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Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Chapter Analysis Essay Introduction--due March 10
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Type the most fun, creative, interesting, provoking, captivating, gripping introduction to your chapter analysis essay here. Feel free to veer far from the standard formula (topic sentence, supporting points, clincher, transition, thesis statement).
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227 days. 227 days without a shower. 227 days without a real meal. 227 days without human contact. 227 days without solid grounding. 227 days without a home. 227 days. Many would fall off the deep end of insanity and disappear into oblivion. But the few, the brave, the strong, would have a plan. Schedule. To keep from going insane. Or in Pi Patel's case; a 400 lb tiger. The notion of time is forgotten on a lifeboat drifting into nowhere. The hot sun blazing, tiger lurking, and food supply shortening; Pi's survival is a miracle. Pi's survival can be thanked by none other than maintaining a schedule, and Richard Parker.
Are animals in zoos stripped of their savage nature? Zoos can either be beneficial, wonderful havens or they can be prisons of torture to animals. Regardless of what we humans think about zoos, animals were simply not meant to be raised in captivity, whether it is the good kind or not. As humans, we cannot begin to understand the intricate workings of the animal mind. They are far too unpredictable to us. Try as we might, we just cannot relate to them in a way that speaks to us. We are all animals, they say, but it is clear to us that something separates them from us. There is a reason zoos have cages barring us from them. Or perhaps, them from us.
Independence. Regret. Fear. Oblivion… Perhaps a majority of us forget how to live due to the constant aching and longing for independence. Being free from the pestering that our parents always so greatly annoy us with. But once we are free from that protective shell we have for so long lived and thrived in, we regret the feeling of wanting to be free, and we wish to go back. We regret having that feeling of belonging and loving. Fear soon sets in causing an aching sentiment of being alone and what you once wished for: independence. Oblivion takes its toll when you eventually realize that there is no going back. You are empty inside. You are alone. This is a feeling we all experience at least once in our lifetime. Pi experienced this; however, he did with a 400 pound Bengal tiger.
Life, purity, nature, life, fertility, and youth are all things that are symbolized by the color green. It is the symbol for Islamic religion, a symbol of life conquering death in Christianity, and stabilizes the mind according to Hinduism. For Pi, seeing the floating island made up entirely of green has given him a sense of hope, which pushed him harder to continue attempting to live on the lifeboat. Plentiful with resources, the island is perhaps a mirage present only in Pi’s mind, however; it plays a major role in the steps leading up to his survival.
Reality finally hit and the truth sunk in: there is a tiger on the lifeboat. What would you do? Leave the lifeboat and die due lack of food/water or stay and be killed by a menacing bengal tiger? Either way, Pi could sense death was near. Most people would give up. In fact, very few people could do what Pi did; he decided to fight. He knew he had to act quick. Anxiety had risen as Pi endured a seasick tiger and the unruly labor of building a makeshift raft for the sake of saving his own life. Pi’s faith was also tested as a rat had appeared, saving his life from Richard Parker. Was it Hindu god Ganesha? Or just luck? The obstacles Pi faced helped aid his survival and brought him the strength to live.
Gold. Diamonds. Pearls. Crystals. Richard Parker. Surviving kits. Fresh water droplets. River running down Pi’s throat. Treasure. Life. When life becomes desperate and there is nothing left to hang onto, treasure if found. Treasure that has no value in first world countries, yet valuable stranded on the Pacific. Treasure that saves lives. Richard Parker choking the life on the boat, Pi is barely able to rip the grip from its throat. Water and food are found under the lid of the treasure chest. Pi says thank you to the only one who delivered: God. Pi comes back to life from the dead. Hallelujah! Although Pi acquires joy there is always that one thought knocking in the back of his mind that rushes fear through his shaking body: Richard Parker.
7 Nelson There comes a time in every person’s life where you have to option to look fear dead in the eye or veer your gaze to the ground and succumb to the anxiety. In Pi Patel’s case, he looked fear in the eye, a lesson everyone can learn from. For Pi, fear is represented by a four hundred pound Bengal tiger name Richard Parker. What drives an individual to face their fear is instinct and adrenaline. When Pi decides that he has bigger fish to fry, literally, his concern with Richard Parker needs to be taken care of. With his zookeeper past he knows just what to do when the opportunity presents itself. How it all plays out is nothing short of a miracle.
Dominance, obedience, control, confidence, strength! An intriguing list of qualities we all have a burning desire for but yet lack in some way, shape, or form. You must try and try and try until you succeed. Life or death is at stake when trying to achieve these characteristics. How can you achieve them? When will you reach them? How long will the process take? You keep pushing yourself until you have reached success, although you take many hits, and fall into the unknown, dark and mysterious like an ocean, you drag yourself out of the depths and regain your composure. Pick your head up and charge at your goal, full speed! Everyone has a tiger in their life that hinders their success. Varying from school, parents, friends, or even your jobs. You must make the choice to pick your head up and train that tiger.
Fear. Anxiety. Doubt. Defeat. What is fear? Do people fear fear itself? Fear is the unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous. Everyone fears something in life: snakes, mice, or heights. The one fear that people never seem to recognize as a fear is fear itself. Fear can be disguised as “life’s only true opponent.” Fear has its own ups and downs but mostly downs. It tears the body apart. Fear has to be looked straight in the eye before being dominated by it itself. Pi first fears Richard Parker over himself, but the table turns and he begins to fear what the “true” fear itself it is.
The Life of Pi is composed of 100 chapters: no more, no less. Together, these chapters unfold the intriguing life of Pi Patel and the miraculous story of two opposites lost at sea. Separate, each chapter is a story of its own with a purpose of its own. Each chapter is like a small puzzle piece to the puzzle, the novel. With that, each chapter has its own specific location to add impact to the overall story. Various literary devices are scattered throughout each and every chapter, intriguing the reader to continue. Much thought and effort is put into each, as some even require extensive amounts of research. Emotions are added to give the roller coaster effect, making the readers thoughts and mood change with the book and chapter 29 encompasses it all.
It is the times when we are alone that we truly explore our mind and how it ticks. This is directly what Pi Patel experiences when he is alone with a 400-pound bengal tiger. Heat blisters, starvation, and delirium are physical things Pi feels. The real meat and potatoes of the story, is helping understand Pi’s direct message to the readers. Yann Martel breaks down the fourth wall frequently, also called metafiction. It directly speaks physiologically to the one reading, rather than the one narrating. Not only does Martel connect physiologically, but he also gives unbelievable scenarios, almost too unorthodox than reality. Through these complications, Martel makes the story great.
Hook. Line. Sinker. Pi knew that if he wanted to survive, he would have to reconsider being a vegetarian. Was Pi aware of the sea life he was going to catch to be able to survive? This life or death situation tends to show what is important to Pi showing his bravery. After eating all the food from the locker of the lifeboat, Pi put his hunting skills to work. Pi had to result to the ocean to find food to nourish not only himself but also Richard Parker. Pi and Richard Parker ate every edible piece of the dorado, turtle, and other fish they had caught. They could not afford to throw any of the remains away;not knowing when the next time they would eat, would be. If you were in Pi Patel and Richard Parker’s situation would you be eating every edible part of the fish? You have to do what your gut tells you...believing that you made the right choice.
Up and down the lifeboat goes on top of the sea. The days have begun to blur into one. The likely-hood of making it seems impossible. Pi is surrounded by the threatening sea but even more threatening the animals that lie beneath. No man could be prepared to cohabitate with wild, dangerous animals. This lifeboat is the only sense of home Pi now has yet he fears for his life constantly. The poor zebra is slowly dying but continuously fights for his life relentlessly. The hyena seems to be on constant edge along with Orange Juice. This tension that is being felt is like no other. Will they make it through or will tension get the best of them all?
Flies. Perhaps one of the most annoying creatures to roam the earth, second only to mosquitoes. Flies exist in the places you do not see them. They exist as the background noise of talk shows, salesmen/saleswomen, people who only say words to hear their voices resonate. Flies and their noises drive people to insanity. On Pi’s lifeboat, flies are making the first sounds Pi hears on his journey, buzzing around him, reminding him of his isolation. As one sits in silence, a fly’s wings fluttering become louder and louder, making its victim more aware of their loneliness, just as media targets its suppliers.
Religions all have their own teachings and have either one god or many. Each having different rules and practices, many people choose one religion but that is not the same for the child Pi Patel. He has chosen to follow three religions simultaneously. This kind of religious devotion is hard to come by, especially in someone as young as Pi. A mere teenage boy when he decides to embark on following all these religions so fervently.
Once a great philosopher said “Everyone has faith even if they do not believe in anything...it requires more faith to believe in nothing” (Meyer 17). This is true for the fact that even people who are atheist need faith to believe in nothing. Mr. Kumar, a biology teacher, believes in science to fix his problems because God “abandoned” him when he was a young boy. Later in the story when Pi was confronted by the three wise men he said, ‘Bapu Gandhi said, All religions are true. I just want to love God’ (Yann Martel 69). Throughout the beginning of the novel, Pi Patel had numerous interactions dealing with different people who never did understand why he would worship so many religions. Inversely, Pi would question people who did not worship any kind of religion. Mr. Kumar is the best example of one who does not believe in the God.
Imagine your favorite fishing trip with your family; it was probably filled with laughs, conversation, food, and water. That’s exactly what Pi Patel endured; well, not exactly. Pi was a victim of a shipwreck, he was alone, had little food and water, and his only chance of survival was to fish. Adding to Pi’s great fortune, Pi also had a 400 pound bengal tiger to keep well fed and off his throat. Chapter 61 tells the tale of how a religious vegetarian Indian boy becomes a skillful fisherman, a scavenger, and maybe even a savage. 227 days on a lifeboat. 5448 hours without human contact. 326880 minutes with a hungry tiger. How could one survive?
Yipping, yelping, yearning, yikes! These always seem to be the different reactions when in a stressful situation. No exception in the captivating novel Life of Pi. In the novel a young boy by the name of Pi Patel is stranded on a lifeboat with several animals right away. These animals react immediately no different than a group of humans would. Someone is crying and panicking. The person next to you is livid and won't stop complaining. Another is starving for food. And finally, there is the person who is scared but holds their composure. Pi observes intently as the hyena is frantically leaping throughout the life boat and vomiting out of fear and frustration. This life or death situation tends to show what is important to Pi showing his bravery and importance of using knowledge and staying calm.
