that the move from semester hadn’t been too hard. I also think that people that transfer colleges at anytime, whether it be at semester or at the end/beginning of a new year, have an harder time than others that have already been there. It is always hard to move and I wish people didn’t have to move all the time and that they could just stay in the same place for a long period of time. This excerpt in the book is about moving. “And two animals were being shipped to the Canada Zoo. That’s how Ravi and I felt. We did not want to go. We did not want to live in a country of gale-forced winds and minus-two-hundred-degrees winters. Canada was not on the cricket map. Departure was made easier- as far as getting us used to the idea- by the time it took for all the pre-departure preparations." pg 88
If one chooses to believe the story with the tiger, one has to accept the island as well. Mr. Martel said “it’s a test of reader’s faith, it’s something just out of reach of what we can reasonably grasp. In other words, you have a boy and a tiger surviving in a lifeboat in the middle on the ocean for 227 days. How possible is that? Well, it is possible, and the reader is ‘on board’. Next is a meeting of two blind castaways in the middle of the ocean. The odds to it happening are quite low, but the reader is still ‘on board’. Finally, in comes the algae island, and here’s where the reason will inevitably kick in and try to make excuses for a reader: ‘it’s a hallucination, a make-belief’ etc. But, in order to accept the story with a tiger, it would require a reader to take a leap of faith and to stop being reasonable, thus asking herself/himself: ‘what do I know about Pacific, what do I know about sea plants, what do I know about meerkats.’” – Mr. Torjanac
In Mr. Torjanac’s scholarly answer, he is really examining the implausible, and the impossible. Surely, everything that happened in the middle section of the book seems quite impossible, but it also seems implausible at the same time. Mr. Torjanac commented on both the animal story and the human story in his blog answer. I think that he as well many other scholars believe that both theories are plausible. I chose to write about his animal story answer because I feel that the animal story is what most readers want to happen and it is wrote about more in depth than the human story. Although it is written in depth that the animal story happened, it is quite a stretch of the imagination to accept everything that was involved in it. Living on a lifeboat with a tiger and not getting eaten? That is quite a stretch, as well as most everything else associated with the animal story. The human theory is hidden from the average person. I think that Martel intended to write this story so that the scholarly reader would pick up on the hidden story, and explore it to gain more knowledge. I still believe the animal story is what actually happened, but I’m glad Mr. C pointed it out to us. It makes me think beyond what the average person thinks, it makes me read between the lines, and it makes me examine the book more and more each time I think about it.
I watched a youtube video on the book, and it was of Mr. Martel’s overview of it. I can’t quote him word for word, but I will summarize a portion of what he said in the video:
--Pi in fact has two stories; I said Pi lived in a life boat with four animals. Well, at one point he tells another story without animals. At the end he’s interrogated by these Japanese investigators who come to investigate as to why the ship sank. Then they don’t believe his story. Then Pi tells them if you don’t like my story I’ll tell you another story. So he tells a story without animals. So there’s this competition between the two stories. And he tells the investigators to choose between the two stories. — Yann Martel
After hearing this from the author himself, it makes me realize that Martel intends for the attentive reader to catch onto the human story, and apply it throughout the animal story. When I read the ending part in the book where Pi tells the other story I just thought it was used to get the Japanese officers out of his hair. It’s not, or is it? I think this is Martel’s clever way of making the reader question himself/herself. Could the animals have secretively been people like in the human story? Very possible, Pi could want to not sound so cannibalistic and inhumane by making the things he eats on the boat sound like animals. I like how Martel ends the book with jumping from the original story to the human story back to the original story. It gives the reader a chance to have a slice of a whole different story, and then ends the book with the story of Pi living with a tiger. I like this because it ends by telling the reader that Pi did indeed live with Richard Parker, weather it was a real live tiger or Pi’s inner tiger, it leaves the reader to question which story actually happened.
Remember, scholars: You must have 450+ of your own words per reaction. I've said this, written it on the board, and included it on this post's instructions. 450+ words of your own for each resoponse.
17. Art is essential in schools and in life.
I think that art is very important in a child improving on both there intellectual and visual skills. If you are reading a book you need to visualize(art/pictures) to understand it as well as know the words from cover to cover. It would help you describe things better to in more details.
Like this quote it uses very well imagery to describe the stuff that happens in this scene.
"If that fruit had a seed, it was the seed of my departure.
The Fruit was not a fruit. It was a dense accumulation of leaves glues together on a ball. the dozens of stems were dozens of leaf stems. Each stem that I pulled caused a leaf to peel off.
After a few layers I came to leaves that had not lost their stems and were flatly glued to the ball. i used my finger nail to catch their edges and pull them off. Sheath after sheath of leaf lifted, like the skins off an onion. I could simply have ripped the "fruit" apart-I still call it that for lack of a better word-but i chose to satisfy my curiosity in the measured way.
It shrunk from the size of an orange to that of a mandarin. My lap and branches blow were covered with thin, soft leaf peelings.
It was now the size of a rumbutan.
I get shivers in my spin when I think of it.
The size of a cherry.
And then it came to light, an unspeakable pearl at the heart of a green oyster.
A human tooth.
a molar, to be exact. The surface stained green and finely pierced with holes.
The felling of horror came slowly. I had time at the other fruit.
Each contained a tooth.
One canine.
Another premolar.
Here an incisor.
there another molar.
thirty-two teeth. A complete human set. Not one tooth was missing.
Understanding dawned upon me.
I did not scream. I think in movies is horror vocal. I simply shuddered and left the tree.
I spent my day in turmoil, weighing my options. They were all bad.
That night, in bed in my usual tree, i tested my conclusion. i took hold of a meerkat and dropped it from the branch."(pg.281)
I thought that this was a very good quote(description) because it start out saying that its an orange then goes to a mandarin, the to a rumbutan(looks kind of like an orange hairy egg), then to the size of a cherry, still saying it was a “fruit” till the very end, until he found out it was a human tooth.
Art is necessary for some students to let there emotions and minds go free, so they don't need to worry about what is going on around there. Its kinda like there "home away from home" thing. You know when you are trying to tell someone what you did, well you need art to explain yourself so everyone can understand what your trying to get out. If kids are shy when they are younger, they are going to need a way to express them self’s. And kids that are shy and get made fun of, if they paint or draw to take out anger, then no one gets hurts and they can feel good about something they have created by them self.
"Art is important to me because I can be creative and express my feelings through art. When I create something I am always proud, and I look forward to showing my work to my family, and friends. I have learned how to express my mental view on paper. I am neither bored or tired after art because it is always fun and refreshing. It gives me the opportunity to learn new skills and it helps my personal growth."
Anna Smith (www.passion4art.com)
The first time I did something I thought I never could do I wanted to show it off to everyone. Then I got better at it and even better at it, so I was able to continue my learning experience so it looked even better then I started out those many years ago. When I first started biking, I was horrible at it. I could just ride normally, when all my friends were doing tricks and stuff, so it made me work even harder then ever so I could be like them. Even though they were 3-4 years older then me I always tried to keep up with them. Then finally I caught up and I was so happy with my self, I wanted to show everyone what I could do.
Question from student blog :Have you ever been lost? What kind of lost were you (lost in thought or physically lost) and how did you find your way to wherever you wanted to be next?
This memory really sticks out in my mind because of the huge scare I got myself into. It was in the summer quite a few years back. Jared Kirkeby, Andrew Bauer, and I with my dad and Jared’s mom went to a twins baseball game. We drove up there in Jared’s mini-van. This was not my first twin’s game but I was just as excited as I was the first time. I remember it being a good game. I couldn’t tell you if the Twinkies won or not but it was defiantly a great moment. When the game was over we all corralled up and headed for the exit. Jared Bauer and I were talking baseball. The parents were quite slow as always. They couldn’t squeeze through the metradome like us teenagers could. We always found ourselves quite a ways ahead of the parents. I remember constantly waiting for them at corners on the streets. We then regrouped again before we left the metradome so no one would get lost. Just as we left I called bucket seat. I was pretty wiped out after the ballgame. And I was anxious to not sit in the back seat all crammed leaving me no leg room. I remember walking out as a group. Bauer and I were walking down Hennepin Avenue lost in our conversation. We could have talked about the game or some other issue. Being lost in conversation soon got us lost in Minneapolis… we both then looked around hoping to see our party but were disappointed to see only unfamiliar faces. We couldn’t find my or Jared’s rents. We (mainly Bauer) began to panic. I then realized that I didn’t care if I sat in the bucket seat as long as I wasn’t left in Minneapolis. We were lost on probably the most dangerous street in the cities. We were both lost mentally and physically…it sucked. It’s ok to laugh about it now but Andrew Bauer was freaking out. I want to say he was almost crying. . We then backtracked towards the stadium looking for our parents. We didn’t make it to the stadium because my father was waiting on street for us. Just like the outcome of “Life of Pi” we made it to the van eventually. On top of it all I didn’t get bucket seat. I was quite frustrated. We were both safe and that’s all that matters. This story relates to the novel “Life of Pi”. Pi and I were separated from our parents. We were both also lost from humanity. We (mainly Bauer) almost lost it mentally like Pi did. This was a experience that I will learn from and never forget.
Student Post: Have you ever moved? How did you feel about moving? Were there a lot of emotions? Explain about a time you moved and your experience with it.
I chose this topic, because I have had a lot of experience moving in my life. Throughout my life I have moved from place to place, never staying at one for very long. I have never really been able to make very close friends, because we would move so much, until we moved to the Brandon area. I do think moving is a good thing, just not to the extent that I have gone through. I think everyone needs to move at least once in their childhood, just to get the experience of it, to get them prepared from moving from their parents after they graduate. People who have the experience of moving know a little bit better how things go and can take it a little bit better. Pretty soon we will all be moving on with our lives, moving from our parents and the people who have lived in the same place all of their lives are leaving their comfort zone. For me, I have never really had a total comfort zone. I have not been able to settle down, and make my home.
One specific time that I have moved was when I moved from Aberdeen to Sioux Falls. That was a very tragic time in my life, because I was just going to be switching schools in Aberdeen from elementary to middle school. Not only was I leaving all of my friends behind, I was going from a class of 12 to a class of about 200. I had never been in such a big place before, and it was a very frightening time in my life. I also had never totally left all of my friends behind. I had only moved around Aberdeen, and switched schools a couple of times. I could still hang out with some of my old friends when I did move, but when I moved to Sioux Falls I had become totally isolated. We had moved to an apartment in Sioux Falls on the wrong side of town. I could not even leave the apartment without someone being with me. I spent that whole summer without a friend to hang out with and no one to talk to during the day while my mom was at work. That was one of the saddest times in my life. A kid needs to have friends and hang out with them some times. I did not meet anyone until school started in the fall. If I had to go back, I would not for anything. This move made me meet some of the most amazing people ever. Even though I had to leave some of my friends behind in Aberdeen, I have become even closer with the friends I have here.
The excerpt I have chosen from the book is the part when Pi is talking about moving. “People move because of the wear and tear of anxiety. Because of the gnawing feeling that no matter how hard they work their efforts will yield nothing, that what they build up in one year will be torn down in one day by others. Because of the impression that the future is blocked up, that they might do all right but not their children. Because of the feeling that nothing will change, that happiness and prosperity are possible only somewhere else.
The New India split to pieces and collapsed in Father’s mind. Mother assented. We would bolt.
I was announced to us one evening during dinner. Ravi and I were thunderstruck. Canada! If Andhra Pradesh, just north of us, was alien, if Sri Lanka, a monkey’s hop across a strait, was the dark side of the moon, imagine what Canada was. Canada meant absolutely nothing to us. I was like Timbuktu, by definition a place permanently far away (79).”
In response to 5mgaffees question: Have you ever been lost? What kind of lost were you (lost in thought or physically lost) and how did you find your way to wherever you wanted to be next?
Everyone throughout their lifetime has been lost both physically and emotionally. I have been lost many times in both of these circumstances. I am awful with directions so I always find myself physically lost. Whenever I go to Sioux Falls and I have to go somewhere that is not on 10th Street or on 41st Street, I have no idea how to get there. For me it is frustrating because when I go somewhere I never remember how to get there for the next time. Teenage years I believe are the main part of a person’s life where they are emotionally lost. It seems that everyone is very judgmental of others, and not excepting of others if they are out of the norm. Going through my pictures for graduation it became evident to me that I was lost in who I was in middle school. During sixth grade I was awkward and unsure of myself. I was made fun of constantly for my weight and my appearance in general, so I wore big clothes that did not fit me many different colored vests. In seventh grade I started getting into sports, trying to see if that was my thing. In eighth grade I believe I then started to discover my true passions. When I was in middle school I felt like I was the only one who felt confused, but after talking to my classmates this past year I discovered I wasn’t alone. High school is also a time when people are lost, high school is the time when kids feel like they have to fit in with the older kids and appear “cool.” I am proud to say that throughout high school I have not changed very much. During these years of your life, it is sad to say, either make or break you. If you look at the suicide rates of teenagers they are much higher than those of adults. Teenagers go through a series of mood swings and sometimes have to deal with things that are way beyond their maturity level. Being lost is never fun, whether it be physically or emotionally, the only way to become not lost is to remain strong and be true to yourself.
Question from a student’s blog 4JohnsonT: What do you think about being many different religions at once? If you had a choice would you want to be more than one religion at once? Why or why not?
I would have to say that it is a little unrealistic to want to be involved with many different religions at once, but not impossiple. Im not exactly an expert on religon but it doesn't take one to see that almost every religion given the select few are basically trying to reach a common goal. That goal would be to condition people to live their lives to the religious standards of a particular faith(Christianity,Hinduism,Islam,etc.) so that when they die their souls will accend to a better place. It would seem to me that they are on a journey to the same place and they are just taking different paths to get their. To walk two paths at once would be a difficult task to accomplish and would be deemed very unnessecary given the fact that one path does not reach Heaven any quicker then the next. But if one wanted to look upon another path or religion while still moving forward with the one their feet were on I think it would be a possible thing to do. There is no harm in learning how others believe and the world would probably be a better place if people would be more conscious of how other religions functioned. After all Man has been fighting since our existince over religious disputes and holy land. This holy bloodshed can be traced all the way through history from the great crusades in Jerusalem to Hitler and the Holocaust. Shiites and Sunnis still fight to this day in the middle east over no more then religous desputes that their father's father's fathers had with each other long ago. For some reason different faiths naturally clash with each other and have for centuries. I just do not see why one person can't believe in something and be left alone by others of a different denomination. The first Amendment of the United States does state that U.S. citizens have the right to Freedom of Religion and yet people are still persecuted because of what they believe.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the fifty eight Member States of the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France defines freedom of religion and belief as follows: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance."
"Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God," I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face.
My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fance that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat and said in a half-voice, "I suppose that's what we're all trying to do-love God."(pg69)
This quote demonstrates that even though the religions Pi practices are very different in most ways, they are similar in the way that they love and want to be closer to God.
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7.Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism.
"My face set to a grim and determined expression. I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live. It's not something evident, in my experience. Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then loose hope. Still others-and I am one of those-never give up. We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of the battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight to the very end. It's not a question of courage. It's somthing constitutional, an inability to let go. It may be nothing mroe then life-hungry stupidity."(pg148)
This quote is a perfect example of how just when a person or an animal is giving up on life, the inner drive to survive turns on full throttle and will go till it can't go anymore. Most organisms will try their hardest to survive when put into a situation where death is possible. Even if an organism does not have the physical means of development to efficintly defend itself it will still try to hide or get away from it's inevidable end. In Life of Pi , Pi Patel shows just how far a human being can go to survive and does everything from trying to eat tiger feces to using a man's flesh as bait for fishig. Its amazing how far people will go to live even if it means loosing a limb or sence and after they are safe they have a new appriciation of what it means to be alive. I personally think that the so called "instinct" to survive is somewhat of a myth. I do not think that every organism is born with a natural drive to live but rather they have felt how good living is and when there is a chance that the feeling could be lost they fight for it. With humans the feeling is there and when they become depressed or lose the good feeling of living they have a tendency to commit suicide. Animals have instincts to eat,hunt,drink,rid themselves of waste,and reproduce, but there is no such thing of one specific instinct to survive. All of the things I listed above compile into surviving but unknowingly do so. If an organism is backed into a corner by something that has the intent of causing harm then yes the organism will defend itself but that is only out of fear of pain not fear of death. We as humans will do incredible things to survive because we know how good life feels and how much we want to have that feeling last. But I refuse to believe that we are imprinted from birth with a light bulb of survival that will automatically switch on when we are in a life or death situation. This I think is true for all organisms. For example some species of spiders with hatch their eggs on themselves so that when they do hatch the young will have something to eat. This is what is known as a natural suicide. Dr.Beetle a PhD from Groundswell University had this to say about survival as an instinct, " The 'survival instinct' appears to have originated from human misconceptions about evolution, where they think that the prime motivation of evolution is to produce 'survivors' and offspring. They forgot that the real goal of evolution is to contribute to the wildness! There is no need to hardwire an instinct to survive into an animal to make it want to live. Any normal operation of the pleasure center will automatically produce all the motivation an animal needs to seek more of what the pleasure center has to offer"
(305)”It was the coook’s idea. He was a brute. He dominated us. He whispered that eh blackness would spread and that he would survive only if his leg were amputated. Since the bone was broken at the thigh, it would involve no more that cutting through flesh and setting a tourniquet. I can still hear his evil whisper. He would do the job to save the sailors life, he said, but we would have to hold him. Surprise would be the only anesthetic. We fell upon him. Mother and I held his arms while the cook sat on his good leg. The sailor writhed and screamed. His chest rose and fell. The cook worked the knife quickly. At last he fell back. The leg fell off. Immediately Mother and I let go and moved away. We thought that if the restraint was ended, so would his struggling. We thought he would lie calmly. He didn’t. He sat up instantly. His screams were all worse for being unintelligible. He screamed and we stared transfixed. There was blood everywhere. Worse, there was the gentle repose of his le at the bottom of the boat. He kept looking at the limb, as if imploring it to return. At last he fell back. We hurried into action. The cook folded some skin over the bone. We wrapped the stump in a piece of cloth and we tied a rope above the wound to stop the bleeding. We laid him as comfortably as we could on a mattress of life jackets and kept him warm. I thought it was all for nothing. I couldn’t believe a human being could survive so much pain, so much butchery. Throughout the evening and night he moaned, and his breathing was harsh and uneven, He had fits of agitated delirium. I expected him to die during the night. “Clung to life. At dawn he was still alive. He went in and out of consciousness. Mother gave him water. I caught sight of the amputated leg. It cut my breath short. In the commotion it had been shoved aside and forgotten in the dark. It had seeped a liquid and looked thinner. I took a life jacket and use it as a glove. I picked the leg up. “What are you doing?” Asked the cook. “I’m going to throw it overboard, I replied. “Don’t be an idiot. We’ll use it as bait. That was the whole point.”
I used this excerpt because it shows how some people in the world or in books are just sick, disgusting creatures. Who would ever want to use someone else’s flesh for bait?
I am answering #12 on the blue sheet; Mankind is the cruelest of all living things.
To me, humans are the cruelest living thing to ever walk planet earth. Many might disagree with me but it is the truth whether they want to believe it or not. Unlike animals, some humans kill for pure pleasure. Animals have to kill for their meal or to feed their own families. Although it may look like some animals are pure cold blooded killers such as a 450 lb. Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, their not because they have to hunt for their food or they will starve to death, simple called a food chain. People can hurt others feelings by stupid comments they say or actions that they do. Most people realize when they are hurting others and they keep on doing it even when they know they should stop. Animals don’t know when they are hurting another animal physically or mentally like humans do. Some people around the world eat others like in Life of Pi. Whether or not he telling the true story to the Japanese men or not the cook is a symbol for the sick cannibalizing people in the world. You don’t see to many other living things around the world that have problems with physical abuse other than human beings. I find it hard to believe that people can beat their own kids, pets, or anyone for that matter. The most puzzling thing to me is that people like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin can kill innocent people like its nothing. Hitler killed over six million Jew’s, gay men, gypsies, Slav’s, Soviets, Polish, Jehovah witnesses, and P.O.W.’s. During World War 2, Hitler put many innocent Jewish people in labor camps and made them work to survive. He wasn’t treating them like humans at all, they were starved, shot, beaten, and some even burned in the ovens. I think that it is disgusting how people can kill other people just because of their race, ethnicity, beliefs, etc. It is ridiculous how some sick people can kill for the rush of it. I don’t think that it is right for someone to kill another for self defense or payback but I have never been in the situation so I wouldn’t know and hope I never have to. Some people say that Americans are right up there with Hitler and Stalin because of our retaliation from the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. I disagree with those people because we dropped “fat man” and “little boy” so we could get redemption and try to end the war. I agree with Mark Twain in that humans are the least respectable species in the universe because of what we do to other humans, animals, etc.
“Mr. Martel is fond of saying that illustrations add to a book what music adds to opera, and I agree with him. I see the illustrations as an extension of the words, as the idea behind words, expressed.” I agree with Mr. Martel and Tomislav Torjanac in that pictures add another dimension to words. I like the comparison that Mr. Martel used that illustrations are to a book like music is to opera because without music there is no opera and without illustrations there is no book. I think that the saying, a picture can say a thousand words, fits in with this book because there are a thousand was to interpret a visual picture from this book. What Mr. Martel saw when writing this book is not what Mr. Torjanac saw when drawing his interpretation of this book, but both are right in there vision of what the scene looked like. Pictures can either make a scene clearer in your imagination or it can contradict what you think the scene looks like. Which is what makes literature so different from a math class where either you are right or wrong. “The day broke, humid and overcast, with the wind warm and the day a dense blanket of gray clouds that looked like bunched-up, dirty cotton sheets. The sea had not changed. It heaved the lifeboat up and down in a regular motion.” In this scene Pi is describing a sunrise that could be different from person to person. One person could remember a sunrise that they saw that had stuck in their memory or another person could visualize Pi in a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger that is under the tarpaulin, floating off into the sunrise. The use of metaphors and similes helps aid the reader in visualizing what the author is trying to portray. If the author just said there was clouds in the sky it would leave countless possibilities of what it could look like. Saying that the clouds looked like bunched-up, dirty cotton sheets gives you an idea of what the clouds actually look like. For people that have been on a boat before can relate to what it is like to have the boat rock up and down and how it can cause seasickness. I think that Tomislav Torjanac did an excellent job of interpreting what is going on in the book and putting it down on paper in a drawing form instead of a written form. I think that art should be supported by the school because it is a nice break from typical school work that allows us to make our own ideas come out. Without art in schools many kids would not know they could draw well and be a waste of talent.
I chose number twenty-six, people are irrationally obsessed with animals: our children’s books, our stuffed toys, our mascots, our pets, our television programs and characters..., because I think that it is completely true. I think this is true because every kid had at least one stuffed animal as a kid. Disney movies are full of talking animals that kids love, I think that talking animals are so popular to watch because people wander what their pet is thinking and movies put a voice to our pets to express their thoughts. Animals are also used as team names and mascots because some animals are seen are fierce and make your team sound bigger and stronger than they actually are. I think that people have pets because animals give us a sense of companionship that people look for. Zoos are also a sign that we are obsessed with animals. Zoos give us a chance to see animals that we would never be able to see in our life time because some do not normally exist in America. I think that Pi is right when he said that a zoo is like a hotel for a human. In a way animals pay because people pay to come see the animals. I think that animals are so popular because having a stuffed person would not be culturally accepted. According to a blogger at www.peertrainer.com. I am a dog person, but I don't know that I'm obsessed.
I can only speak for myself but here's why I LOVE my dogs:
...I have no children, so they are my substitute children
...they are ALWAYS happy to see you, whether you've been gone a week or 10 minutes
...they NEVER talk back or question anything you say
...they're just so darn cute (I have 2 big Labs)
...they NEVER judge you based on how you look or if you do something stupid
...they can be very comical and make you laugh when you really need it
...they will sit and listen to your problems or just keep you company
...they're good protection to take on walks
...they depend on me for everything - which makes me feel important
...nice to have around the house when my husband is gone
...My husband also uses them for hunting (ducks, pheasants, geese)
OK. So maybe I am a little obsessed... but you should see all of the albums I have filled with their pictures!
How does Pi describe the running of the zoo? How are the animals treated? (He states that it is much like a hotel and the animals are guest who receive room service)
“Before moving to Pondicherry, Father ran a large hotel in Madras. An abiding interest in animals led him to the zoo business. A natural transition, you might think, from hotel keeping to zoo keeping. Not so. In many ways, running a zoo is a hotelkeeper’s worst nightmare. Consider: the guest never leave their rooms; they expect not only lodging but full board; they receive a constant flow of visitors, some of whom are noisy and unruly. One has to wait until they saunter to their balconies, so to speak, before one can clean their rooms, and then one has to wait until they tire of the view and return to their rooms before one can clean their balconies; and there is much cleaning to do, for the guests are as unhygienic as alcoholics. Each guest is very particular about his or her diet, constantly complains about the slowness of the service, and never, ever tips. To speak frankly, many are sexual deviants, either terribly repressed and subject to explosions of frenzied lasciviousness or openly depraved, in either case regularly affronting management with gross outrages of free sex and incest. Are these the sorts of guests you would want to welcome to your inn? The Pondicherry Zoo was the source of some pleasure and many headaches for Mr. Santosh Patel, founder, owner, director, head of a staff of fifty-three, and my father. To me, it was paradise on earth. I have nothing but the fondest memories of growing up in a zoo. I lived the life of a prince. What maharaja’s son had such vast, luxuriant grounds to play about? What palace had such a menagerie?” I agree with Pi that as an animal living in a zoo would be like being in a hotel as a human. I think that the animals do not escape because they know how good they have it. Animals in the wild have to fight for their territory and find their own food. In a zoo they have their own territory and get fed every day.
---From Student Question---
4castlew asked: “Which do you believe in animals, or without animals?” At first I definitely rejected the human story that Pi told the Japanese men at the end of the novel. I just got done reading 300 pages of animal story and didn’t want to think that it wasn’t all what Pi experienced and was just a metaphor. But now that we have had discussions in class I am completely convinced that the human version is the reality. Also if you choose to believe the animal version all extra thought after the book ends. With the metaphor version it is fun to try and figure out how everything in the animal version relates to the actual events in the book/human version. The book still seemed to be on my mind for a few days even after talking about some of the metaphors in class. The book kept me busy trying to figure out all of the many parallels in the two stories. The island was the toughest one, but I think our class figured it out. That it is in fact while eating the French man that Richard Parker (Pi’s Id) killed, Pi is on the algae island. This is his ‘animal story’ of what really happened to him. During this time he tries to train his Id and gain control over it, yet it always returns to him at night. The algae and meerkats are the sustenance that he obtained from eating the man. “I bit into it. My chops were in for a shock. The inner tube was bitterly salty – but the outer was not only edible, it was delicious” (259). This is a metaphor for eating the man. It is similar to an arm or leg. The inner or the bone is not all that edible, only the marrow; but the outer, the flesh he finds to be delicious. This also explains why he is in better health after his stay on the island; he has had a good amount of food to eat. Also, the teeth on the island are explained by the man in the boat. When Pi is finished devouring the man all that is left are his teeth, exactly 32 of them. This is the thing that is able to snap him into reality so he can continue working to get to land. He realizes that there is nothing left on the ‘island’ (his imagination) and he must leave.
---From Blue Sheet---
1. We can see a lot of ourselves within animals.
We can notice similarities in the way we act and look, as well as react to certain things. It is a human trait to be able to read facial expressions and interpret them. We communicate mostly through facial expressions and tone of voice as opposed to the actual words we say. Just like when somebody says something they don’t mean, it is easy to tell. With animals we are able to tell when they are in pain, happy, tired, and excited etcetera. Dogs wag their tales when excited and their eyes seem to smile. Cats purr when happy. You can also see pain and sadness in animal’s eyes. Eyes give a lot away in animals as well as with in humans. The book also shows how we can see ourselves in animals in this passage:
“It was as I was breathing deeply and concentrating on making my nausea go away that I saw Orange Juice. I had imagined her completely out of sight, near the bow beneath the tarpaulin, as far from the hyena as she could get. Not so. She was on the side bench, just beyond the edge of the hyena’s indoor track and barely hidden from me by the bulge of rolled-up tarpaulin. She lifted her head only an inch or so and right away I saw her.
Curiosity got the best of me. I had to see her better. Despite the rolling of the boat I brought myself to a kneeling position. The hyena looked at me, but did not move. Orange Juice came into sight. She was deeply slouched and holding on to the gunnel with both her hands, her head sunk very low between her arms. Her mouth was open and her tongue lolling about. She was visibly panting. Despite the tragedy afflicting me, despite not feeling well, I let out a laugh. Everything about Orange Juice at that moment spelled one word: seasickness. The image of a new species popped into my head: the rare seafaring green orang-utan. I returned to my sitting position. The poor dear looked so humanly sick! It is a particularly funny thing to read human traits in animals, especially in apes and monkeys, where it is so easy. Simians are the clearest mirrors we have in the animal world. That is why they are so popular in zoos. I laughed again. I brought my hands to my chest, surprised at how I felt. Oh my. This laughter was like a volcano of happiness erupting in me. And Orange Juice had not only cheered me up; she had also taken on both our feelings of seasickness. I was feeling fine now.” (121-122). Animals are mammals just like we are and thus appear to have human characteristics. We read animals just as we read each other. It is no surprise we communicate in similar ways. It is important for us to be able to tell what an animal is feeling especially when they are angry. We need to be able to do this in order to better protect ourselves if an animal is ready to attack us or bite us it is important to have the ability to know when to back off. These are a few reasons we are able to see a lot of ourselves within animals.
---From Artists---
Mr. Torjanac said “I should also add that we are not just looking through Pi’s eyes, we are in his mind, and some of the illustrations in the book are obviously from Pi’s imagination... or maybe it’s most of them? Depends on which of the two stories you choose to believe.” I find it interesting that some of the images come from Pi’s imagination. This is cool because it isn’t just what he sees in reality, but also what he sees in his head. The images that are imagined can sometimes be clearer than reality or more blurry. This is how things are often times in my head. When I dream my dreams will become a reality on occasion. I have to sit there and realize I was just asleep in order to realize that it didn’t actually happen. Sometimes my dreams are even mixed up with the events that happened the day before, which makes them even more real and hard to distinguish fact from fiction. I imagine that while on a boat in the hot sun in the middle of the Pacific Ocean things can often become a reality when they are really not. Mirages can play with your mind as well as the heat creating hallucinations. I’m sure the “dream cloth” that Pi used doesn’t help him distinguish reality from his dreams. Maybe it is even possible that he uses the cloth so much that he never fully comes out of his dream and his reality actually becomes the dream. I really like it that the book is able to be interpreted in so many different ways. That is what a truly good book will do. Make you continue to think about it long after you’ve read it. Mr. Torjanac also responded to gbeesley020’s comment with this “I’m glad you like Pi’s perspective. I haven’t thought of doing the illustrations from some of the other characters’ perspectives, but it’s an interesting idea. What do you think of hyena’s perspective?” I think it would be interesting to view this book form other perspectives also. Not only Pi’s two perspectives, but also what the sailor must have felt like getting his leg cut off and seeing it used only for bait. Having himself taken advantage of by the cook like that. Or as Mr. Torjanac suggested, viewing the book from the hyena’s perspective or the cook’s. How the cook felt about doing what he did. It is apparent that he regrets his actions because of how he lets Pi kill him without fighting back. It would be a great challenge to paint a picture from one of these perspectives. Not only because it is an even harder position to imagine ourselves in, but the controversy presented by it. It is not too difficult to create an image in my mind that would display these scenes nicely, but they are only fleeting images. They would contort themselves and I’d never be able to retrieve then if I started to draw them. This is one thing I’m truly impressed by with artists who are able to put onto paper what they see in their minds eye.