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.” Fighting for what you believe while remaining a peaceful soul is a harmony that is not mastered easily. I am Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the nonviolent civilian Indian independence movement of what was a once British-ruled India. When I read Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, I was in awe of the main character, Pi Patel. Pi is a curious, but firm-footed boy with a thirst for spirituality. I saw myself in many of his actions and thoughts. One chapter that especially stood out to me as a fellow man of god, was chapter 25. Highlighting the faults of the current Christian while maintaining passivity is something Pi does well.
“It was three and a half feet deep, eight feet wide and twenty-six feet long, exactly”. One would think that would be a sustainable size of lifeboat when trying to survive a shipwreck. Except your thoughts change once you realize you are sharing that life boat with a 400 pound Bengal tiger. Having the details of a locker full of supplies, tarpaulin and benches going vertical across the boat, it is built to sustain life and times of calamity. When those areas are under the control of a tiger using the lifeboat to its full advantage is a littler harder than one would think.
Frodo Baggins, beloved hobbit and protagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien’s immortal classic The Fellowship of the Ring, is born into a life of peace and plenty in the rustic atmosphere of the Shire. But Middle Earth is changing: a dark lord and his sinister agents of evil are seeking to destroy all that is good and green and fair in the world. Soon nowhere is beyond their dreaded clutches--not even the Shire--and Frodo is torn from his home, hurled into the fray that once seemed so far away. The hobbit’s dismay is readily apparent: “‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us’” (Tolkien 60). Frodo is daunted. After all, he is but a hobbit, simple and small, caught up in the struggles of a vast and terrifying world. Yet Frodo endures. He fights on for those he loves, carrying his sacred quest on to completion to make good the time he has been given. Herein lies the central theme of Tolkien’s masterwork: trials of this life are sure to come; the way a person responds to them is what matters. If a person drowns himself in a sea of self-pity and bitterness, having convinced himself of the inherent unfairness of his lot in life, then his trial will remain a thing of evil. The battle is lost before it even begins. A trial will yield nothing but vexation for the person with a negative outlook on life, because evil is all the person has decided to see. Perspective is key. If a person stands fast, ready and willing to roll with the punches and accept each new day as a blessing in itself, then a trial can only but do him good--even in the face of unimaginable difficulty. This creed is one to live by, and few authors champion it as effectively as Yann Martel in his seafaring epic Life of Pi. Consider the closing passage of Chapter 35: “Things didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it” (Martel 91). Placed in the penultimate chapter of Part One, this rousing exhortation prepares the reader for the crisis of Part Two--namely, the shipwreck and subsequent drift in the lifeboat--in addition to establishing a central theme of the story. More importantly, Chapter 35 imparts to the reader a positive outlook on life that he would do best to adopt. After all, things will not always go according to plan.
Bender 6 Living a life on an anchor: a sea anchor to be specific. A Self constructed sea anchor. A sea anchor following a sturdy boat. A life saving sturdy boat. A life saving sturdy boat with a Bengal tiger on it. A deadly Bengal tiger. A tiger named Richard Parker. A life saving Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. How could this all be in between the 4 pages chapter 59 of Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi? Pi fearing for his life to retrieve food, wishing he was in the tiny snail infested sea city, wishes to be with his family. Pi begins to take hold of this dire situation finding a stable schedule of mentally engaging preparations in chapter 59 and sets the reader up for the rest of the book with strong foreshadowing and imagery.
Wardlow 1 Pi. A unique name, for a unique man. A unique man with a unique story. A story that must be told, but might not be believed. Is seeing believing? If so, can the blind believe? What if your eyes deceive you? When do you know what to believe, and what not to believe? Pi himself believes in many things. He believes in the emotions of animals, in miracles, in carnivorous plants, and in God. Many gods for that matter. He believes he can be a faithful Muslim, a faithful Hindu, and a faithful Christian all at the same time. Pi pushes through life even after losing his family. He survives two hundred and twenty-seven days on the Pacific Ocean with an adult Bengal tiger. When he finally reaches land none will believe his tale of being lost at sea. How can a man of such much faith not be trusted?
Pi Patel, the swimming pool boy, was forced to move across the world with his entire zoo his family owned. Uplifting his roots and starting a new life. To make things worse, his entire family and most of his animals perished in a storm that sank the whole boat. Pi found himself in huge life boat waiting to be rescued...then a tiger hops aboard. Together they have to find a way to be rescued and survive. It takes over seven months, the incredible life of Pi Patel is just beginning.
Imagine going into a zoo and looking into the elephant exhibit, looking in and seeing an elephant and pig laying next to each other. What is one's initial reaction to this? Do they go off and seek an employee or just stare at the rarity of two animals seeking companionship of another animal of another kind. It can be shown that sometimes this actually can happen for some animals, while others it can turn deadly very quickly. What happens when a mouse and vipers live together in harmony, what happens when another mouse is put into the realms of the vipers. Just one little thing changing can throw off the harmony completely and can cause chaos.
Zoos are entertaining places for humans but the view is different for animals. Cold metal bars. Loud children. Pi Patel does find himself in a situation similar to a zoo. After a shipwreck, he is in a lifeboat with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and a tiger. A compact area of roughly 208 square feet filled to the brim with prey and predator. Especially integrating the most dangerous of all. Man. Is man the most threatening because of their intellectual abilities or their opposable thumbs? With intelligent minds over-powering any physical abilities, man can conquer virtually everything--until the brain sinks like a Japanese cargo ship. Does the mind lose control before or after the body? If man has such a strong mind, Pi should have no trouble becoming alpha over all these animals without any lose of self…
Schwint 1 Living as a castaway on a boat; Improbable. Living as a castaway on a boat with a tiger; virtually impossible. Living as a castaway on a boat with a tiger you are trying to tame; truly insane. Yet with a whistle to act like a whip, the ocean to act like a cage, the fish to act as the reward, and the unbreakable will to live to act as motivation for Pi, Pi Patel makes the impossible extremely possible and tames the adult male Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Here Ye! Here Ye! Come see the most spectacular show of our generation! The Greatest show on earth! For just one dollar(not really), you could experience the story of a young Indian man with unconventional existential beliefs survive on a lifeboat alone with his only companion: A Ferocious Tiger! It has THRILLS, EXCITEMENT, ROMANCE! That is right folks, fun for the whole family! Chapter 28 starts on page seventy-six. It is not a long chapter and it is mostly comprised of a detailed description of Pi’s prayer habits. He not only describes his prayer but Pi tells of his affection for his prayer rug, one he was sorry to have lost. Though, years from the last time he saw this rug, Pi can still describe it as though he had just prayed atop it yesterday. “The pattern in gold lines upon a background of red, was plain: a narrow rectangle with a triangular peak at one extremity to indicate the qibla.” (76). Pi describes them with a peace in his voice. Almost giving a reader a glimpse of his happy place. During his prayer, Pi can be at a union with his life, wherever things take him. He is reminded that the ground beneath his rug, regardless of location, was made by God, and therefore, is holy. And that is just the beginning! (No animals were harmed in the writing of this into)
Is religion madness? How do we have a definitive proof that this so called religion to whatever God you believe in. Faith is what they tell us to go off. Billions of people throughout the world call them selves to a God of sorts. Why? For multiple reasons this is done. Whether it's to search into the depths of your soul to find out what is truly important in life or to find a purpose. People have all the But too be stuck in the area filled to the brim with thoughts from your mind. Is a religion or religions in pi’s case necessary to stay sane? This is a very hard question to answer for most but for Pi he sees the value in all three.
Life of Pi is composed of one hundred chapters; how odd it is that an author could end on such a satisfying number to most minds who enjoy even numbers in multiples of five. One brilliant author would only be able to write a novel so numerically pleasing; his name is Yann Martel. He is an author who likes to play with numbers; how strange that he writes literature. For example, his main character, Piscine, but Pi for short. Pi is also the numerical term of 3.14 and so on. The book itself takes place in 1977. Pi is on the lifeboat for 227 days. 227 days with a tiger. This is 227 days (mostly) without food, water, showering, or human companionship. However, it is 227 days. These days are not just void, but rather, possibly the most memorable days of his life. 227 days surviving. 227 days of living, hunting, sleeping, and sharing with a full grown, male bengal tiger. What an adventure. These days (although seemingly uneventful) were very important in Pi’s life as he learns a lot about himself. He learns who he is. It is an adventure of self-discovery. In the beginning of the book, it is very much about religion and focusing on what religion he identifies in and while he is at sea, there are a few references here and there, but nothing too lengthy. It makes a reader wonder, what happened with the multitudes of religions that Pi was involved with? One thing that had occupied his mind was of course Richard Parker. In chapter 13, it is all about territory. On the boat, Richard Parker had marked his territory with urine; later, Pi had followed the trend to mark his own territory as well. And as a lion tamer would, Pi had also attempted to tame Richard Parker so that he would not attack while Pi was trying to gain supplies from the locker. It was an interesting adventure for the both of them.
Supplies are a must, supplies are a necessity. In Pi Patels case he has plenty of supplies to sustain life for the better part of half a year. Except for the fact that he has a full grown Bengal tiger on the opposite side of his raft. Pi must make quick and careful decisions in regards to his boat mate, Richard Parker. Richard Parker could at any moment tear Pi to pieces, It is with this knowledge, that Pi must learn to interact and be able to survive on an ocean with a wild jungle cat. This adventure (or Nightmare) will do much more than just test Pi’s ability to survive, it will test his will to live. He will have to use every ounce of knowledge that his sixteen year old brain has gained in order to survive.
Religion in today's society plays a momentous role in billions of peoples lives. There are too many different variations to count. Multitudes of different viewpoints and faiths. Religion plays such a major role in the life of Piscine Molitor a 16 year old boy on a journey from India to Canada. At this point in his life he takes part in three different religions all at once because he believes that people should be able to be of more than one faith. His life is physically and mentally turned upside down in a moment when he gets stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. This journey will test his faith to the extreme and religion is what we will dwell on when entertaining the message of the book. As Piscine tells his story to an aspiring writer while he is now at the age of 40, goes into minute details of his mental state throughout the novel and we can take these and dissect them with a kind of religious lens. Chapter 16 is one that is critical to the religious tones of the story. Studying this chapter gives insight on the religious thoughts of one 16 year old Pi Patel but also his older counterpart telling the story.
Life of Pi is a phenomenal work of literary art given to us by the talented Yann Martel. He based his book on a young boy named Pi Patel and a tiger named Richard Parker who get lost at sea with each other. The name “Pi” is extremely relevant throughout the story in such places as page numbers, boat numbers, names, and several others. However, to get to pi (3.141597…..), you must begin with the number 1, and that is where it all begins. Chapter 1 of Life of Pi begins the famous novel just as any other literary work; with an introduction to the characters and minor conflicts which grow into major conflicts. Nevertheless, there are questions that arise from this chapter: why does this chapter accomplish, what information does it give to the reader, and what does this chapter leave to the reader to answer for themselves?
Piscine Molitor, only 16 years old, was just an average Indian boy with a love for his family zoo. Nobody at 16 expects to overcome anything too arduous at their age. They are more concerned with hanging with their friends or exploring their hobbies, religion in Pi’s case. Pi’s life took a 180 degree turn with no explanation as to why, why him. Castaway at sea, Pi was completely alone, his family presumed dead along with the animals from his family zoo. Or was he really alone? Do you consider a 400 pound tiger a suitable companion while being on a measly 26 foot lifeboat? Pi, considering all variables, realized there was only one feasible option: fight a fight he knew he could not win. His faith, his mind, his physical endurance would all be tested to the extreme and then some.
Oren 2 Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, young and old! Come enjoy the land where present day dinosaurs roam! Feel the rush as 500 pound tigers pounce around! Grow and learn as you waltz on through. Look around and come on down to Zootown! How would an individual live symbiotically with a tiger for 227 days? This is not task for a common masher, but how does Piscine Molitor Patel do it? Perhaps it has something to do with Zootown. Can Pi speak to the animals? They are his alarm clock, his entertainment, his life. What did you have to worry about as a child? If you had your favorite color chalk? Having to do the dishwasher? Piscine's main concern was receiving a surprise from the rear end of peafowl. These animals have become Pi's caretakers and his friends. Pi's vegetarian lifestyle makes him the perfect human companion for the zoo's inhabitants. The animals interact with Pi and in turn he learns much about life from his closest comrades. Chapter four is where Pi derives with survival techniques from. Young Patel understood the basics on animals, they are just hotel guests who are "as unhygienic as alcoholics". Chapter four is where Pi's past life, comes to life; it is arguably the most important section of Yann Martel's novel.
A follower of three antithetical religions, Pi Patel, is the most dedicated and intelligent adolescent. The way he studies and practices these beliefs are beyond most religious followers. All of these different point of views allow for Pi to interpret many situations and circumstances in unique ways. His dedication and judgement are two major factors that guided Pi to survival. Getting to land alive and not torn to pieces by a Bengal tiger is his main goal, aside from making a relationship with Richard Parker.
Moby Dick, the Mariner and the Albatross, and Noah; the literary references that compose one chapter of the 100 chapters in Yann Martel's Life of Pi. A chapter filled with religion and spirituality while certain means are taken to survive. Whales come as holy messengers, providing glimmers of hope for our main character, Pi Patel. Birds fly high above in the sky, both symbolizing biblical stories and helping aid in survival(in more ways then one.) A new form of communication and hallucination is explored and introduced to us, the reader, as we live the 227 day journey that Pi endured with his fellow companion, Richard Parker. In chapter 84, we see such a longing for connection to the outside world from Pi and see how he fills a void within himself.
Instead of writing an essay, I am trying to push myself in a different creative way by completing the ten tasks through a painting. I am working with acrylic on canvas and am doing my best to convey the same feeling that I felt when reading my chapter, 100. This chapter is the conclusion of the novel and is very informative because it is a report from the Oika shipping company. This chapter confirms that the animals were actually representations of the people that Pi spent his journey in the Pacific with. This chapter bring a lot of clarity and confusion at the same time and so I will try to convey this feeling through my artwork. Martel has painted an image in my mind, so in turn I would like to paint the image for everyone to see my interpretations.
For my chapter analysis essay I have chosen to create a painting. I think this is the best way for me to provoke my understanding of the chapter. I am going to make a watercolor painting about chapter 79. In my chapter it mostly is about how Pi is becoming more immuned to the sharks is no longer afraid of them. It brings out how fear can be strained away though time. This is also the chapter where he throws the mako shark towards Richard Parker, which Richard Parker fights and ends up winning. I will paint the scene of Richard Parker fighting the shark. I will also portray Pi’s lost fear of sharks by having him cradle the mako shark like a baby. There will be many other sentences and themes symbolized throughout my painting that you will get to see soon.
227 days to achieve insanity, to find yourself, to lose yourself. 22 divided by 7 gives you 3.14; Pi. As life and symbolic representation revolves around Pi, he is accommodated for his series of unfortunate events. The tell all story of Life of Pi is from a point of view in which is perfectly told. All that is said, matches up beautifully. The wondrous disaster of a curious individual and "a story in which will hinder you to believe in God."
Pete Sternburg Mr. Christensen English 210: Introduction to Literature 16 March 2016 Title Life of Pi by Yann Martel is story about a boy, a tiger and god and their interconnected relationship. Of the 100 chapters, none are without merit. Martel has meticulously crafted Life of Pi in a very complex yet easy to understand story, chapter by chapter, page by page. Many chapters explain Pi’s unique view of the world and others paint vivid descriptions of an unfamiliar world. But some chapters make readers reflect on themselves instead of thinking about Pi. Chapter 8 is the perfect example. Chapter 8 opens with an exposition about the dangers of humans to zoo animals but, the bulk of chapter 8 is a life lesson for Pi and Ravi from their father. Santosh leads the boys to Mahisha, a five hundred pound bengal tiger patriarch. He shows the boys how dangerous the animals can be by feeding the the starving tiger a live goat. This may seem like some sort of tangential side show to the plot but these lessons are crucial for readers to understand Pi’s reactions on the lifeboat and his unusually keen mind in regards to animal instinct. Pi’s mind it a very complex one and this chapter helps you understand is unique and interesting perspective. Thus is it placed early on in the introduction. The chapters around chapter 8 are also quite interesting. Chapter 6 is a very short chapter, barely quarter page description of adult Pi’s cupboards. The author describes them as “A reserve of food to last the siege of Leningrad”. Chapter 6 is an excellent foreshadow of Pi’s lack of food, and eventually, malnutrition on the life boat. This might be missed by many readers because of how early in the book it is.
Imagine everything you have ever known, loved, or cared about vanishes from your life without warning. Pi Patel experienced this type of rude awakening in Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, when his ship, The Tsimtsum, sinks. In chapter 37, Pi regains consciousness after being pushed and falling several feet from the sinking ship. Upon waking up, he hears a “monstrous metallic burp” and then “Things bubbled at the surface and then vanished” (97). After he believed everything was gone, he sees something from his lifeboat. It appears to be Richard Parker. Pi watches Richard Parker, a pathetic kitten in the Pacific Ocean, struggling for his life. His protective, fatherly instincts kick in, forcing him to try and save Richard Parker. A tiger. Pi is shocked that he is trying to save something that could end up killing him. Ironically, Pi winds up entirely needing Richard Parker to survive. The tiger kills the cannibalistic French castaway in chapter 90. At first glance, chapter 37 seems to be mere plot development; however, upon further probing, we can determine it emerges as entirely significant and clever.
6 Mullet Will. The will to survive is great. The will to survive for a purpose is greater. The will to survive for yourself is the greatest. Will is the drive of everyday-life life and the brink-of-life life. The strongest will known to man belongs to a fictional character: Pi Patel. Surviving 227 days with a tiger takes more than luck and skill. It requires the will to keep going. If you do not want something, you do not work for it. If you want something, your will to go through what it takes to get it shoots through the roof. There is also a will to believe. The will to believe is perhaps the strongest thing in the universe. Try relentlessly to believe something absurd for long enough and you will. It is how the best liars earn their title. At the end of Life of Pi, the will to choose a story is overwhelming. You wish to believe in the long story, the one where cannibalism is not evident and where there is a reason each animal eats another. On the other hand, the “normal” screaming in your head is willing you to believe that Pi’s mother died and the french cook ate her and that Pi is Richard Parker. Which story are you willing to believe?
6 Kribell Have you lost a family member? A dog or brother? Losing a mother, however, is ranked as one of the most severe losses to people. In chapter 75, a young boy (who lost his mother) sings a simple song. A simple song that was meant for a happy and joyous occasion. More of a celebration than an occasion even. A celebration where family members gather and wish you luck and love. In other words, Pi's song is not sung under normal circumstances. It is sung without celebration or joy, without multiple members, and without a living person to receive the love and attention. Instead, he sings "Happy Birthday", alone on a boat in the pacific ocean, to a mother who is no longer alive, in a sad and lonesome way. This chapter is a heart-break crushed down into one lone sentence. Yann Martel used this emotion as a tool to pry open readers' hearts and make them feel something.
Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six. A plan of passivity. The war between human and animal. Neither Man nor Tiger was never intended to live in the ocean, but against all odds both managed to. Through their survival however, does one need to parish? Chapter 55 tackles this commentary of Man vs Animal, and shows the distrust Pi has for a particular Tiger. Pi is convinced that in a war of attrition, he will lose. His mind is telling him he will die. A young boy was never supposed to live when pitted against a Tiger, but when stranded at sea, anything can happen.
Thirsty. Imagine being surrounded by miles and miles of water yet not able to take a sip. The waves taunt you as they splash against the boat. Your throat aches for the cool, liquid life. That was Pi Patel’s life for 227 days. Being able gulp down an ice cold glass of water at will is something we often take for granted. Thirsty. Now imagine being on a lifeboat surrounded by miles and miles of water...with a 400-pound, bright orange Bengal tiger on board. His eyes meet yours with a gaze so deep you wonder if he can see right into your soul. Do not show fear. That was Pi Patel’s life for 227 days. Pi shows incredible kindness in chapter 62 when he shares his source of fresh water with the carnivorous beast, Richard Parker--whose birth name was, ironically, Thirsty.