3. Zoos are great places for animals to be.
Zoos are a great place for animals to be for many reasons. First of all, zoos protect animals from any danger that they might have to face out in the wild. Zoos also promise animals a meal on a daily basis, where out in the wild an animal has to look for and capture it’s meal and isn’t always lucky or doesn’t always find enough. If an animal gets sick in the wild, it needs to hope for the best that it will be able to cure itself. At a zoo, humans take care of the animal and have a much better chance of overcoming the illness. Zoos also stimulate the economy by providing jobs to people and providing income. It’s a great form of entertainment for families and friends who want to stay out of trouble and have a good time. Zoos are also a great place for children and adults to learn about animals that are rare to their community and that is always interesting to do. They are highly educational and always displaying information about the habitat and lifestyles of the animals. Zoos help us learn more about animals because we are able to observe the animal more closely. Animals can and should be studied in the wild but they can be studied more closely, more rigorously, and over a more sustained period of time in captivity. Zoos also help protect the endangered species in the world from going extinct. Also, zoos might protect some animals from previous owners who were cruel and used animal abuse to solve their problems. There are also a variety of zoos. A petting zoo allows children to pet animals in a safe environment rather than petting an animal in the wild and getting hurt. Zoos have a certain culture theme to them. Zoos have been around for centuries in some civilizations and continue to grow and fascinate millions of people. On the contrary, zoos can be viewed at as being a bad thing rather than a good thing. To some, zoos send the message that it is acceptable to maintain wild animals in captivity, and this contributes to animal cruelty at roadside zoos and circuses, as well as in the backyard breeding and exotic pet industries. Keeping animals in a cage for so long will cause them to lose their instinct. Sometimes animals get crowded in their tiny captivities while other times an animal may be all alone. Depending on the zoo and the crew, the living conditions may be poor and their cage could be filthy and not taken care of. Keeping an animal in a cage does not allow them to be able to hunt for their own prey or to be able to live in the wild, so if they ever escape or are set free, they will be hopeless. Animals lack the appropriate exercise that they need and the climate of the zoo is much different from the outdoors that they are used to. Some animals suffer from neglect and are not socialized properly. However, I think overall that zoos are a benefit to our community.
I am answering the question about what 10 items I would want to have with me if I was stranded on a boat.
I don’t know if I could survive in a life boat for 227 days with a tiger like Piscine Molotor Patel did but if I had to take the journey I would want to pack smart. First of all I would want to have more water than I could possibly drink. I would have to have water as my number one priority because you can’t live very long without water. Water is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. Nothing can live without water and why would you want to it taste good, it is soothing and refreshing. 2. I would want a locker full of canned goods. Canned food keeps good for a long time. I would definitely want a variety in what I ate, I could probably stand eating the same thing over and over but I would like a choice if I could. Nothing can live without some source of food whether it being meat to fish or even algae like Pi ate. 3. I would want a friend of some sort. It would help to have someone to talk to. If Pi wouldn’t have had Richard Parker to talk to he probably would have died before he made it to Mexico. Just having someone there can change everything. Having someone there to help you with things could make life on a boat so much easier. 4. Clothing would be a major factor; just being able to have 2 sets of clothes would help out a lot. Pi only had 1 pair of clothing that disinigrated from the salt and the sun. 5. Being out in the Pacific Ocean with only a life boat would be no fun but it would be an opportunity to get some deep see fishing in so I would want a tackle box full of lures and lines so I could catch myself some fish, sharks, and even turtles. 6. A couple of oars would be a good thing to bring along just in case I felt like getting ahead of the game. Rowing would give me something to do during the day, build up my strength, and get me moving in the water. 7. I would like to have plenty of blankets along for the cold nights I might encounter. 8. A tarp would be a good thing to have so I could make a shelter. A shelter would keep me from exposing my sensitive skin to the suns harmful rays and it would keep my dry in the rain. 9. A watch that had the date, time, and year on it would be very essential because I would know how many days I was at sea, birthday’s, holiday, etc. 10. The last and final thing I would want in my life boat would be a compass. I would want a compass so I could navigate where I was heading.
This is a question I asked Torjanac and his response:
Mr. Torjanac,
In the process of creating the artwork for Life of Pi did you ever stop and think what it would be like if it were you in Pi's position and if so did that contribute to the way you drew a particular piece? Also by not showing Pi's face it does allow the reader to keep their own idea of what Pi looks like however I would be very much intersted to see how you would portray Pi yourself.
Torjanac-"It wasn’t hard for me to put myself in Pi’s shoes while reading/illustrating the book. For example, I love animals and I can’t imagine harming them or killing them, so my choice is not to eat them. It really got me thinking what I would have done if I had been, like Pi, starving in the middle of the ocean (I hope I never get the opportunity find out). That definitely contributed to the way I painted the illustrations.
I’m not sure if I could portray Pi, especially after a year of painting things from his perspective. In my mind, he has no face and thousands of faces at the same time."
I would like to thank Mr. Torjanac for responding to my question and giving me something to think about. In his response he said that he did in fact think about what it would be like if he were in the situation Pi was in and that going through that thought process definitely helped him with his artwork. I think that what he did to create his illistrations is what most people should do to really comprehend what it would be like to be stuck in the middle of the ocean with a bengal tiger. Because for me and most other people being stuck with a tiger in a life boat is something that our minds cannot comprehend and to put yourself in Pi's skin is a difficult task. Mr. Torjanac has accomplished what many other artists tried and failed to do and that is get Yann Martel's approval for how the book should be portrayed with the use of creative images. I think that by showing the story through Pi's eyes is another ingenious idea that made the illistrations even more captivating. In his response Torjanac also said that he probley could not draw Pi Patel because he has become so involved with the book that he has no face and a thousand faces the same time. I think what he said would hold true for me as well because during the course of the novel Pi changes roles and alter-egos frequently and so the reader has no definite depiction of Pi. By showing us as readers how he himself sees the events in the book Torjanac gives us a whole new perception of the images we see in our minds while reading it. I used the images that I had formed in my mind and then mixed them with Torjanac's to get a surreal idea of what Pi went through and how he dealt with Richard Parker. I think that by using artwork artists can show the reading public unlimited creativity and will extend our reach into the pages of great novels like Life of Pi.
Richard Schwint
Life of Pi Essays
I. From a Student Blog
When Pi outlines the inventory on his life boat, the first ten items he lists available to him for sea survival are as follows: “192 tablets of anti-sickness medicine; 124 tin cans of fresh water each containing 50 mill., so each containing 62 liters in all; 32 plastic vomit bags; 31 cartons of emergency rations, 500 grams each, so 15.5 kilos in all; 16 wool blankets; 12 solar stills; 10 or so orange life jackets each with an orange beadless whistle attached by a string; six morphine ampoule syringes; six hand flares; five buoyant oars . . . ”(145).
Most of the things from his list, Pi puts to good use. So if it was me stranded on the lifeboat, and I had to choose 10 items to have, I would follow Pi’s example.
1. First, and foremost, I would have a survival manual: this manual would serve as reading material when I am bored, in addition to helping me figure out how not to capsize the boat. Seriously, though, the manual would be the most important item I owned, because like Pi, I am not a sea traveler and the directions on the pages would be my only hope to live. “If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.”
2. A compass: this is an obvious choice as I would want to know where I am and then navigate accordingly and avoid going in circles.
3. Two sea anchors: If/when I hit a storm; these anchors would keep me from capsizing.
4. Two rain catchers: water is ironically such a precious commodity, I would need to have a way to gather this life source. Rain catchers allow me to get fresh water without much effort.
5. Twelve solar stills: again, fresh water is a most precious resource. The rain catchers alone would not provide enough supply. The stills would next to guarantee me a steady supply of drinkable water.
6. One tackle box with a variety of fishing hooks: food, next to fresh water, is also ironically scarce unless you have the proper tools to harvest the bountiful feast below.
7. Five wool blankets: five because I could lay three on the floor of the raft to serve as a bed, one to roll up as a pillow and the final one to cover my chilly body.
8. Four multi-purpose containers: in which I would store water and food.
9. A 12X 14 foot tarp. This would be my home/bedroom. I could stay dry under the tarp and be protected from dramatic sunburns with my Arian skin.
10. A buck knife with a gut hook: obviously, the knife would be used to clean fish and turtles and as a handy tool. These are probably the pivotal keys to surviving on the ocean.
II. From the Anticipation Guide
“Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts because when we hurt other people, we realize they are being hurt. When cats play with and eat mice, the cat has no idea that the mouse is in pain. This makes people the least respectable of all species.” Mark Twain.
Twain makes a very valid point. Mankind is by far the cruelest of all beasts. We are not only aware of what we are doing, many times the pain is pre-planned, intentional. Take for example, domestic violence or war. Such endeavors are money in the cruelty bank. We plan ahead on how to hurt and/or kill people we don’t get along with. We know the deaths might be slow and agonizing. We use our creative energy to think up efficient ways to assassinate as many people as possible in streamline ways. Hitlers Nazi’s used one bullet at close range to a man’s head so that it would penetrate the head of the man standing next to the condemned. Both victims understood their fate. Both victims had time to watch the murderer carry out his plan. I think it is because of our emotions that we are the worst. Animals are instinct driven. Necessity driven.
For example, after the ship sank and the hyena made it to the life boat, it didn’t take long for it to feel the pangs of hunger. Because the zebra was already injured, the zebra was easy pickings for the hyena’s dinner. “The Zebra’s broken leg was missing. The hyena had dragged it off behind the stern behind the zebra. A flap of skin hung limply over the raw stump. Blood was still dripping.” (120). As I read this, obviously I, like Pi, felt sorry for the torture the zebra was experiencing. In hindsight, I see that the hyena took only what was enough for him to survive the night. Not enough to allow the zebra to live another day in order to torture it. For the hyena, it was merely the amount needed to survive the night. We see no vengeance, no action motivated by contempt or anger. Just simply survival.
Near the end of the book when Pi tells the Japanese ship investigators the alternative story without the tiger, the hyena becomes the cook and kills his mom out of emotion. “He hit me. My mother hit him. He hit her back. She turned to me and said, “go” pursing me towards the raft. I jumped for it. I thought she was coming with me. I landed in the water. I scrambled aboard the raft. They were fighting. I did nothing but watch. My mother was fighting an adult man. He was mean and muscular. He caught her by the wrist and twisted it. He moved over her. The knife appeared. He raised it in the air. It came down. Next it was red. It went up and down repeatedly. I could not see her. She was at the bottom of the boat. I only saw him. He stopped. He raised his head up and looked at me. He hurled something my way. A line of blood struck me across the face. No whip could have inflicted a more painful lash. I held my mother’s head in my hands. I let it go. It sank in a cloud of blood. Her tress trailing like a tail. Fish spiraled down towards it until a shark’s long grey shadow cut across its path and vanished. I looked up. I couldn’t see him. He was hiding at the bottom of the boat” (310). This is the most graphic murder scene ever. Martel succeeds in making me sick. This man is insane. He kills a much smaller woman just because he is mad at her for hitting him.
And then we see man’s cruelty motivated by emotion again. The next day after his mom is killed, Pi gets back on the boat. “The knife was all along in plain view on the bench. We both knew it. He could have had it in his hands from the start. He was the one who put it there. I picked it up. I stabbed him in the stomach. He grimaced but remained standing. I pulled the knife out and stabbed him again. Blood was pouring out. Still he didn’t fall over. Looking me in the eyes, he lifted his head ever so slightly. Did he mean something by this? I took it that he did. I stabbed him in his throat, next to his Adam’s apple. He dropped like a stone. And died” (310). That would have been enough, but Pi goes on after the emotion filled attack and says, “His heart was a struggle. All those tubes that connected it. I managed to get it out. It tasted delicious. Far better than a turtle, I ate his liver. I cut off great pieces of his flesh. He was such an evil man. Worse still, he met evil in me. Selfishness, anger, ruthlessness. I must live with that” (310-311). Humans have the unique ability to be cruel to one another and to other life forms. Spiders have fangs, the tiger has its claws, we have a brain. We are always plotting the next possible step with variations to the possible outcomes. We preplan these possibilities so that we can win. We are still the only species that hunts not for sustenance, but for enjoyment. How cruel is that?
III. From Tomislav’s Response
On the subject of religion: Believe in what you want -- but let other people believe in what they want, as well. That’s my faith. In the book when Pi and his family are enjoying a day at the park, the three wise men converge on Pi and start arguing about if Pi can be Hindu, Islamic, and Christian. Finally after a lot of awkward moments, Pi’s mother says, “How do you feel about the question?“(69). The response, “ Bapu Ghandi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God!” I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face. “ “My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, and impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the mahatma walked. I fancied that he heard our conversation but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat, and said in a half-voice, ‘ I suppose that’s what we are all trying to do – love God” (69). The line . . . “he paid even greater attention to my heart” is key. If god is all knowing and all powerful, I don’t think we have to go to church and follow all the man-made rules. God knows how we feel. We should just enjoy life, that’s the way and the reason God made us. To have good lives. To love God is to love each other.
On our blog, David Knutson asks Torjanac if Torjanac believes people can believe in all three religions at once. His response is, “yes”. And as I see it, Torjanac agrees with me. He says, “I think one can practice one, two, three or more religions at once and believe in God.“ I like what he goes on to say, “Also, one can practice no religion at all and still believe in God. “ I could not agree more. People spend too much time worrying about if they are doing things the way the church wants and worrying about what will happen to them after they die, instead of focusing on loving God . . . loving each other.
And furthermore, religion is not a word worth dying for. It is not a word that one should kill, fight, or argue about; it is an idea people should discuss or it is a word that expresses a personal opinion. When the Dalai Lama visited a group of students on the campus of Colgate University in New York on Apri 28 in a program called “The Moral and Spiritual Power of Religions and the University,” Colgate’s three chaplains from the Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant faiths asked the Dalai Lama questions. Some students also got to ask questions, too. But no matter what was asked, the Dalai stated again and again, “Religions is a personal business.“ He said, “Ethics is very much business of society and community.” But he said what I said, your religion is solely yours. He also told the students, “Please study more. Think more.” I think he wants people to consider why they believe what they do, not just go blindly about someone else’s belief. The Dalai Lama said, “Analytical meditation is much more important than reciting a mantra.” That’s where I see people getting hung up with a particular religion. They get focused on one particular prayer or method of praying and forget the big picture that is to love one another and treat one another as you want to be treated. That is what happens when you “love god” You know in your heart that God is real. Believing in something blindly is love. It is impossible to truly understand God, so even if you think and analyze what you believe, the bottom line is you have to accept that you may not understand everything that happens in the world. There’s always ideas to analyze, but you’ll never know for sure because So unless you are chosen like Moses or someone where you actually talk to god, you won’t be able to understand. I don’t think it’s a big deal to study three regions. Torjanac doesn’t think so, and from the sounds of it neither does the Dalai Lama. So go for it. Just don’t mess with my opinions and try to change my ideas. That’s personal, and my responsibility.
“That aside, the connection is still very strong in my opinion. Literature does not need art, but art can add another level to the story, as Yann Martel and Tomislav Torjanac have already described. You may say now that it can also destroy the reading experience if it doesn’t correspond with what the reader imagines. That’s true, and it’s one of the reasons I love Tomislav Torjanacs concept when illustrating Life of Pi. But I think the art that accompanies a story should be appreciated as ONE reading of the story. The artist offers a viewpoint that can add to the depth of your understanding and help to connect you to the story. It can also just make reading more fun.”(Andrea Offerman)
I very much agree with Andrea, art can add to the story in good ways and in bad ways. I think that in this particular book the art made the story better. Although there were not any pictures in the book, it still helped me understand it better. Art is very necessary in life for everyone I think. It allowed me to visualize what was really going on or what I thought was going on in the book. Personally, I don’t enjoy reading, but when I can see pictures that go with the book it helps me understand a lot better. Books with pictures in them attract me more than books with just words. Andreas painting of the ship going down was really close to what I pictured in my head when I was reading it. It made me feel good when I saw that picture because I was getting it and so was she obviously. The painting was a sad one though, seeing all those animals drowning and the ship going down with Pi’s family was a tough thing to read about. The painting of the flying fish is very creative. She shows how big Richard Parker is compared to Pi and the lifeboat. Richard Parker takes up over half of the lifeboat. The only thing I don’t get about this painting is why the tarpaulin is so small, it doesn’t even look like it is big enough for Pi to go under but yet Richard Parker can. I am not a huge art guy but I do like to look at it. I am in my second year with Mr. Nelson right now and it hasn’t been too bad. I am doing a lot better and liking it more because he helps out and is very creative. His artwork makes mine look like a first graders and he isn’t even a professional like Offerman and Torjanac. I enjoy drawing because you can express your self in ways you cannot by talking. Some people can only express their emotions by drawing and that is a good way to do if if you can’t say it or do it in some type of writing. I am more of paint by numbers artist unlike some kids we have in our school and in our 1st period class. Some kids are just naturally born with the art skill and some are born to work at it. I am not either one of those, I just take those classes because I have to and there fun to be in when you get to draw and paint. I think art is very relevant to everyone because wherever you go there is always going to art in some shape or form.
Question from student blog: Is there a storm you've experienced that really sticks in your memory?
The storm that sticks in my mind the most happened on June 24, 2003. It’s a day that has come to be known as “Tornado Tuesday.” That day and night 67 tornadoes were reported, tying a record for most tornado touchdowns in one state on a single day. From the early morning hours of that Tuesday, you could tell it was going to be a day just ripe for tornadoes.
It was extremely humid that morning, even for being late June. During the midday news broadcast, a tornado watch had already been issued for the night and the weatherman said that a tornado outbreak was likely. I didn’t may much attention to that statement, because how often are weatherman right anyways? However, as the day went on and it continued to get hotter and more humid, I started to believe the weathermen for once. Greg Harmon of the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls expected all along that we would see some tornadoes, but he was still shocked by the total events of the day. “Everyone at the office knew we were going to have severe weather that day,” said Greg, “but I don’t think anyone was expecting anything close to a record tornado event; especially since we live in an area that usually sees 24 tornadoes during a year."
Things really started firing up that evening at about 5 o’clock. The first tornado was reported a little after 5:10 near Mt. Vernon. The storm continued to move towards the Northeast as more storms began developing near the Yankton area. At about 6:30, the storm cell that had produced the tornado near Mt. Vernon had now produced an F-3 tornado in the Woonsocket area. At about that same time here, I was getting ready to go play a softball game in town. We got to the entrance of the park when the clouds opened up and let a downpour of rain fall out. Similar to Pi’s first rainstorm on the lifeboat, “the temperature dropped, and the downpour was steady and cold (pg. 155).”
At about 7:30, the storm in the Woonsocket area had moved on towards Manchester, where it would drop the strongest tornado of the night, an F-4, that leveled the tiny town. Numerous severe storms began pounding the southeast corner of the state as the storms towards the Mitchell area began to weaken. Several tornado warnings were issued in the southeast corner, but thankfully none of the storms did any severe damage. The strongest tornado caused some damage in Parker to the Turner County Fairgrounds. The storms still packed a heavy punch of rain and wind though. The wind and rain was as deafening as the “hissing and coiling of the sea” was to Pi (pg. 157.) By the end of the night, over 350 warnings, statements, and storm reports had been issued by the weather offices in Sioux Falls and Aberdeen, while damage costs from the storms totaled more than $13.3 million.
Trevor Anderson’s Question:
What 10 things would you want to have on your life boat if you were stranded in the ocean (excluding electronics)?
Being stranded in the middle of the ocean would be an extremely scary experience, especially if you were unprepared. Pi was lucky to have found the secret stash of goodies in his lifeboat. If I was stranded on a lifeboat and my only hope was what was inside of a secret locker, this is what I would like to find inside of it:
1. I think that water would be very important to have. People can live longer without food than they can without water. It would be hard to be surrounded by water that you were unable to drink when you were dying of thirst. The water inside of your body only lasts so long and would slowly leave your system through perspiration due to the hot weather of the open seas. Therefore, water is vital in order remain healthy and alive.
2. A compass would be a necessity in order to know where I was going. It’s one thing when you’re lost on land where it’s not as difficult to figure out where you are, but when stranded in the middle of the ocean where all around you are miles of vast ocean, then it’s a tad bit more difficult. The compass would be a major help.
3. In order to eat and obtain my food, I would like to find a fishing rod and hooks, bait, etc. in the locker. This way I would be able to go fishing and catch fish to eat.
4. A first aid kit is a necessity to every life boat. You never know when you will hurt yourself and need the assistance of a first aid kit.
5. I think that a book would be nice to have. There would be absolutely nothing to do in the middle of the ocean, and the continuous blue of the ocean water and the constant sound of the breeze would clog your head of imagination. A book would allow me to escape from my suffering for a while and let my imagination soar.
6. Blankets are important items to have. They would keep me warm when the night got chilly. Also, they could serve as protection against the rays of the scorching sun. They could also be used as a towel when things started to get too wet.
7. The different weather conditions and the exposure to the sunlight would make it useful to have clothing on the lifeboat. Clothing covers the body and helps protect it, kind of like skin protects the underlying tissues of our body. Clothing helps protect against the rays of the sun just like the blankets would.
8. I would like to have a calendar so that way I would be able to keep track of the days.
9. I would like to have some type of food at the beginning that would last me a while until I learned how to provide for myself in the new conditions.
10. Finally, I would enjoy the company of a photo of a close friend for times when I felt lonely.
Andrea Offermann
”I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story.”
I agree with Mrs. Offermann that art and literature are connected. Literature is simply the stories we read and the way we use words and phrases to get a point across or to express a feeling. Art does the same thing, minus the words. Art can tell a story simply by a painting, drawing, or sculpture. Every form of art has its own way of telling a story or getting a point across. Have you ever heard the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words”? This expression alone is agreeing with Offermann and I that art can speak for itself and tell a wonderful story.
Professor Huxley, an English biologist of the 1800s, quoted the following: "I imagine," he said, "that it is the business of the artist and of the man of letters to reproduce and fix forms of imagination to which the mind will afterwards recur with pleasure.” He is explaining how literature and art work hand in hand to tell a story. He says that the words along with the artwork allow the reader to imagine what is happening. The artwork provides somewhat of a pleasure to the reader because it is giving the reader something colorful and fun to look at rather than the black and white of the text. I found Huxley’s quote very informing and relatable.
Because art and literature are connected, it’s always nice to have some artwork along with the story itself in a novel. Pictures help me get a better understanding of what is going on in the book. They also allow me to let my imagination soar. Artwork gives the reader a chance to view the story from the perspective of somebody else rather than just relying on their own thoughts. Studying the artwork of a novel is a form of digging into the novel and really getting to understand the point of the story rather than just reading it.
Tomislav Torjanac: Artist response
I find that what Mr. Torjanac says this book is about, “ that reality is what we make it, that perspective creates perception i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them,” to be interesting. This statement fit’s the end of the book perfectly, because ultimately we get to choose what variation of the story is true. However, Mr. Torjanac thinks it goes deeper than that. He says, “In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality.”
I think that is why when there is a book that has been made into a movie, you often here people say “the book was better.” While a movie is undoubtedly more entertaining to most of us than reading, at the same time it takes away from our imagination. “The island was carnivorous. This explained the disappearance of the fish in the pond. The island attracted saltwater fish into its subterranean tunnels-how, I don’t know; perhaps fish ate the algae as gluttonously as I did. They became trapped…At night, by some chemical process unknown to me but obviously inhibited by sunlight, the predatory algae turned highly acidic and the ponds became vats of acid that digested the fish. This was why Richard Parker returned to the boat every night. This was why the meerkats slept in the trees. This was why I had never seen anything but algae on the island. And this explained the teeth.” This scene is one of the most exciting, tense moments of the book, but a movie can’t capture the whole realm of what is happening. A movie can only show us the “man-eating” island, although that would be cool to see, and Pi’s reaction, plus some music to intensify the mood. However, a movie wouldn’t be able to show to us Pi’s, Richard Parker’s, and the meerkat’s thoughts and feelings towards this carnivorous land mass.
I think the end of the book is a prime example of my book-vs.-movie theory. “So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?” If a movie director would stay true to the book, he would put both stories in the film. However, if he were to leave one of the stories at the cutting room floor based on pure entertainment value, most likely the story with animals would get cut. If that were the case then, the director would be determining the ending and voiding the moviegoer of one of the great aspects of the book according to Mr. Torjanac: “we get to create the meaning of it all.” Personally, I think for the Life of Pi movie to be successful, one of the stories needs to get cut, hopefully the story without animals. When people watch something, they want a concrete ending to everything. When viewers don’t exactly know how everything ends, they get upset, like the final episode of the “Sopranos” for example. Whereas in a good book, the ending and what really happened, is left up to the imagination of the reader.
Question number 7 from the blue sheet
“Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism.” This statement is true about every animal, plant, or organism on the earth. Wanting to live is a part of nature and nature is everything that is natural. So it is natural for everything in nature to want to survive. An organism will go the distance and work as hard as they are physically possible to live. In order to live, people will do un-humane things just to live that extra day. In this novel Pi shows us just how far the will to live can go. In the “normal” world thinking about eating and drinking our excrement is just thought of as disgusting, but in the world of survival, it just may be the way to survive that extra day until someone finds you. Pi trys to eat Richard Parkers bodily wastes because he is so hungry and has nothing else to eat. He also thinks about drinking his own urine to quench his thirst. These instances show how desperate people get when they are about to die. Nothing can stop the urge to survive and nothing is too dirty, disgusting, and repulsive enough to stop this urge. I remember reading one day about a hiker who’s urge to live was much greater then the pain he had to put himself through. This hiker was hiking in the mountains by himself when a falling boulder crashed down onto his arm. The man sat there in pain for almost a day, calling, waiting for someone to rescue him. No one came. The man had a make a life or death decision, lay there and die or cut off his arm and return down the hill. The man began to saw off his trapped arm with a hunting knife he had with him. The man successfully made it down the mountain and is still alive to tell his story. Some people may call him crazy and courageous, but I believe in anyone was in that situation, they would choose the same path he did. It was his instinct that he needed to live and do what was necessary. I have never heard of someone who had a choice to live, that chose death instead. Life is what we are here for so why would be want in any other way.
# 13. Good authors can provide endless thinking opportunities; without them, life would be dull.
“The fruit was not a fruit. It was a dense accumulation of leaves glued together in a ball. The dozens of stems were dozens of leaf stems. Each stem that I pulled caused a leaf to peel off.
After a few layers I came to leaves that had lost their stems and were flatly glued to the ball. I used my fingernails to catch their edges and pull them off. Sheath after sheath of leaf lifted, like the skins off an onion. I could simply have ripped the ‘fruit’ apart-I still call it that for lack of a better word-but I chose to satisfy my curiosity in a measured way.
It shrunk from the size of an orange to that of a mandarin. My lap and the branches below were covered with thin, soft leaf peelings.
It was now the size of a rambutan.
I still get shivers in my spine when I think of it.
The size of a cherry.
An then it came to light, an unspeakable pearl at the heart of a green oyster.
A human tooth.
A molar, to be exact. The surface stained green and finely pierced with holes.
The feeling of horror came slowly. I had time to pick at the other fruit.
Each contained a tooth.
One a canine.
Another a premolar.
Here an incisor.
There another molar(280).
Thirty-two teeth. A complete human set. Not one tooth missing.
Understanding dawned upon me.
I did not scream. I think only in movies is horror vocal. I simply shuddered and left the tree.
I spent the day in turmoil, weighing my options. They were all bad.
That night, in bed in my usual tree, I tested my conclusion. I took hold of a meerkat and dropped it from the branch.
It squeaked and fell through the air. When it touched the ground, it instantly made for the tree.
With typical innocence it returned to the spot right next to me. There it began to lick its paws vigorously. It seemed much discomforted. It panted heavily.
I could have left it at that. But I wanted to know for myself. I climbed down and took hold of the rope. I had made knots in it to make my climbing easier. When I was at the bottom of the tree, I brought my feet to within an inch of the ground. I hesitated.
I let go.
At first I felt nothing. Suddenly a searing pain shot up through my feet. I shrieked. I thought I would fall over. I managed to take hold of the rope and pull myself off the ground. I frantically rubbed the soles of my feet against the tree trunk. It helped, but not enough. I climbed back to my branch. I soaked my feet in the bucket of water next to my bed. I wiped my feet with leaves. I took the knife and killed two meerkats and tried to soothe the pain with their blood and innards. Still my feet burned. They burned all night. I couldn’t sleep for it, and from the anxiety” (281).
This passage by Yann Martel particularly sticks out in my mind. It is an excellent example of great writing, and writing that can be interpreted in many different ways. This is beautiful writing in the fact that you could read this and believe the animal story and you can also read this and believe the human story. Yann is describing how Pi is on this island and that he has everything he needs to survive, food, fresh water, and companions, the meerkats. This passage can relate to the animal story in the sense that you could realize that living with a tiger on a boat for 227 days is not very possible, and you could read this thinking well if Pi can survive on a boat with a 450 pound carnivore, he could just happen to be on an island that is also carnivorous. You could also think that the island also exists because there are many parts of the world that have yet to be discovered by humans. For example humans find new forms of medication in the rain forest everyday, so having an island that has some chemical reaction once the sun goes down that is flesh eating does not seem too far-fetched. With the human story you could see the island as a form of mental release for Pi. Richard Parker exploring the island and looking for a mate could symbolize Pi’s wild side being let free and expanding. When Richard Parker returns to the boat you could see it as Pi’s humanness coming back to him. For me, believing in the human story, I see this as a form of Pi’s hallucinations. I believe that Pi mentally escaped from his cannibalism, while eating the chef, to this island that seemed perfect with all that he was longing for to survive. The meerkats are his form of comfort. When the meerkats cover him at night I believe it is a metaphor for a comfort blanket. When Pi discovers that the island is flesh eating that is the part of him that is coming back to reality, waking up from his daydream realizing that he is still on a boat and is eating a fellow human being. He really starts to come back to consciousness once he finds the teeth, because teeth are the only part of the human body that cannot be consumed. So when he describes unpeeling what he thought would be a fruit and he finds teeth in the middle, I believe he has regained reality and returned back to complete consciousness. I admire Martel’s ways of writing because he really allows readers to decide how they want to interpret the novel, and requires many different ways of thought.
Torjanac-- “I’m glad you like Pi’s perspective. I haven’t thought of doing the illustrations from some of the other characters’ perspectives, but it’s an interesting idea. What do you think of hyena’s perspective?”
http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/10/10/15196/034--In the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel dichotomizes the perceptual realities, and psychological realities of Piscine Monitor Patel. Martel is insistent in not "sacrifice[ing] our imagination on the altar of crude reality"(Pi); and to do this, he sets forth in making us wonder whether we are reading an imaginative fiction, or a real life story. Written as a factual account, we are constantly reminded that Pi is alive and doing well in Montreal, but his story's credibility is also constantly held under speculation, with the far-fetched passages such as that of the algae island, and the blind sailor. The differences between facts and realities, fact and fiction, literalism and imagination, are themes that run throughout the novel. Pi deals with these oppositions, through his acceptance of co-existence of opposites.
Life of Pi is a novel that is all up to the reader’s imagination. It allows people to expand their ways of thinking and to dig deeper than ever thought possible. With Torjanac’s artwork he still allows the reader to believe and picture things in their own way. He does his illustrations from Pi’s point of view never showing his face. By doing this he is allowing the reader to feel like they are Pi Patel, and are experiencing things that he had to go through. If Torjanac was to go with a different perspective such as from the zebra’s point of view, it would allow the viewer to further expand their way of thinking and help them to better understand what that animal was going through. The viewer would get lost in the painting feeling as if they were the zebra, going through pain and agony with a broken leg, and by being eaten alive. With looking at Torjanac’s artwork I believe he did an excellent job of adding little bits that can be interpreted in many different ways, for example the red balloon in the wise men painting. When artists add little things to their work, it makes the piece far more interesting and helps people relate to the piece. The opinion from bookrags.com also goes with Torjanac’s forms of artwork. It is saying how Life of Pi allows readers to decide their own ways of interpreting the novel. It states how Yann Martel did a fantastic job of having the reader decide what they thought really happened and what they thought was fiction. With the description of the algae island Yann Martel was giving the reader an opportunity to decide fiction from nonfiction. It is not everyday that we hear about an island that is carnivorous. It is also not everyday that we hear of a 15-16 year old boy living with a tiger on a boat for 227 days, or of a boy being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and running into another castaway. From the beginning Martel fooled the readers, making it seem that the novel was nonfiction, and that there was really a man by the name of Pi Patel. With combining realistic things, and non-realistic things I believe Martel allowed readers to really get lost in his book. Life of Pi is different from any other book I have read because I could read it over and over again and continue to find different ways of interpretation. It also allowed me to do problem solving, and elimination; it made me think of how I view religion, science, and life. I enjoyed discussing it during class because it allowed me to listen to other students and see their ways of thinking, and help me further understand the point Martel was giving off.
reaction to the Life of Pi anticipation guide.
# 12 Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts, because when we hurt other people, we realize they are being hurt; when cats play with and eat mice, the cat has no idea that the mouse is in pain. This makes people the least respectable of all species (concept from Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Race).