Hanson 6 Create a place in your head where you have a family who mocks you for having an idea. Now imagine if your family mocked you for believing in multiple religions when they do not believe in one. Now imagine your family dies without apologizing, or even worse, without you forging them. This is the life of Pi Patel. A life that is intertwined with the complex knots of faith, family, memory, and survival. His entire life is about survival, from childhood to adulthood. Yes he is stranded at sea for 227 days, but is that the worst part? He survives bombardments of attacks from his family for choosing to believe in multiple faiths. The arrows of bombardment is shot from those who do not even have a faith. To many, it would be easier to survive on a life-boat with a Tiger.
The large majority of animal trainers know that it is extremely difficult to train an animal to behave exactly how they want the animal to act. Owners of pets want to teach their horses not to kick them off when they try to ride it; owners of pets teach their dogs to stay off the furniture and to shake their hands, but Piscene Molitor Patel had an advanced difficulty in training an animal known for violence and murder. To be training the one of the most vicious animals in the world, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, became one of the main goals for Piscene to accomplish. Prior skill, knowledge, and bravery is necessary in order to overcome this arduous task, which Pi contained before he became stranded in the almighty Pacific Ocean. In Chapter 76 it explains how Pi uses all three of these characteristics in order to train his only companion not to devour him while he is sleeping, and Pi shows the world how, with a little time and effort, anything is possible.
It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth. The minor fall. The major lift. The baffled king composing Life of Pi. Songs are a form of poetry, they enliven the world of literature as much as they do our society. Songs are a form a literature as well, and literature is, in a way, songwriting. For example, in Chapter 55 of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, the words seem to have a rhythm and beat to themselves, which is exactly how Martel composed it. “Dull-eyed, shaking and numb, one hand gripping the rain catcher, the other clinging to the raft, I continued to wait” is but one example of how flowing and musical this chapter is, at the very least, through a musical lens, it seemed to me (Martel 159). Another direct example of how Martel understood that he was writing musically was when he wrote, “The words ‘Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six’ repeated themselves in my mind like a mantra [which is a hymn or song used for meditation] and brought me comfort…”. This not only shows his self-awareness while writing, but also shows his appreciation for music and literature combined. He speaks of music in such a manner as to imply that it can be used to comfort and console someone, no matter the situations they face, or the trouble they may be in. This is deep and philosophical, and is a grand idea that should be spread about. In pain, music. In music, solace. In solace, peace. Therefore, in pain, there can be peace. Comfort. A relaxation or reprieve. In that simple statement, Martel describes the panacea of all the world’s problems. But it is not as simple as that, some may argue. While music can comfort and console an individual, it can not make a truly impactful, well, impact. This is not so! During a war in an African nation, both of the opposing armies proposed a truce one night to go to a Bob Marley concert. During World War One (WWI), on Christmas Eve, the Germans and the British troops called a one-time-only truce, and left the trenches, met in the middle of the battlefield, and shared Christmas hymns and songs. Music is literature. Literature is music. Therefore, music (and transitively literature) has the ability to shape lives and change the world.
Confinement. Nothing to keep himself company besides a ravenous hyena and a zebra who shall soon come face to face with Death himself. Piscine Patel is in one of the most difficult situations that a human could possibly be in. With little food, little company, and little hope, Pi begins to question if his will to survive is big enough to allow him to make it through this endless trip over the Pacific Ocean. When hope began to chip down to its last piece, he notices that out in the distance, a floating island of bananas was advancing towards him. As it becomes closer, he realises that it is Orange Juice, the prize Borneo orang-utan matriarch. Upon seeing Orange Juice it gives Pi great hope for survival, for if an animal such as an orang-utan can make it out of a sinking ship and find herself a floating boat of bananas to ride along, he too, will survive this predicament. With this brilliant phenomenon in his presence, it allows him to find hope for survival he never knew existed inside of him. Throughout chapter 42, Yann Martel explains how such a short chapter can have such a big impact.
Brett Hoffman 2 Religion. Is it real? Is it fake? Piscine, having little to no reason to believe there is such thing as any type of God, still turns to him in time of dyer need. Desperately awaiting his saving grace, he prays four times a week. Pi is one of the most unbelievable individuals in terms of always having faith and believing in a miracle. But, will Pi let his beliefs fall due to being abandoned with a viscous tiger, able to kill Pi at anytime he wants? Or, will he be able to get past the fact of being stranded and realize he has made it this far, why try to quit now. With Pi's realization, he comes to the conclusion, God's Earth is amazing in the way it works, but, it will have flaws in which he needs to accept and believe in God for only he knows the path ahead.
Each and every person at some point in their life has moments in which they discover more about themselves. In these moments of self discovery the understanding of self can be small while others like in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi can be life altering. With what is learned in these discoveries people can ignore them or embrace them, in this case Pi chooses to embrace his and in chapter 60 he decides that though his suffering in the grandest scheme of things is small he chooses to fight for his life. Due to this choice chapter 60 is one of the most vital in the novel for both the continuation of the story and to understand the narrator.
2 Rasmussen “Suddenly a bolt struck much closer. Perhaps it was meant for us”.(223) Perhaps death really is not worth fearing, maybe the the fear of death is what brings the most suffering, but the thought of letting those around you die is the true fear. The fear that keeps you going. Death can seem so different when you are not the only one threatened by it. Some people say that a life is not worth living if you do not have somebody to share it with and Pi holds that true. Pi Patel has only one companion on his trek across the Pacific Ocean, and that is a 400 pound tiger named Richard Parker. The companionship is held strong through wind, through rain, through sun, and thought heat. And for what reason besides the fight for survival?
Lonely. Starving. Frustrated. Barley able to stay sane. Pi Patel managed to overcome all of these difficulties with the help of his surroundings. Is it possible for a human being to stay alive on a boat in the middle of the ocean for 227 days? Many people have difficulties in their life, some worse than others. Is it possible to overcome those difficulties? Difficulties lead to choices. There will always be choices in life that can be life changing if not chosen well. Pi had to make numerous choices in order to keep himself alive. On top of all of the choices that were being made, Pi had to live on a boat with a 400-pound Bengal tiger. Now try to find a way to live without the fear of getting eaten by a tiger for 227 days. Put yourself in Pi's shoes, what decisions and choices would you make?
Loneliness. Depression. Grief. Different people deal with loss differently, but there are similarities between almost all of these responses. The human mind can be incredibly resilient in the face of terrible stress. In a situation such as Pi’s falling into a suicidal depression could mean the end of his days. Pi’s entire challenge is to simply survive. He is unable to do anything to alleviate the horror of the situation, and he has all the time in the world to sit and think. When given these choices the human mind would rather just do its best to forget about the tragedies of the past and move on to present, where survival is key. However, Pi is different. Pi chooses to remember.
1 Mixell When one thinks to pass the time, perhaps they might go hang out with friends or pursue a hobby. However, when trapped on a lifeboat with a tiger, one has to find different ways to fight the slow passage of time. Pi chooses to asphyxiate himself in order to pass the time. Now I do not know about you, but I cannot say that asphyxiation would be my first choice when I am bored. However, the results of Pi's asphyxiation seem to be well worth the minuscule amount of risk he puts himself in. We learn of extraordinary visions, sights, dreams and trances. When surrounded by endless ocean, this method seems very appealing. Pi seems to have zero regrets about his decision as well. He is only pleased with the passing of time.
1 Jacobson Cannibalism, deceit, and blindness. Three of the most common fears known to man. Imagine going blind, when your sight was the only portion of your sanity you had left...and suddenly it's gone. The last grip you have on life is gone. Imagine a cannibal gripping you by the throat ready to eat your flesh...but a tiger saves you. Then imagine exploring your "brothers" boat only to find he lied to you and had food and water the whole time. Crying tears of joy due to the heavenly taste of a clear, salt free liquid going down your throat. The same tears that bring back your sight. Now imagine seeing your friend mangled in your boat. How does one deal with that? Pi Patel has a strong deal of strength and a mighty will to live. When most people would give up, he keeps fighting.
“Everything suffered. Everything became sun-bleached and weather-beaten…” Pi Patel said as he continued to what he thought would be his last words… “We perished away. It happened slowly, so that I didn’t notice all the time.” A life boat can only be lived upon for so long, but a survivor a sinking ship, Pi Patel, pushes the limit. He endures the opposing forces of not only weather, food, and water; but a tiger. The first sight of this tiger is an immediate sign of death for Pi, so he thinks. Little does he know he is in for the ride of his life along the never-ending Pacific Ocean. He will come across: orangutans, sharks, hyenas, acidic-islands, and a never ending nightmare of dying, or not dying and being an orphan all his life. But the question is: Will he be able to endure this water physically, or will the pressure burn him out mentally first...
Bravery, powerful, and heroic. These are all the traits that Pi Patel gives a title to. Almost nonhuman like? Dependent on himself, Pi Patel, had to deal with horrid struggles of fear, pain, and agony throughout the 227 days left on the boat. How does he survive? With a little help of his friend Richard Parker. Richard Parker is no human friend, but a Bengal tiger instead. Pi has to show Richard that he is the boss. It seems crazy that a tiger and a human can survive on a boat together with no danger does it not? But, Pi and Richard prove us all wrong. They have strong will power and are both bold characters. When reading Life of Pi expect the unexpected.
Death is inevitable. Life forms of all sorts have come and gone throughout the history, but how they went varies dramatically. It is like a parent trying to get a child to the car after a day at the playground. A child could be playing king of the hill with his friends and they are at the king. The child is happy, healthy, and in good company, but suddenly their mom or dad snaps after enduring hours of screaming and crying from the child’s group of friends. Fight as they might, their efforts are of no use. They are told that they can see their friends another time and that is the end of that. More patient parents might give the child the option to stay there for awhile longer, or to go see their grandparents. The child then not only allows their parents to take them, but they are happy to go. A more stubborn child may not want to relinquish their title as king just yet, and is willing to lose everything to stay. Pi is a stubborn child that was forced to go from being a happy-go-lucky teenager in India to a castaway nearing the brink of death within a matter of days. In his journey through the vast, treacherous waters of Pacific Ocean, his knowledge of animals and his ability to learn did indeed help him, but his true saving grace was his faith in the Divine. Knowledge is a helpful tool that aides one’s progress, but without hope, without faith, accomplishing any goal and in this case, surviving, is all but impossible.