We are extremely wretched. Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts. There is some sort of evil in every individual. It could be a bully picking on a challenged person or a teenage girl spreading gossip to the school. We are all guilty and can’t deny it. There is so much hatred involved in human nature. We can’t help our actions sometimes. It’s sick. There are so many examples of how humans can be so wretched. For instance, the school shootings in the united states during the last 10ish years. Many innocent teenage lives were taken because of some selfish decisions. When a bully picks on a kid in grade school, it hurts so many people. Not only the kid being picked on but the kid’s friends, parents and the bully. It’s sad to see the bully enjoy tormenting a kid buts human nature. Another thing that bothers me is Hitler. He is a disgrace to the human race. What he did was beyond horrible. I’ve heard many theories why Hitler didn’t like the Jewish race but the one that I remember the most was because his artwork was criticized by a Jewish person. He then goes on a rampage and kills thousands of people because of their religion, race, disabilities and ect. This makes me so frustrated. It leaves me speechless on a human can kill so many people on reasons that the person can’t change. The humans mind works extremely different than that of an animal. I will state some of Martel’s words to help explain. My sweet brother I whispered. I am here, he replied. I heard a faint growl. Brother there’s something AI forgot to mention. He landed upon me heavily. We fell half onto the tarpaulin, half onto the middle bench. His hands reached for my throat. Brother, I gasped through his overeager embrace, “my heart is with you, but I must urgently suggest we repair to another of my humble ship. You’re damn right your hear is with me! He said. And your lever and your flesh! I could feel him moving off the tarpaulin onto the middle bench and, fatally, bringing a foot down to the floor of the boat. No, no, my brother! Dont! Were not-“I tried to hold him back. Alas it was too late. Before I could say the word alone, I was alone again. I heard the merest clicking of claws against of the boat, no more that the sound of a pair of spectacles falling to the floor, and the next moment my dear brother shrieked in my face like I’ve never heard a man shriek before. He let go of me. This was the terrible cost of Richard Parker, He gave me a life, my own, but at the expense of taking one. He ripped the flesh off the man’s frame and cracked his bones. The smell of blood filled my nose. Something in me died then that has never come back to life. (254) 238 Martel’s words. This scene in the novel “Life of Pi” demonstrates the concept of Mark Twain. The blood thirsty human that attempts to kill Pi gets killed because he stepped in Richard Parker’s territory. The reason why the human tried to kill pi was because of his selfish human nature based mind. It’s also the reason why Richard Parker killed the man…For food, necessity. This shows twisted a human mind can become. It’s sickening to believe that a human develops an animalistic mind when in times of despair. This next exert shows the animalistic mind at work. Dumb with pain and horror, I watched as Orange Juice thumped the hyena ineffectually and pulled at its hair while her throat was being squeezed by its jaws. To the end she reminded me of us: her eyes expressed fear in such a humanlike way, as did her strained whimpers. She made an attempt to climb onto the tarpaulin. The hyena violently shook her. She fell off the bench to the bottom of the lifeboat, the hyena with her. I heard noises but no longer saw anything. (131) this exert shows Orange juice being attacked by the hyena. The hyena is not attacking Orange Juice for kicks and giggles. It is attacking Orange Juice mainly because of its stupidity and hunger. It’s natural for the animal to kill. It’s what the hyena is meant to do. That’s why it’s given its strong jaws at birth. This shows how the hyena doesn’t have any idea what it is doing wrong. It’s all right to him. A ungrateful selfish human would perform similar wrong doings with a conscience and would understand the wrong involved in the situation. That’s what makes a human so horrible.
Student based question.
Describe the emotions and the scene Pi experiences when his father teaches the lesson they (Pi and his brother) are never to forget. Have you ever experienced something like this in your own life?
Pi’s emotions are crazy. He is scared, confused, and excited all at the same time. His father did a great job at teaching his kids to not be an idiot and try to mess around with a wild animal, because they will rip your face off. And this could very well happen in real life, it practically did with Mr. C’s friend who a tiger came charging at. Luckily a cage was in the way of him and the tiger, otherwise it would be a bloody mess. I can’t imagine the feelings I would have if a tiger charged me or I watched a tiger rip up a goat. It’s not only the tiger Pi’s dad used to teach them a lesson but just about every animal in the zoo. He went through one by one telling how each individual animal could squash them or charge them or kill them. “A streak of black and orange flowed from one cage to the next. Normally the big cats were not given food one day a week. To simulate conditions in the wild. WE found out later that Father had ordered that Mahishe not be fed for three days. I don’t know if I saw blood before turning into Mothers arms or if a daubed it on later, in my memory, with a big brush, But I heard. It was enough to scare the living vegeatarian daylights out of me. Mother bundled us out. WE were in hysterics. She was incensed.” That’s the lesson Santosh taught his boys. Imagine being there and seeing it. It would scare the living day lights out of anyone, grown or just a kid. I can remember a lesson that was taught to me that was like this but it wasn’t my dad or anyone I knew who taught me. We were in Washington D.C. when I was in second grade driving down the interstate. All of a sudden out of right field a car came flying passed us. He or she swerved around us and a couple of other cars until he tried to pass another car but couldn’t make it. He ended up hitting the side of the other car and ran them and himself into the concrete walls separating the interstates. The cars were totaled. Later that night we watched the news to see what happened and figured out that the person who ran into the other car killed the passenger and injured the driver. The crazy driver suffered a concussion and that’s about it. We learned that alcohol was involved. Out of everything I have been taught throughout my twelve years of high school about driving drunk never hit me as hard was watching this accident. Alcohol impairs your judgment and the person thought they could pass the other car and ended up not being able to. I will never be put in that situation. I will never have to feel the pain that person has to deal with knowing that he killed someone. Never will I drive drunk because of watching the effects of it first hand.
Blue Sheet
Zoos are great places for animals to be
Zoos are great places for animals to be because they live in a suite for free. They never have to leave and they are always taken care of. When they wake up breakfast is always there waiting for them. They don’t even have to lift a paw, and, or wing. After breakfast they get to lie around care free in the shade of trees without worrying about predators or prey. They can just relax. In the afternoon they don’t have to worry about finding water to cool them of from the heat of the day because it’s right there for them. Also, if they get to hot they can just jump in their pool to cool off. They might even get an afternoon snack to hold them over till supper. When supper comes they don’t have to worry about going out and finding food, they can just sit back and relax and let it be brought to the. Like room service. After supper its time to lie down and fall asleep in a nice comfortable place, carefree. During all of this they get constant care to make sure they don’t get sick or upset they live the high life compared to an animal in the wild that has to work for its food, water, and shelter. They also have to constantly worry about getting sick or having something attack them. Also if they have cubs they don’t have to worry about them getting attacked and killed because at a zoo there taken care of with very special care. In the wild they have to worry and constantly protect their young. They sometimes go through the emotional tragedy of losing one of them. While as in zoos the cubs are perfectly ok all the time. Animals living in a zoo are like living in one of the best hotels and the best suite and having everything done for you while you live a nice carefree life. People also say that animals would prefer to be free, but why would you want to leave some place that gave you everything you wanted whenever you wanted. In Life of Pi, Pi Patel says “Animals in the wild lead lives of compulsion and necessity within an unforgiving social hierarchy an in 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. In theory that is, as a simple physical possibility-an animal could pick up and go, flaunting all the social conventions and boundaries proper to its species. Bt such and even is less likely to happen that for a member of your own species, say a shopkeeper with all the usual ties to family, to friends, to society- to drop everything and walk way from his life with only the spare change in his pockets and the clothes on his frame, If a man, boldest and most intelligent of creatures, wont wander from place to place, a stranger to all, beholden to none, why would an animal, which is by temperament far more conservative? For that is what animals are, conservative, lone might even say reactionary. The smallest changes can upset them. They want things to be just so, day after day, month after month.
Artist Interaction
This book deals with what is, in my opinion, the ultimate truth: that reality is what we make it, that perspective creates perception i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them. (Not much different from what the quantum physicists have been telling us in recent years.) So, once we reach the end of the book, the ball is obviously in our court, and we don’t just get to choose one of the two stories told to the investigators but much more than that. In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality. I think he is totally right. However you look at something is how you are going to take it. Take a joke for example, if you didn’t get the joke you are not going to find it funny and not get the whole reason for the joke. But if you do get the joke you can find it funny and get the whole reason for the joke. Books are another great example. Without our discussions in class I would have never gotten the real reason and the meanings behind the books we read. They helped me understand that Lord of The Flies was all about the human condition and how a human will turn into a barbarian if the situation presents itself and we lose our domesticated ways. Like in Life of Pi, the way Yan Martel wrote it and ended it makes us decide what story is true to us. If you read it in a way that what he was saying was the exact way it happened and just told the story about the people to satisfy the Japanese men then you are going to take it in a different way than a person who read it differently. There are so many possible theories for the book. Classes each year come up with a different one. Take Andrea Pollard of example, she read it has each animal stood for one of the three religions Pi followed, so her understanding of the book is different than mine. I took it the same way Moss and Machino took it where Pi made up the story about the animals to help him cope with what really happened where the cook killed everyone until Pi killed the cook. Also I think the island that he stayed on was real even though it wasn’t very plausible where as John Flint thinks that the island is his happy place when he is eating human flesh. By reading just one book people came up with their own theories and took the book and a totally different way than I did. That is what Thomas is saying.
Who in your life is the one person you look up to like Pi looks up to Mamaji?
By VanHemertL
In life, everyone has some person to look up to. That person they look up to can be anyone. People have another person to look up to because they use them to boost their confidence in life. It is sort of like a guide. This person can either be a good influence or a bad influence. The person that is usually looked up to can range from a big celebrity, or some one that you see everyday that is close to you such as a family member. In my case, I look up to my dad. I try to surround myself with people I know that are going to help me live a successful life. My dad has taught me so many things to living a successful life that I could never think of them all to name off. I think the reason why I look up to my dad is because I have been with him or seen him the majority of my life. My dad along with my mom has taken care of me ever since I was born. From first day he got me, he taught me things to living a great life even though I was too young to realize what was happening. As I got older and older, I would observe him more. I would become curious to what everything is and how everything works. My dad would tell me as much as I would ask and teach me as much as I could possibly learn. I always thought my dad was some sort of genius. Since I am the only son, I would get to do things daughters or brothers wouldn’t get to do. My dad would teach me everything one on one such as fixing things in the house, working on the car, doing work all sorts of things. My dad can fix pretty much anything, and seeing that at a young age made me thing that he was a superman. It only inspired me to want to be like him more. I think that it is crucial for a father to be a big part in a child’s life. Not only is it important to always be there, but you must also set a good example. If you do this, it will forever be remembered and lessons will be passed on. I know that someday, when I become a dad that I will be there for my kids and be willing to teach them anything for them to become more successful in life. It is important to show
I think that a good mentor is someone that is there for you, whether it may be now, or if they die and their spirit or teachings remain in you. In Life of Pi, Pi talks about how Mamaji became his friend and he describes him. I took an excerpt out from Ch. 3 to show this.
...”He became a good friend of the family. I called him Mamaji, mama being the Tamil word for uncle and ji being a suffix used in India to indicate respect and affection. When he was a young man, long before I was born, Mamaji was a champion competitive swimmer, the champion of all South India. He looked the part his whole life. My brother Ravi once told me that when Mamji was born he didn’t want to give up on breathing water and so the doctor, to save his life, had to take him by the feet and swing him above his head round and round…” (pg 8)
“Mamaji had to wait until I came into the picture to find a willing disciple. The day I came of swimming age, which, to Mother’s distress, Mamaji claimed was seven, he brought me down to the beach, spread his arms seaward and said, “This is my gift to you.” “And then he nearly drowned you,” claimed Mother. I remained faithful to my aquatic guru. Under his watchful eye I lay on the beach and fluttered my legs and scratched away at the sand with my hands, turning my head at every stroke to breathe. I must have looked like a child throwing a peculiar, slow-motion tantrum. In the water, as he held me at the surface, I tired my best to swim. It was much more difficult than on land. But Mamaji was patient and encouraging.” (pg 9)
“ He was a great story teller, but forget about his studies or the Eiffel Tower or the Lourvre or the cafes of the Champs-Elysees. All his stories had to do with swimming pools and swimming competitions.”
“It was the only pool that made Mamaji fall silent, his memory making too many lengths to mention. Mamaji remembered, father dreamed. That is how I got my named when I entered this world, a last, welcome addition to my family, three years after Ravi: Piscine Molitor Patel.”
Essay #2 (blue sheet)
8. All Islamic people are bloodthirsty.
I do not agree with his phrase. I am a Catholic an am not supposed to believe in another religion, but I believe that Islam is treated to poorly. It is a religion that is somewhat different than others and is often misinterpreted by the rest of the world. In the place we live in today, we are not given the chance to stop and analyze things. In some cases religious views are not really given that chance. In the United States and in most Christian areas we see Islam as being bad. In fact, the true Islam is not bad. It is not asking for people to go out and kill innocents. Islam is not asking for followers to go and bomb people so that they will go to heaven peacefully. Really, it is similar to Christianity and is asking for its people to get along with others and live a life of peace. People such as the terrorists and radical Islamists are the ones we see as being true Islamists. When we see them on the news or hear people talking about them, we believe that they are the true meaning of Islam. They are not Islam. They are people that misinterpret their religion and take things out of hand. It would be best for terrorists around the world to not use a religion as their base of operations. Using a religion to support your views such as Islam only causes more issues. Ever since the times of the Crusades and Jihads, people have treated Islam poorly. It was back then when radicals (or early terrorists) started their poor representation of Islam. When we read Life of Pi, Islam is treated poorly. It is the third and last religion that is mentioned and talked about. Islam is also not talked about as much as the other religions in the novel. I think that people need to stop and take time to analyze what is really going on in this world. If they go on living off of lies such as the media saying Islam is what the terrorists represent then they will live a brainwashed life. Being a Christian, I also believe that we must educate ourselves on other religions, so that we can understand their views with out causing problems down the road. If we continue to think that we need to capture all of these Muslims (peaceful Islamists we think are terrorists) then we will become nothing but blood thirsty Christians. One other thing I forgot to mention is that Islam isn’t the only religion that has radicals, or ones that say they are doing the work of God. All religions have some sort of extremists, its just that the world tends to use Islam as its target because that is what the past has done.
To show that Islam is a peaceful religion, I took some information from the experts at about.com. They said, “The name of the religion is Islam, which comes from an Arabic root word meaning "peace" and "submission." Islam teaches that one can only find peace in one's life by submitting to Almighty God (Allah) in heart, soul and deed. The same Arabic root word gives us "Salaam alaykum," ("Peace be with you"), the universal Muslim greeting.”
5sheffieldj#1 said...
Mr. Torjanac,
In the process of creating the artwork for Life of Pi did you ever stop and think what it would be like if it were you in Pi's position and if so did that contribute to the way you drew a particular piece? Also by not showing Pi's face it does allow the reader to keep their own idea of what Pi looks like however I would be very much intersted to see how you would portray Pi yourself.
It wasn’t hard for me to put myself in Pi’s shoes while reading/illustrating the book. For example, I love animals and I can’t imagine harming them or killing them, so my choice is not to eat them. It really got me thinking what I would have done if I had been, like Pi, starving in the middle of the ocean (I hope I never get the opportunity find out). That definitely contributed to the way I painted the illustrations.
I’m not sure if I could portray Pi, especially after a year of painting things from his perspective. In my mind, he has no face and thousands of faces at the same time.
I like how Mr. Torjanac responded to Mr. Sheffield’s question. He talked about how he made a connection with Pi while doing his artwork. In my opinion I feel that it is crucial for an artist to connect with a character if they are doing artwork based on a novel. When Torjanac says, “I’m not sure if I could portray Pi, especially after a year of painting things from his perspective. In my mind, he has no face and thousands of faces at the same time.” He makes things seem more interesting. He leaves things to us. He tries to make us get a visual for ourselves and form our own opinion on what Pi is actually thinking while analyzing what he himself is trying to portray. Mr. Torjanac has that special talent of sending a message, while at the same time trying to get you to think of your own. A lot of artists simply cannot do what Torjanac has done. Most of them just paint their opinion on what they see instead of leaving a question out there for the other reader to see. That makes reading less fun, since you don’t get to use your imagination as much. Another thing that stood out was when Torjanac said, “In my mind, he has no face and thousands of faces at the same time.” He shows us this in his artwork when he paints different perspectives of Pi. To me, this only adds on more excitement to the reading, since this is how Pi is portrayed in the novel.
own.
This reaction is based on the information received from Andrea Offermann
She states that Art and literature have always been connected. She thin talks about how back in the old cave paintings was a prime example. At that time there was no primary language. They had to rely on pictures or ‘art’ to relay stories. I am intrigued on how she explains on how art is not needed in literature but can be helpful. It helps the reader react and get more involved. It makes the reader a traveler not a tourist. It can also shift opinions on the book by seeing a scene differently. In one of her paintings it shows the hyena and OJ fighting. This is a very gruesome scene in the book. It also shows Pi way off in the distance curled up in a ball. When reading this scene first I didn’t realize how remote Pi was. He did his best to not be a part of any of the actions going on the boat. This painting showed me a different perspective on that scene. She explains that she knew what scene she wanted to do illustrate right away. She claims to see things that are not added in the text. Art can add so much to literature giving it more depth and a wider variety of angles. It lets the mind sore rather than sit. “Martel offers a lot of information to visualize, but at the same time he leaves a lot of room for the reader to imagine and choose what he wants to see, so it’s a wonderful book to create for.” This statement made by offermann really works for any book. You can make what you want out of any book. Like at the end of this novel Martel gives the reader more than one ending. This gives the reader so much freedom in thinking and imagining. Mrs. Offerman shares her reaction to a scene in the novel. It’s the part where the Tsimtsum is sinking. It’s a horrible scene. I can’t imagine what he was going through during this scene. Mrs. Offerman claims Pi’s world is falling apart, turned upside down. I totally agree with this statement. Pi is losing his whole family. Being his parents and his brother not to mention all the animals he grew up with. With her description of this scene it makes it more touching.
Here is an expert’s opinion on art and its boundaries. “Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others. “
Albert Camus
This quote relates to Andrea Offermann’s answers. She claims that it is so important to go beyond the book and this quote demonstrates it.
A zoo is a great place for an animal to live. A zoo gives an animal a place to study animal behavior and to give people a chance to witness a live animal. Animals are given an environment close to their own in the wild so that they are comfortable. A lot of people think that zoo’s are cruel to animals. They feel that they have them in unnatural environment and are only in cages for people’s entertainment. Animals are treated well at zoo’s they have immediate medical help and the right diet for each species. Endangered species are kept in zoos to try and help repopulate the species. They will breed these animals and try to release them back into the wild. Pi talks about the Pondicherry zoo as a huge zoo that requires a train to explore the whole thing. Pi’s dad was hotel manager and talks about how the animals would be a hotel manager’s worst nightmare. The zoo is paradise to Pi he feels lucky to live at a zoo. He says he has the fondest memories of the zoo. Pi says “The wild animal is simple, noble and meaningful, they imagine. Then it is captured by wicked men and thrown into tiny jails.” Pi is explaining what people against zoo’s think. He completely disagrees. He believes that animals like the zoo. Pi claims that all animals are content at the zoo which allows us to view them and allows them to view us. Pi tells story to defend his argument. “In another zoo a worker was walking to his work site at an early hour, carrying planks of wood, when, to his horror, a bear emerged from the morning mist, heading straight for him at a confident pace. The man dropped the planks and ran for his life. The zoo staff immediately started searching for the escaped bear. They found it back in its enclosure, having climbed down into its pit the way it had climbed out.” Pondicherry zoo is run to show the animals to the people and to help the animals. Pi says “They show their raiments. They sing their songs. They turn to each other and perform their rites. The reward for watching eye and the listening ear is great.” I think that this proves animals are at home in the zoos. If they didn’t like the zoos they would be acting like they would in their natural habitats.
Global warming is not a big deal. Global warming isn’t even a real thing. Global warming is political tool for the democrats to vote for them or for scientist to receive money from the government for their research. I was listening to Rush Limbaugh one day he gave a stat saying thousands of scientists believe there is not global warming and it is more likely that the world will cool. The icecaps that Al Gore showed melting in his movie later refroze and is bigger then before. The weather patterns on earth change and the liberals are trying to take advantage of it by claiming it is caused by humans. Al Gore is trying to gain popularity by using global warming. He claims that there is no doubt that global warming exist and that people who don’t believe it are as stupid who still believe that the world is flat. I don’t think global warming is a big deal at all. To me global warming isn’t real. The weather this winter was colder then it has been in awhile. If global warming was real don’t you think the winter wouldn’t have been so cold? The weather shows that global warming isn’t occurring. If it is as big of deal as people said technology will help to stop it. I think it would be a good idea to get away from nonrenewable fuel. Using fuel that can be created in the United States will help the country but I don’t think that driving our cars can cause global warming. If Al Gore believed in global warming as much as he says he does why does he fly in the most non fuel-efficient jet in the world? The news media has decided to believe in global warming too. They do not take both sides they make Al Gore look like a brilliant man. Tim Bell wrote “Global Warming, as we think we know it, doesn't exist. And I am not the only one trying to make people open up their eyes and see the truth. But few listen, despite the fact that I was one of the first Canadian Ph.Ds. in Climatology and I have an extensive background in climatology.” There is a petition that was made that was signed by over 19,000 scientists that say global warming isn’t real. The earths climate changes it is not changed by humans. Global Warming is a hoax.
“I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines.” I agree with what she says about literature and art. Before the use of language and writing down words they used picture to send a message. Her talking about the cave paintings is a good example of that. Art is very important to literature and literature is important to art. When you write a story or describe a scene you are drawing a picture in the readers mind. When you are a drawing or painting a picture you are showing a story. Art can help show a scene in a book. The pictures that she drew helped show a scene in the book. It is very helpful to see picture of literature you read. On the other hand it could be completely different then what you thought it would look like and then you don’t like the picture. In movies after you read the book if you might not like the way the characters list because you had a different picture in your head. I like to watch the movie after reading the book because sometimes it helps you get the book better. If you don’t get a certain part the movie can show you what is happening. I liked seeing the art work that the artist did for the book. It was cool to see the scenes in the artist perspective. Andrea Offerman did really good job in creating the scenes in life of Pi. I however like Tomislav Torjanacs pictures better because everything is from Pi’s perspective. When you look at the picture you see what he would be seeing in the scene.
Andrea Offermann-“One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes.”
I agree with what Offermann says her. Before we were developed humans, we used pictures to illustrate what we were trying to say or show. Cave men used drawings of animals and of themselves to communicate with others. Most of these drawings or writings were about hunting and the need for survival. If something terrible had happened like a severe storm, they would make paintings on the wall to remember them. If we think towards more recent times, we use pictures books to teach our children lessons at an early age. When we were all kids the books our parents read to us were mostly pictures without many words. These books still told a story but just in a different way. As we grew older the pictures became less and less, and the words got longer, and more difficult. I think both types of books still have the same effect on the reader. They both tell a story that we can visually see. The more difficult books do not have pictures because as we age, our minds are more advanced and we are able to picture the story without the pictures already drawn out for us.
“I believe that we perceive writing and images on different levels. When we read we are decoding abstract signs into meaning. When we see an image the understanding is instantaneous, the information is received much easier. Also, images can touch us more directly than a written story, and help us to dive into the story and feel that we are a part of it.”
When pictures are there for us to see, you may be able to better understand what the writer is writing about. In our minds we may be picturing a totally different scene then the writer or artist is thinking. I think it is good to have your own idea of a setting but it is also good to have another persons view. By being able to make a comparison in your head you may catch onto more in depth things in the writing. Pictures can show different things then writing can. Pictures can be useful in books because they can express emotion. Good writers are able to express emotion in their writing but if you have a picture close at hand about the writing, it just makes for a much better vivid picture in your mind. Another good thing about pictures, as Offermann says, is that it can help us feel as if we are part of the story or journey. I like how Life of Pi is illustrated from Pi’s view. This effect helps you believe and feel as if you are on a boat with a 450 pound Bengal tiger. Being able to see what the character sees makes you wonder and dream about what Pi’s journey might actually have been like.
Emily Flint’s question: How significant do you think it is to have a strong bond with your mother? Do you think it is beneficial? Do you think that people with strong bonds with their mothers have an advantage over people who don't?
I believe it is very significant and beneficial to have a strong bond with your mother. Not only that, but with your entire family; brothers and sisters, moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, and even cousins. Family is one of the most important things in the world. They are the ones who have known you since you were born, and will be with you forever. It is important to have a strong bond with someone in your family, but that person is different with everyone. I had a very strong bond with my mother. Me being a girl, the mom comes easier to talk to about some things than the dad. I could talk to my mother about anything and she would always have words of wisdom for me, or she would be there to comfort me. I didn’t always take advice from her or listen to her because her comments were sometimes bias… she was so proud of me that to her, no one else compared so she would always tell me how great I was and I didn’t always like to hear that. I regret every time I yelled at her, because all she ever did was care about me, but that is why it was so important for me to have a strong bond with my mother because she always forgave me and was always there for me no matter what. My mom has helped me with more things than I can even recall. If I didn’t have a strong bond with her, I would have missed out on a lot of opportunities in life. It was definitely beneficial to be so close with my mom. I can now relate with Pi when he acknowledges his family’s death because I know what it feels like to lose a family member. I’m so thankful though that I didn’t lose my entire family like he did. “They were dead; I could no longer deny it. What a thing to acknowledge in your heart! To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures to people the tree of your life and give it new branches. To lose your father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports its branches. To lose your mother, well, that is like losing the sun above you”(127).
Having a strong bond with your family is a huge advantage in life. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if my mother or father hated me. The sad thing is, there are people all over the world who are abused by their parents or even abandoned by their parents. At childmolestationprevention.org, Gene G Able says, “Did you know that most children who are sexually abused, are abused by a family member or close friend? It is estimated that at least two out of every ten girls and one out of every ten boys are sexually abused by the end of their 13th year.” These kids have a huge disadvantage in life because they don’t know what it’s like to grow up in a loving home. Because they never learned what it’s like to be loved, it’s hard for them to learn how to love so they usually end up treating their kids in the same manner. Now I hope I’m not offending anyone by saying these things, and believe me, I’m no expert on this stuff, I guess I’m basing this information on what I’ve learned for other sources. That’s why I believe bonding with your family is such an advantage, because you are loved, and you learn how to love in return. You learn the most from the people you are around most. Family is something that is always there for me, so I have benefited from them in so many ways and have been taught so many things.
Tomislav Torjanac stated, “Life of Pi is a first-person narrative, so I decided to paint all the illustrations from Pi’s perspective. Aside from the idea of involving the reader more on a visual scale, my intention was not to affect his/her own image of Pi, so we never get to see Pi’s face -- all we see are his hands and feet. I thought this device was appropriate because Mr. Martel never described Pi. In his words: “It’s irrelevant what Pi looks like, as it is irrelevant how any of us looks like”. To put it another way, I tried to add another dimension to the story, to broaden its reach, to complement it, but never to compete with it.”
I believe that Tomislav Torjanac is a brilliant artist who puts a lot of thought and heart into all of his pieces. He related his paintings with the book by making them both in first-person from Pi’s perspective. Doing this keeps the reader’s imagination working because Pi’s face is never revealed. Usually when a movie or a book or a piece of art doesn’t reveal something to me I get annoyed because I’m constantly wondering what whatever it is looks like. Somehow, while reading this book, I was able to put a picture of Pi in my head without ever being told what he looks like. Because of this, I agree with what Mr. Martel said, “It’s irrelevant what Pi looks like…” This book has so much imagery and description in it that it is so easy to visualize what it happening at all times. The fact that Tomislav was able to put these images onto paper without Pi’s face gave the exact effect Tomislav was going for. He most definitely complemented the book, and didn’t compete with it. Tomislav deserved wining Martel’s contest because of how well he captured the book.
I think it is really neat that we are actually able to talk with professional, famous artists. I am thankful to both Tomislav and Offermann for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions. It says a lot about a person who is as busy as them to take time out of their busy schedules just to tell a South Dakota English class about themselves and their paintings.
I enjoy looking at all of Tomislav’s paintings, but my favorite would have to be “There goes our lunch.” I find this painting hilarious because these two guys had so much trouble getting to Mexico so they could talk to Pi about his adventure, and when they got there and started questioning them, Pi ended up with both of their lunches. In the painting, one of them is handing Pi his sandwich, and even though he wants to keep it, he still hands it to Pi in the Japanese way, by bowing. The picture also captures the IV bag of Pi’s, telling us they’re in a hospital, and it also show the tape recorder, telling s that they are interviewing him and recording it.
Tomislav is a brilliant artist, and I’m glad he was willing to blog with our college bound English class.
5sheffieldj#1 asked...
“Mr. Torjanac,
In the process of creating the artwork for Life of Pi did you ever stop and think what it would be like if it were you in Pi's position and if so did that contribute to the way you drew a particular piece? Also by not showing Pi's face it does allow the reader to keep their own idea of what Pi looks like however I would be very much intersted to see how you would portray Pi yourself.”
Mr. Torjanac responded, “It wasn’t hard for me to put myself in Pi’s shoes while reading/illustrating the book. For example, I love animals and I can’t imagine harming them or killing them, so my choice is not to eat them. It really got me thinking what I would have done if I had been, like Pi, starving in the middle of the ocean (I hope I never get the opportunity find out). That definitely contributed to the way I painted the illustrations.”
“I’m not sure if I could portray Pi, especially after a year of painting things from his perspective. In my mind, he has no face and thousands of faces at the same time.”
I my opinion I think that it is crucial for the artist to be able to connect with both the reader and the characters if he wants to be able to create artwork that relates to the book and the reader. Mr. Torjanac said that it would be hard to create a picture of Pi because he has been painting from Pi’s perspective for a year. He has no face and a thousand faces at the same time. I totally agree on this because it is easy to get a picture of the other animals and people because he is explaining them the entire book but a description of him is hard because he is never described in the book. Mr. Torjanc has a special talent of putting a picture with words. He has taken this novel and created so many pictures that it’s hard to picture the animals or the people any different way. It sort of takes away though from the fun of reading the book. One of the best parts about reading is creating images in your head and when they make your favorite books into movies it sort of takes away the fun and mystery of thinking what they look like.
Andrea Offermann’s pictures that she paints are very artistic and real. Andrea is a famous painter who painted pictures that go along with Life of Pi. “Literature does not need art, but art can add another level to the story,” said Offermann. I totally agree with what Andrea Offermann says. I agree that you do not need art but art definitely helps with connecting with the story. Art makes you visualize what is said in the words and helps you get a better picture of the story. I think that art is necessary for books because it just increases your knowledge with the story. With Life of Pi I didn’t really understand the book to much but once I saw Andrea Offermann’s drawing I really understood the book much more than I had before. If I hadn’t seen her drawings I probably would have been lost the whole way. I never really knew how this raft that Pi built looked like and I didn’t really understand how we built it. By Andrea Offermann’s pictures it helped me totally get what the raft looked like and how to picture how it was connected to the boat. I also never really understood how Richard Parker was under this tarp and how Pi was above but seeing Andrea Offermann’s pictures helped me get a grip on how this all worked. Andrea Offermann said, “Images can touch us more directly than a written story, and help us to dive into the story and feel that we are a part of it.” I feel that this is also true in that when I read words in a book I do not get as involved in it as when I look at a picture. When I read I usually daydream so I have to come back and reread what I had just read. But in a picture I can usually stay focused because it grabs my attention more and I can read more into a picture than I can a story with words. I think that pictures have more in depth to them than words in a book. Many things can happen in a picture where as in words in a book the author has to describe everything that happens therefore only one thing happens at a time. An example of when Pi has to describe everything would be when he states this in Life of Pi, “By the time the last of the biscuits had disappeared, anything was good to eat, no matter the taste. I could put anything in my mouth, chew it and swallow it- delicious, foul or plain- so long as it wasn’t salty. My body developed a revulsion for salt that I still experience to this day.” OR “My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fancy that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat and said in a half- voice…My baptism was a slightly awkward affair. Mother played along nicely, Father looked on stonily, and Ravi was mercifully absent because of a cricket match, which did not prevent him from commenting at great length on the event.” In these passages from Life of Pi Yann Martel has to describe everything that he did so that the reader can get a feel of what happened or what is going on. Sure description is nice but a picture tells a lot more with no words than a story with a ton of words. When finding an experts opinion I found one at Sonlight Curriculum that said, “Art encourages imagination. It shows students how they might express their own feelings and experiences through painting and drawing. Art helps students to understand and empathize with the living conditions people have endured at various times and places.” I totally agree with what Sonlight Curriculum has to say about how art helps people to understand novels and puts a picture of what the novel is actually saying in one’s mind.
1.Art is essential in school and life.(17 from sheet)
“An excellent artist has the ability to paint a picture in less time than it takes people to look at the picture” Banksy
This quote from Banksy, a well-known artist, means that excellent artwork takes a lot of time to look at because there is a lot of depth to the piece of art. Mr. C said, “Sometimes when he looks at Andrea’s paintings he sees seven sloths and other times he don’t see any”, this is because the painting has a lot of depth and takes a long time to look at and analyze. Many people say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I think that this is true, because most of the chapters in Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, could have been easily explained with only a few pictures. The purpose of art is to help people create their own visual image of what is happening in the text. That is the primary reason why children’s books have many pictures, because children have a hard time reading and pictures allow the child to understand what is happening without understanding the text. Although pictures are usually helpful, there have been times when I was reading a story and then a saw a picture that was totally opposite of what I had already visualized in my head. I also think that images are easier to remember in your mind. In Mr. Loviern’s class, we did a little experiment where we tried to remember some pictures and some words that were put on the smart board. Then we had to write down as many as we could remember from the previous day and it was much easier to remember the pictures than the words. This proved the fact that people have a much easier time remembering images than they do remembering text. This may be the reason why people can tell you more about a movie than they can tell you about a book.
Even most people think of painting and drawing when they think of art, I don’t think that art should only be limited to what is done on paper or canvas. I think 3-D objects can also be art because they can also tell a their own story. I personally enjoy working on cars and think that cars and motorcycle can tell stories just as well as paintings. A person’s car or motorcycle can tell you a lot about the person and their story because it they express themselves through the car or motorcycle just like a story is expressed through pictures. With all of that said, I think that art is defined as taking an idea or thought and turning it into something that can be physically viewed by people, whether it is a painting or car.
2.Who in your life is the one person you look up to like Pi looks up to Mamaji? By VanHemertL
The following excerpts from Life of Pi show the relationship between Pi and Mamaji.
“He became a good friend of the family. I called him Mamaji, mama being the Tamil word for uncle and ji being a suffix used in India to indicate respect and affection. When he was a young man, long before I was born, Mamaji was a champion competitive swimmer, the champion of all South India. He looked the part his whole life. My brother Ravi once told me that when Mamaji was born he didn’t want to give up on breathing later and so the doctor, to save his life, had to take him by the feet and swing him above his head round and round.”(8)
“Mamaji had to wait until I came into the picture to find a willing disciple. The day I came of swimming age, which, to Mother’s distress, Mamaji claimed seven, he brought me down to the beach, spread his arms seaward and said,” This is my gift to you.”(9)
“I remained faithful to my aquatic guru. Under his watchful eye I lay on the beach and fluttered my legs and scratched away at the sand with my hands, turning my head at every stroke to breathe. I must have looked like a child throwing a peculiar, slow-motion tantrum. In the water, as he held me at the surface, I tried my best to swim. It was much more difficult than on land. But Mamaji was patient and encouraging.”(9)
“I went there with him three times a week throughout my childhood, a Monday, Wednesday, Friday early morning ritual with the clockwork regularity of a good front-crawl stroke. I have vivid memories of this dignified old man stripping down to nakedness next to me, his body slowly emerging a he neatly disposed of each item of clothing, decency being salvaged at the very end by a slight turning away and a magnificent pair of imported athletic bathing trunks. He stood straight and he was ready. It had an epic simplicity. Swimming instructions, which in time became swimming practice, was grueling, but there was a deep pleasure of doing stoke with increasing ease and speed, over and over, till hypnosis practically, the water turning from molten lead to liquid light.”(10)
The person that I look up to is my dad. I look up to him because he has always been there for me when I have needed him. He has always been a positive role model for me since I was born. I think that if I grow up to be anything like my dad then I will be an excellent husband and maybe father. However, my dad would tell you that I should strive to be better than he is and make better decisions than he did. My dad also hopes that I will get a better job than he currently has. When Mamaji shows Pi the ocean, that is very similar to when my dad took me to a car show. He has taught me everything that he knows about cars and how they work. He often tells me that he wishes he had enough money to buy a project car that we could restore together. Eventually, I hope that I’m able to save enough money to buy a project car that we can both work on. Not only do my dad and me enjoy cars, we also enjoy working on the house. He has taught me pretty much everything I know about home improvement. My dad has also taught he many things about life because he has been around longer and knows how the world works. He has taught he to patient when times are tough. He has taught me to respect women and treat them properly. He has taught me when to show some emotion and when to be calm. The most important thing he has taught me is to learn from my mistakes, because everyone makes mistakes in life. Even though my dad wants me to be better than him, I would be content if I was at his level because he has been an excellent father to my little brother and me. I hope that I’m able to learn from some of his mistakes and bad decisions to improve my self as a person. I think that if I listen to the advice my dad gives me and remember what my dad has taught me I will be an excellent person.
3.Topic from Andrea Offerman
Have you read this novel more than once? If so, how have your interpretations changed or improved since your first reading?
"I read the book several times, and also listened to the audio book. With audio books it can be just like with illustrations. It can enhance the story, but it can also distract, if the reading doesn’t correspond to what you imagined. In my case it distracted me at first, it was almost like a completely different book. But it also gave me new insights and offered new angles than my reading. My interpretations and my understanding definitely improved with each reading. But that could also be because English isn’t my first language. I did not want to read the book in German at the time, because translation can change the sound of the authors voice completely. At least that’s my opinion. Maybe I will read the translation sometime."
I would have to agree with Andrea that the more you read the text the more you tend to understand the story and gain new perspectives. When I reread sections I usually find at least one part where I stop and think “oh, I didn’t realize that until just know”. This may be due to that fact that sometimes when I’m reading I tend to skip parts or just zone out for a few paragraphs. I found it interesting that Andrea thought the audio book was distracting at first because that is exactly how I feel when I start to listen to an audio book. I think that the audio book gives a new insight because the reader may read the text in a certain tone, which is different that what you expected. For example, one time I was read a book and thought it was a rather happy story. Then I listen to the story on CD and the reader’s tone didn’t match the happy tone of the story. I then reread the book and found out the author’s story wasn’t meant to be totally happy. Not only do I get a new insight when I reread sections, I also get new insight and make more connection when I watch movies for the second or third time. When I first watch a movie I think that I get the story and all of the connections between characters. However, watching the movie over usually allows me to make even more connections than the first time I saw the movie. The more connection and insight I can gain from a story gives the story more depth. I think that Andrea’s artwork does a wonderful job of adding depth to the story because she doesn’t reveal too much, which allows the reader to add a little bit of their own insight to the story. I also like the fact that Andrea’s paintings are from Pi’s perspective because it forces the readers to visualize what Pi may look like instead of just painting a picture of Pi. Her artwork also does an excellent job of helping the reader visual without giving the story away and at the same time allowing the readers to add their own insight to the story.
Typhinie Johnson
Mr.Christsen
College Bound English 12
May 19, 2008
If you were close to being saved and then the opportunity was lost would you keep trying to leave?
If the opportunity came up where I was going to be saved but it didn’t happen I would keep trying to find my way out/home. I would keeping trying at my age now just because right now I have so much to live for. I believe if I got lost in the ocean, like Pi did, it would be much harder for me then it was for him. Pi new at least some survival skills. I know people can have survival skills that just “kick in” when they are in a dangerous situation but I’m a very picky eater so I would more than likely to die of starvation. I probably would of eaten all of the biscuit and drink all the water possibly when I found it in the cabinet. “…tossed the can overboard and got another one. I opened it the next one. Which, shortly, also ended up in the ocean. Another can was dispatched. I drank four cans, two liters of the most exquisite of nectars, before I stopped.”(142). I would have done the same as Pi but would of never stopped like he did. I would of kept drinking water till my stomach was full. “the whole package disappeared in a few minutes, wrapping paper flying away in the wind. I considered opening another carton, but I thought better.”(144). I would of kept eating despite what instructions said. I would of kept going till I was so full it would not matter if I did not eat for another week. Pi is very lucky that he thinks about things as he does them to help him survive. “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 thought this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will put in all the hard work necessary.”(148) I would have tried to tell myself this; like everyone else would have. But I have a feeling I would have given up very fast. Nothing that Pi did would I have done I would have tried to do things to survived but to be honest I think if it came down to it I would have given up sometime ago especially if I saw a ship that could have saved me but didn’t. that would of crushed all my spirits and hopes of ever being saved. I would of lost every last thought of ever being rescued. I personally think that if someone saw a ship and if just kept going and it was the only thing they saw that would save them they would give up too. They would stop thinking about being rescued and think even more about just staying alive with a starving tiger with you and nothing you can see but the ocean. In your mind it would be racing of everything you learned and anything you can think that anyone has told you to survive. You hear about stories that people have survived many tragic events but being stuck on the ocean would have to be the worst. You can’t walk around so your muscles would get very weak. You also you would want to get into the water because you wouldn’t want to attract sharks. If you had to go through as mush as pi it would be a miracle that you wouldn’t give up after seeing your one and only chance to survive just slip through your fingers.
Zoos are a great place for animals.
I think that zoos are a great place for animals because then people can actually see how the act and what they look like. Zoos are also helpful to keep animals from going extinct. Also, we study the animals because maybe we can actually figure out where all animals evolved from; including humans. We can also use them to study their behavior. Zoos provide entertainment for people. Zoos also give people a chance to see animals that most normal people wouldn’t get to travel to see. Zoos are also good because we basically take care of the animals and we have a chance to see how we can train them or deal with them if they become a problem to society.
I also think that zoos can be bad because the animals are in cages. They only get to get fed what we think they do. They get to sit there all day while people just look at them. The animals in the zoo don’t get very much room at all to fun. The animals basically get to live in a box. We, the zookeepers, took them away from their home and as we do it think that we are doing our actions for a good reason. The animals might have a better chance to survive in the zoo but the animals may feel better in the wild. The animals may feel better because they do, when they do it, what they eat, and also, how much they want. In the wild they get to interact with more of their own species. The animals will also get to mate, or interact, or not, with any animals they choose to. An expert, Sam Kirkman, said, “Zoos are a fascinating place for people to come and go as they please, to examine, see, or just enjoy animals. You can examine all their behavior and you can even have a chance to touch, feel, and feed certain animals.” another person, Patty Thomas, said, “Zoos are very harmful to animals. They get absolutely no room to run. The animals don’t really get a chance to act like animals. They are all caged up and some even get no chance to feel how it is to be out in the wild. Some even get stolen from their families to get put into the zoos. I think that this is one of the many horrible things people can do. As you can see, there are man different opinions about zoos. My opinion is that they are good in many ways and also bad in many ways. It is all up to you to decide if it is a good idea to have zoos or not.
Mr. Torjanac-Artwork for the Life of Pi
Artwork for “Life of Pi” would be hard for anyone to create. Also, in a way it could be easy because “Life of Pi” is full of imagery and metaphors which provides many images in peoples heads. Mr. Torjanac created many paintings. One painting showed three different religions all at once. He had three holy man; which was his choice. The order of the holy man were done by the position of the hands; meaning praying gestures. They were in an diagonal succession which means it would increase tension. He interprets this in this manor, because it show Pi’s love for three religions. In this painting they have the Virgin Mary with hear son, baby Jesus. Mary and Jesus where mainly blue because the color blue is known as Virgin May and Christianity. Also you see the love for Krishna and Radha. Krishna and Radnaq represent the human’s soul longing for union; Krishna is know as the supreme being. This part of the painting is mostly orange because orange represents Hinduism. Another part in this painting is Taj Mahal. This is showing an internal love that the emperor, Shah Jahan and for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This section is done in mostly green. Green represents the religion, Islam. Mr. Torjanac says that this painting brings much more detail and color because “God is love” and “God is in details.” He also did a painting that was in Pi’s point of view. In this painting, you have a tiger, a lifeboat, and a shark. You can also see the sea’s surface. They were all horizontal but Torjanac tried to get it in an vertical perspective. He also painted a few scenes of the algae island. He said if you believe they story without the island it could be seen as the “Garden of Eden.” He also could created this image in his mind because he was so close to death. But if you believe that the tiger and he found the molars which could resents wisdom. While Torjanac was trying to create his artwork he was trying to “clash” his ideas and Mr. Martel’s descriptions; like for the lifeboat. He also painted a scene in the hospital in Mexico where Pi takes the investigators lunch and he bows to Pi as he does it.
Jason Nadenicek
Mr. Christensen
English 12
May 19, 2008
If one chooses to believe the story without the tiger, the algae island could be interpreted as a product of Pi’s imagination, the “Garden of Eden” he created in his mind during his near-death experience
The algae island is one of the most interesting things I can remember in Life of Pi. The things that happen on the island are very confusing, but if you look at them closely, you can make a little sense out of them. “I was getting used to the mental delusion. To make it last I refrained from putting a strain on it; when the life boat nudged the island, I did not move, only continued to dream. The fabric of the island seemed to be an intricate, tightly webbed mass of tube-shaped seaweed, in diameter a little thicker than two fingers. What a fanciful island, I thought.
After some minutes I crept up to the side of the boat. ‘”Look for green,” said the survival manual. Well, this was green. In fact, it was chlorophyll heaven. A green to outshine food colouring and flashing neon lights. A green to get drunk on. “Ultimately, a food is the only good judge of land,” pursued the manual. The island was within reach of a foot. To judge-and be disappointed-or not to judge, that was the question.” (257-258)
The entire island scene is exactly what Pi needs, mentally and physically. It has algae, and Pi is a vegetarian. He has been trapped on a life boat with a carnivore for a long time by this point in the novel. He has also started to eat like one, tearing into meat and showing to restraint. Here, he is basically on a giant salad. He has an unlimited supply of algae to eat. Richard parker also has a good food supply. The island is home to unconditioned Meer cats. They don’t know the threat of a natural predator such as a human or a tiger. So, during the day, Richard Parker can fill himself gluttonously. The islands provides a utopia for both of Pi’s personalities, a buffet of greens for Pi, and a buffet of blood for Richard Parker.
The island also supplies Pi with time, and the ability to train Richard Parker, who is actually his wild side. Pi, in a sense, trains himself on the island, and his wild side becomes more tame. He still needs his wild side, but he doesn’t need it to be so wild by this point. Later on the island, Pi climbs a tree to start sleeping on the island, and finds it to be carnivorous. He discovers that at night, the algae becomes acidic and eats all living material on the island or in its deep lakes. It is at this point that Pi starts to explore the island, and he finds human teeth which are in densely packed leaf balls. All this is Pi scaring himself out of the hallucination. He understands that he needs to survive, and near death this hallucination is what he needed. Now that he has imagined his utopia, and has conquered his wild side, he can survive until he reaches land, and stay sane.
According to Paula Ford of the American Psychological Association, “Hallucinations are false or distorted sensory experiences that appear to be real perceptions. These sensory impressions are generated by the mind rather than by any external stimuli, and may be seen, heard, felt, and even smelled or tasted.” A hallucination is basically a dream when you’re awake, and is caused by when the part of your brain that functions to keep your consciousness and your subconsciousness separate misfires, causing false interpretations of the world.
Jason Nadenicek
Mr. Christensen
English 12
May 19, 2008
There is only one religion that is accurate.
Is there only one religion that is accurate? Is there only one path to salvation? It is easy to see that since there are so many religions, that there would be some question as to the “right one”. Or maybe they are all accurate. When you look at most religions (I say most because some religions don’t share the goal of salvation but rather look towards the devil, such as Satanists) the goal seems to be to live a good life, love and respect one another, and achieve a higher sense of one’s self in death, whether that be through reincarnation or through rebirth into a heavenly host.
In the book Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, Pi is confronted with this very dilemma. Growing up in India, he is exposed to two main religions, Hindu and Christianity. He later encounters a third in the form of Islam. Pi is internally conflicted, though these religions conflict in some ways, they agree in more. Muslims claim the same god as Christians do, and they also recognize the same prophets. But all the religions have the same message, live a good life, and love. This is what Pi wants to do, love God. I agree with Pi’s views on religion. I, being a religious person too, want to find a path to heaven. But, with all the religions out there, I would hope that they all are true, and that they all lead to the same good ending. I only practice one religion, but I see no reason why more then one religion should be wrong, just as long as the God you pray to and appreciate in one religion is the same in all of them. That isn’t to say that you couldn’t pray to Allah and God, but that the entity you imagine in yourself is physically the same God because God can have many names and found in many things. In the novel, Pi says to the priests as they argue over his salvation, “’Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God.’”
“My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fancy that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart.”(69)
I remember during confirmation, I asked my pastor about the salvation of other religions, and if Christianity is the only path. She told me that it isn’t our place to judge, and that we need to leave that up to God, all we can do is keep and open heart and love one another. There is a pretty funny Family Guy skit where it shows people getting sent to Hell because they chose the wrong religion, but I don’t think that that’s how it will be at all. I think that determination will be made based on how one lives out there life. I can’t imagine that you couldn’t get to heaven because you choose the “wrong one”. I think that if you stay the course in your religion, and that you love your God and one another, that no matter what you are, Muslim, Christian, Hebrew, Hindu, or any one of the other numerous religions, that you will achieve salvation.
Jason Nadenicek
Mr. Christensen
English 12
May 19, 2008
How do physical illnesses affect our body and mind?
“For months I lived stark naked except for the whistle that dangled from my neck by a string.” (192) “Salt-water boils-red, angry, disfiguring-were a leprosy of the high seas, transmitted by the water that soaked me.” (192)
Pi experienced some really horrible conditions on the life boat, to say the least. When the body becomes physically ill, it almost always makes us become mentally ill, or mentally hindered. Our mind and our body exist together, and when one becomes unwell, the other is affected. It’s no wonder then that Pi experiences hallucinations and is delirious for most of the journey.
Your body is fine tuned machine, it has a very complex chemical balance that always needs to be maintained, and as soon as it is disrupted, you can become ill or mentally come into a state that isn’t normal. When your sick, or have poor hygiene and living conditions like Pi did, your body tries to fight off the sickness. When your body does this, it purposely causes certain chemical imbalances to get the sickness out, such as swollen membranes in your nose which cause you to sneeze or a fever to basically “cook” the disease. In an article I read online, the author says, “There is such a range of ways our bodies can sabotage our minds, our minds can sabotage our bodies,” meaning that our minds can make us sick as well as our bodies. She goes on to talk about the fragile balance of our body’s chemistry, and how a small disruption could be tragic to our existence. In the novel, Pi goes blind because of his sickness.
‘“Please answer me. What is it? I’m blind and we have no food and water, but we have each other. That is something. Something precious. So what is it, my dear brother?”’
‘”I too am blind”’
‘”What?”’
He wailed again. I was struck dumb. I had met another blind man on another lifeboat in the Pacific.
‘”But how could you be blind?” I mumbled’
‘”Probably for the same reason you are. The result of poor hygiene on a starving body and the end of its tether.”’
Pi’s blindness soon leaves him after he restores some water to his body. But shortly after you could argue that he has a hallucination of an algae island covered by algae trees and nonviolent Meer cats. The hallucinations could be caused by the lack of nourishment in his body, or could also be a fabrication he later creates. Either way, the point is that when the body becomes weak, so does the mind, and visa versa.
"only one religion is accurate"
This is an interesting topic to bring up. I feel most people feel that there is only one true religion because that is part of being that specific religion. As most people know already I am Catholic, and part of being a catholic is believing that this is the way it is and that's it. I have seen much narrowmindedness that comes along with this religion because they are so set on only believing one thing and then many people do not understand why others do not believe what we believe that in the end everyone is a hypocrite. In the book Pi says, "Once an oaf chased me away from the Great Mosque. When I went to church the priest glared at me so that I could not feel the peace of Christ. A Brahmin sometimes shooed me away from darshan. My religious doings were reported to my parents in the hushed, urgent tones of treason revealed. As if this small-mindedness did God any good. To me, religion is about our dignity, not our depravity" (71). He experienced people looking down on him because he was open to believing more than one thing. Why can we not learn to accept more than one point of view? Is that so wrong? Part of being an individual is learning and finding out what is right for you. One idea that is right for me, may not be considered right for someone else and I'm ok with that. It shows great inner strength for Pi to be able to stand up to leaders of the religions along with his father and say hey why not? Many times at family gatherings my grandfather and my brother with have a religion vs. evolution debate. Year after year this would happen when I was younger, I sat back and listened to it until I realized the two really go hand in hand. The same concept is true for other religons. To my knowledge all of these religions branched off from a single idea way back when. In the end the only thing I have a problem believing in is organized religion. My experience with knowing people from all over the world, with my father a scientist, and being catholic, leads me to beleive it is in a persons best intrest to believe in something but also understand that they should think for themselves. I go church every weekend, with or without my parents, and I love how it makes me feel better inside but I allow my mind to question and to learn for myself. Before I was confirmed, I went to the normal mandatory sessions provided. I would often make my teachers extremely frustrated with me because I would ask questions that they either did not know the answer to or questions that might stray away from the beliefs of the church but in the end, it made me a better person for it. That is because I understood more about myself and the fact that I could learn to be more openminded. Honestly I say that I am catholic because that is how I was brought up that way and I went through all the normal rituals but I do not believe in everything the church says. It is comfortable for me to go to that mass because that is what I have always known kind of like Pi, but he displays his other beliefs whereas I state them when asked otherwise I keep them to myself.
"only one religion is accurate"
This is an interesting topic to bring up. I feel most people feel that there is only one true religion because that is part of being that specific religion. As most people know already I am Catholic, and part of being a catholic is believing that this is the way it is and that's it. I have seen much narrowmindedness that comes along with this religion because they are so set on only believing one thing and then many people do not understand why others do not believe what we believe that in the end everyone is a hypocrite. In the book Pi says, "Once an oaf chased me away from the Great Mosque. When I went to church the priest glared at me so that I could not feel the peace of Christ. A Brahmin sometimes shooed me away from darshan. My religious doings were reported to my parents in the hushed, urgent tones of treason revealed. As if this small-mindedness did God any good. To me, religion is about our dignity, not our depravity" (71). He experienced people looking down on him because he was open to believing more than one thing. Why can we not learn to accept more than one point of view? Is that so wrong? Part of being an individual is learning and finding out what is right for you. One idea that is right for me, may not be considered right for someone else and I'm ok with that. It shows great inner strength for Pi to be able to stand up to leaders of the religions along with his father and say hey why not? Many times at family gatherings my grandfather and my brother with have a religion vs. evolution debate. Year after year this would happen when I was younger, I sat back and listened to it until I realized the two really go hand in hand. The same concept is true for other religons. To my knowledge all of these religions branched off from a single idea way back when. In the end the only thing I have a problem believing in is organized religion. My experience with knowing people from all over the world, with my father a scientist, and being catholic, leads me to beleive it is in a persons best intrest to believe in something but also understand that they should think for themselves. I go church every weekend, with or without my parents, and I love how it makes me feel better inside but I allow my mind to question and to learn for myself. Before I was confirmed, I went to the normal mandatory sessions provided. I would often make my teachers extremely frustrated with me because I would ask questions that they either did not know the answer to or questions that might stray away from the beliefs of the church but in the end, it made me a better person for it. That is because I understood more about myself and the fact that I could learn to be more openminded. Honestly I say that I am catholic because that is how I was brought up that way and I went through all the normal rituals but I do not believe in everything the church says. It is comfortable for me to go to that mass because that is what I have always known kind of like Pi, but he displays his other beliefs whereas I state them when asked otherwise I keep them to myself.
This is in response to Trevor Anderson’s question about which 10 things I would bring with me if I were stranded like Pi for 227 days. I cannot imagine being stranded at sea for 227 days and live to tell about it. Even a greater accomplishment then this is doing it with a Bengal tiger. Now to survive such a extended trip Pi had some essential things. “I looked down between my legs. I thought I would faint for joy. The open locker glistened with shiny new things. Oh, the delight of the manufactured good, the man-made device, the created thing! The moment of material revelation brought an intensity of pleasure- a heady mix of hope, surprise, disbelief, thrill, gratitude, all crushed into one- unequalled in my life by and Christmas, birthday, wedding, Diwali or other gift-giving occasion. I was positively giddy with happiness.
My eyes immediately fell upon what I was looking for. Whether in a bottle, a tin can or a carton, water is unmistakably packaged. On this lifeboat, the wine of life was served in pale golden cans that fit nicely in the hand. Drinking Water said the vintage label in black letters. HP Foods Ltd. Were the vintners. 500 ml were contents. There were stacks of these cans, too many to count at a glance (141).” Pi explains to us in the first part how these things he finds in the locker are better then any gift you could ever receive on a holiday. Because he needs these items so bad he basically worships them. Not everything he finds you would think of as being useful but Pi makes the best of what he has. “After a thorough investigation, I make a complete list: 192 tablets of anti-seasickness medicine, 124 tin cans of fresh water, each containing 500 milliliters, so 62 liters in all, 32 plastic vomit bags, 31 cartons of emergency rations, 500 grams each, so 15.5 kilos in all, 16 wool blankets…etc. (145 for reference to other materials with Pi)” Now if I were stranded on a boat I would probably never think of half the things Pi has with him. I would never think vomit bags would come in handy and I would not think of packing a blanket for warmth. If I were to be stranded I would first have water, or ways of obtaining water. Because I know water is important to live, this would be my most important supply. Second I would have a fishing pole for obtaining food. The next couple things I would pack would be a compass, knife, extra clothes, matches, a tarp or tent, and a first aid kit. Those items would help me protect myself and keep myself somewhat healthy. The last couple things I would want along would be a friend, and some paper with a pencil. Keeping your self occupied during the day would help keep you sane and might pass the time a little faster. Tracking your experiences with the paper would also help you remember all the details from the trip, even thought you may not want to.
I also found some professional information about surviving for a long period of time with our anything. “The biggest killer in any emergency situation is panic. Panic blinds a person to reason and can cause them to compound the emergency with fatal results. The brain is by far the best survival tool we have. Survival is much more a mental than physical exercise, and keeping control of the brain is necessary (http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/mar/stories/desertsur.html).” If you really think about it, this makes so much sense. When people end up dieing it is usually from making a bad mistake and something tragic happens. If you can remain calm and cool you will have a better chance for survival.
1. Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism.
Expert’s words: I collected a few words from people stuck out at sea like Pi was; I thought that if anyone knew about being stranded then the victims would know the most about it.
-We are all very glad that we are alive and that's all," an unidentified passenger told local media.
- The longest we went without food was about 13 days during that time, when we had only one seabird to eat, I had thought about eating the people that were dieing off but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“My sweet brother,” I whispered.
“I am here,” He replied.
I heard a faint growl.
“Brother there is something I forgot to mention.”
He landed upon me heavily. We fell half onto the tarpaulin, half onto the middle bench. His hands reached for my throat.
“Brother,” I gasped through his overeager embrace, “my heart is with you, but I must urgently suggest we repair to another part of my humble ship.”
“You’re damn right your heart is with me!” he said. “And your liver and your flesh!”
I could feel him moving off the tarpaulin onto the middle bench and, fatally, bringing a foot down to the floor of the boat.
“No, no, my brother! Don’t! We’re not—“
I tried to hold him back. Alas it was too late. Before I could say the word alone, I was alone again.
No matter what it takes or what you have to do, some organisms fear dying more than what they would have to do to stay alive. In the Quoted words above, a man whose hunger had enveloped him took to extreme measures such as cannibalism. For me I don’t think that I could eat another person that is beyond horrible, but I guess I wasn’t in the place Pi and his “brother” were. I would suspect that to begin with the man on the other boat wasn’t a very good person; he didn’t waste any time going for Pi. He didn’t hesitate, he just lunged and that also leads me to believe that he wasn’t blind, to move that quickly and make contact with Pi instantly makes me suspicious. I’m betting he was crude and selfish before the sinking of the Tsimtsum. Pi on the other hand seemed to be a bit more gentle and down to earth. The man had to make some extreme choices; I wonder how a person might prepare themselves to eat someone. The mental stress and anxiety must be in abundance. About when did this other man figure out he was going to go for Pi and eat him, was it an instant instinct, or did he think about it awhile. In the short time that they were trying to reach each other, what might have been running through that mans mind. Was he in utter sadness for what he was about to do or was he just concerned for his own well being and getting fed. I also wonder if the man would have felt any remorse for Pi had he actually succeeded in killing him. I couldn’t tell you if I would feel remorse, most likely I would die before eating someone but I don’t know for sure because I’m not in their situation. When Richard Parker lunged for the man in his territory, Pi instantly felt alone again, he had slumped down into a remorseful state. I wonder if the state had been triggered by the fact that the man was murdered or by the fact he was alone yet again. Was he ever alone really, he had Richard Parker who could have been his alter ego I suppose but for me I believe he was actually there. Pi had a companion all along even though this companion could have easily ended his life; Richard Parker gave Pi some feeling of content. Organisms do have a natural urge to survive; if nothing gave any effort to live then the planet would be barren. If everything just gave up, I would suspect that there would be no more life, all species would await their turn and follow in the footsteps of the higher being above them. If Pi would have given up and died, Richard Parker would have most likely died along with him; the line would go on. If one person gives up, their loss would affect others around them. Brothers and sisters look up to each other and when one gives up on school for instance, the other follows because they are linked and want to be like each other. In some situations that isn’t true but in others it’s very true. For Pi I believe he looks to Richard Parker and vice versa. I don’t think that If Richard Parker gave up and died that Pi could have lived without him and if Pi had given up Richard Parker wouldn’t have had a chance.
2. Andrea Pollard--Is there anyone in your younger years of life that has made such an impact on you that you remember every detail about them and what they did for you?
It was when I was eleven and I was hanging out at my moms store downtown Sioux Falls. I was in the back room and out of now where I went to the front desk. We had a batch of kittens and we were trying to sell them. The first time I saw her I was drawn to her, she had come in to the store to take pictures of our kittens. She was tall and funky, she had on this tie-dye shirt with a frog holding up a piece sign, and this fury hat that was enormous and made me laugh. I went to talk to her and we instantly bonded, I went walking around downtown with her and we looked for new and fun things to shoot because she was way into photography. From then on we were inseparable, this friendship escalated so quickly and we became like sisters. Her mom wasn’t very reliable so she spent the night a lot and it seemed like she spent more time with my family than with hers. She only had her mom and her aunt Neva, her mom was an alcoholic and was never around and didn’t really keep good track of Sami, so one day Sami came and talked to me about living with me and my family for a month and a half while her mom went off to treatment. All went good and soon enough she was moved in. She and I spent every minute together, we fought and bickered sometimes but mostly it was peaceful and we got along ok. I remember all the times we would go to my mothers store downtown and in the back room we would make forts and listen to music. There was this one song by Aqua, Candy man, and for some reason it just cracked us up so bad and we would spend a half an hour just laughing. There was a verse that she would lower her voice and grunt kind of to it and I would go along and it just lit the laughter up, it seems so dumb now that we got so wrecked over that song when it really wasn’t that funny. We hung out every day and on weekends we would go with my mom and dad to the races at Hartford Racetrack; this was because my mom and dad sponsored a race car number 72j Clint Potter, we still sponsor him to this day but there is one thing missing and that’s Sam. It just isn’t the same anymore, and I seem to think about her a lot and whenever I hear that song I bust out laughing. I miss her a lot, she started to get into a lot of trouble when she was seventeen and got sent to JDC and then into the turning point program, when she was eighteen she was released and went to Florida. The last time I saw her was in the alley way behind my moms store, she had that dumb fuzzy hat on, and she told me she was leaving and that’s the last I saw or heard from her. I miss her a lot and maybe someday she and I will reunite, she was just there for me whenever I needed her and I will never forget her even if we never meet again.
“I wept like a child. It was not because I was overcome at having survived my ordeal, though I was. Nor was it the presence of my brothers and sisters, though that too was very moving. I was weeping because Richard Parker had left me so unceremoniously.”- I was really down and still am down about loosing such a close friend so sudden like Pi in this scene when Richard Parker leaves so suddenly.
“I could not abandon Richard Parker. To leave him would mean to kill him. He would not survive the first night. Alone in my lifeboat at sunset I would know that he was burning alive. Or that he had thrown himself in the sea, where he would drown. I waited for his return. I know he would not be late.”-By this time Pi actually cares for Richard Parker, not only as a companion but as a friend.
3. How were you able to transfer your reading of Life of Pi to the canvas? Please tell us about your reading and painting process.