What is the most dangerous animal in the world? Some may say a ferocious lion, a 20 foot great white with razor sharp teeth, or simply a snake hiding under shrubs. To Pi he thought it was man. Man, able to take and kill whatever he wants to. People are the one endangering animals, billions of animals die every year due to the fact that people kill for game and food. Animals are threatening to people, yes. As Pi’s father explains each habitat has its own dangers even the safest pastures can be infested with birds that have beaks that can cut through human flesh.
A tale about religion, survival, and one miraculous boy, Life of Pi leads its readers to an assortment of questions: Is Pi sane? Is Pi telling the truth? Was there even a tiger on the boat? And perhaps the most important question of all: Can the reader trust Pi Molitor Patel as a narrator? Here is what the reader knows to be true: Pi is the lone survivor of the Tsimtsum, he somehow makes it out alive, and he seems to have a knack for storytelling. Relying on the account of an unreliable narrator can be challenging, but the question of what is true or false is up to the reader to determine for themselves. The story has points where events overlap and stories coincide between different characters’ accounts; the reader can assume these to be true. The chapters in the novel are placed in a specific manner and written a certain way. Sometimes the chapters are extremely long, and sometimes they are less than seven sentences. Each chapter holds an important place in the novel and it is up to the reader to discover the secrets it may contain. This essay will examine the importance of chapter 95 and explore the hidden meanings behind sacred numbers and newly introduced characters. In section I, the essay will outline the new characters and discuss their possible motives. Section II will cover the writing of the chapter itself and its significance of its placement in the novel. In section III, the essay will examine the chapter using a religious lens. This lens will serve to provide further insight into Pi’s religion and beliefs. Section IV will explore the numbers within the chapter and novel. In conclusion, this essay will help the reader to decide whether to trust the narrator, Pi Molitor Patel.
2 Klumpp Hot. Cold. Dark. Light. Pi struggles with finding a balance with the sea’s arduous elements. “When it is light, the openness of the sea is blinding and frightening. When it's dark, the darkness is claustrophobic.” This is how Pi Patel describes the sea that he has been drifting on for awhile now with a vicious tiger. Not only would it be physically draining being at sea for 227 days but it would cause monumental hits to someone’s mental health. How would one keep their morale up? Pi is mainly focusing on how to stay alive and keeping himself entertained by watching the sea and sky change. Will Pi’s mind keep him alive? Or drive him closer to insanity? Only time will tell.
Some scientists say a wild animal could never assimilate to a controlled social culture. They may say, even though they are tamed by their trainer and are under their rule, their true wild animal characteristics will never leave their system and will emerge without constant surveillance from a higher respected authority. Pi Patel, however, has something else to say about it. A short, true story about a black leopard and his ten week journey all alone after being captivated in the zoo his entire life reveals some hints and strongly foreshadows to Pi’s story and how he survived in the middle of the pacific with a deadly-yet-tamable Bengal tiger.
Slowly they appeared. They started in small numbers but grew day by day overcoming all available space below the boat. Why were they here? What did they want from Pi? Could they help him send for help? Now, they were bringing new friends. Translucent one, spiked backed ones, crabby ones all started coming. Pi anxiety started to rise. They were all working together in perfect harmony and did not seem to miss a beat. And all the more they kept growing and growing. He did not know what to do what could he possibly do against all of them. Again what did they want and what were they going to do? Bring Pi peace for his frayed brain.
Alliances formed between the weak and the strong, the smart and the dumb, the superior and the lesser. Friendships form between various different pairs of individuals. Some relationships, however, are for gain only. Yann Martel mentions in his book, Life of Pi, that it is a recurring tendency for individuals with much to gain will strain to build a relationship with one who can benefit them. The placement of this chapter within the story helps demonstrate the meaning of the book and leads the reader to analyze their own life and relationships. Relationships are formed based off of need, want, and advantage. Each factor can play a more dominating part of a relationship, and this essay will serve to analyze these roles.
Pd.6 Schroeder Many can agree that the book, The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel is an extraordinary tale of a boy and his tiger defying all odds. The book has a way of capturing the reader's interest and keeping them interested until they are blown away by the ending. Martel has a unique way in which he places the chapters in his book, not only to make the story flow smoothly, but also to entice the reader to think. The class had a highly motivated discourse about the book and its mind-blowing ending, while engaging in full thought of what exactly Martel was trying to tell them. There were seldom times where some of the classmates could think of nothing to say on some particular parts in the book. Life of Pi is an amazing book to some and just another story to others, but no matter where one stands, Martel has done an extraordinary job of adding symbols and other literary work to every chapter in his book.
2 Rise In a boat, with a tiger, stranded in the middle of the ocean would push anyone to do unspeakable deeds. Actions that would prove difficult, and possibly embarrassing, to repeat to another soul. This is the case with Pi Patel. Hunger, starvation creeping in and a boy so deep in famine the lack of food pushing him to the edge. His original way of life, his customs and food habits intensely tested, his will and resolve being proved, he must choose to retain his original and brought up thoughts or change them to save his life. This chapter in its entirety is vital to the story based on the effect it has on the reader and the way it is able to give insight to the strife felt by Pi within his time on the boat.
Blok 7 If you were stuck in the ocean, couldn't get a wink of sleep, becoming slapped by the waves and having boils all over your body what would you do. Go insane maybe? Lose all hope? Leave your sanity in the ocean? Die maybe? Would you try everything possible to stay alive, including monitoring the habits of the tiger living on your boat? Pi was faced with these types of decisions. Giving in to death, or fighting on?
And then he was gone. The very thing that kept him alive for 227 days was gone. Richard Parker was gone. “Richard Parker, companion of torment, awful, fierce thing that kept me alive, moved forward and disappeared forever from my live. (285)” The faith that held on to Pi as he clung to the life he could barely endure, left his life. When the faith leaves someone, what is left? Well, that is the whole meaning of faith. Faith does not leave you, as long as you have it. Even if the tiger leaves you.
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi embodies the mathematical term that is found in the title. Pi: a mathematical term used to represent the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. One would never expect a novel to be so closely related to this math term that causes distress and anxiety in the worlds of young mathematicians. The novel does so by exhibiting endless behavior--exactly like Pi. Martel’s masterpiece simply does not end; the story runs out of pages. It is not finite, but is infinite with its combinations that span endlessly. Life of Pi can be analyzed from so many different angles, each producing a different outcome. It is unfair to read Life of Pi as just a story about an Indian boy that overcomes the impossible; it is a work of art that is riddled with endless symbols and meanings.
Memories and hope. The scents of home and the longing for rescue. The scent of a spent flare. Cumin, a warm-smelling spice commonly used in Indian cuisine native to Pi’s home of Pondicherry, India. Giving Pi hope of being saved followed by the smell of a life that he once knew, and will never know again, the flares were a bittersweet tool. Humans have incredibly well-forged neural pathways connecting olfaction and memories. These spent rescue flares may not have even smelled like Cumin; it might have only been Pi’s extreme hope of safety and home. With the Pacific Ocean having an area of over 63 million square miles, and with Pi only being able to see 6.25Ï€ square miles, it is nearly impossible for a boat to see Pi’s flare. One might call it asymptotically possible.
Sailing like Columbus. How does sailing across the ocean like Columbus feel? Well just as Pi Patel. Pi's family planned to moved from India to Canada. The trip takes a turn for the worse and Pi is left stranded in a life boat, but he is not alone. This is even worse than how Columbus felt! Pi is stuck in a life boat with extremely little food, water, and a grown Bengal tiger. Pi and Richard Parker, the tiger, begin a circus on the ocean. How will Pi possibly live? Pi uses his smarts of the zoo to put himself in the best position he can. Just before the wreck, Pi talks about the zoo and his time on the ship. This section is extremely important and can be broken down easily to answer questions about its inclusion.
Paauw pd 6 It is hard enough juggling the life of a young boy--now throw in three contradictory complementary religions all quartering you to be in their favor...impossible (or is it). The result of this inhumane task on the fragile mind of the boy is astronomical--especially when he does not receive support from either of his guardians, who only seem to use his confusion for comic relief in their self absorbed lives. The attempt to rationalize their kin’s actions ultimately leads to failure and their son is as bewildered as ever--though this “confused” boy’s thoughts may be the most awe inspiring of all, they may be swallowed under the severe weight of authority and precedence.
Bailey Stroud and Laycee Cain, Imagine the nightmare of being on a small life boat with a 400 pound tiger, dying zebra, hysterical hyena, and loving orangutan. Only word alone can be used to describe this horrible nightmare:suffering. However this is not a nightmare, it is simply a reality for the unfortunate Pi Patel. This is life now and will continue for the next 227 days. Clouds begin to appear where rescue ships should, Pi’s hopeless mind has come to the conclusion that his parents and most likely Ravi have died. Why continue to suffer when there is no hope left?
Brevity noun | brev·i·ty | \ˈbre-vÉ™-tÄ“\ : the use of few words to say something : the quality or fact of lasting only for a short period of time (Merriam-Webster) : the contrary to an AP student’s nightly workload : the approximate measurement of an artist’s free time Chapter 31 of Yann Martel’s award-winning novel, Life of Pi, defines brevity with the prowess of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This sector of the text exhibits flawless brevity not through its limited breadth but rather through the irrefutable decisiveness of each individual word. If this chapter was a terribly perturbing feat for Martel to compose, it is doubtfully due to extensive research regarding the behavior and classification of Grant’s zebras. A far more probable force of delay in production would be simple refinery--proofing and polishing of the text to achieve the most efficient script possible. One might imagine the prolific author slumped back in a cushioned swivel chair, chin resting on one fist while the other spins a pen round its fingers, eyes looking off (perhaps through a window or at a painting) distantly as his brow clenches in seasoned contemplation. His thoughts? A stream of six word stories: “Life of Pi. Simplify, simplify, simplify.” “Odd, smallest prime: 3, 1. Brevity.” “‘All these years...never seen it.’” “‘Come on.’ ‘Please, Raj, move on!’” “‘See you tomorrow morning.’ ‘Yes, Mamaji.’” “‘No, nothing. Just a bit of dust.’” “He was dumbfounded. ‘They’re called zebras.’” “Mr. and Mr. Kumar looked delighted.” And so on, just like that. (To be continued, on another day.)