Artist’s words: When reading Life of Pi for the first time I was not aware of the competition to illustrate the book yet. When I found out about it, I immediately knew which scene I wanted to illustrate: the moment when the ship sinks and Pi is left alone with Richard Parker. The scene is described so intensely, yet there was so much more I could see that wasn’t described in the text, I wanted to show all the animals sinking with the ship, and hint towards the end through a small detail at the same time. It was important to me to add to Yann Martels writing rather than limit the meaning of his words.
In my work, atmosphere and mood play a big part too, so I paid a lot of attention to that. Rather than to focus on showing a detailed character of Pi, I wanted to use the mood of the scene to display his inner landscape. For example, in “the battle of the minds” where Pi and Richard Parker fight for dominance, I used the flying fish to show the claustrophobia and the intensity of the battle going on between the two characters on the boat.
When I found out that I was short-listed and had the opportunity to present my vision of illustrating the whole book, I tried to stay with this concept and chose scenes that were key-scenes to me and that I felt I could add to with images.
I chose to use this response from Andrea Offerman because I really liked the painting that she is talking about; the sinking of the Tsimtsum with all the animals and the detail, it’s amazing. The Idea of further expressing Yann Martels words is interesting to me. Everyone gets a different picture of what is going on in a story and its probably extremely different form the authors first thought. This allows the story to be discussed in many different ways to bring out all the hidden meanings within the book. If everyone had the same exact view of the story then what would be the fun in that, if the whole story was all laid out for you and there was no need for imagination then why would we bother even reading it. I think that if a writer doesn’t leave a space for the reader’s imagination to flow then it brings down the intensity of the reading. It becomes uninteresting if there is only one version and our imaginations can’t grab hold of the story and run with it. When Andrea talks about further expressing Martel’s words and not limiting them, I think that pertains to letting her imagination run with the words creating a masterpiece with Martels input and Andreas input as well. This further creating more versions of a written masterpiece into a visual masterpiece in which others who view it and that have read the book can better visualize the scenes making it more intense.
I got a little lost when she started talking about using the mood to portray Pi’s inner self. But then I sat there and thought about it awhile and with the painting she was talking about it made some sense. Throughout Pi’s situation he struggles the most with his inner self, always having to think inside himself because he was stranded with little companionship. Pi has to re-examine himself and what he has to do to survive this catastrophe. His biggest fight was with Richard Parker trying to establish dominance and with one false move his work could have been lost, not to mention his life. Richard parker constantly shadowed over Pi, always hanging on the side of Pi’s thoughts, maybe it was his alter ego but I still think that Richard Parker was real. The story is a lot more fun to paint too I bet with Richard Parker and all the other animals being real.
Like Andrea I too like to pick more intense scenes to paint when I use literary work to create something. When I painted the picture on the back of the LOTF book I kept thinking of how savage the boys had become and it helped me also create the mass jungle look that was surrounding the face of the boy. The whole mood of the painting was dank and ferocious, all pertaining to the clear savagery of the boys on the Island. If I were to paint a part of Martels book I would illustrate the part when Pi first saw Richard Parker, I thought that part to be pretty intense and I could really portray that scene if I chose to paint something from the book which I might do over the summer because I really enjoyed this book.
-“A shiver went through my body. Between the life jackets, partially, as if through some leaves, I had my first, unambiguous, clear-headed glimpse of Richard Parker. It was his haunches I could see, and part of his back. Tawny and striped and simply enormous. He was facing the stern, lying flat on his stomach. He was still except for the breathing motion of his side. I blinked in disbelief at how close he was. He was right there, two feet beneath me. Stretching, I could have pinched his bottom. And between us there was nothing but a thin tarpaulin, easily got round.”
At this point in the novel Pi does not think about survival, he thinks about what the fastes and easiest way to die would be at this point. Why does Pi's body not allow him to let go of the oar? Is it human nature for us to survive no matter what the cirsumstance, even if our reasoning tells us otherwise?
At some point we all go through a situation in which we just give up. I believe that is human nature. It is also part of human nature to want to survive to the best of our abilities when put in a stressful environment. There is a constant border line in those situations whether it would be best to live or to die. It is something in the end that guides us and lets us understand what should happen. Pi considers many things when he is thinking that he is going to die. He says, "Nature was sinking fast. I could feel a fatal weakness creeping up on me. I would be dead by the afternoon. To make my going more comfortable I decided to put off a little the intolerable thirst I had been living with for so long. I gulped down as much water as I could take. If only I could have had a last bite to eat. But it seemed that was not to be. I set myself against the rolled-up edge of the tarpaulin in the middle of the boat. I closed my eyes and waited for my breath to leave my body" (242). He became so physically weak that he just does not want to go on any longer. Soon after that passage something happens. It says that he met another ship-wrecked blind man in the middle of the Pacific. Now whether it was truly another blind man or something within him that was speaking it got his mind off of dying long enough to find the mysterious island and gain the strength to continue on the journey. No one can really say what they would do when put in a situation like that because who knows the cricumstances and what state of mind you will be in. I think that many would initially freak out but sooner or later become accustomed to the state and allow your mind to think again. In Pi's situation he subconsiously knows that he will in fact need the oar at some point. It is not a question of him thinking about it because his mind is set on other things. He says, “But I don’t recall that I had a single thought during those first few minutes of relative safety. I didn’t even notice daybreak. I held on to the oar, I just held on, God only knows why” (107). I remember the flight that I took over to China, the turbulence was the worst I had ever experienced. The plane felt like it was dropping six to eight feet every twenty to thirty seconds. It was to the point that I closed my eyes and just started praying. I kept thinking just kill us now and get it over with so we do not have to sit through this thinking we are going to make it out alive. I looked around and several people had thrown up and it was just a disaster. I can remember vividly everything that happened on that flight. Now Pi's experience was incredibly worse than mine but even having an experience to compare it to I still can not comprehend what I would do. The one thing I do know is that as soon as a person mentally gives up they physically give up unless something triggers a sense of hope all of a sudden. I think human nature is a lot to do with it. I mean most people would rather live than die and would do anything to prevent themselves from dying.
Topic from blue sheet, #16-Seeing traumatic events will never leave your psyche.
When we witness a traumatic event, sometimes it will stick with us because it is just too horrific to forget. What is classified as a traumatic event; a car crash, a death, a terrorist attack, war, may vary from person to person. However, each person is affected the same because they can’t shake a lasting image of this event from their mind. Clinically, this is known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. PTSD is an intense physical and emotional response to thoughts and reminders of the event that can last for many weeks, months, or even years. Many Vietnam War veterans are afflicted with this disease as a result of the numerous atrocities witnessed by them and the guerilla style of fighting used by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. Veterans of every war show signs of PTSD, however their cases aren’t as well documented as Vietnam vets.
One event that Pi said he would never forget was when he witnessed the feeding of a goat to Mahisha the tiger in the Pondicherry Zoo: “The goat started to jump. It jumped to amazing heights. I had no idea a goat could jump so high. But the back of the cage was a high and smooth cement wall. With sudden ease the trapdoor slid open. Silence fell again, except for bleating and the click-click of the goat’s hooves against the floor. Normally the big cats were not given food one day a week, to simulate conditions in the wild. We found out later that Father had ordered that Mahisha not be fed for three days. I don’t know if I saw blood before turning into Mother’s arms of if I daubed it on later, in my memory, with a big brush. But I heard it. It was enough to scare the living vegetarian daylights out of me.”
Another traumatic event that Pi won’t forget occurs later in the story. He is on his lifeboat when he meets another survivor of the sinking. Brother, as this man is known, climbed aboard Pi’s lifeboat, landing on top of him. Pi knew that this was dangerous because Brother was invading Pi’s and Richard Parker’s territory. Pi tried to warn his Brother, but it was too late, Richard Parker had “ripped the flesh off the man’s frame and cracked his bones. The smell of blood filled my nose. Something in me died that has never come back to life.” What Pi means by “something in me died that has never come back to life” is that he had lost hope because he was now the only survivor, and that he has tried to suppress this moment from his memory, a common symptom of PTSD.
So the question is, are animals in zoos being used to make money for the city or are they there to help the animals? I say that its all about the money. The only reason cities have zoos is because they make money for the city and make the city look like a nicer place for people to live in. I mean yes the animals get a good deal out of the whole process. They get housing and medical care and food and all they have to do is sit in their dumb little cages and let us look at them. So this whole concept of zoos really works out good for all people unless your like me in which I do like zoos. I think zoos are very pointless and they are extremely boring to go see and plus you have to pay lots of money to look at the animals. If I really wanted to go see a bunch animals I would go take a walk in the woods. And seeing tigers and such really aren’t that cool anyway cause they are always sleeping of just sitting there. “Yet there will always be animals that seek to escape from zoos. Animals that are kept in unsuitable enclosures are the most obvious example.”
In this he shows that he knows all zoos aren’t exactly good but he loves them anyways.
“There’s the vast blueness that was Pi’s world for so long, there’s the isolation, there’s the silence in which all you can hear in your inner self…”This is so true but not really. Pi is a made up character and this whole book was made up. Pi’s whole world is on paper and that’s the way it will stay. And for the last part you cant see silence inside of yourself it just cant happen. Yes I should give this person some credit they do have some good paintings and they are making money doing what they love to do. I don’t really examine myself so deeply and isolation and silence is sometimes the key to understanding something or even yourself if your into that sort of thing. If Pi was a real person then I think it would have been good for him to be stuck on that life boat, it builds character. If he hadn’t been on the life boat then he would have turned out to be the pansy, over religious person that would get picked on at school and he would have had a miserable life and he maybe even would have committed suicide because his life sucked that bad.
“Time, as I said before, became irrelevant. It must have been sometime between the hundredth and the two-hundredth day. I was certain I would not last another one.”
“You see, God told a lie and Satan told them the truth. God said that if they ate from the tree of knowledge, they would die on that day. Satan told Eve that this was not true. Of course, as we know, Satan was right. As True Christians, it is not ours to question why God is wont to lie. Of course, we might, after a few glasses of wine, ask Him where is the justice in punishing man for evil BEFORE man had eaten of the tree and knew the difference between good and evil – but I don't advise such impertinence if you don't wish to incur the Lord's ever-ready wrath.” This is an expert on the Christian religion and he seems to know a lot and I pulled this passage out of his message because it is exactly what Pi believes thought this book. Pi loves God and knows that he means best even though all this bad stuff is happening to him. Pi is a good man for believing in religion but I have to say it is impossible to believe in the 3 religions he picks cause they clash on so many of their main points. So there is no way he can believe in all the beliefs of all of them. “Short of breath I said, “Father, I would like to be a Christian, please.” He smiled. “You already are, Piscine in your heart. Whoever meets Christ in good faith is a Christian. Here in Munnar you met Christ.””
"Life of Pi is a first-person narrative, so I decided to paint all the illustrations from Pi’s perspective. Aside from the idea of involving the reader more on a visual scale, my intention was not to affect his/her own image of Pi, so we never get to see Pi’s face -- all we see are his hands and feet."
I think that there is a part of Pi in each in every one of us. As Martel narrates he seems to have many insights, learning about himself through Pi. He says, "Our encounters always leave me weary of the glum contentment that characterizes my life. What were those words he used that struck me? Ah yes: 'dry and yeastless factuality', 'the better story'. I take a pen and paper out and write: 'Words of divine consciousness: moral exaltation; lasting feelings of elevation, elation, joy; a quickening of the moral sense, which strikes one as more important than an intellectual understanding of things; an alignment of the universe along moral lines, not intellectual ones; a realization that the founding principle of existence is what we call love, which works itself out sometimes not clearly, not cleanly, not immediately, nonetheless ineluctably.' I pause. What of God's silence? I think it over. I add: 'An intellect confounded yet a trusting sense of presence and of ultimate purpose.'"(63). Many times in books we find them more interesting when we are able to think about and connect with it. Huitt, W. from Valdosta State University says, "We reflect on what we have done and can do in comparison to our expectations and the expectations of others and to the characteristics and accomplishments of others (Brigham, 1986; James, 1890). That is, self-concept is not innate, but is developed or constructed by the individual through interaction with the environment and reflecting on that interaction". He is talking in terms of everyday life but it can also be applied in terms of this book. From what Torjanac was saying Martel expects us to not picture Pi so we can allow ourselves to be the main character and by doing that understand how different situations cause us to change for the better or the worse like stated by Huitt. Our actions lead us to be judged by other people and when that happens we gain insight about ourselves and the difference between how we see ourselves and how that comes across to everyone else. Many times what I think is funny might offend other people and so then I learn that I need to watch what I say. Pi shows us that anyone can get over fear and educate themselves if they have enough drive especially when he is around our age. I like the fact that he is very mature for his age when he is on this journey because it shows that not all teenagers follow the stereotype of being complete idiots. In reference to not distracting from his or her own personal opinion of what Pi looks like that is another way Martel allows us that connection. He leaves holes in his story to allow us to fill in what we think really happened. On top of that, he allows us to choose from a numerous amount of stories of what we think did and did not happen. That might also be why he incorporated so many different religions. There are so many in the world and the fact that he takes to light at least three of them makes for great story telling. Not only does he allow us connect to the book but he educates us enough to connect to people around the world. I think the reason the artist felt it was ok to incorporate at least the hands and or feet was because no matter where you come from, they pretty much all look the same. In some cases it is as though Pi is reaching out to take our hands to a world of intellect and understanding while he is telling the story. He is wanting us to get a first hand experience on how everything happen so we can decide for ourselves the story we want to believe. I do not think I have ever read a book like this, which shows us that Martel has and understanding of literature that is far beyond anyone’s normal capacity.
We can see a lot of ourselves in animals. Some people really bond with animals. There is a religion that believes in reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that the soul survives after death and is reborn in the body of another person or living thing. Reincarnation is strongly believed in religions that originated in India such as Hinduism and Buddhism. For example if a Hindu acts like a bird, other Hindus will think that he or she was once a bird.
But reincarnation is not the only reason. Maybe some little kids act like a certain animal. I acted like a couple of different animals when I was little. When someone sees an animal that they acted like as a little kid that could be a reason that he or she would see themselves in an animal.
Animals can see themselves in us. Whenever I make cat noises, my cats get really excited and they’ll come nuzzle me. When my cat Harry starts whining, I’ll meow back at him and then we’ll end up having a conversation in cat language. So for example, if we act like an animal in front of that animal, they will probably see themselves in us.
There is one religion that is accurate. There is not only one accurate religion. Mormons, like my parents believe that their church is the only true church. As a former Mormon, I have always found that to be extreme. I never felt like it was the true church. I have joined First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls and I really like it there. I feel like it is a true church but I don’t feel that there is a church that is the “true church”.
Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism. I believe that is definitely true. Pi is doing all he can to survive on the lifeboat with Richard Parker. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Piggy are doing what they can to help themselves and the little kids survive while they are stranded on that island. In Castaway, Chuck Noland is trying to survive being by himself with only a volleyball.
Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts, when we hurt other people we realize they are being hurt. That is not always true. Sometimes we unknowingly and unintentionally hurt someone. I don’t remember if I’ve had any experience with that. I kind of think I have.
Global warming is not a big deal; in fact, it is being exaggerated by the media. It’s kind of hard to tell if global warming is happening or not. I do know that some people think that global warming is going to kill all of us. I think that sounds extreme.
Blue Sheet: Question # 12: Mankind is the cruelest of all creatures
“It was the cook’s idea. He was a brute. He dominated us. He whispered that the blackness would spread and that he would survive only if his leg were amputated. Since the bone was broken at the thigh, it would involve no more than cutting through flesh and setting a tourniquet. I can still hear his evil whisper. He would do the job to save the sailor’s life, he said, but we would have to hold him. Surprise would be the only anaesthetic. We fell upon him. Mother and I held his arms while the cook sat on his good leg. The sailor writhed and screamed. His chest rose and fell. The cook worked the knife quickly. The leg fell off. Immediately Mother and I let go and moved away. We thought that if the restraint was ended, so would his struggling. We thought he would lie calmly. He didn’t. He sat up instantly. His screams were all the worse for being unintelligible. He screamed and we stared, transfixed. There was blood everywhere. Worse, there was the contrast between the frantic activity of the poor sailor and the gentle repose of his leg at the bottom of the boat. He kept looking at the limb, as if imploring it to return. At last he fell back. We hurried into action. The cook folded some skin over the bone. We wrapped the stump in a piece of cloth and we tied a rope about the wound to stop the bleeding. We laid him as comfortably as we could on a mattress of life jackets and kept him warm. I thought it was all for nothing. I couldn’t believe a human being could survive so much pain, so much butchery. Throughout the evening and night he moaned, and his breathing was harsh and uneven. He had fits of agitated delirium. I expected him to die during the night (305).” This passage shows just how much people would go through to not starve to death. The cook is not thinking of anyone else and just caring about himself. Being on a life boat, you are going to have to work together to make it through. The cook does not even care about the poor sailor; he only wants to use his leg for fishing bait. Humans are the cruelest of all species because we know that when we hurt others, it actually hurts them. Sharks don’t realize that when they are eating fish or people that those creatures are in the most pain they have ever endured. Humans know that if you torture another human or animal that they are actually in deathly pain. Animals must kill their prey to survive. If we step in their territory, we’re dead. Animals don’t realize that we kill them in cruel ways and we know they are in pain. Animals kill or they are killed. Humans kill because they can. Erin E. Williams and Margo DeMello, authors of the book Why Animals Matter: The Case for Animal Protection, are experts on the cause of humans cruelty to animals and here is some of their findings about the human species: It hunts over 22 million mourning doves in the US every year. It rounded up tens of thousands of pet dogs in China in 2006 and slaughtered them in an alleged health campaign. It gorges on salmon factory-farmed in such overcrowded tanks that their skeletons become malformed and their skull bones burst through their skin in a condition called "death crown." Imitating rap stars and other fashion icons, it has enthusiastically revived a moribund fur and exotic-animal-skin industry. It wears the hides of alligators that were either slashed and bled to death or flayed alive. It indulges in cosmetics tested by the weeks-long application of toxins to the eyes of rabbits locked in stocks. It bets on battles between fowl drugged with steroids, strychnine and amphetamine and bred specially to tear out each other's eyes, rip each other's flesh and break each other's bones in fight after big-money fight. It shoots zebras and yaks in Texas. So this article confirms it that humans are the most vicious of all living beings.
Artist Topic: Visualization of Pi
Tomislav Torjanac has a great perspective on Pi. He says “Aside from the idea of involving the reader more on a visual scale, my intention was not to affect his/her own image of Pi, so we never get to see Pi’s face -- all we see are his hands and feet. I thought this device was appropriate because Mr. Martel never described Pi.” Tomislav Torjanac has a terrific point. Yann Martel, the author of Life of Pi, didn’t want to project his own vision of Pi on the readers, he wanted the readers to visualize their own view of Pi. In doing this, Martel never gave us and description about Pi’s face, only the details of his skin color, hands, and feet. Tomislav Torjanac helps Martel convict this message to his readers by only painting a picture of Pi’s hands and feet. Yann Martel goes into extreme detail about the colors and behaviors of Richard Parker so I feel that that is why Tomislav Torjanac decided to paint a very vivid portrait of Richard Parker in the life boat with Pi. Tomislav Torjanac realizes that the story is about more than just Pi trying to survive in the Pacific Ocean after the sinking of the Tsimtsum. He noticed that Yann Martel is trying to let the readers react in their own personal way and not trying to twist their way of thinking to be just like his. Tomislav Torjanac also says that “This book deals with what is, in my opinion, the ultimate truth: that reality is what we make it, that perspective creates perception i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them. (Not much different from what the quantum physicists have been telling us in recent years.) So, once we reach the end of the book, the ball is obviously in our court, and we don’t just get to choose one of the two stories told to the investigators but much more than that. In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality.” I totally agree with what Tomislav Torjanac is saying about how Yann Martel portrays Pi’s story. Yann wants us to mold our own thoughts and help our own mind grow to its full potential. Tomislav Torjanac is helping Yann Martel in this endeavor by not giving us all of the pieces to the puzzle. Tomislav Torjanac is letting us pave to way to our own success in a way.
Student Question: Sara McGaffee- Have you ever been lost? What kind of lost were you (lost in thought or physically lost) and how did you find your way to wherever you wanted to be next?
I have been lost. I have been the type of lost that one calls lost in thought. My freshman year of high school, March 13, 2005, was a day I will never forget. It was the day I lost my dad. My dad lost his courageous battle of esophageal cancer. The first night without him felt like I was in an unreal universe. I didn’t know who to talk to or who to express my thoughts to. I was trying hard not to cry in front of my mom because she needed a strong support to help get her through this tough period. My mind would be racing and thoughts would be coming and going so fast that I wouldn’t know or understand what was going on. The next month went by pretty fast, we always had people around us for comfort and support, but I just didn’t feel like opening up to any of them. My mind was on a complete lock down mode and I wasn’t letting anyone in. After that first month, things started to fizzle back to normal, or as normal as they could get. It was the time when my mom and I did some crucial bonding. My mind was still on lock down because I just didn’t want to bring up his death because it would make my mom cry and I had to be there to support her and not let her struggle. My mind didn’t totally become unlocked until this year. This year I have now been able to show emotion on the whole deal without feeling guilty about supporting my mom. This year has probably been one of the toughest thus far because I have realized that my dad will be missing out on some pretty huge things in my life. He will be missing graduation, walking me down the isle, and even the birth of his grand kids. But, with the help of my AMAZING friends I have been able to express my feelings in more ways than one. I have finally reached the place I need to be.
1. Discuss the significance of Pi’s extended preparation for surviving and his sudden falter in chapter 58.
One of the biggest themes throughout Life of Pi is hope. However, I’m not talking about the kind of hope you hear about in children’s stories where everything is always going to be alright. This is a type of hope where things get ugly and you sit thinking about your end and the hope is only a drop in the ocean. Still, a drop in the ocean is better than no drop at all. Pi is alone on a boat with a starving tiger, with little to no chance of seeing anything except the inside of a Royal Bengal’s stomach. His situation is bleak, yet he hopes because he doesn’t have anything better to do.
He spends a lot of time trying to convince himself that everything is going to be okay, and that someday he’ll see his family and happiness. He spends time getting the raft ready, reading survival manuals, and trying to preoccupy his mind with salvation. He sounds like a stereotypical bold sailor who has set a course for home as he calls out “survival had to start with me” (168). He sets up a schedule for fixing the boat, finding food, and training Richard Parker. By the end of the chapter, he says “I burst into hot tears. I buried my face in my crossed arms and sobbed. My situation was patently hopeless” (169).
The only thing Pi is suffering from is real hope. He looks at his situation and realizes there are no rescue ships coming for him, there is work to be done that he simply cannot do, and there is a tiger on the boat. While every bone in his body wants to find a way out and wishes for someone to come and save him, he knows there is no such thing. There is a big difference between wishing and hoping. Wishing is something you do when you buy a lottery ticket. Wishing is a dream vacation for two to Fiji. Wishing is staring at that new car you’ve always wanted as it drives off due to your empty wallet. Hope is much worse. Hope happens when there is nothing left to do but hope. Hope is somewhere down at the bottom of the barrel past wishing and tooth fairies and Easter bunnies, and a lot of the time it hurts.
The only reason Pi sits down to cry is because, from the sounds of it, he found the difference between hoping and wishing. He cries because hope is a hell of a lot smaller than it should be. His head is now grounded and there are no illusions about what is going on. He realizes that he is going to die and there is nothing he or any Coast Guard can do about it. He hopes because it is the most basic of all human instincts.
2. In our minds, a constant battle is waged between good and bad. (Anticipation Guide)
“He pushed me to go on living. I hated him for it, yet at the same time I was grateful. I am grateful. It’s the plain truth: without Richard Parker, I wouldn’t be alive today to tell you my story” (164).
Richard Parker is what I would call a necessary evil. How could we say that there is good in the world if we never had bad to show contrast? We need the bad so that we can choose to be good, and we find our true character in the decisions we make. The option for good and evil in the world guides us as human beings, pushing us one way or the other. Richard Parker acts as one of these guiding forces. To Pi, the tiger acts as something that pushes him further and further, eventually bringing him to the shores of Mexico. Throughout the book, Pi views Richard Parker as an opposing and bad force who could snap and kill him at any moment. However, this dangerous force is the same one that saves him. If you were to consider the tiger bad, you would also have to recognize that this “bad” force is what saves Pi’s life. If there were no opportunity for complete and utter disaster, there would be no chance for greatness. In Pi’s case, he comes dangerously close to catastrophe, but because he has that negative force to push him, he ends up surviving the entire shipwreck.
There is a Richard Parker in each and every one of us, and it happens many times in our lives. There is always something that makes us choose, something that makes us pick either the good side or the bad, and we either live or die by it. We would like to think that we can live entirely good lives and that the world would be a better place without evil. The truth is that we need evil. It tempts us. It seduces us. It wants us. Sometimes we give in, some times we don’t. There are plenty of bad things around in our day and plenty of ways to lose track of what each one of us considers to be “good”. By using these evils as a guide of what not to do or what not to become, we can lead lives that define who we are morally. As much as I hate to admit it, evil is necessary. To be honest it guides my decisions more that good does. I know what I don’t want to be a whole lot more than what I do want to be. We flounder about in the ocean of bad, dodging one evil or the other, but eventually it takes us right where we need to be: the shore.
3. Artist Interaction
Tomislav Torjenic stated, “In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality.” We all have our own interpretation of things. We get to determine how we view something and are opinion on each individual thing, so is there actually a reality? Reality is different for each individual. It is one of those things that if you were to ask people what it meant, a lot of people would not have an immediate answer. Even once they did come up with one, it could very well be the complete opposite of the next person you were to ask.
Art allows people to see someone else’s interpretation. The artists view along with your own, aides them in creating a better view on the subject and the reality of that subject. In Life of Pi, reality plays a major role. Pi loses touch with what is reality in his life. He is all alone in what seems to be an endless ocean that ends up to be only confining. While most people think of the ocean as being something relaxing and a place to unwind it is what causes Pi to lose his mind. This is an example of how reality can be different for each person. The ocean can be a vacation or it can be a prison.
These days reality comes with a blurred interpretation. It seems like any time you turn on the TV there is always a “reality” show that claims to show people what truth is, and to show what it means to be human. The show Survivor is hardly like anything that Pi went through. They only show what that screenwriter’s interpretation of reality is. These days, drama is the only reality we see, and often times we are trained to believe it. Apparently reality is eight strangers living on an island getting angry at each other. They have competitions to gain prizes and advantages, but where is the reality in that?
I think that reality is what we make it. While we might all be subject to certain situations: law, education, politics, etc. we are free to live in our own reality and interpret a great deal of life to our own will. Often times we don’t think enough for ourselves and create as much as we should. I say that reality is yours and mine to make on our own.
What makes any fear greater than the next? Why are we even scared of some tyhings? I know a girl who is deathly afraid of the color purple; she literally screams bloody murder if someone touches her with anything that has purple on it. My greatedst fewar is not something small or irrational like that. My greatest fear is drowning I think it would be absolutely horrible to be tied to a chair with weights at the bottom and be dropped into a body of water. Dieing should not be someting that anyone fears, it is natural and something that happens everyday.. However, death by force is something that is so far beyone natural it's strange. Why would anyone ever want to take life from someone else on this planet? No battle should be so astronomical that it forces people to kill. there are gangs that literally kill for fun; others must kill people to be accepted into the "brotherhood" of the gang. How could anyone ever get so corrupt as a child to one day kill a living human being? It is at this point where it is okay to be afraid of death, the point at which it's unpreventable and un-natural.
Dieing at a young age is devistating but i velieve that everyone has a destiny. Getting cancer or another illness that causes death is tragic but still natural. Being caught in a burning building is something I consider extremely scary but if i was put into that position at least i could determine my own fate-whether it be jumping or finding an alternate escape route. Being stuck in a building that was entrapped with flames would be freakishly scary but your mind would be moving so fast trying to find a way to escape you wouldn't be so focused on dieing. Being tossed into a river with absolutely no way to escape no matter how hard you try is at the top of my list because the entire time all that would go through my mind would be, "I'm ging to die, I'm going to die."
Sitting at the bottom of a river looking at watching my last air bubbles touch the surface of the water would be surreal. Watching them make it to the top but not me would fill me with envy. Knowing i can't get up and follow them to the top would be the worst feeling int he world. On the other hand, at least you would not be in a panic stricken state, running around with your head chopped off because you can not find a way to escape. there would be a little time for you to reflect on accomplishments, say prayers, and prepare yourself to die. It would almost be relaxing, in the most unrelaxing way possible. Knowing you're going to die, but at least having time to prepare yourself would give me a little reassurance that I will in fact have eternal life.
I don't know if i could have turned out the way i did if i didn't have my mom as a driving force behind me growing up. She was my hero, my everything. Anything I ever needed she was there to help me along the way. Anytime I was hungry she was the one who made me food. She was responsible for keeping track of the countless ball games i ever played. She got me to and from practice on time(with a few exceptions). she was the foundation of the first part of my life; without her I would not have crumbled under the pressure of life.
As I've grown I have progressibly become more independent. Just like everything in the world, it took time but i am finally at the age where i can succeed and manage my own life. I do not need her for the simple things anymore. I am capable of making my own food, getting to school on time and working for what i want.
It seems some seniors haven't even taken the first step towards being on their own yet. there are still people in our grade who have never had jobs and their parents continue to pay for everything they need. This seems crazy to me. We have reached the point in our lives where it is not okay for mommy to be there for you every step of the way, led alone 25. I do not feel that it is okay for parents to tell their kids what to do at this point. Yes, guidanec and a curfew are okay..but we NEED independance..I still know kids who aren't allowed to be out past midnight. We're supposed to be going to college this fall. How is anyone supposed to function if their parents tell them what to do at every minute of the day? College will be a complete culture shock for these kids. When parents gradually let their kids grow up, letting them do what they want more and more is giving them the independance we desire, while still being able to keep track of us.
Anticipation Guide: Number 7- Wanting to survive comes naturally to everyone.
Wanting to survive really does come naturally to everyone. People will do anything to stay alive. In Pi's case, even kill someone. People everyday are killing to survive. Whether it be killing an animal for food or killing someone because of self-defense.
My family is full of hunters. They kill for the food they receive fromt hem. For as long as I can remember my dad hunted. I used to think it was awful to kill a living thing, but it is a part of life. We need the meat to survive and without killing them, they would be taking over everything.
Another part of wanting to survive is holding on until you can not hold on any longer.
People, who are put into situations that could kill them, last until they just can not do it anymore. I was watching a show on TV the other day, and it was about a mother killing her children. She would kill the girls and she would make the boys help her do it. The first daughter was handcuffed to the kitchen table and she could not go to the bathroom or eat. She was then locked into a closet and died of hunger. I believe she lasted about two weeks to a month without any food or water. The second daughter was starved and then beaten. Then her mother shot her in the back with a pistol. The girl asked her mother to stop and let her leave, that she would not go to the police if she let her leave. Her mother said yes, but she had to let her get the bullet out. The girl died a week later from the wound getting infected and too much blood loss. She spent the last week of her life suffering in the bathtub. Her mother then brought the corpse to a lake and burned her. These girls held on as long as they could. They were brave and lasted longer than anyone should have to under those circumstances. The mother was eventually caught, because the third daughter had escaped and went to the police about ten years later. Justice had finally been served, but the pain those girls went through can never be taken back. No one should have to go through anything like that.
The part in the book that I chose was when Pi was telling the men about his "real" story, about the cook cutting off the sailor's leg. "It was the cook's idea. He was a brute. He dominated us. He whispered that the blackness would spread and that he would survive only if his leg were amputated. Since the bone was broken at the thigh, it would involve no more than cutting through flesh and setting a tourniquet. I can still hear his evil whisper. He would do the job to save the sailor's life, he said, but we would have to hold him. Surprise would be the only anaesthetic. We fell upon him. Mother and I held his arms while the cook sat on his good leg. The sailor writhed and screamed. His chest rose and fell. The cook worked the knife quickly. The leg fell off. Immediately Mother and I let go and moved away. We thought that if the restraint was ended, so would his struggling. We thought he would lie calmly. He didn't. He sat up instantly. His screams were all the worse for being unintelligible. He screamed and we stared, transfixed. There was blood everywhere. Worse, there was the contrast between the frantic activity of the poor sailor and the gentle repose of his leg at the bottom of the boat. He kept looking at the limb, as if imploring it to return. At last he fell back. We hurried into action. The cook folded some skin over the bone. We wrapped the stump in a piece of cloth and we tied a rope above the wound to stop the bleeding. We laid him as comfortably as we could on a matress of life jackets and kept him warm. I thought it was all for nothing. I couldn't believe a human being could survive so much pain, so much butchery. Throughout the evening and night he moaned, and his breathing was harsh and uneven. He had fits of agitated delirium. I expected him to die during the night.
He clung to life. At dawn he was still alive. He went in and out of consciousness. Mother gave him water. I caught sight of the amputated leg. It cut my breath short. In the commotion it had been shoved aside and forgotten in the dark. It had seeped a liquid and looked thinner. I took a life jacket and used it as a glove. I picked the leg up.
'What are you doing?' asked the cook.
'I'm going to throw it overboard,'I replied.
'Don't be an idiot. We'll use it as bait. That was the whole point.'
He seemed to regret his last words even as they were coming out, for his voice faded quickly. He turned away.
'The whole point?' Mother asked. 'What do you mean by that?'
He pretended to be busy.
Mother's voice rose. 'Are you telling us that we cut this poor boy's leg off not to save his life but to get fishing bait?'
Silence from the brute.
'Answer me!' shouted Mother.
Like a cornered beast he lifted his eyes and glared at her 'Our supplies are running out,' he snarled. 'We need more food or we'll die.'
Jacob Sobraske
Mr. Christensen
English 12
May 19, 2008
Student Blog Question (Trevor Anderson’s)
What 10 things would you want to have on your life boat if you were stranded in the ocean (excluding electronics)?
This is a very good question for this type of book, as it asks what items you would like to have in the same type of situation as Pi. The very first thing I would want to have is water or some way to get this precious resource. Without water one can live to roughly a max of ten days. This is if you have 50-70 degree weather and are in the shade. The situation Pi was in the temperature was probably around 80-90 degree weather and he had no shade so his life expectancy to live without water would be drastically decreased. This is based on the article from www.survivalfacts.com. The second thing I would like to have with me is the standard military MREs which stands for Meals Ready to Eat or pemmican. These meals are prepackaged and are nutritionally balanced to allow one to get all of the daily nutrients. Pemmican is a mixture of dried meat, fruits and berries, and fats. Pemmican is very easy to make, can be made in large qualities with very little hassle and can be stored for extended periods without becoming spoiled. Once can also live for months only eating Pemmican. The third thing I would take is an item Pi had the solar stills. With solar stills one can easily get fresh water from ocean water which contains salt and they can be stored in relatively small spaces. The solar still is power by the heat of the sun allowing you to purify water almost anywhere. There are a few downsides to solar stills though. The first downside is to purify the water it will take a longer time if the sun is clouded over or isn’t very hot during the day. The second downside is the obvious fact that solar stills can’t be used during the night which cuts roughly twelve hours of water not being purified. The final downside is that the solar still is predominantly made of plastic. If the plastic comes in contact with something sharp you may have no way to get fresh water. The fourth thing I would take along with me is a means to catch food from the ocean such as a fishing pole. If you have no means to catch food and your rations run out then you will die of starvation so having a backup means is a must. The fifth thing I would take with me is fishing supplies to allow me to use different means to be able to catch fish incase one doesn’t work. The sixth thing I would take with me is an emergency raft. I would want this incase the boat gets a leak and slowly sinks or if the boat capsizes. The seventh thing I would want is blankets. Blankets can be used during the day to keep the sun off you to allow your body to preserve much needed water and at night can be used to keep you warm. The eighth thing I would want is some sort of sharp object, such as a knife. You would need a sharp object to cut up fish if you run out of rations. The ninth thing I would want with me would be some sort of entertainment such as a big book with the ability to be read again for continued entertainment. Without entertainment you might get bored and start to lose hope that you won’t find rescue. The final thing I would wish to have is a companion. Anything from a person to a house pet would be fine in order to keep your spirits up to allow you to have continued hope and not get lonely.
Jacob Sobraske
Mr. Christensen
English 12
May 19, 2008
Author Response Question
“This book deals with what is, in my opinion, the ultimate truth: that reality is what we make it, that perspective creates perception i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them.”
This is a wonderful quote to expand upon. You are never truly given what Pi looks like and the cover of the book has a blurred face of a curled up Indian boy. Does it hinder the story to not be shown the face of the protagonist of the story? In my opinion it doesn’t hinder the story at all but somewhat builds upon the idea and concept of the story. It makes you feel as if you are Pi in a way. I think this is the reason Yann Martel decided to perceive Pi in this light as it is up to you to decide what he looks like, to give him a face to make you feel as if you know him or even in the end relate to him yourself. In this day and age with technology talking with others around the world is very easy, but do you ever actually get to see their face? The answer is very rarely yes, all you hear is a voice from the person and that is generally it. In my opinion this example is like this book where you never get to see their face. When you never see a person’s face you generally come to an assumption of what they look like by the sound of their voice. I have done this and I am sure many others have also. Generally I think that frequent contact with a person on the internet or on online games such as Halo or Call of Duty have a higher chance of you giving that person a “face.” I say “face” because of the general idea of you or someone else giving a person you spend frequent time with on the internet characteristics that you would generally find attractive or appealing. While this may not be what Tomislav Trojanac was talking about in this quote it is one of the things that comes to mind. I think another thing he could have been talking about is the general idea of how different cultures perceive objects. Each culture has their own language and have their own sayings. Because of these sayings it is generally impossible to translate a language and still have the phrase have the same effect on one culture as it does on another culture. It is generally harder to translate than people believe it is. Another way that this can be looked upon is of how America has a strong hate towards open sexuality but has very little restraint on violence and gore. Parents generally allow their kids to watch rated R movies or play M rated games way before the recommended age since they generally contain excess violence and gore. Over in Europe it is a different story. In Europe people generally have the reverse effect where they have little restraint on the whole sexual concept yet they have more of a restraint when it comes to violence and gore. Tomislav could be talking in this way where it depends on the culture of how you interpret this book as different cultures have different perspectives. Either way for me both ways I have explained about I except equally.
Jacob Sobraske
Mr. Christensen
English 12
May 19, 2008
Anticipation Guide Question
17. Art is essential in schools and in life.
“With just one glance I discovered that the sea is a city. Just below me, all around, unsuspected by me, were highways, boulevards, streets and roundabouts bustling with submarine traffic. In water that was dense, glassy and flecked by millions of lit-up specks of plankton, fish like trucks and buses and cars and bicycles and pedestrians were madly racing about, no doubt honking and hollering at each other. The predominant colour was green. At multiple depths, as far as I could see, there were evanescent trails of phosphorescent green bubbles, the wake of speeding fish. As soon as one trail faded, another appeared. These trails came from all directions and disappeared in all directions. They were like those time-exposure photographs you see of cities at night, with the long red streaks made by the tail lights of cars. Except that here the cars were driving above and under each other as if they were on interchanges that were stacked ten storeys high. And here the cars were of the craziest colours. The dorados there must have been over fifty patrolling beneath the raft showed off their bright gold, blue and green as they whisked by. Other fish that I could not identify were yellow, brown, silver, blue, red, pink, green, white, in all kinds of combinations, solid, streaked and speckled. Only the sharks stubbornly refused to be colourful. But whatever the size or colour of a vehicle, one thing was constant: the furious driving. There were many collisions all involving fatalities, I’m afraid and a number of cars spun wildly out of control and collided against barriers, bursting above the surface of the water and splashing down in showers of luminescence. I gazed upon this urban hurly-burly like someone observing a city from a hot-air balloon. It was a spectacle wondrous and awe-inspiring. This is surely what Tokyo must look like at rush hour.” (pg. 175-176)
This is an amazing quote that Yann Martel has come up with. This is the kind of work that makes authors famous. It is the kind of work that won him the Man Booker Prize award. It goes into great depth of how the ocean is truly like a big city at rush hour. He makes you feel as if you are actually there watching these thousands upon thousands of fish with any and every variety you could ever think of. He creates a world upon what already exists giving it a feeling of reality. After reading this quote I read it over and over again, at least twenty times, not because of the sheer amount of information in such a little paragraph but because of the fact that it is such amazing writing. This was by far my favorite quote in this book and any book that I have ever read. Using so much detail to describe such a minuscule part of the novel just to give a sense of reality and expand upon the whole stranded at ocean theme.
“Art and life are on two parallel paths and seldom do they meet. Art is a consumers commodity, or transient entertainment (on the web) only to be replaced by the next pretty attraction. People are less preoccupied with art and its meanings when there's a war on, or an election.”
Tali (http://www.helium.com/items/1035156-making-essential-lifeever-since)
I chose this quote because of the fact that I strongly believe that what Tali is saying is very true indeed yet it also has some falseness to it. Tali states that art and life are on two parallel paths and they very seldom meet. This is true and false at the same time. The truth to it is that art is everywhere in life, on signs, buildings and many places that you wouldn’t expect it to show up. This proves that art has a major part in the lives of people and it is just taken for granted and isn’t talked about. The false part is the fact that art is easily replaceable when the next great art work comes up or when something in life is going on. For example Tali states that art is replaced when a war comes on. We hear all of this news about the war in Iraq, but do we ever hear anything about art on a national scale? The answer is no. We see art every once in a while in our local newspapers but it isn’t quite often enough.
So to answer the question is art essential in schools and life. I would have to say that the answer is no. If you look at art it is more of a way to express one’s feelings than anything else. When looking at art you can easily tell how someone is or was feeling at the time of the drawing. Without art in life or in schools I believe that the world would truly be no or very little different. I feel that over time art will slowly be swept under the carpet. It slowly is as people care less about art with each passing generation.
**From the Anticipation Guide #26, “People are irrationally obsessed with animals: our children’s books, our stuffed toys, our mascots, our pets, our television programs, and characters…” and to include 54 words quote from an “expert”. **
“Animal Crackers in my soup, monkeys and rabbits loop the loop. Gosh o gee, but, I have fun swallowing animals one by one.”
“When I get a hold of the big bad wolf, I just push him under to drown. Then I bite him in a million bits and I gobble him right down”.
These familiar lines from Shirley Temple’s famous song are absolutely charming, and it is absolutely the truth! Animals are consumed as easily as a crisp dollar bill slides into a smooth, leather wallet. They are in our homes, on our billboards, clothing, zoos, backyards, jewelry stores, black markets (tragically), and many other places. We as humans are the superior race, and have come to perceive Mother Earth as our own bowl of soup, and the creatures within it have involuntarily become our play toys to study, manipulate, commercialize, and yes, digest.
One of the most influential areas animals are apparent is through our culture/media. Animals have become commercialized as instant potatoes. Over the years, the usage of animal images, names, symbol, etc. have become ingenious business tactics to attract customers. Adorable and/or endangered animals can play our heartstrings, and draw in customers. But, realistically, there are no better candidates for advertising and endorsing! Animal mascots are the perfect example. What else would sports teams use, excluding humans, for their team name? Can you hear the rumbling vibrations from the megaphones overhead announcing our home team, “And here come The New York Dandelions…” Can you imagine a grown adult in a dandelion costume frolicking about in sports complex (on artificial turf, nevertheless)? It’s not nearly as appropriate. And food is almost worse: peanuts are funny looking and full of life, like animals, so transitively peanuts would be an excellent mascot alternative. Who wants to watch a preposterous person adorned as a peanut to promote profit and affection (no, no, America should not be given an additional opportunity to honor food)? Plus, I doubt athletes would care for the connotation between angiosperms and finger food.. Animal mascots are completely appropriate because athletes unleash their wild side, or natural animal-like self, on the field, or in the rink, or on the dance floor, etc.
Animals are interesting topics to study as well as commercialize. The areas of study are almost unlimited, like the allusion of Pi Patel’s name in Life of Pi (3.14…)(23), due to the great diversity of animals. There are an estimated 2-30 million classified species in the world, with the number slowly increasing (www.wisegeek.com/how-many-species-of-animal=are-there.html and 1996IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. The World Conservation Union (IUCN), 26 May 2003). One could observe vertebrates, invertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, etc. But, it is debatable whether or not animals have a definite personality. Certain species are sociopathic. Wild animals kill and live off each other (predators and cannibals alike) without remorse. It is the female praying mantis that slaughters and engulfs the male after mating rituals. It is completely natural for animals to do so. Pi watches as the hyena (125) “went amok” on the poor zebra.
But, people make themselves seasick with their blind love for animals. In the famous documentary, “Grizzly Man”, the main character, Timothy Tedwell amorously spends 13 years with wild grizzly bears on the Alaskan peninsula. His belief to be the guardian of these beasts betrays him when the grizzlies attack and rib Tedwell and his girlfriend Amy apart. Another tragic example is with Steve Urwin. Courageous or crazy, Urwin found a love for wild animals himself, especially in reptiles, to earn the title, “The Crocodile Hunter”. His death came from an unexpected jellyfish sting.
I believe we are intrigued with animals because they challenge our means of survival, delicately balance the food chain/web, are seemingly similar and are seemingly different than us.
I would like to answer the question about how there is only one accurate religion. First off would like to state that i truly and deeply believe in my heart there is only one way to go and thats throught Jesus. The funny thing is the only religion where jesus is a sourced prophet is within Christianity. In Life of Pi, Pi says "there are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God,as if Ultimately Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something weak and helpless." In this very segment at which he talks of religion not needing people to defend it that it stands on its own, I think is completely wrong, if you dont have a mobilized front at which there are thousands of people trying to gather others to Jesus, then what do you have you have a dead or dieing religion at most. In the Bible at the tower of Bable many people had gathered and were all speaking different languages and religions and what not so God destroyed the tower and relinquished his people to different parts of the world out of heart brokeness ( dating back to Adam and Eve.) He also says "when i went to church the priest glared at him so he couldnt feel the peace of christ." This quote however is seen in everyday life all around the world as a horrible means. Many church goers shun others that arent traditionally apart of there church or they dont like there past, its shear hypocrisy within one of the most respected places in my life, The Church. For Example: if a trucker walks into your church just to check out the seen and he has a horrible past, you should welcome him in and shake his hand or hug him show him affection that you care and that the church is the right place for him to heal his wounds. All of this comes back to my statement that yes there is only one religion in the world that is accurate and its the one that I believe in not out of ignorance but out of integrity and great knowledge.
Blue Page: The Pacific Ocean is a source of wonder, inspiration, danger, and awe.
The Pacific Ocean is filled with so many incredible things. There are four main subjects that lie within the ocean. The first is subject that lies is in the ocean is wonder. What is out there in the biggest ocean? There are countless numbers of small fish, big fish, plants, and more. It was extremely difficult for Pi because he did not know what to expect from the ocean. Pi quoted, “The sharks were makos-swift, pointy-snouted predators with long, murderous teeth that protruded noticeably from their mouths. They were about six or seven feet long, one was larger still. I watched them anxiously. The largest one came at the boat quickly, as if to attack, its dorsal fin rising out of the water by several inches, but it dipped below just before reaching us and glided underfoot with fearsome grace”(124). Pi didn’t know if the sharks where going to attack him or not, he was filled with questions while wondering. Another time in the book when Pi was surprised was on page 180. Pi said “It was a fish. There was a fish in the locker. It was flopping about like a fish out of water. It was about fifteen inches long and it had wings. A flying fish. Slim and dark grey-blue, with dry, featherless wings and round, unblinking, yellowish eyes. It was this flying fish that had struck me across the face, not Richard Parker”. Pi thought he was being attacked by Richard Parker, but really it was just a flying fish. Because the ocean was filled with wonder, he didn’t know what was in there. The ocean is also inspirational. Water can be very relaxing Pi once said, “The Pacific air, which until a minute before had been carrying the whistling and whispering of the sea, a natural melody I would have called soothing had the circumstances been happier….”(126). At times the ocean was somewhat relaxing when the waves were not gargantuan. When the waves became enormous, then, danger took its role. There was once a horrible storm and Pi didn’t know if he would survive. He said, “I felt death was upon us. The only choice left to me was death by water or death by animal. I chose death by animal” (226). The ocean is such a dangerous place. It is amazing that Pi survived for 227 days. Pi had to keep his faith throughout the whole time. By believing in a religion, he kept himself going. He prayed many times throughout the day. Got helped keep him company. A religion expert, Francis Hirak, he said, “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld. It coveys the idea of something that underlies visible conditions and guarantees a future possession. Faith is, therefore, the basis for hope and the evidence for conviction concerning unseen realities. The entire body of truths delivered by Jesus Christ and his inspired disciples constitutes the true Christian "faith." Numerous things could go wrong when being stranded in the middle of an ocean. Another subject that lies within the Pacific Ocean is awe. It is incredible what an ocean is made up of. It is crazy to think of how an ocean is created. The Pacific Ocean is the deepest ocean, its depth being at 35, 798. I think it is so interesting at what is all in an ocean.
Artwork:
Andrea Offermann said, “I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines.” I completely agree that art and literature have always been connected. In earlier days, before language was created, that is how the people communicated, was by pictures. By using pictures all cultures can relate. When you see something, everybody understands it, where when somebody just speaks something; only people from your own culture know what you’re talking about. When something is visual, it is so much easier to understand. I can actually picture it in my head. By seeing something, then you know exactly what the author wants you to picture. The main difference between movies and books is that in movies, you see exactly how the director wants you to see it. Where as in books, they can describe it, but you may put a different picture in your head than what the author sees it as. It is good to have to think for yourself. If you were just told everything, then you wouldn’t become smarter. So, it is such that in a movie, the answers are given to you, and in books you have to come up with the answers, which end up making you smarter. I love being able to visualize things. I understand things so much better if I can actually see it.
When I read about the details sometimes it is confusing. After I see a picture of what it is like, it is much better. I didn’t quite understand the boat until Mr. Christenson drew a picture of it on the board. After I saw what the boat looked like, it was much easier to understand the rest of the book. Pictures make books so much more interesting. That’s why kids books are so good, because they have pictures, and they just attract you to the book. Also, after looking at the artists pictures it made the book clearer. A really good drawing that made the book easier to understand was the picture of the boat with Pi taking up a third of the boat and Richard Parker taking up two thirds of the boat. I love artsy things, so I think it’s interesting. I am not a good drawer at all, but I love doing crafts. I wish I had more time to do even more crafts. I do like doing 3-D things. I like to create something cute. I like to do things such as making necklaces and bracelets, coloring, mod podging jars, and other things. I wish I had enough time to scrapbook. Scrapbooks tell a whole story with art. With just seeing the pictures you can usually see what was going on. Most scrapbooks have some words in them, but that’s just to spice it up a little bit. I like it when things are very colorful, it adds so much character. Black and white pictures are not my favorite. Color adds personality.
Topic from students: What ten things would you want to have on your lifeboat if you were stranded in the ocean?
This is hard to think about because I’ve never had to live without all of my things I own. I always have everything available. It’’s hard to think of only ten things out of so many things I own. The first thing I would want is ice cold water. Water is my favorite drink ever. I could not live without it. I know that it wouldn’t be able to stay ice cold, but I LOVE cold water. Water quenches your thirst so good. Even when I have other options of drinks, I choose water. Not only do I like water just because it’s good, but because it is so healthy for you. After I drink water I feel so refreshed. A person couldn’t live without water because they would get dehydrated. My second thing I would want is apples. I love apples so much. Everyday I have an apple. My favorite kind are the yellowish red apples. But I like all apples, as long as it’s an apple, then it’s good. Apples are a very good snack, they help fill up your stomach and are very good for you. My third thing I would want would be cereal. Cereal is just the best thing. You can have cereal for any meal and it is terrific. You don’t even need milk for it. I like it with milk, but it’s a great to go meal too. But it would have to be a healthy cereal so then it would keep me full. Some of the unhealthy cereals don’t fill you up and make you hungry right away. Also, cereal lasts for a long time, so it wouldn’t get old. Another food I would have, being my fourth thing, would be peanuts. I would have these because they have a lot of protein in them, so they keep you full for a long time. Peanuts also give you a lot of energy. If I would be stranded on a boat for a long time, I know I would be lacking energy. Peanuts would help me get revived when I didn’t have energy. My sixth item that I would want is a recipe book. I would want this because I love looking at recipe books. I could look at recipes all day long. It would have to be a big recipe book though. But I could look at recipes over and over, because it takes awhile to read every recipe and read everything that’s in it and how to prepare it. Then after I looked at them for a while, I would memorize the recipes. It never hurts to have recipes memorized. Then, I would also be using my brain by learning new things, which I would want to keep doing so I stay smart. There could be a downside of having a recipe book though. If I was looking at recipes, I might get really hungry, and I probably wouldn’t have very much food on a lifeboat. But it would keep me entertained. My seventh thing I would bring is a blanket. I get cold very easily. I know it was very hot for Pi, but after getting wet he was sometimes cold. My eighth thing I would want is a notebook. As my ninth thing, it would be a pen. I always right notes down. If I don’t write something down, I will forget it. Until I write down what I have to do, then I think about it and can’t concentrate on anything else. I think my tenth thing would be my Bible. I would have so much time that I could read so many stories and learn so much. I don’t read my Bible enough now because I don’t have enough time. But I really would love being able to pass my time on the boat by reading about God.
Blue Sheet # 16–Seeing traumatic events will never leave your psyche.
Traumatic events tend to stay with people for their whole lives whether they know it or not. It can be the littlest things that can set off your memory of the event. For instance when Jenny Minahan passed away last winter one of her friends got up to speak and played the song international harvester by Craig Morgan. Now every time I hear that song I can’t help but to remember Jennie. Another event that sticks with me is the death of my grandma. She had a stroke and was put into the hospital and never woke up again. I can remember going up to her room and thinking that she was just sleeping and that she would be just fine, but it devastated me to learn that she passed away one day when I was at school. My mom and dad picked Michelle and I up from school early on November 7, 1995. They told us that grandma had died and I didn’t really realize what that meant. It didn’t hit me until after the funeral when they started lowering the casket into the ground. The rest of the day I balled and couldn’t get over the fact that my grandma was gone forever and that I would never see her again. Another good example of house seeing a traumatic event would effect a person is all the former soldiers that now have psychiatric problems associated with post traumatic stress disorder. Thousands of soldiers have come back from conflicts that America was involved in and have had numerous problems including reliving the traumatic event over and over again in their heads. It has even been said that they will start yelling and acting like they are back in the war zone again in their sleep and will wake up in a cold sweat. I have even heard that when a car back fires people with post traumatic stress disorder will fall to the ground and cover their heads thinking that the car is someone shooting at them. Pi himself experienced some traumatic events in this novel. He watched his parents and bother sink to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. He had an internal struggle on the life boat trying to figure out which way is the best way to stay alive. And he listened as Richard Parker ate a human being on the same boat that he was on and then ate a little bit of the stranger as a means to survival. So as you can see traumatic events can have a devastating effect on a persons psyche and may never be able to be the same again after witnessing a traumatic event. Another event that will never leave Pi is the when his dad put the goat into the cage with the hungry tiger. “The goat started to jump. It jumped to amazing heights. I had no idea a goat could jump so high. But the back of the cage was a high and smooth cement wall. With sudden ease the trapdoor slid open. Silence fell again, except for bleating and the click-click of the goat’s hooves against the floor. Normally the big cats were not given food one day a week, to simulate conditions in the wild. We found out later that Father had ordered that Mahisha not be fed for three days. I don’t know if I saw blood before turning into Mother’s arms of if I daubed it on later, in my memory, with a big brush. But I heard it. It was enough to scare the living vegetarian daylights out of me.”
Answer provided to Tlais student question.what circumstances would i have to be under to turn primitive.
In the process of becoming primitive per say or unhuman. I believe i would have to be far from my home in a place at which i dont know never would know of in fact ill go as far as to say not even being on the map (almost like the twilight zone). Where there is nothing but a hot desert, no plants and a bunch of random desert surviving animals. There would also be people besides me there (for a later food source), and a supply of one canteen of water and i am stuck there for 400 days. Pi once said "i will confess that i caught one of his arms with the gaff and used his flesh as bait. I will further confess that, driven by the extremity of my need and the madness to which it pushed me, i ate some of his flesh." At the point of probably my 200th day out in a desert i think i might consider drawing straws for who shall die to create a feast for the others. Many people say they would never do such a thing at any cost i certainly believe anyone that truly is not mad would say they would just out of shear logic of the situation put before them. It would be psychologically devistating but what can you do when your very survival depends on you doing something against the moral fiber of your life and the ones of those around you. This would be the true test of courage and endurance. "You must understand, my suffering was unremitting and he was already dead. I stopped as soon as I caught a fish. I pray for his soul every day." This shows the true persurverence of a warrior just in the fact he didnt even seem to have to think twice. I would probably vomit or cry as i went to eat human flesh, its something that would seem worse then treason to me. But all in all a man has to do what he has to do to keep on living even if there is nothing to live for.
I chose Andrea Pollards question: Is there anyone in your younger years of life that has made such an impact on you that you remember every detail about them and what they did for you?
Through out my life there have been countless people that have sculpted me to who I am today. I think that every body has many people they meet in there life that changes something in them. People always try to be original but are usually always copying someone else. People that we look up to we try to imitate.
One person who sticks out in my mind that had a major influence on my life was Dane Wright. Dane Wright was 1 of 3 triplets, of which 2 including him died in a vehicle accident. He was in the class of 2005 making him 3 years older then me. Another person who influenced my life was Aaron Habberman. Dane and Aaron were very good friends and Aaron was class of 2004. Dane had long hair that was to his shoulders, which is why I grew mine out in 6th grade. Dane and Aaron were into BMX biking, so I got a BMX bike. Dane was big into bands like Slipknot, korn, Coal chamber, stained, System of a Down, so I started listening to those bands in middle school. Aaron had subs in his car and they were alpine. Aaron said alpine was the best brand, so I bought a 2500 watt alpine type x. Another person who I thought was cool was Travis Eisenhour. He was a 8th grader when I was a 6th grader. When ever I saw him in the halls I thought he looked cool. So I bought some Old School Converse Chuck Taylors high tops because he had some. I also copied him in coloring a checker board on the toe cause I thought it looked rad.
Another person whos impacted me is Gordon Graff III and Sherry Cappel. My parents are the ones who introduced me to my favorite genre of music, classic rock. Classic rock is more then just good music to listen to for me. It represents my childhood and my memories. Any family trip ive ever been on Eagles, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Steve Miller Band, Aerosmith, Beatles, Wings, Joe Walsh, Niel Young, ZZ top, .38 special, doobie brothers, Doors, ACDC, Allman Brothers, CCR, Pink Floyd, blue oyster cult and many more were there too. Any family camping and family friend get together classic rock was there showing every one a good time.
So through peoples lives people come and go who influence them. In the end it will be about how many people you have influenced that will matter to you. So I try to be the best influence on people as possible so the younger generation will have a good influence.
#7 on anticipation guide: Wanting to survive comes naturally to any organism.
An example I found in the book of this is when the other cast away aboards pi’s boat.
“my sweet brother,” I whispered. “I am here,” he replied. I heard a faint growl. “Brother there is something I forgot to mention” He landed upon me heavily. We fell half onto the tarpaulin, half onto the middle bench, His hands reached for my throat. “Brother,” I gasped through his overeager embrace, “my heart is with you, but I must urgently suggest we repair to another part of my humble ship.” “Your damn right your heart is with me!” he said. “and your liver and your flesh!” I could feel him moving off the tarpaulin onto the middle bench and, fatally bringing a foot down to the floor of the boat. “no, no, my brother! Don’t! Were not” I tried to hold him back. Alas it was too late. Before I could say the word alone, I was alone again.
Expert advice Jean-Philippe Soule:
On the ocean the sun is reflected by the sea and can cause partial or permanent blindness. Sunglasses (100% UV protection, polarized glasses are best) are a must for all watersport activities. If you don’t have any sunglasses, you should improvise some. Indigenous people from the Arctic circle used leather bands in which they cut two narrow slit for the eyes. Those narrow slits minimize the contact with sun rays. You could use any type of fabric to make such eye protection.
The minimum amount of water considered necessary to stay in good shape is 1.3/4 pts (1 litre) per day. It is possible to survive with 2 to 5 oz (55 to 220 centiliters) per day.
When you will be surviving at sea for an unknown duration of time, it is necessary to ration the water to the minimum needed to survive.
On the first day, your body still contains much water, so you don’t need to drink. It is recommended to decrease your water ration progressively. The first 2 to 4 days you should drink 14oz (400cc). After you should reduce to 2 to 8 oz daily. This will of course vary with the conditions. (no protection from the sun in a tropical area will require more water than in the shade in temperate climate.
In any living organism wanting to survive is part of your life. There are no living organisms that try to die. There are countless situations where some one could be in a life or death situation and need to do something drastic to survive. Doing something drastic doesn’t make you a terrible person, it just means your alive.
When people are in arctic areas people are in life and death situations all the time. Even dog sledders have been known to eat some of there dogs for food for them and the other dogs. People will eat or do just about anything in a drastic time. People who have been buried in avalanches have been knows to drink one another’s urine for hydration..
One thing that is the worst for someone to imagine is cannibalism. In the book Life of Pi , Pi Patel is almost cannibalized by another cast away. In dire situations people convert from them selves to an animal and fallow there Id. Some ones Id is what will either keep them alive or make them die. In the book Life of Pi it can be interpetated that Richard Parker is Pi’s Id. The Id is responsible for our basic drives and needs such as food, sex, and aggressive impulses. When Pi is being attacked by the other castaway his id comes alive and kills the cast away. And it says that Richard Parker eats the body, but maybe Pi’s Id eats the body. Pi becomes a cannibal for the sake of carrying on living. Pi goes against every thing that he believes in and against social acceptance to sustain life. Pi is a vegetarian who doesn’t eat meat. And it is extremely socially incorrect to be a cannibal. Adrenalin is also a major survival device in living organisms. Old ladies have been known to lift entire vehicles to save someone’s life from adrenalin. An adrenalin rush will make you a super person to keep you alive and fight off any danger. I don’t think Pi had much use of adrenalin for most of it because its more of a spur of the moment safety device. So wanting to survive comes natural to organisms, we are built to survive.
Andrea Offermann “I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, If you look at old vabe paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines.
I agree with Offermann 100 percent. Art and literature are 2 completely different things but are blood related. Its like identical twins, they are related the closest but are always completely different. Its like the old saying a picture is worth 1000 words, but I think its both ways and a word could be worth 1000 pictures. If you take one word and look at it, it could be viewed and imagined countless ways. Both art and literature are ways to express your self and your feelings.
You can express your self in a million ways with art. From making an elegant sculpture to taking a spray can to the side of a train car, both are ways of expression. Music is an art form, and music is one of the biggest ways of expression. There are so many different styles, eras, and differences in music that the expression ness is endless. Many times, depending on how I am feeling I will listen to a certain type of music. Like for an example I have been listening to the Vitamin C song Graduation over and over as I am writing these reactions. The song reminds me of English class today haha, and it reminds me of my school career. And when it’s sunny and nice out side I love listening to classic rock like Joe Walsh, Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, Boston, and Journey because the guitar really adds to the happy mood. Playing music is another way of art. When I play my saxophone, I play how I feel, if I am in a really good mood and stoked to be playing ill play with a lot of expression and feeling. But if I am mad and annoyed to be there I wont play with much expression and dynamics.
Another way of expressing your self is your car you drive. A lot of people don’t car about the type of car they drive. But many people are all about the type of car you buy. Like all the cowboys in our school drive chevy 1500 with loud exhaust and dual non hooked up CB whips. Then there are the people who drive the street racers. And there are the people who drive the muscle cars. And every one else fits into some category somewhere. It’s mostly guys who express them selves through there cars.
Literature is directly related to expression. People read books and magazines based on what there interests are. I am addicted to my car so I find my self liking to read off road magazines and suv magazines. Or I really like camping and being out doors, so I really liked reading the hatchet series.
1whipkeyc asked “Is there a lack of religious tolerance in the world today? What do you think the reason is for the lack of religious tolerance in our world?”