Klumpp 1 "I wished to be baptized because I love god." Pi has immersed himself into religion and requests to be baptized and get a prayer rug. Pi's father gets very angry because Pi wants to believe and practice different religions. Pi's mother also states that he must pick one of the three religions he follows. She suggests he read some books about it but pi has already done extensive research. She says they are Indian and should follow Hinduism. But how could Pi pick from Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism when all three promote such great things? He defies his parent’s wishes and practices all three intensely.
When stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, and an orangutan, you really have to roll with the punches thrown. At this point in the book, Pi has almost lost all hope. He is grounded to the tarpaulin due to the lack of nutrients consumed. It has been three days since his last bite of food, or his last drink of water. The body can last about four to nine days without water so Pi has to act quick before time runs out. This whole novel is about survival of the fittest. Some might ask, Wouldn’t Richard Parker win in that battle? He is the strongest, fastest, and biggest animal on the boat. But there is one thing that is keeping Pi alive for so long. That is his intelligence. In this chapter we see how smart Pi is by the way he reads the actions of the other animals. Another reason he is surviving is his will to survive. Pi really has the drive and determination to make it off of the lifeboat alive.
Dangling over a shark infested ocean or join a Bengal Tiger on a boat? Pi has to make this decision in chapter 41. Also on this boat includes a crippled zebra and hyena. The hyena displays alpha animals characteristics, but so does Richard Parker, the tiger, which indicates that will will be some commotion. How will Pi’s survival be affected by this? Why did we read this and why was this chapter written? Yann Martel did not merely write this for fun, but for literary enlightening.
Night-time was the worst. Never knowing what was going on around me. Not knowing what sea creature made the loud splash on the surface of the water. Not being able to tell the distance between Richard Parker and I. Not being able to see his emotions and analyze his mood. And worst of all: staying awake the entire night. I was not fond of the uneasy feeling of never being secure. I had no control over anything that occurred at night and that frightened me more than the fact that there was a menacing bengal tiger barely ten feet away from me. The only relief night-time granted me was being out of the sun. I was finally able to let my scorching sores have a few hours of easement. The wandering thoughts and emotions the night unveiled were simply unbearable. I was having nightmares without even being asleep. They haunted me into daylight and never fully left my thoughts. I believed darkness could not become any worse until I began to encounter a frequent, murderous, night-time visitor.
The gentle rocking of a boat in the sea, resembling that of a baby locked in its mother’s embrace being cradled into a dreamless slumber. The only difference, one takes us to a tranquil and peaceful place while the other is an endless inescapable trap. Trapped. A term that does not come across so sweetly. Trapped in a place where the only company are the shadows when the sun deems you worthy of them. The only sounds to be heard are the soft pats of the waves against the sides, the ever harmonious wind that infrequently graces your presence, and the continually occurring hallucinations of someone being out there, but unable to be seen. Unless, you are found to not be worthy and the only companion is the never ending, deafening silence. And you are reminded of how truly alone you are.
Miles upon miles of water. Not one drop to drink. Life of Pi, a story of faith and suffering, yields an incredible journey. Only the author, Martel, would boldly throw an Indian boy, a lifeboat, and a tiger in the middle of the Pacific and create such a thought-provoking story that tests your faith in God. In the story, Pi endures a tremendous 227 days on a lifeboat in the Pacific, but not by himself. He has a companion and friend to keep him company. Richard Parker. A tiger. Richard Parker proves to be essential in Pi's survival for he saves Pi's life. Yes a tiger saved a human's life. Though hard to believe, it is true. Pi and Richard Parker undergo great tribulation throughout their trek and yet Pi keeps his faith in God strong the entire time.
One tragedy after the other seemed to keep crawling into Pi’s life as it all started with his ship sinking. After losing all his family and everyone he has ever come to know he is stuck on a boat with a tiger. Pi’s luck just keeps getting worse and he is going to endure lots of pain if he wants to keep going on. Even though it seems all hope is lost he continues to battle through and find the strength to keep moving forward. Imagine living with a tiger for several months after losing everything you’ve ever loved.
The curiosity of a young boy certainly can not be matched. It is the unknown and the unknown is plentiful. "What's your religion about?", asks young Piscine Molitor Patel to the Muslim man. He is a baker and it is he who first shows Pi what the Muslim time of prayer is all about. Pi was astounded when the man went through his prayer four times and the next time he found himself praying, he was on his knees, immobile, silent before Chris on the Cross. "It is about the Beloved", he replies. That is when Pi really becomes one with Islam. Bringing his forehead to the ground was comforting to him. It felt like a deeply religious contact.
A machine is nothing without its parts. A factory is nothing without its workers. A book is nothing without letter, words, pages, chapters, readers. There are many different types of books, but each follows that rule of common existence and nothingness. Novels, books, short stories, all are written for purpose, for rhyme or reasons known or unknown. Some books become novels, and some are born that way. Others have even become so acclaimed that they are apart of classics. As an artist Martel tell wonderful and epic colorful stories. Weaving them out of thin air, this well oiled machine of a book puts much emphasis when you finally finish.
1 Peltier Lost at sea. No one there to help. Need to survive. What do you do? Finding yourself in a predicament such as this can be difficult, but it is possible to survive. It is times like this where we waver between fight or flight. In this situation it is crucial that you chose to fight. Going through the motions and not using your brain to use your resources will be your worst enemy. Surrounded only by water can cause a person to go insane, it is how you manage your behavior that will determine your fate. Every little thing you do is going to affect the outcome of the horrific situation that you are being faced with. When faced with this predicament Pi can be known as an expert. The actions Pi took in order to survive and make it to the end is the perfect example of what to do.
7 Nador Land, finally. People. Memories... A plot twist awaits the reader, as in the big reveal of a more believable, but less appealing story of Pi's survival is told. The question is: which version of the story is true? Which one do you believe? At the end of the day, does it really matter though? Fictionality and factuality don't always work exclusively without one another. It does not matter which version one believes to be true, as both stories come down to Pi's misery and belief-trying journey, in which he loses his whole family, and eventually ends up all alone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; desperate, starving, and hopeless.
In place of the assigned essay, I am creating a painting to symbolize and further explain the chapter I have chosen: Chapter 56. The nature of fear is contemplated; it is omnipresent and furthermore is a constant weight on the already sea-stressed mind of young Pi Patel. Fear comes in many form for Pi. Pi fears the giant tiger aboard the life boat. Pi fears for his family and their fate. Pi fears for his own life. This chapter delves deeper into fear and, as I stated above, the nature of fear. Pi must realize the true enemy: fear.
Jared Rohrbach Can a story make you believe in God? The beautifully woven story by Yann Martel, Life of Pi, makes the claim that it has the power to make a person believe in God. The idea seems like some ludicrous ploy developed for a self-help book in order to sell a preposterous number of copies, except this novel is nothing like a self-help book but is a wonderfully fabricated tale. When having such a bold boast, the book surprises its reader when it lets them witness the blurring of reality into fiction, and then quickly transports them into the middle of the Pacific with a carnivorous four-hundred pound Bengal tiger called Richard Parker and a petite herbivorous Indian boy named Piscine Patel. But in order to discover the merit in such a claim, one must explore the epicenter of the story. Conveniently, the author had declared two of his one-hundred enchanting chapters that he considers to be at the core of his precisely crafted masterpiece, the first being chapter number twenty-one and the other being twenty-two. Therefore a person needs to understand what topics chapter twenty-one discusses and mentions, what meaning is found within this chapter, and how it could ever make a person believe in a deity.
And then there were three. The one on the left, the one in the middle and the one on the right. They all stood for something different. What did or would it stand for? What is it that Pi would stand for? What was it about the one on the left that was so attractive? The one in the middle was such a beautiful mosque. The one on the right? It was a regal Hindu temple. But the one on the left. It keeps calling out. Why? What is it about that hill that was “crowned with a Christian church?” Why was it pulling and tugging and what was it trying to say? Take a chance? Come and see? And the conversion experience it had on Pi means that he will never, ever be the same.
Hope. Faith. Love. The most important words known to man. Without hope, faith, and love, there may not be a reason for one to live on earth. When life is not going how you want it, what makes it seem to get better? Hope. Faith. Love. You hope for a better day ahead, and have faith that will get better. You cherish the people you love, as the people you love get you through the hard times. Pi Patel, a God-loving sixteen-year-old boy, would not been able to survive his two hundred and twenty-seven-day voyage without hope, faith, and love.
A story of one man traveling to a better future on a freight ship containing some wild savage animals and many hopeless individuals. Something goes horribly wrong and no survivors are left except one man and many different savage animals that could kill someone in a matter of seconds. The man on the small lifeboat drifts aimlessly through the ocean waiting to be found trying to survive but life slowly slips away. The man loses all sense of sanity and reverts back to ways of unspeakable savagery.
Pi Patel is much different than your average indian man. One thing that makes him much different is his belief in not only one religion but three. This does not make much sense because the religions he follows have many beliefs that contradict each other. For example, one of the ten commandments in christianity is to not believe in more than one god, but hindus follow more than one god. This makes Pi a very unique individual but I believe him following three religions is a good thing for what happens later in the book. When he is stranded in the ocean alone, he needs all of the faith he can get. Following these religions all together may have gave him that help. In this essay we will look at one religion in specific, Islam.
Kelsey Koupal Mr. Christensen English 210: Introduction to Literature 28 March 2016 Buzzing, Teeming, Crawling: the Sounds of Horror The flies are buzzing. Perhaps the most annoying of animals, flies are the creatures that can drive one to insanity. As Pi spends his first night on the boat, it is not the eerie splash of the waves against his lonesome boat, or the heavy breathing of a tiger beneath him: he notices the flies. Yann Martel places this detail in the book where he does for a significant reason: to hint at the opportunity for insanity to arise. If one were completely alone on a lifeboat and all one could hear as the buzzing of flies, he/she would certainly go insane. The only reason the flies hold no power over Pi and his sanity is because of Richard Parker. His threatening persona keeps Pi distracted enough not to listen to the silence that surrounds him After all, it is deafening silence that makes one most aware of his/her surroundings--and if Pi decides to become fully aware of his, he would perish from despair. As darkness falls, Pi becomes afraid, and for good reason. Darkness means uncertainty: one of the least desirable feelings when one is stranded in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Children are afraid of the dark because they think monsters come out at the time when the cannot be seen; the prime time to attack. Pi feels the same with the animals. Maretl places that realization in this chapter in order to show readers just how high-strung Pi must remain in order to survive. He also hints at the significance of the fact that P’s life at the moment is completely void of human life, but teeming with the animal sort. Martel is buzzing with all sorts of literature forms, but never ceases to toy with Pi’s sanity: one of the only things he manages to keep when he loses everything.