I believe that there is definitely a lack of tolerance in the world today. The lack of tolerance isn’t restricted to religion but also by ethnicity and race. In America even though we say that we are the melting pot of the world we still persecute people because we feel that our way is the right way and everyone else is wrong. A good example is the way we treated the people of Middle Eastern decent after the attacks of 9/11. We specifically targeted all Middle Eastern people as terrorists and shunned them from our society. Throughout American history we have persecuted numerous different types of people from restricting the rights of African American citizens from the end of the Civil War to the mid 20th century to the placement of Japanese Americans in interment camps during WWII. We also took land from the Native Americans, bought and sold the land all without the permission or the approval from the Native American people. And the treaties that we made with the Natives for the land we didn’t honor and then put them into small sections of land as a measure to try to incorporate them into the “American” way of life even thought they were here first. The Nazis even went so far as to create a select race of people that were tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. The Nazis during WWII were probably the least tolerant people that have ever in habited this earth. They killed millions of people for no reason except for their race, heritage, or political views. They Nazis specifically targeted the Jews in the “Final Solution” which was their way of making a master race. And of the 11 million people that the Nazis systematically murdered 6 million of them were Jews or of Jewish heritage, the others were gypsies, Catholics, handicapped or deformed, and political rivals of the Nazis. And today the two least tolerated religions and people in the world today are the Jews and the Muslims. The Muslims are mainly persecuted because most of the terrorist in the world today are Islamic. And the Jews are persecuted because of their belief that Jesus hasn’t come yet and have been persecuted ever since the rise of Christianity. An example in the book is when the three religious leaders found out that Pi was practicing three religions.
"Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God," I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face. My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fance that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat and said in a half-voice, "I suppose that's what we're all trying to do-love God."(pg69) After he was confronted by the three religious leaders he stated “My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fancy that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart.”(69)
“Aside from the idea of involving the reader more on a visual scale, my intention was not to affect his/her own image of Pi, so we never get to see Pi’s face -- all we see are his hands and feet. I thought this device was appropriate because Mr. Martel never described Pi.” was stated by the fine artist,Tomislav Torjanac. I find this to be extremely smart and a great way to illustrate things from within this book. He is completely right you never get to visually draw your own conclusion of what Pi looks like so in fact, the artist in this manner left it up to you to deside on what you want to think. Its almost the same as when your parents want you to do something but they dont mention it they just kind of know youll end up doing it to satisfy not only your liking but everyone around you. In the drawings he lets you deside within you what you want him to look like, he could be any Indian boy, we just know he was sunburnt, indian, and was young. At the sight of the drawning where it shows the boy throwing the life boui to Richard Parker, he makes it come from your perspective which in fact makes it easier for you to try and relate and put it into your shoes. As of this moment i think if i had to throw a tiger a boui i would let it drownd but who knows with every situation things change. Thank you for having me in your class Mr.C.
Question 12: Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts, because when we hurt other people, we realize they are being hurt; when cats play with and eat mice, the cat has no idea that the mouse is in pain. This makes people the least respectable of all species (concept from Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Race).
Who is to say that when cat and mouse are “playing” that the cat doesn’t know that it is inflicting pain upon the mouse. I think that we underestimate things a lot. If you were thinking that a dog or a cat doesn’t know when you are in pain then why is it that they can lick you wounds or help you to safety. I truly believe that there is a lot more going on in their minds then what people think. Who knows maybe they really have it all figured out.
As far as humans are concerned, we know that we are hurting people. Some people may argue that small children don’t realize that they are hurting others but I will tell you that when I was 2 I knew when someone was in pain and I reacted by trying to help them out. People know what is right and what is wrong just like an animal the only difference is that we are “programmed” or “conditioned” to believe that our actions are wrong where as a cat or a dog are conditioned the opposite. We buy and sell dogs just for hunting in the U.S. they are born and raised to want to kill. We also train pit bulls or boxer mixes to fight to the death by starving them and making sure to beat them. The truly horrible creatures are us, as being the humans “we should know better” as most would say. But the fact is that people are greedy and they are out for their own enjoyment. As being a human I can say that being a human we are taught to look for the easy way out and not to think twice about hurting someone’s feelings. Some people like my self don’t believe in that and don’t practice that but most do that’s why I would say that humans are the worst species.
From the Student Blog
"When Pi outlines the inventory on his life boat, the first ten items he lists available to him for sea survival are as follows: “192 tablets of anti-sickness medicine; 124 tin cans of fresh water each containing 50 mill., so each containing 62 liters in all; 32 plastic vomit bags; 31 cartons of emergency rations, 500 grams each, so 15.5 kilos in all; 16 wool blankets; 12 solar stills; 10 or so orange life jackets each with an orange beadless whistle attached by a string; six morphine ampoule syringes; six hand flares; five buoyant oars... ”(145).
Pi yses most of the items he has to benefit him. If i was on a boat in the middle of no where i would have followed Pi's example
1 The most important and beneficial item would have been the Survival Manual, the manual would help me survive the tough times easier then if i did not have it, also i could use it for reading material so i would not go crazy looking at the clouds all the time.
2. A compass: this is a very useful item so i go in a stait path not a big circle. Also i thats a very good item to make you less scared of dieing.
3. I would like 4 gaint jarps and a funnel so when ever it rained i could catch the water and then you wont like of dehydration. And the tamp could give you some shade.
4. Next i would want an ipod. i know its very unlikely to have it but it would keep me from goin crazy.
5 then i would need a solar powered charger so i could charge my ipod so it can have power and i can power my mini trolling motor.
6 I would want a trolling motor so i could go a little bit faster where ever i am going.
7. One tackle box with a variety of fishing hooks: food, next to fresh water, is also ironically scarce unless you have the proper tools to harvest the bountiful feast below.
7. Four wool blankets: Four because I could lay two on the floor of the raft to serve as a bed, one to roll up as a pillow and the final one to cover my cold body.
8. Four multi-purpose containers: in which I would store water and food.
9. i would want a stainless steel peice of metal, so i can cook the fish and other stuff i eat so i do not get sick. Stainless steel gets very very hot in the sun so it would be my stove.
10. A knife with a sharping stone: obviously, the knife would be used to clean fish and turtles and as a handy tool. These are probably the pivotal keys to surviving on the ocean. And the stone is to keep it sharp so i do not get hurt tring to cut my food.
--Mankind is the cruelest of all beasts, because when we hurt other people, we realize they are being hurt; when cats play with and eat mice, the cat has no idea that the mouse is in pain. This makes people the least respectable of all species (concept from Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Race).
I agree with Mark Twain’s concept. I think humans are very cruel and in most situations know they are being so. In “Life of Pi”, Pi’s father Santosh Patel puts a sign in the Pondincherry Zoo that says “Do you know which the most dangerous animal in the zoo is?” There was a curtain with a mirror behind it next to the sign. Humans even inflict pain upon themselves. The only animals other than human beings to even consciously commit suicide are the so called “brainy” animals, such as mammals and some birds. People also kill each other just like animals. However when animals kill its usually instinct; protection of family, territory, and food are the main reasons animals will kill. Humans kill for many other reasons. Some people kill for gang initiations, out of anger, because of drug usage, and sometimes just out of madness. Killing is against the law. People are even willing to break the law and put their own life at risk just to kill. Have humans become more bloodthirsty than animals? Some people even train their dogs to kill other dogs and animals for the rush they get to see a murder. Humans are the only animals that practice killing as a sport. Is it because we are at the top of the food chain and dominant above the other animals (because of our superior weapons)? Or is it simply because we are sick, twisted, cruel animals? German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said, “Man is the cruelest animal. At tragedies, bullfights, and crucifixions he has so far felt best on earth; and when he invented hell for himself, behold, that was his very heaven.” Man declares war on other men, killing without feeling. Sometimes even killing innocent women and children, who happen to be bystanders to the massacres. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” Is it possible that man has evolved into something more ferocious than the peaceful primates we see in zoos? And yet we think we have evolved into something much greater in brains, appearance, and other aspects. Our strength comes mainly from weapons and technology. I don’t think it’s fair to say we are smarter than all other animals. It we are smarter, then why are we killing our own kind.
--Is there anyone in your younger years of life that has made such an impact on you that you remember every detail about them and what they did for you?
Many people have had huge impacts on my life. I have always tried to learn at least one thing from each person I meet. Whether they are young, old, or crazy; I believe that everyone has life lessons. My grandfather had live through part of the depression, fought in the Korean War and witnessed WWII. He had seven children and lost one while he was still living. He had been married and divorced. He built a company and ran it until he retired. Until he died he lived on his own, cooking for himself, cleaning, and enjoying his favorite past time: planting tomatoes. My grandpa was always up for learning. Everyday he did his cross-words from the paper; he said they kept his mind working. He knew the importance of education although he had not had the greatest opportunity for one. Anytime someone told him something he didn’t already know he would say (with more excitement than a child on their birthday), “Is that a fact?” And the same when he told someone something, “Did you know.... That’s a fact!” I don’t think he was even trying to teach us things. I think he was a teacher at heart and out of instinct wanted to share his knowledge with the world around him. Most people’s minds start to slip away as they become older. His would sometimes fade for moments here and there and he would accidentally call someone by the wrong name. If anyone tried to correct him however, he would pretend he had called them the right name and blame it on everyone else’s hearing. “I’m not losing my memory! You’re losing your hearing!” Sometimes I would catch a wink. When I was younger I remember thinking that I kept growing but he always looked the same to me. He told me once you get so old you stop growing tall and start growing wise. I think we all grow wiser by each day, everything that happens to us, good or bad, can teach us a lesson.
--Artist/Author/Book Quotes
Yann Martel said, “It’s irrelevant what Pi looks like, as it is irrelevant how any of us looks like”.
Tomislav Torjanac said on our student blog, “This book deals with what is, in my opinion, the ultimate truth: that reality is what we make it, that perspective creates perception i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them. (Not much different from what the quantum physicists have been telling us in recent years.) So, once we reach the end of the book, the ball is obviously in our court, and we don’t just get to choose one of the two stories told to the investigators but much more than that. In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality.” In my opinion as well the book deals with the ultimate truth. Fate, faith, trust, timing, love, and hope all play great factors into the novel. Yann Martel has said he is no where near as religious as his fictional character Pi. But by having Pi believe in the three different religions he is allowing us to choose what God Pi is referring to. He also allows us to decide, which story do we believe. Do we want to believe the more interesting, much more fictional story of a boy survive being on a life boat with animals? Or should we believe the more conservative, vulgar story of humans tapping into their instinct to kill and eat each other when desperate. Desperate times calling for desperate measures?
“I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines.” (Quoted from Andrea Offermenn)
I found this comment quite interesting because I think it is true but at the same time… I don’t. When it comes to the Bible I would have thought that there would have been some paintings or some type of pictures to go along with it but … to my knowledge there wasn’t. I don’t know what to think about that. Was it destroyed? Were there just no pictures? I know that in the Bible and in many if not all we can usually paint a picture in our minds. That’s called imagery. But I do know that there were a lot of cave drawing and such like she had stated but that is just one big question that still stumps me. Why didn’t the bible have any pictures? I know now that we have all sorts of versions that have pictures and some still don’t but all the same I still have to wonder.
I really think that pictures and stories go hand in hand like she said but in a way “a picture is worth a thousand words,” isn’t that the saying that seems to be everywhere? Pictures have their own stories in them already, if they wanted to just like the cave men and the Chinese they really wouldn’t need words at all.
question number 26
I think that people are obsessed with animals people are obsessed because i believe that people have to be obsessed with something so our obsession comes at a young age we are obsessed with things like animal crackers, the circus, the zoo, cartoons with animals in them, sports teams and other things of that nature because life is much like that we need to have stuff like animals in our lives to give us hope and things much like my life around the fall is revolved around Indianapolis Colts Football i love the Colts like they are my family so when ever i see a blue horse shoe i feel proud to be a fan of my colts yes a team that has an animal as a mascot. Still do not think that you are obsessed with animals well lets take a look at our high school one of the finest institutions of higher learning of the public variety in this great state of South Dakota we love our school and we have school spirit i can not walk around school with out seeing at least someone with a Brandon Valley shirt on most days it is me. You also can not walk around our school with out seeing a picture of a paw print or something of a lynx variety we love our lynx we love our cats so we love animals. Ever been too a zoo your just contributing to the nature of the beast as people would say if you are extremely good at something like if you have a lot of talent you a a beast when would you want to be compared to an animal only if you are on the front lines of combat fighting for our freedom thats when i want animals out there i do not want a civil person out there taking a tea break and i am sure that you do not want some one like that out there either we want monsters we want animals fighting for us. so that goes back to my point we want animals at a young age we love animals because they represent some thing that brings joy into our lives and we are obsessed with animals because they help keep us safe and fight night and day for are freedoms that is why we are so obsessed with animals
Essay taken from Chapter 75: “On the day that Pi assumes is mother’s birthday, he celebrates by singing happy birthday to her out loud. How significant do you think it is to have a strong bond with your mother? Do you think it is beneficial? Do you think that people with strong bonds with their mothers have an advantage over people that don’t?”
In terms, I believe Martel illuminates Mrs. Patel, the Virgin Mary, Orange Juice, and mothers across the globe collectively in his novel. There is one scene where Pi describes a time he claims to see the Virgin Mary; to which this scene is mirrored in the introduction of Orange Juice’s character (111-112).
“One other time I felt God come so close to me. It was in Canada, much later. I was visiting friends in the country. It was winter. I was out alone one walk on their large property and returning to the house. It was a clear, sunny day after a night of snowfall. All nature was blanketed in white. As I was coming up to the house, I turned my head. There was a wood and in that wood, a small clearing. A breeze, or perhaps it was an animal, had shaken a branch. Fine snow was falling through the air, glittering in the sunlight. In that falling golden dust in that sun-splashed clearing, I saw the Virgin Mary. Why her, I don’t know. My devotion to Mary was secondary. But it was her. Her skin was pale. She was wearing a white dress and a blue cloak; I remember being struck by their pleats and folds…I felt I saw he, a vision beyond vision….She looked beautiful and supremely regal. She was smiling at me with loving kindness…My heart beat with fear and joy.” (62-63)
Martel also describes Mrs. Patel as being a source of comfort and protection during a time of confusion and uncontrollable chaos. This scene is also mirrored with the slaughter of the zebra (126) (307-308)
“I could feel Mother’s hand pressed against my pounding heart” (35) and “I don’t know if I saw blood before turning into Mother’s arms or if I daubed it on later, in my memory, with a big brush…Mother bundled us out. We were in hysterics. She was incensed.
‘How could you Santosh? They’re children! They’ll be scarred for the rest of their lives.” Her voice was hot and tremulous. I could see she had tears in her eyes.’ “ (36)
My mother should not even be living. She was diagnosed with colon cancer when I was only seven years old. It was the summer after my sister, Paige, was born; my family experienced great joy and great pain within six months. It was difficult for my father, brother and I to raise my infant sister without my mother present. She was absent for my first day of second grade, and my brother’s first day of kindergarten. She was not with us for a year or so, until she was healthy enough to return (still very sick).
Typically, men and women of their early 50’s should begin seeing their doctor for a colonoscopy. My mother was in her late 20’s when symptoms began to hit. She was 37 when the doctors decided she had cancer. So, they continued to remove 17 of her lymph nodes (filters of material foreign to the body and house familiar white blood cells to destroy engulf bacteria/particles of the sort), and discovered that 11 of those 17 were malignant.
Cancer almost defeated my mother physically, but in turn gave her incredible strength and faith to carry on. She describes her pain being a constant ache, like an annoying fly buzzing around your ear (Pi can definitely relate). Chemotherapy was part of her recovery. Due to that radiation, food had no taste or purpose, so she ate less. In turn, my mother was incredibly weak, too weak to walk to the bathroom independently, to stand for more than a few minutes in the shower, to laugh or sing or cough. Crying was a well-known friend and comfort for her during these times. I often wonder how she managed to find the energy to live each day…when pleasure is a past time and pain is the puncturing presence of the present. Where is her faith? Would she reject God for stealing her time away from her husband, two children, and newborn? I often wonder if I would reject my God under similar circumstances. But, she has recently shared her story of hope and strength. Her resolve to live? The joy of watching all her children walk across the stage and receive our diplomas. It is positive assurance that she did well as a mother, that she succeed, and completed her purpose.
Mother’s are our greatest influences. From womb to walking the stage, mothers will always be warmth, comfort, and spiritual/emotional nourishment. Although it is the father’s role to encourage children to be strong and courageous, it is the mother’s role to represent healing, wisdom, and peace.
My mother It seems to be that moms are typically more influential on a child’s political and religious affiliation. Ironically enough, there are few woman involved in politics. Pi describes his mother’s opinion on his religious views.
“Mother was a mum, bored and neutral on the subject…I suspect she suspected that I had a different take on the matter, but she never said anything when as a child I devoured the comic books of the Ramanyana and the Mahabharata and an illustrated children’s Bible and other stories of the gods…She was pleased to see me with my nose buried in a book, any book, so long as it wasn’t naughty.” (66)
Have you ever been lost? What kind of lost were you (lost in thought or physically lost) and how did you find your way to wherever you wanted to be next?
to answer the question properly i have to ask my own question who has not been lost in life i mean we all have been lost at some point in time or another we are teenagers we get lost thats what we do people give us the reputation of being confused never know what we are doing things like that well i think that is a text book example of what being lost is i can think of sometimes when i know i was a lost little boy a time where i was trying to pick a school to attend next year i was not a 100 percent sure which way i was leaning toward s and i guess i was not sure until two friends of mine showed me the light of day and said Greg you need to come and run with us we need you. i guess as a natural human reaction to want to be needed we love being needed so i went to the place that needed me and fit me academically and athletically and i have never ever looked back since that day i decided it may have been the greatest choice i have ever made in my life. Also i remember times in the twin cities where i was lost physically not knowing were to go in such a big place coming from simple small town place like here i love here but i love big cities as well i just have a tendency to get lost in them but being lost is a part of life if we all knew where we were going and what we were doing than what is the point of education what is the point of us all showing our thought s and opinions we are all lost at some point in time and that is the beauty of life you may never know what you will get out of but you still have to use it to its fullest i think of this simple advise my dad gives me every time i run on the track "Greg track is simple you run fast and you turn left it is much like nascar." and now i am trying to use that advise to not get lost and stay on coarse but maybe drifting off a little is not such a bad thing.
I was confused about the student question area so I decided that I would just make up my own. I was confused about the theories. The Pollard theory she thought that the animals were some how religious symbols. I can see where she would get that idea and I think that you (Mr. Christensen) should look in to it for future references. The other theory of Richard Parker really being Pi was just confusing. I didn’t know how some one could come up with that idea. To me there were too many things left in the dark to come to a theory. If you think about it why would Pi risk being on a raft the whole time… getting exposure to the sun, wind, rain, and water if he could be under the tarp the whole time. To me that makes a lot of sense. Why would he have to sneak around to get food and water if there wasn’t a tiger aboard? All of these questions just completely confuse the heck out of me. And as far as the whole cannibalism thing that is just a little too far fetched. Having his mom be Orange juice doesn’t make any sense either. He mourns the loss of his family right away and wishes that he could be with his mother. When or if his mom showed up later would it not have made sense for him to rejoice… but he didn’t so that is where my question is drawn… how does that work out?
He is a human just like all of us and I think that he really was on a boat with a tiger, hyena, zebra, and orangutan. Why would he make up things? I know when things happen along time from when you have to tell the story you do fudge on a few details but really I don’t think that he could have made up all of those things. He seems like he is a genuine guy and that if he is that religious that he wouldn’t just make that stuff up.
college bound english
may 19 2008
john utke
life of pi
20. Murder is all right when executed in self-defense.
By John Utke
Murder is one of the worst things in this country but a life is the greatest thing to ever have and if someone tries to take it then it is your right to kill. In this book I believe that pi is Richard parker and that he calls on him in time of need and that need is to kill. When the hyena comes o the boat and kill orange juice that was really his mom and in return he killed the hyena in self defense of his mom. Also in the book in chapter 90 page 254-55 a man came to the boat. “My sweet brother, I whispered, I am here, he replied. I heard a faint growl. Brother, there’s something I forgot to mention. He landed upon me heavily. We half onto the tarpaulin, half onto the middle bench. His hands reached for my throat. Brother, I gasped through his overeager embrace, my heart is with you, but I must urgently suggest we repair to another part of my humble ship. You’re damn right your heart is with me! He said. And you’re liver and your flesh! I could tell him moving off the tarpaulin onto the middle bench and fatally, bringing a foot down to the floor of the boat. No, no, my brother! Don’t! Were not. I tried to hold him back. Alas, it was too late. Before I could say the word alone, I was alone again. I heard the merest clicking of claws against the bottom of the boat, no more than the sound of a pair of spectacles falling to the floor, and the next moment my dear brother shrieked in my face like I’ve never heard a man shriek before. He let go of me. This was the terrible cost of Richard parker. He gave me a life, my own, but at the expense of taking one. He ripped the flesh off the man’s frame and cracked his bones. The smell of blood filled my nose. Something in me died then that never come back to life.” This part tell the down fall of self defense, your life is great one man or woman is alike but to kill even in self defense leaves a part of that person in you and you cannot get it out. That part said that parker did it but I believe pi had to release himself and killed this man and told the cops in the end that it was parker so he would never have to put his name and that man’s name together. Everything pi killed was in self defense or body over mind as that the body wanted more than the mind. But with all this without self defense he would not have lived. I know that is was on a boat and that he would not go to jail after 200 some odd days at sea but if this would have happen here in Brandon and someone put a gun to your head and you could not fight back then your life is over. Self defense is your only chance even when the man has a gun to your head going out in defense sound a hell of a lot better than standing there. There have been many cause of self defense and now amerce is to the point where the gun man can sew the victim. A case in 2005 a gun sewed and won 3.3 million dollars form a victim because the victim used self defense after the gun man dropped his gun. That is the biggest load of crap ever we should never punish or victim but we should always punish those how try and hurt us. A famous quote from Gen. George s. Patton says that “War is not mindless killing war is self defense for those how fallow and care for law and order”. If you do not know who Patton was he was a four star Gen. in WW2. Patton is saying that self defense is not just something to us to get back at people that hurt you but more to save your life and the others that are not going around doing hurtful crimes. There are many different quotes and saying for self defense and more things on it in this book but self defense on matter how you look at it as long as it is self defense you should always be aloud to care it out.
Would you save someone life if it meant yours.
Life is always so import because you alone have one and if you lose it you are not getting a second chance. Sometime in life you may get to chose if someone lives or dies and to make it harder that person could turn around and hurt you. Many moves play this out like in the movie lord of the rings. In this movie there is a have hobbit have thing named golem and a hobbit named fordo begins gets his chance in playing god. Fordo and his friend Sam are sleeping and this golem tries to kill them in their sleep but Sam wakes up and gets him and at this point I bet 99% of people would have killed golem but not fordo he believed that golem could help them. This was a very dangers chose but it did not pan out because later on the golem thing tried to kill fordo but failed. Now why would someone keep something alive when you now it wants to kill you and to me that answer is your mind? Our mind just can’t do it your body is more than willing and ready but the mind does not have the same view. In this book pi has a chance to save Parker in chapter 37 page 98 “what are you doing, Richard parker? Don’t you love life? Keep swimming then! Treeeee! Treeeee! Treeeee! Kick with your legs. Kick! Kick! Kick!” Now this is the mind he see and died tiger and wants to help it and he does but on page 99 his body is telling him something different. “I woke up to what l was doing. I yanked on the rope. Let go of the lifebuoy, Richard parker! Let go, I said. I don’t want you here, do you understand? Go somewhere else. Leave me alone. Get lost. Drown! Drown!” now this is a body of a 100 pounded India that just now see that he is about to save a 400 pounded tiger. Not too many people well ever have this happen but did he make the right choice. I believe he did because in the story the tiger only helped him and never hurt him so I would say yes. One man named John f Kennedy said “That don’t ask what your country came do for you but ask yourself what you can do for your country. That goes to this question by don’t ask yourself would someone do this for me but you should be asking well you do this for someone. I hope many people choice to help and ask the second question and not the first. I also ask myself well I save some on and I say yes but then again I have never had this happen to me.
Response: why are animals so helpful?
In the question from 5sheffieldj#1 he asked “Mr. Torjanac,
In the process of creating the artwork for Life of Pi did you ever stop and think what it would be like if it were you in Pi's position and if so did that contribute to the way you drew a particular piece?” He answered that by saying “It wasn’t hard for me to put myself in Pi’s shoes while reading/illustrating the book. For example, I love animals and I can’t imagine harming them or killing them, so my choice is not to eat them.” And with that answer I made you the question that why are animal so helpful. Mr. Torjanac says he could never kill an animal but also said that he would not know if he was stuck in the ocean but I was wonder if maybe he would not kill then because he believes they can help. In the book Richard parker was a great help to pi and made he get all the way though the trip, so maybe Mr. Torjanac feels that animals are help to us. Already animals have helped cure disease and have keep the world going since the beginning. Animals are nice and friend but they can be mean so I also thing that Mr. torjanac would kill in self defense and since I talk about that early I don’t think we need to go though self defense. I also found a quote from another famous artiest named Bridget Riley says “For me nature is not landscape, but the dynamism of visual forces... An event rather than an appearance. These forces can only be tackled by treating color and form as ultimate identities, freeing them from all descriptive or functional roles. What this artist is saying to me is that animals or the back ground are not landscape they are the picture. Mr. Torjanac when making the pi and Richard parker pictures he was not making landscapes and Richard parker but made parker the picture by liking animals so much. I have seen many pictures from Mr. T and them all show great looks at animals and by this I believe he is tiring to show how he cares for this animals and how much they help. I have seen many animal help humans be it in a movie like mask when his dog saves his owner Jim carry or in real life at zoos when apes save little babies when they fall in to their home. No matter how it is animals do get things and Mr. Tojanaca show us in pictures and the animals do by what they show us.
sorry for it being late it would not send at 9:40 so i hope this is ok
What do you think of hyena’s perspective? from Tomislav Torjanac blog response to my question
i think being in all of the character perspective would be an interesting concept i how ever am not an artist nor do i play one on tv so there is no way in this gorgeous land we call earth a way i could paint that or draw it or do what ever put being able to see what characters are thinking i believe that would help the reader grow more attached to the characters mentally i believe that if some pictures showed the animals scared of Richard parker or them selves they would be come more attached to those characters that gives the reader more of a pleasant experience it would also allow the reader to help but things to together here i scowled up to find the most descriptive part to me and i found it from sammy sawyer thanks Sam
"Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God," I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face. My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fance that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat and said in a half-voice, "I suppose that's what we're all trying to do-love God."(pg69) After he was confronted by the three religious leaders he stated “My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fancy that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart.”(69)
now i can picture this in my head and i can picture of pi being red in the face now if a picture in a book was shown i do believe that some more people with out an imagination would be helped by this and i think that is why they made the art version of life of pi which i am sure helps some all though this would be a lot of work they could make a version of life of pi from every main characters view to help people see what they see like i said it would be way to much work but i think it would help
my apologizes for being late i had some technical difficulties
This is an answer to Mr. C’s question to Tomislav Torjanac about songs for a Life of Pi soundtrack. Tomislav said, “It’s a really good question, but also a tough one. Teaming up Ravi Shankar, Talvin Singh, and Lisa Gerrard would be nice, for example.” A song about a tiger that I heard when I was little suddenly popped into my head. I don’t remember the name of the song but I remember some of the words. I remember, “A tiger is an animal that walks around like a great big beautiful cat. He’s orange and black with lots of stripes now what do you think of that? Oh he is big! And he’s got teeth. He’s got a roar. Grrr! And he’s got stripes. Yikes! And a big tail too. Ooooh, He’s my favorite animal in the zoo.” That’s all I remember. I also would add “You’ll be in My Heart” from Tarzan by Phil Collins for when Pi loses his family in the boat explosion. I also looked around on the internet and found cool songs. The first song I found is called “I Went to the Zoo” for Santosh Patel’s Zoo. My next song is called “The Tiger” for Richard Parker. A couple of songs to entertain kids. Then I found “The Animal Song” by Savage Garden. After digging deeper I found a big list of animal songs that were sung back in the day. A song called “Tiger” by Fabian would be added if I was making the soundtrack to Life of Pi. I even found some Elvis songs that I could add. One of them is called “Tiger Man”, and the other is called “Too Much Monkey Business”. I would also add a song called “At the Zoo”. On that list I also saw a song entitled, “I Got a Tiger by the Tail” by a guy named Buck Owens. That kind of define Pi’s relationship with Richard Parker.” I would also add the songs “Teach me Tiger”, “Tiger Lily”, and “Tiger Rag”.
still having problems... trying to get it on as soon as possible word keeps freezing up on me
___ 25. In our minds, a constant battle is waged between good (superego) and bad (id).
In order to answer this question, one must first ask, what is a Superego and what is an Id? According to one expert, the Id is, “the primitive mind. It contains all the basic needs and feelings…In transactional analysis, Id equates to “Child” (http://wilderdom.com/personality/L8-4StructureMindIdEgoSuperego.html).” The Id in each one of us is selfishness, wanting, and in some cases, the uncaring for others. The Id is an important part of the psychological picture because it balances out the Superego. Another expert explains the Superego as the, “part of the unconscious.” It, “sensors the EGO implementing moral values into the decisions we make so we don’t use pathological behavior to get what we want. The Superego is formed by the parent’s emphasis on what is wrong and what is right (http://www.urbandictionary.com-define.php?term=super+ego).” Life of Pi presents many different examples of a good versus bad struggle. Pi tells his story in two different versions. One is told as the story is read and one is explained with a symbolic reference. The first story, with an actual tiger and all the other animals, is Pi’s “good” version of his story. The other story, with the animals representing humans, is Pi’s “bad” version of his story. Why would Pi have two stories? This can be answered with only one explanation. Pi’s Superego and his Id are battling each other for control. Pi does not want to admit the truth of his survival story to the two that come to interview him. However, he also realizes that he cannot hide from the truth. Another example of this battle is presented with Pi’s confession. He says, “I will confess that I caught one of his arms with the gaff and used his flesh as bait. I will further confess that, driven by the extremity of my need and the madness to which it pushed me, I ate some of his flesh. I mean small pieces, little strips that I meant for the gaff’s hook that, when dried by the sun, looked like ordinary animal flesh. They slipped into my mouth nearly unnoticed (pg. 256).” This passage helps to explain the Id. In extreme cases, the Id will outlast the Superego. The Id is needed to survive. It’s the drive every human has inside them, the will to stay alive, no matter what the cost. Cannibalism is one of the biggest taboos known in our civilization. It is certain that Pi never wanted to eat another person, and wouldn’t have acted in the same manner if his actions had not been absolutely necessary. This shows the importance of the Id. Without, we would not be able to survive.
This book deals with what it is, in my opinion, the ultimate truth: that reality is what we make it, that perspective creates perceptions i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them. (Not much different from what the quantum physicists have been telling us in recent years.) So, once we reach the end of the book, the ball is obviously in our court, and we don’t just get to choose one of the two stories told to the investigators but much more than that. In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality.
Mr. Torjanac makes a couple very good points in his writing to the students of Brandon Valley High School. The first idea he speaks of is perspective. Most of the book Life of Pi is told from Pi’s perspective. In fact, that is why Mr. Torjanac creates all of his artwork without showing Pi’s identity. Mr. Martel does not give a description of Pi’s physical description for a couple of reasons. The first one is that it a physical description really doesn’t matter. Pi’s appearance is not important to the story. The second is that not giving a physical description allows the reader to believe that Pi could have actually been one in the same with Richard Parker. This leads into the second point made by Mr. Torjanac. The end of the book and version of Pi’s story are entirely up to the individual reader. The following passage is told with the animal version of Pi’s survival story. “The hyena had attacked the zebra. Its mouth was bright red and it was chewing on a piece of hide. My eyes automatically searched for the wound for the area under attack. I gasped with horror. The zebra’s broken leg was missing. The hyena had bitten it off and dragged it to the stern, behind the zebra. A flap of skin hung limply over the raw stump. Blood was still dripping (pg. 120).” This same story is retold from another perspective, replacing humans with the animals. Pi recalls, “It was the cook’s idea. He was a brute. He dominated all of us. He whispered that the blackness would spread and that he would survive only if his leg were amputated. Since the bone was broken at the thigh, it would involve no more than cutting through flesh and setting a tourniquet. I can still hear his evil whisper. He would do the job to save the sailor’s life (pg. 304-305).” The cook later goes on to say, “We’ll use it as bait. That was the whole point (pg. 305).” These two stories are of the exact same events. However, most would agree that they would rather believe the first account to be true. This shows how the reader is in control. They can believe whatever they choose to believe.
Pi believes that there is a reason why the sailors threw him overboard. What is this reason and what does it say about mankind?
Pi thinks that the sailors threw him onto the lifeboat in hopes that he would lure the hyena off of the lifeboat. If that were to happen, the sailors would then be able to join Pi on the lifeboat and hope for survival. If this Pi’s assumption is true, I think that this may be just one more example of the Id in a human coming forth with survival tactics and the will to live. I also think that this is a pitiful way to be remembered or looked upon. The sailors were so concerned with their selves and their own survival that they had no problem throwing Pi overboard and possibly risking the life of another fellow human being.