96 comments:
227 days. 227 days without a shower. 227 days without a real meal. 227 days without human contact. 227 days without solid grounding. 227 days without a home. 227 days. Many would fall off the deep end of insanity and disappear into oblivion. But the few, the brave, the strong, would have a plan. Schedule. To keep from going insane. Or in Pi Patel's case; a 400 lb tiger. The notion of time is forgotten on a lifeboat drifting into nowhere. The hot sun blazing, tiger lurking, and food supply shortening; Pi's survival is a miracle. Pi's survival can be thanked by none other than maintaining a schedule, and Richard Parker.
1 Finch
Are animals in zoos stripped of their savage nature? Zoos can either be beneficial, wonderful havens or they can be prisons of torture to animals. Regardless of what we humans think about zoos, animals were simply not meant to be raised in captivity, whether it is the good kind or not. As humans, we cannot begin to understand the intricate workings of the animal mind. They are far too unpredictable to us. Try as we might, we just cannot relate to them in a way that speaks to us. We are all animals, they say, but it is clear to us that something separates them from us. There is a reason zoos have cages barring us from them. Or perhaps, them from us.
Independence. Regret. Fear. Oblivion… Perhaps a majority of us forget how to live due to the constant aching and longing for independence. Being free from the pestering that our parents always so greatly annoy us with. But once we are free from that protective shell we have for so long lived and thrived in, we regret the feeling of wanting to be free, and we wish to go back. We regret having that feeling of belonging and loving. Fear soon sets in causing an aching sentiment of being alone and what you once wished for: independence. Oblivion takes its toll when you eventually realize that there is no going back. You are empty inside. You are alone. This is a feeling we all experience at least once in our lifetime. Pi experienced this; however, he did with a 400 pound Bengal tiger.
1 Gloege
Life, purity, nature, life, fertility, and youth are all things that are symbolized by the color green. It is the symbol for Islamic religion, a symbol of life conquering death in Christianity, and stabilizes the mind according to Hinduism. For Pi, seeing the floating island made up entirely of green has given him a sense of hope, which pushed him harder to continue attempting to live on the lifeboat. Plentiful with resources, the island is perhaps a mirage present only in Pi’s mind, however; it plays a major role in the steps leading up to his survival.
Reality finally hit and the truth sunk in: there is a tiger on the lifeboat. What would you do? Leave the lifeboat and die due lack of food/water or stay and be killed by a menacing bengal tiger? Either way, Pi could sense death was near. Most people would give up. In fact, very few people could do what Pi did; he decided to fight. He knew he had to act quick. Anxiety had risen as Pi endured a seasick tiger and the unruly labor of building a makeshift raft for the sake of saving his own life. Pi’s faith was also tested as a rat had appeared, saving his life from Richard Parker. Was it Hindu god Ganesha? Or just luck? The obstacles Pi faced helped aid his survival and brought him the strength to live.
Gold. Diamonds. Pearls. Crystals. Richard Parker. Surviving kits. Fresh water droplets. River running down Pi’s throat. Treasure. Life. When life becomes desperate and there is nothing left to hang onto, treasure if found. Treasure that has no value in first world countries, yet valuable stranded on the Pacific. Treasure that saves lives. Richard Parker choking the life on the boat, Pi is barely able to rip the grip from its throat. Water and food are found under the lid of the treasure chest. Pi says thank you to the only one who delivered: God. Pi comes back to life from the dead. Hallelujah! Although Pi acquires joy there is always that one thought knocking in the back of his mind that rushes fear through his shaking body: Richard Parker.
7 Nelson
There comes a time in every person’s life where you have to option to look fear dead in the eye or veer your gaze to the ground and succumb to the anxiety. In Pi Patel’s case, he looked fear in the eye, a lesson everyone can learn from. For Pi, fear is represented by a four hundred pound Bengal tiger name Richard Parker. What drives an individual to face their fear is instinct and adrenaline. When Pi decides that he has bigger fish to fry, literally, his concern with Richard Parker needs to be taken care of. With his zookeeper past he knows just what to do when the opportunity presents itself. How it all plays out is nothing short of a miracle.
6 Bose said…
Dominance, obedience, control, confidence, strength! An intriguing list of qualities we all have a burning desire for but yet lack in some way, shape, or form. You must try and try and try until you succeed. Life or death is at stake when trying to achieve these characteristics. How can you achieve them? When will you reach them? How long will the process take? You keep pushing yourself until you have reached success, although you take many hits, and fall into the unknown, dark and mysterious like an ocean, you drag yourself out of the depths and regain your composure. Pick your head up and charge at your goal, full speed! Everyone has a tiger in their life that hinders their success. Varying from school, parents, friends, or even your jobs. You must make the choice to pick your head up and train that tiger.
Fear. Anxiety. Doubt. Defeat. What is fear? Do people fear fear itself? Fear is the unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous. Everyone fears something in life: snakes, mice, or heights. The one fear that people never seem to recognize as a fear is fear itself. Fear can be disguised as “life’s only true opponent.” Fear has its own ups and downs but mostly downs. It tears the body apart. Fear has to be looked straight in the eye before being dominated by it itself. Pi first fears Richard Parker over himself, but the table turns and he begins to fear what the “true” fear itself it is.
The Life of Pi is composed of 100 chapters: no more, no less. Together, these chapters unfold the intriguing life of Pi Patel and the miraculous story of two opposites lost at sea. Separate, each chapter is a story of its own with a purpose of its own. Each chapter is like a small puzzle piece to the puzzle, the novel. With that, each chapter has its own specific location to add impact to the overall story. Various literary devices are scattered throughout each and every chapter, intriguing the reader to continue. Much thought and effort is put into each, as some even require extensive amounts of research. Emotions are added to give the roller coaster effect, making the readers thoughts and mood change with the book and chapter 29 encompasses it all.
It is the times when we are alone that we truly explore our mind and how it ticks. This is directly what Pi Patel experiences when he is alone with a 400-pound bengal tiger. Heat blisters, starvation, and delirium are physical things Pi feels. The real meat and potatoes of the story, is helping understand Pi’s direct message to the readers. Yann Martel breaks down the fourth wall frequently, also called metafiction. It directly speaks physiologically to the one reading, rather than the one narrating. Not only does Martel connect physiologically, but he also gives unbelievable scenarios, almost too unorthodox than reality. Through these complications, Martel makes the story great.
Hook. Line. Sinker. Pi knew that if he wanted to survive, he would have to reconsider being a vegetarian. Was Pi aware of the sea life he was going to catch to be able to survive? This life or death situation tends to show what is important to Pi showing his bravery. After eating all the food from the locker of the lifeboat, Pi put his hunting skills to work. Pi had to result to the ocean to find food to nourish not only himself but also Richard Parker. Pi and Richard Parker ate every edible piece of the dorado, turtle, and other fish they had caught. They could not afford to throw any of the remains away;not knowing when the next time they would eat, would be. If you were in Pi Patel and Richard Parker’s situation would you be eating every edible part of the fish? You have to do what your gut tells you...believing that you made the right choice.
Up and down the lifeboat goes on top of the sea. The days have begun to blur into one. The likely-hood of making it seems impossible. Pi is surrounded by the threatening sea but even more threatening the animals that lie beneath. No man could be prepared to cohabitate with wild, dangerous animals. This lifeboat is the only sense of home Pi now has yet he fears for his life constantly. The poor zebra is slowly dying but continuously fights for his life relentlessly. The hyena seems to be on constant edge along with Orange Juice. This tension that is being felt is like no other. Will they make it through or will tension get the best of them all?
Flies. Perhaps one of the most annoying creatures to roam the earth, second only to mosquitoes. Flies exist in the places you do not see them. They exist as the background noise of talk shows, salesmen/saleswomen, people who only say words to hear their voices resonate. Flies and their noises drive people to insanity. On Pi’s lifeboat, flies are making the first sounds Pi hears on his journey, buzzing around him, reminding him of his isolation. As one sits in silence, a fly’s wings fluttering become louder and louder, making its victim more aware of their loneliness, just as media targets its suppliers.
Religions all have their own teachings and have either one god or many. Each having different rules and practices, many people choose one religion but that is not the same for the child Pi Patel. He has chosen to follow three religions simultaneously. This kind of religious devotion is hard to come by, especially in someone as young as Pi. A mere teenage boy when he decides to embark on following all these religions so fervently.
Once a great philosopher said “Everyone has faith even if they do not believe in anything...it requires more faith to believe in nothing” (Meyer 17). This is true for the fact that even people who are atheist need faith to believe in nothing. Mr. Kumar, a biology teacher, believes in science to fix his problems because God “abandoned” him when he was a young boy. Later in the story when Pi was confronted by the three wise men he said, ‘Bapu Gandhi said, All religions are true. I just want to love God’ (Yann Martel 69). Throughout the beginning of the novel, Pi Patel had numerous interactions dealing with different people who never did understand why he would worship so many religions. Inversely, Pi would question people who did not worship any kind of religion. Mr. Kumar is the best example of one who does not believe in the God.
Imagine your favorite fishing trip with your family; it was probably filled with laughs, conversation, food, and water. That’s exactly what Pi Patel endured; well, not exactly. Pi was a victim of a shipwreck, he was alone, had little food and water, and his only chance of survival was to fish. Adding to Pi’s great fortune, Pi also had a 400 pound bengal tiger to keep well fed and off his throat. Chapter 61 tells the tale of how a religious vegetarian Indian boy becomes a skillful fisherman, a scavenger, and maybe even a savage. 227 days on a lifeboat. 5448 hours without human contact. 326880 minutes with a hungry tiger. How could one survive?
Yipping, yelping, yearning, yikes! These always seem to be the different reactions when in a stressful situation. No exception in the captivating novel Life of Pi. In the novel a young boy by the name of Pi Patel is stranded on a lifeboat with several animals right away. These animals react immediately no different than a group of humans would. Someone is crying and panicking. The person next to you is livid and won't stop complaining. Another is starving for food. And finally, there is the person who is scared but holds their composure. Pi observes intently as the hyena is frantically leaping throughout the life boat and vomiting out of fear and frustration. This life or death situation tends to show what is important to Pi showing his bravery and importance of using knowledge and staying calm.