26. people are irrationally obsessed with animals: our children's books, our stuffed toys, our mascots, our pets, our television programs and characters...
I agree with this because peole are always talking about their favorite tv programs. like american idol or survivor. Their are so many tv shows out right now. kids are walking advertisements with their nickelodeon t-shirts and shoes. tv had taken over. Animals are everywhere. Every kid has their favorite animal. Their are huge stuffed animals and then there are small ones. People are so obsessed with sports that every team needs to have a mascot which are mostly animals. You know the team for their mascots. these mascots can get pretty bullied to. Pets are sometimes better taken care of them humans are. Which is pretty sad i think.
i agree with what torjanic said in response my comment about that people pick some of their books based on the cover. He said that he had read this book because of the art work on the cover. Art work can make or break anything. but im sure a book can be just as good without the artwork to. But artwork makes the book seem a little more interesting.
This is my answer to Will Castle’s question. I definitely believe that the animals are the true story. My reasons for it are in the way he tells these stories; he spends ¾ of the book telling us such a vivid story about what happened. Too vivid to be made up, too many memories to be created, too many terrible things that happened between him and the animals, where as with the story with the people he tells about in a chapter and comes up with what you think would happen to a lowly survivor of 227 days. Cannibalism and death and suffering are his main points and he has no real story to it, it just feels like he’s making it up. It also doesn’t help that we don’t actually get to see Pi tell the story but the Japanese official did meet him and see him telling the story and thinks that the animal story is the real one as well. “As an aside, story of sole survivor, Mr. Piscine Molitor Patel, Indian citizen, is an astounding story of courage and endurance the face of extraordinarily difficult and tragic circumstances. In the experience of this investigator, his story in unparalleled in the history of shipwrecks.” Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and non in the company of an adult Bengal tiger (319). Another reason why I believe that the animal story is real is because who honestly can make up a story like that? To have so much detail and so many different things happening is impossible to create a story like that, (even though Martel created the story himself and wrote it) but for a boy like Pi to create something to the equivalent is one and a million. Plus when Pi tells the second story he has to think about it for a while before he tells it and Pi is a smart boy so could have come up with a simple story like the one he tells, not nearly as vivid, just the simple details. Enough so the Japanese officials can believe it and so Pi doesn’t have to talk to them anymore.
Even though Pi’s second story has ties into his animal story and hidden clues as to kind of make us think about his second story being true it is mostly speculation. Like with the so called picture of Richard Parker. What if it is actually a picture of Richard Parker? Has anyone else thought of that? Because I have and that is definitely speculation to think that it is Pi around a tiger and that he is actually pointing to himself. Even if it is Pi pointing to himself I think he is too smart to give away if it was actually him he was pointing to and would catch himself before he did it. But it is kind of ironic that RP comes out only when Pi needs him but there are also examples of him being there when there is no reason for him there. So in that case I believe that the animal story is the real story and that the second is false.
I’m doing question number seven on the blue sheet. It comes naturally to any organism to survive, no matter what its situation is or what is going on it will want to live. In the book it shows and tells us how strong the will to live is, cannibalism, the food chain, and many other examples of how organisms try to survive. Examples of some these trying times are when Pi gets so hungry he eats the man that tries to eat him, it is definitely dog eat dog world out there. Eat or be eaten is that saying that goes around these types of settings and that’s how Pi establishes his dominance. Not exactly by eating Richard Parker but by showing dominance in a way that other animals do and that is how he survived, even against the greatest odds, he survived. Another example is of orange juice and the hyena, where orange juice has never fought any predator before but tries to survive and almost fends it off by her instinct to live but ends up dying in the end because of the hyenas will to live. I’ve also thought about does life depend on every living organisms will to live. For example are there “life forces” and whichever one is greater wins if forced to face each other? And if they’re equal the cancel out and both die or do they just give up and go on living? I’ve thought about this before and I might be a loser for it but I think it’s interesting to wonder about our will to live. More great examples come from the SAW movies. It is all about the will to live and how much pain they have to go through to keep on living. These movies test our will to live by making us put ourselves in those situations. I find a couple of the situations live throughable if I am able to call it that, but there are some that I find I would just give up and not try to get through and just die. Like when in the last one he has like ten chains through different parts like in his arms and legs and ears and mouth. He has to rip them out to get away from the bomb next to him, I would just sit back down in my chair and die, and I wouldn’t even try to get out of that. Another real question we all have asked ourselves before, could we cut our leg off to survive? Really I have no idea if I could do that, it is so hard to realize if you could do that to yourself or not until you’re actually in that situation. I think that if I really had to to survive I could do that but it would be extremely hard. Why? Because it comes naturally to every organism to survive, no matter what the situation is or what is going on it will want to live.
Offerman’s question, “How does the analysis of one help the analysis of the other?”
I think having a blog to compare our analyses really helps all of us out. Because sometimes I can see it a different way than somebody else and they can see it a completely different way than me and it expands the mind by adding more information in the equation of what you already have in your mind. And it makes you defend or add what you’re opinion is, most of the time adding to our intellect. Each different analysis has its own different twist to it to make us understand it a little more or question and get more in depth into the story. And like how Andrea said, “I believe that we perceive writing and images on different levels. When we read we are decoding abstract signs into meaning. When we see an image the understanding is instantaneous, the information is received much easier. Also, images can touch us more directly than a written story, and help us to dive into the story and feel that we are a part of it.” All of us are on different comprehension levels and the people who have a higher comprehension of the book make it more interesting for the rest of us, almost like we are part of the book. For example, from all the books we read after I finished them I would find examples of things in my life from them and try to learn from them. especially from 1984, I was always finding ways to the story into my life and not become the same as everybody else and trying to find out ways the government is trying to control us and trying to stay away from it. Although I’ll admit I’ve had a harder time trying to connect “Life of Pi” into my life I still look for examples for it and it probably won’t come anytime soon unless I find myself stranded with a bunch of animals or am out in the wild and have to fend for myself. Which might come sooner than expected for all of us because we are going to college and will have to fend for ourselves, and how we comprehend the book and perceive it could affect our decisions on what we do. It seems odd now trying to think of a situation but you never know it could happen. I also love how she describes that we are decoding information from books and putting it into things that mean something to us, like maybe you don’t find ways on how these books we have read over the years pertain to your life and maybe that is how I put it into meaning and maybe you have a different way of making these things mean something to you. But all of us put it into meaning somehow so we can remember it for the tests. I am going to have to disagree with her about the subject that pictures give us instantaneous understanding. Maybe it does for since she is an artist but I would rather have words to make it up in my own mind. When I look at a picture of something I have already read it makes me think more about the words and how the picture describes the words and maybe I am backwards but that is how my mind works I am not sure about anybody else. But what I am sure of is that since she is an artist it works the opposite way for her. She already has a picture in mind and she lets the words shape it.
Essay prompt from student: Do you think it is possible for a human to be raised by lions? If so, would the child be normal?
I chose to answer Jessica's question because there have been abandoned children in the world; who have been raised in the wild by animals. They are called feral children. According to Wikipedia a feral child is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and has no/ little experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language. They are confined by humans often parents and brought up by animals, or lived in the wild in complete isolation. There has been over a hundred confirmed cases reported, and many more unreported. In my search I found a site that lists the confirmed reports; http://www.feralchildren.com/en/children.php, here is a list of the children who were raised by animals; http://www.feralchildren.com/en/children.php?tp=0, in this list it shows animals such as panthers and leopards from the cat family, manly it appears to be raised by dogs and wolves mostly.
In mythology there are stories of children raised by animals as well. So to be raised by animals cannot be disprove, or implausible.
According to Psychologist Lyn Fry, an expert on Feral Children, “When we’re talking about how a child learns to live with dogs, there’s obviously no deal, as such. There’s give and take, the dogs give their love, attention, and acceptance in a sense, while the child has to adapt to the dog’s situation. If that means eating raw meat and scavenging the rubbish tip, then that’s what has to be done in order to survive”.
To answer the second part, No the child will not be normal and even after many years of rehab, they may never be "normal". These children learn to act as their animal parents do, within physical limits.
Response to an artist: Andrea Offermann,
"I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines. But I think the art that accompanies a story should be appreciated as ONE reading of the story. The artist offers a viewpoint that can add to the depth of your understanding and help to connect you to the story. It can also just make reading more fun."
I completely agree with Andrea, art and literature are almost symbiotic alone but are better together. Literature was manly art in the earliest of society, ancient text or hygrographs are pictures representing words. Art and literature ad view points that others may not see. Definitely enhance some the "common" view point. As we read "Life of Pi", everyone had a different view point from one another, Andrea's art inhanced my own perspective to what i was visualizing as i read.
Prompt 1. We can see a lot of ourselves within animals. Prompt 26 people are irrationally obsessed with animals.
Both of which I believe are true. I fully believe in reincarnation, even though I was raised catholic. And I strongly believe in my past life I was a tiger, which could strongly answer my love of the majestic beast. My room has many pictures of the tigers, and I have the ultimate picture on the back of my neck. So I can see my self when I look into the eyes of an animal. People are crazily obsessed with animals; look at zoos, how many people go to see the animals in the zoo, thousands daily. Kids’ shows have animals in it to make it more appealing for example Blues’ Clues, Pokemon, Bear in the Big Blue House, and many more. We even have animal superheroes such as Beast Boy, Ninja Turtles, UnderDog and others. As we grew up we received gifts of stuffed animals, every Easter, Birthday, Christmas or for whatever reason our parents found appealing. What is it that is so comforting with animals? Maybe, it that they are soft and seem to be freer than we are; they do not have to keep track of time, go to school, and spend so much time worrying about the future. Animals appear to Not have a care in the world. Which is why many want to “fly away like a bird” and “soar like an eagle”, animals have it easier than humans, because of all we try to do and want to accomplish.
Essay:
As Pi prays he gives thanks for the people in his life. Describe a time when you were thankful for the people that you have in your life.
There have been many times in my life that i am thankful for the people that are in my life. When my grandma and mother got into an accident was a big eye opener. It made me realize that life is valuable and that people and things can be gone in just a matter of time. This accident helped me look at the people in my life and see what they mean to me. Showed me to not take things for granted, because they could be gone in an instent. My mother has had a huge impact in my life and she has showed me the things that mean the most, just by the way she lives. She got that from my grandmother, who no longer is around to show these things. My mother passes on traits in her self to others in hope that people will follow and learn. I have learned alot by these and continue to keep growing. I am not sure what I would do personally if i had lost her. To this day I can still remember what it was like to sit there and thank god that my mother is still around. Unfortuntly, things do happen and I have learned to live with what ever comes my way. No matter where life takes me and what I do, i know that the people that are around me are going to care more then anyone else and are going to be there for whatever. I am thankful for the people that are in my life right now and I am still thankful to have been able to know the people that are no longer with me. One person can change someones life forever, and I believe that is true for myself.
Andrea Offermann:
Was painting for the book a challenge? Being as though there are some high expectations because everybody pictures things differently. How did you know it was the "right picture"?
Offermann's response for this question was probably the best way you can describe the paintings. When working on project that a lot of people are going to see, you can always be certain that it will be good or what they imagined it would be. People look and see things differently when reading. I know when I looked at some of the painting, i wouldn't have seen that in the scene. The paintings help get a better picture of what is going on, but also you should picture the reading how ever you want to. How you look at the chapters and the book in whole determines wheather the book was well written in your view. You have the right to say wheather a book is good or bad. It all depends on how you perceive it. Painting pictures in your mind helps. Look at the reading as if you were in the situation and you might find something or maybe feel what the author is trying to get across. Paintings can be look at as words also. When you look at a picture, you are not only seeing colors and shapes, you are also seeing emotion and words that describe the scene. A picture is not just a picture. A picture can say a thousand words.
9. Your mom should be there for you every step of the way, until you are 25
This prompt is true, but mostly false at the same time. Your mother is there to guide you and help you make your own decisions when you get older. They are there to help you every step of the way in the beginning, but then again, they are suppose to be there just to give you guidance and let you make your own path. Mothers do not have an age limit in where they need to stop helping you. Mothers can be there no matter what and no matter what age you are. Mothers are needed throughout a persons life. Without the help and support from your mother, people can be and act different. Mothers play a huge part in your life. Setting an age limit to when a mother can stop helping is something that is not right in my opinion. Parents are always going to be there for you. It does not depend on what you do or your age, they will be there. Now for parents to help you EVERY time you screw up or get into a situation is also again probably not the right thing they should be doing. Sometimes you need to figure out things by yourself and see how they end up. You are not always going to be with your parents and they wont always be there for everything that you need. Becomming independent is something that parents try to help you with. Not relying on others to help you through things. Being able to figure out a situation and being able to do it yourself is what mothers hope for. They only want the best for you and that doesnt always mean you need their guidance.
Chapter 26 Quotes:
"Mother?" "yes darling." "I would like to be baptized and I would like a prayer rug". "Talk to Father about it." "I did. He told me to talk to you about it."
"Did he?" SHe laid her book down. She looked out in the direction of the zoo. At that moment I'm sure Father felt a blow of chill air against the back of his neck. She turned to the bookshelf. "I have a book here that you'll like" She already had her arm out, reaching for a volume. IT was Robert Louis Stevenson. This was her usual tactic.
"Ive already read that, mother. Three Times."
"Oh." Her arm hovered to the left." "The same with Conan Doyle, " I said.
Her arm swung to the right. "R. K. Narayan? YOu cant possibly have read all Narayan?" "These Matters are important to me, mother." "Robinson Crusoe!"
"Mother!" "But Piscine!" she said. She settled back into her chair, a path-of-least-resistance look on her face. which meant i had to put up a stiff fight in precisely the right spots. SHe adjusted a cushion. "Father and I find your religious zeal a bit of a mystery."
"It is a mystery."
"Hmmm. I dont mean it that way. Listen, my darling, if you're going to be religious, you must be either a Hindu, a Christian or a Muslim. You heard what they said on the esplanade." (72-73)
Expert :Phoebe Foster http://www.popmatters.com/books/reviews/l/life-of-pi.shtml
"In Life of Pi, the theories of Darwin and the psychology of Jung happily go hand-in-hand, with Kierkegaard tagging along, too. The unlikely bedfellows of existentialism and faith find common ground here. This is "Survivor" scripted by a philosopher."
This is a book that has gone places that no book has gone before. Bringing in religon and science. Few books have done this and put these two things together.
I have been in the marching band for four years and one of my favorite band directors has always been Mr. Wildes. He was a marine in the Vietnam War and was very patriotic. I asked him about the war when I first met him but he never wanted to talk about it. I have a lot of family that are either in the service or were in the service. Ive noticed that none of them ever want to talk about their experiences. One would think that they would want to talk about it and share the experience with other people to help make sure that it never happens again. It's hard being a kid asking questions that no one wants to answer. When we were doing our 1984 project we talked to a Navy Seal and he did three tours in Vietnam and he wouldn't talk about a single one. As doctor Rob Hicks says, "The symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder usually develop within three months of a traumatic event, although they can take up to a year to appear and must persist for at least a month for it to be diagnosed." I went to the movie Stop Loss recently and when the men came back from war they all coped with it differently, some of them drank and others were just fine. But one of the guys just couldn't adjust to the real world and would start to dream that he was back in the war zone and would preform war time things in his sleep. He would dig ditches and load his gun without a second thought. Things like this happen on a daily basis. For example when Pi was finally back on land he would keep all of the food and save it because he has been with out food for so long. As it says in the book he keeps all of his food, "...most he hasn't eaten. They're right there beneath his bedsheet. Just give him another one. We have to humor him." The two men use Pi to get the story that they need, they don't take into concideration that Pi has been on a ship for almost a year. One would think that they could be more conciderate of the young man. He had just been through one of the most traumatic moments in his life and didn't have much time to think. So being the imaginative young man that he is Pi made up a story, only no one wanted to believe his story. So he was forced to face the truth. The lies were no longer able to be passed off as the truth and he was forced, perhaps to early, to face the truth.
Mr. Torjanac made a very good statement. He said, “I have read it many times (I first read it a few months prior to finding out about the competition). It’s hard to say exactly how many times I've read it, because I re-read some chapters over and over in order to get all the details right so as not to stray from Mr. Martel’s detailed descriptions. I thought that was very important, because in the microcosm of the lifeboat every rope is important and every hook has a meaning much bigger than in everyday life.
My interpretation improved after I had discussed it with my partner (she had read it a couple of weeks later).”
This really hit home with me. After being in accelerated English for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, and then again for tenth and eleventh a lot of these books were old news for me. But rereading them allows you to see things not only in the book but things in yourself that you never imagined that you could see. When you can connect with the characters in the book that you are reading and when you can see taste smell and just feel all of the emotions that people are going through in the book that your reading it makes you a better person and allows you to experience things that you may never have the chance to experience in real life.
My favorite scene in the book is not necessarily a pretty scene but a scene in which Martel uses the most descriptive words that one has no choice but to be completely emerged in the book. This is the scene. “A foul pungent smell, an earthy mix of rust and excrement, hung in the air. There was blood everywhere coagulating to a deep red crust. A single fly buzzed about, sounding to me like an alarm bell of insanity. No ship, nothing at all, had appeared on the horizon that day, and now the day was ending. When the sun slipped below the horizon, it was not the only day that died and the poor zebra, but my family as well. With that second sun set, disbelief gave way to pain and grief. They were dead; I could no longer deny it. What a thing to acknowledge in your heart! To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister in law and nieces and nephews, creatures to people the tree of your life and give it new branches. To lose you father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports it’s branches. To lose your mother, well, that is like losing the sum above you. It is like losing- I’m sorry, I would rather not go on. I lay down on the tarpaulin and spent the whole night weeping and grieving, my face buried in my arms. The hyena spent a good part of the night eating.”(127) I like this part because he explains exactly how much his family means to him. It tells you the loss that he is experiencing and allows for a deeper connection. If anyone has ever lost their family they could easily connect with Pi and if you haven’t, well this part is vivid enough to help you experience that feeling.
When I was younger I used to read books that were about fantasy, because there was no way that I could ever experience in real life those things. I could be whoever I was reading about. I could live the life of someone else. That’s why I like most of the books that we read in college bound because there are real enough that it’s possible…but most of us will never have the chance to live in that life. It’s hard to imagine life outside of our quite little town, but maybe reading about it will help.
Nicole Ahlers Question:
Have you ever moved? How did you feel about moving? Were there a lot of emotions? Explain about a time you moved and your experience with it.
Yes I have moved and it was very hard on me moving when I did. At first I was ok with moving but when my parents told me I never thought that it would ever happen. I didn’t want to believe that all of the friends that I had worked so hard to make, and that I had known for so long would be gone. All of the inside jokes and things that would only be funny if you were there were gone in an instant. We moved and there was really nothing that I could do about it. The last day of my eighth grade year was really emotional and hard for me to grasp that this was the last time that I was going to be seeing these people ever again. It was like graduating and going your separate ways but I still had to go to school and be with younger kids. The best time of my life was going to be spent away from all of my best friends. While in middle school I had taken accelerated English classes, accelerated math classes, and accelerated science classes. So when I came out to Brandon I expected them to have the same set up. But to my disbelief nothing was the same everything that I had worked so hard at became nothing. I was put into classes with kids that I didn’t believe that I should be in class with and it was all really confusing. I had taken high school English one, physical science, biology, algebra, and geometry, but when I came to high school I was placed in those very same classes. I felt like everything was a waste of my time and it took the school a week to get some of that stuff straightened out. The same classes weren’t offered here so I had to retake English, geometry, physical science, and biology. I was angry and upset that we had moved to school that seemed so unprepared to have students from other schools. But after I got over the fact that I did have to just deal with the cards that I was handed I found my place at Brandon and have grown to know and love this school like I belonged here all along.
19. The Pacific Ocean is a source of wonder, inspiration, danger, and awe.
1. The Pacific is truly magnificent. I think that all rivers and lakes and bodies of water are beautiful and it is quite evident that they can change people's lives forever. As a kid I remember being particularly scared of swimming in lakes. Although I was sure there were no sharks and monsters to pull me under I was still terrified of the dark waters because I couldn't see what was around me. This fear of water is similar to a fear of the dark because in both you are somewhat unaware of your surroundings. Compared to the Pacific Ocean the lake I went to are nothing more than drops of rain. I have never seen the Pacific Ocean but I have seen the Atlantic and when I looked at the never ending waves of blue I couldn't help but feel awed. As this story proves the Pacific Ocean isn't always beautiful. What could possibly be scarier than a killer bigger than and tornado, hurricane, or any imaginable animal. I think it would be impossible to be in Pi's position without being scared. Just like Pi though I think that when the water is calm the Ocean would be particularly peaceful, and the sunrises and sunsets would be breathtaking I am sure.
Trevor A. "If you could bring ten things on a lifeboat what would they be? (excluding electionics)"
2. There is no better way to put ourselves into Pi’s position than to ask yourself this question. The first thing I would bring on my boat is as much freshwater as possible. This is obviously the most important item because you can last much longer without food than you can without water. My next item is also water related. I would use solar stills to capture salt water and turn it into fresh water. With all of this water that I couldn’t drink right away I would need somewhere to store it. So my next item would be a large container, the bigger the better to store rain water and other fresh water. I would take care of my food problem by bringing a fishing pole with all the accessories. “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” If this saying is true I would be set with my fishing gear because I already have been taught how to fish. So with my superior fishing skills bringing in Dorado’s bigger than me I might need a knife to cut them up with. Also I could use this knife to cut a bed sheet into a sail. I would also need a long rope to accomplish this. That rope could be used for other important things to. I could run the rope through the gills of fish I wish to keep alive in the water that way if I had a dry spell in my fishing excursions I would still have food to eat. I would also bring along as many loaves of bread as possible. That way I could make fish sandwiches, and bread remains edible for very long periods of time so it would be very beneficial. Since I used one of my blankets to make a sail I would be sure to bring along a second thicker, waterproof blanket to keep me warm and protected from the sun. Last but not least I would bring a life jacket. Not only would this keep me alive if I was to fall over but the name of the device alone would be a source of inspiration.
Jenna Hohenstein
Mr. Christensen
College Bound English
On Our Shoulders
Do you remember Little Lulu? In one of her famous cartoons she decided to skip school and play hooky. On her way to the fishing hole a small battle was fought on her shoulders. On one side was her demon, and on the other her angel. This type of scene in cartoons was often used to personify our own inner conflicts. In the novel “The Life of Pi”, Pi Patel is also waging his own little war with himself.
Pi Patel was small and sweet. He was a dedicated seeker of truth, and god. When he frequented three separate churches at the same time Pi did not understand the struggle between them. He saw all of the different beliefs as beautiful in their own respects. However when they all meet they begin a conflict.
“Father raised his hands. ‘Gentlemen, gentlemen, please!’ he interjected. ‘I would like to remind you there is freedom of practice in this country.’
Three apoplectic faces turned to him.
‘Yes! Practice-singular!’ the wise men screamed in unison. Three index fingers, like punctuation marks, jumped to attention in the air to emphasize their point.
They were not pleased at the unintended choral effect or the spontaneous unity of their gestures. Their fingers came down quickly, and they sighed and groaned each on his own.”
This was not just a struggle over Pi; it was a struggle over beliefs and religions. Each one had their own belief and they were so sure that their side of the argument was the right one that they refused to see the similarities between them. However, Pi saw the similarities and that is what he liked about each one of them.
“Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God," I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face.
My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fancy that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat and said in a half-voice, "I suppose that's what we're all trying to do-love God."
As the book continues, Pi is forced to choose between killing and being killed. He must both feed himself and Richard Parker, or Richard Parker will kill him. So he must do something that he never before thought he would do. He had to kill a living creature (fish) to stay alive.
“Several times I started bringing the hatchet down, but I couldn't complete the action. Such sentimentalism may seem ridiculous considering what I had witnessed in the last days, but those were the deeds of others, of predatory animals. I suppose I was partly responsible for the rat's death, but I'd only thrown it; it was Richard Parker who had killed it. A lifetime of peaceful vegetarianism stood between me and the willful beheading of a fish.
I covered the fish's head with the blanket and turned the hatchet around. Again my hand wavered in the air. The idea of beating a soft, living head with a hammer was simply too much.
I put the hatchet down. I would break its neck, sight unseen, I decided. I wrapped the fish tightly in the blanket. With both hands I started bending it. The more I pressed, the more the fish struggled. I imagined what it would feel like if I were wrapped in a blanket and someone were trying to break my neck. I was appalled. I gave up a number of times. Yet I knew it had to be done, and the longer I waited, the longer the fish's suffering would go on.
Tears flowing down my cheeks, I egged myself on until I heard a cracking sound and I no longer felt any life fighting in my hands. I pulled back the folds of the blanket. The flying fish was dead. It was split open and bloody on one side of its head, at the level of the gills.”
His choice to take live, any life had permanently changed him, he was no longer innocent Pi Patel, he was a murderer. Pi continued to kill to appease Richard Parker’s and his own hunger, and the killing grew into routine. He needed to satisfy his id in order for him to live. The significance of this scene is that he chose to live even if it meant betraying his morals.
For those of you who remember Little Lulu you can remember, that she followed her id. She went fishing. However, in the end she ended up running strait back to school, even if it was only so she could be sent to detention. This is also how Pi ended his story. He came home, and he put his id aside. What he dose to try to keep Richard Parker from returning is to tell his story, and remember what he has been through. In a way, he is warning the world of what he had to do to survive.
There is only one religion that is accurate.
False. If one says that their religion is the only, the whole truth, they themselves are ignorant. Religions are all founded on one psychological principle, faith. Without faith, religions are just stories in books, lectures by angry men on pulpits, empty rituals done without feeling. Christianity, for example, is founded on the concept that there is only one god, a passionate and caring god who made a mortal incarnate of himself, to come and die for the sins of his people. Faith tells Christians that this man was their savior, while to those ignorant of the faith and stories behind it, would see this “Jesus” person as nothing more than a deranged man who is looking to get attention from those around him. Judaism tries to make their God, ergo only one, more of a glorified deity by saying he never was mortal, that God is God, always and forever. These people's faith would rather have a more holy and glorified deity than a humble one. On the other side, you have Hinduism and Islam, both religions with different stories and different concepts, even having more than one god. They choose to believe in many different gods, but in essence, the purpose of every religion, from Scientology to Christianity to Islam, is all the same. All of them have a faith, a belief that appears ridiculous to another's eyes, because they want to know something is out there, that there is a divine purpose to life, and that there is more for them after the life they live now. A divine purpose cannot be proved right nor wrong, and the faith of this mystic unknown is incredible. There is so much strength in the minds of people, with a single thought being mightier than any army.
“As history shows, religious faith or belief can often prove to be a much stronger force than considerations of pure self-interest. In some circumstances people will even sacrifice their life for their faith. Irrespective of whether this powerful force works for the good or bad of mankind, it would be a great mistake to think that the globalization and economization of thought has diminished religion’s importance. Religion continues to act as one of the major well-springs of human behavior. Man is incurably religious although the form and object of his religious feelings may change over time.”
If there was only ONE religion that is accurate, why do people seem so devoted to THEIRS that they would die for it. The crusades, the terrorist groups fighting for the name of Allah... They all feel they have a basis for their actions. Power and faith go hand in hand in many events in history, and it surely will in the future too.
This was my first one... I don't know where it went. Typing the second now.
Religious Symbols in the Home
There are a great deal of symbols that are meant to represent various religions. From direct symbols like statues of Jesus, or of Buddha, to symbols from the bible, such as the dove in Christianity, or a prayer rug, to sentimental symbols like a Christian cross. Yes, all these things have very strong religious ties, but are those meanings perverted or skewed when they are brought into the home atmosphere? When people walk into a house and see a cross, in America, it just seems like another decoration in the home. The families don't glorify the symbol, they don't pray to the decoration each night, the object just sits there. So, for how many families in America, could you say that this symbol is a facade, a mask, and a lie? By construing false judgments when people see the cross, they are being deceptive. I can speak of this because Christianity is my own religion, and I have seen it perverted in ways such as this many a time, in Hinduism and Islam, I'm sure this deception takes place, but my experiences do not let me go deeper into that. If religion, the central aspect of life to so many people, both past and present, has become just another form of Public Relations, what is left to crumble in society? Traditionally, morals came from our own religions. What can be said of these morals for the deceivers then? Christianity has changed a lot from the "fire and brimstone," lectures of the past, to being a much more subdued religion. People come to church when they please, worship when they feel the need to, and use the Bible and its morals only when it suits them or could belittle an enemy. It is a sad culture that we are living in.
After the "Hellos" and the "Good days", there was an awkward silence. The priest broke it when he said, with pride in his voice, "Piscine is a good Christian boy. I hope to see him join our choir soon."
My parents, the pandit and the imam looked surprised.
"You must be mistaken. He's a good Muslim boy. He comes without fail to Friday prayer, and his knowledge of the Holy Qur'an is coming along nicely." So said the imam.
My parents, the priest and the pandit looked incredulous.
The pandit spoke. "You're both wrong. He's a good Hindu boy. I see him all the time at the temple coming for darshan and performing puja."
My parents, the imam and priest looked astounded.
"There is no mistake," said the priest. "I know this boy. He is Piscine Molitor Patel and he's a Christian."
"I know him too, and I tell you he's a Muslim," asserted the imam.
"Nonsense!" cried the pandit. "Piscene was born a Hindu, lives a Hindu and will die a Hindu!"
The three wise men stared at each other, breathless and disbelieving.
Lord, avert their eyes from me, I whispered in my soul.
All eyes fell upon me."
This passage describes how vigorously people will defend their religion... be it right or wrong..
From Zach Rock:
How are art and literature connected?
"I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines.
That aside, the connection is still very strong in my opinion. Literature does not need art, but art can add another level to the story, as Yann Martel and Tomislav Torjanac have already described. You may say now that it can also destroy the reading experience if it doesn't correspond with what the reader imagines. That's true, and it's one of the reasons I love Tomislav Torjanacs concept when illustrating Life of Pi. But I think the art that accompanies a story should be appreciated as ONE reading of the story. The artist offers a viewpoint that can add to the depth of your understanding and help to connect you to the story. It can also just make reading more fun."
I think she has a very VERY valid point in the first paragraph, that art and literature have been intermixed so much over the years. Art is in itself a form of literature... A picture is worth a thousand words right? And literature is art... There are way more than a thousand words in Life of Pi, so in that aspect, the words themselves form many pictures, intricately woven to produce a vivid image.
"The island itself is symbolic as a Garden of Eden. It offers temporary salvation to Pi, but he must leave the island Eden once he discovers the black "forbidden fruit" on the twisted branches of the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." His illusion of the island is shattered. There is a kind of heaven and hell associated with day and night. By day the meerkats eat without having to kill and show no fear, even of Richard Parker. At night, the island becomes carnivorous and the ecosystem feeds on itself." -Chapter 92The island itself is symbolic as a Garden of Eden. It offers temporary salvation to Pi, but he must leave the island Eden once he discovers the black "forbidden fruit" on the twisted branches of the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." His illusion of the island is shattered. There is a kind of heaven and hell associated with day and night. By day the meerkats eat without having to kill and show no fear, even of Richard Parker. At night, the island becomes carnivorous and the ecosystem feeds on itself.
This passage is a fantastic example of how Yann can use allusions and symbolism to make a vivid picture woven only out of words. Andrea also does a great job in putting this mental image into a freeze frame shot on her canvas. She is taking part in the shaping of the culture of our time. Art and literature define a time period. The Renaissance, for example, was a cultural and spiritual reawakening for many people, brought on through the arts and theater. Andrea is doing a fantastic job in keeping culture in us, and her ability to move the words Yann Martel puts on paper onto her canvas is a great talent.
Mr. C!!! i have no idea if you will ever see this but i have a bunch of pictures with you in them and i wanna know how i can get them to you?! get i upload them to the blog or do you ever go to the school bc i could bring you a cd of them...just let me know!
I go to the high school often, Andrea! I'm there for the weight room supervision two or three nights a week (5:30-7:00). You could swing in this week Thursday or Friday evening; or, you could drop a CD off at the high school office any time during the day. Or, you could attach the jpeg files to an email and mail it to me at matthew.christensen@k12.sd.us. I'd put a picture or two on the blog. Any way would be terrific! It gets me street cred (or better to call it "hallway cred") to have pictures with cool, scholarly students. Thanks a lot, Andrea. You're one of the best ever, honestly!
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