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.” Fighting for what you believe while remaining a peaceful soul is a harmony that is not mastered easily. I am Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the nonviolent civilian Indian independence movement of what was a once British-ruled India. When I read Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, I was in awe of the main character, Pi Patel. Pi is a curious, but firm-footed boy with a thirst for spirituality. I saw myself in many of his actions and thoughts. One chapter that especially stood out to me as a fellow man of god, was chapter 25. Highlighting the faults of the current Christian while maintaining passivity is something Pi does well.
“It was three and a half feet deep, eight feet wide and twenty-six feet long, exactly”. One would think that would be a sustainable size of lifeboat when trying to survive a shipwreck. Except your thoughts change once you realize you are sharing that life boat with a 400 pound Bengal tiger. Having the details of a locker full of supplies, tarpaulin and benches going vertical across the boat, it is built to sustain life and times of calamity. When those areas are under the control of a tiger using the lifeboat to its full advantage is a littler harder than one would think.
Frodo Baggins, beloved hobbit and protagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien’s immortal classic The Fellowship of the Ring, is born into a life of peace and plenty in the rustic atmosphere of the Shire. But Middle Earth is changing: a dark lord and his sinister agents of evil are seeking to destroy all that is good and green and fair in the world. Soon nowhere is beyond their dreaded clutches--not even the Shire--and Frodo is torn from his home, hurled into the fray that once seemed so far away. The hobbit’s dismay is readily apparent: “‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us’” (Tolkien 60). Frodo is daunted. After all, he is but a hobbit, simple and small, caught up in the struggles of a vast and terrifying world. Yet Frodo endures. He fights on for those he loves, carrying his sacred quest on to completion to make good the time he has been given. Herein lies the central theme of Tolkien’s masterwork: trials of this life are sure to come; the way a person responds to them is what matters. If a person drowns himself in a sea of self-pity and bitterness, having convinced himself of the inherent unfairness of his lot in life, then his trial will remain a thing of evil. The battle is lost before it even begins. A trial will yield nothing but vexation for the person with a negative outlook on life, because evil is all the person has decided to see. Perspective is key. If a person stands fast, ready and willing to roll with the punches and accept each new day as a blessing in itself, then a trial can only but do him good--even in the face of unimaginable difficulty. This creed is one to live by, and few authors champion it as effectively as Yann Martel in his seafaring epic Life of Pi. Consider the closing passage of Chapter 35: “Things didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it” (Martel 91). Placed in the penultimate chapter of Part One, this rousing exhortation prepares the reader for the crisis of Part Two--namely, the shipwreck and subsequent drift in the lifeboat--in addition to establishing a central theme of the story. More importantly, Chapter 35 imparts to the reader a positive outlook on life that he would do best to adopt. After all, things will not always go according to plan.
Bender 6
Living a life on an anchor: a sea anchor to be specific. A Self constructed sea anchor. A sea anchor following a sturdy boat. A life saving sturdy boat. A life saving sturdy boat with a Bengal tiger on it. A deadly Bengal tiger. A tiger named Richard Parker. A life saving Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. How could this all be in between the 4 pages chapter 59 of Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi? Pi fearing for his life to retrieve food, wishing he was in the tiny snail infested sea city, wishes to be with his family. Pi begins to take hold of this dire situation finding a stable schedule of mentally engaging preparations in chapter 59 and sets the reader up for the rest of the book with strong foreshadowing and imagery.
Wardlow 1
Pi. A unique name, for a unique man. A unique man with a unique story. A story that must be told, but might not be believed. Is seeing believing? If so, can the blind believe? What if your eyes deceive you? When do you know what to believe, and what not to believe? Pi himself believes in many things. He believes in the emotions of animals, in miracles, in carnivorous plants, and in God. Many gods for that matter. He believes he can be a faithful Muslim, a faithful Hindu, and a faithful Christian all at the same time. Pi pushes through life even after losing his family. He survives two hundred and twenty-seven days on the Pacific Ocean with an adult Bengal tiger. When he finally reaches land none will believe his tale of being lost at sea. How can a man of such much faith not be trusted?
Pi Patel, the swimming pool boy, was forced to move across the world with his entire zoo his family owned. Uplifting his roots and starting a new life. To make things worse, his entire family and most of his animals perished in a storm that sank the whole boat. Pi found himself in huge life boat waiting to be rescued...then a tiger hops aboard. Together they have to find a way to be rescued and survive. It takes over seven months, the incredible life of Pi Patel is just beginning.
Beck 1
Imagine going into a zoo and looking into the elephant exhibit, looking in and seeing an elephant and pig laying next to each other. What is one's initial reaction to this? Do they go off and seek an employee or just stare at the rarity of two animals seeking companionship of another animal of another kind. It can be shown that sometimes this actually can happen for some animals, while others it can turn deadly very quickly. What happens when a mouse and vipers live together in harmony, what happens when another mouse is put into the realms of the vipers. Just one little thing changing can throw off the harmony completely and can cause chaos.
Zoos are entertaining places for humans but the view is different for animals. Cold metal bars. Loud children. Pi Patel does find himself in a situation similar to a zoo. After a shipwreck, he is in a lifeboat with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and a tiger. A compact area of roughly 208 square feet filled to the brim with prey and predator. Especially integrating the most dangerous of all. Man. Is man the most threatening because of their intellectual abilities or their opposable thumbs? With intelligent minds over-powering any physical abilities, man can conquer virtually everything--until the brain sinks like a Japanese cargo ship. Does the mind lose control before or after the body? If man has such a strong mind, Pi should have no trouble becoming alpha over all these animals without any lose of self…
Schwint 1
Living as a castaway on a boat; Improbable. Living as a castaway on a boat with a tiger; virtually impossible. Living as a castaway on a boat with a tiger you are trying to tame; truly insane. Yet with a whistle to act like a whip, the ocean to act like a cage, the fish to act as the reward, and the unbreakable will to live to act as motivation for Pi, Pi Patel makes the impossible extremely possible and tames the adult male Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Here Ye! Here Ye! Come see the most spectacular show of our generation! The Greatest show on earth! For just one dollar(not really), you could experience the story of a young Indian man with unconventional existential beliefs survive on a lifeboat alone with his only companion: A Ferocious Tiger! It has THRILLS, EXCITEMENT, ROMANCE! That is right folks, fun for the whole family! Chapter 28 starts on page seventy-six. It is not a long chapter and it is mostly comprised of a detailed description of Pi’s prayer habits. He not only describes his prayer but Pi tells of his affection for his prayer rug, one he was sorry to have lost. Though, years from the last time he saw this rug, Pi can still describe it as though he had just prayed atop it yesterday. “The pattern in gold lines upon a background of red, was plain: a narrow rectangle with a triangular peak at one extremity to indicate the qibla.” (76). Pi describes them with a peace in his voice. Almost giving a reader a glimpse of his happy place. During his prayer, Pi can be at a union with his life, wherever things take him. He is reminded that the ground beneath his rug, regardless of location, was made by God, and therefore, is holy. And that is just the beginning!
(No animals were harmed in the writing of this into)
Kyle Horner
Is religion madness? How do we have a definitive proof that this so called religion to whatever God you believe in. Faith is what they tell us to go off. Billions of people throughout the world call them selves to a God of sorts. Why? For multiple reasons this is done. Whether it's to search into the depths of your soul to find out what is truly important in life or to find a purpose. People have all the But too be stuck in the area filled to the brim with thoughts from your mind. Is a religion or religions in pi’s case necessary to stay sane? This is a very hard question to answer for most but for Pi he sees the value in all three.
Life of Pi is composed of one hundred chapters; how odd it is that an author could end on such a satisfying number to most minds who enjoy even numbers in multiples of five. One brilliant author would only be able to write a novel so numerically pleasing; his name is Yann Martel. He is an author who likes to play with numbers; how strange that he writes literature. For example, his main character, Piscine, but Pi for short. Pi is also the numerical term of 3.14 and so on. The book itself takes place in 1977. Pi is on the lifeboat for 227 days. 227 days with a tiger. This is 227 days (mostly) without food, water, showering, or human companionship. However, it is 227 days. These days are not just void, but rather, possibly the most memorable days of his life. 227 days surviving. 227 days of living, hunting, sleeping, and sharing with a full grown, male bengal tiger. What an adventure. These days (although seemingly uneventful) were very important in Pi’s life as he learns a lot about himself. He learns who he is. It is an adventure of self-discovery. In the beginning of the book, it is very much about religion and focusing on what religion he identifies in and while he is at sea, there are a few references here and there, but nothing too lengthy. It makes a reader wonder, what happened with the multitudes of religions that Pi was involved with? One thing that had occupied his mind was of course Richard Parker. In chapter 13, it is all about territory. On the boat, Richard Parker had marked his territory with urine; later, Pi had followed the trend to mark his own territory as well. And as a lion tamer would, Pi had also attempted to tame Richard Parker so that he would not attack while Pi was trying to gain supplies from the locker. It was an interesting adventure for the both of them.
Supplies are a must, supplies are a necessity. In Pi Patels case he has plenty of supplies to sustain life for the better part of half a year. Except for the fact that he has a full grown Bengal tiger on the opposite side of his raft. Pi must make quick and careful decisions in regards to his boat mate, Richard Parker. Richard Parker could at any moment tear Pi to pieces, It is with this knowledge, that Pi must learn to interact and be able to survive on an ocean with a wild jungle cat. This adventure (or Nightmare) will do much more than just test Pi’s ability to survive, it will test his will to live. He will have to use every ounce of knowledge that his sixteen year old brain has gained in order to survive.
Religion in today's society plays a momentous role in billions of peoples lives. There are too many different variations to count. Multitudes of different viewpoints and faiths. Religion plays such a major role in the life of Piscine Molitor a 16 year old boy on a journey from India to Canada. At this point in his life he takes part in three different religions all at once because he believes that people should be able to be of more than one faith. His life is physically and mentally turned upside down in a moment when he gets stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. This journey will test his faith to the extreme and religion is what we will dwell on when entertaining the message of the book. As Piscine tells his story to an aspiring writer while he is now at the age of 40, goes into minute details of his mental state throughout the novel and we can take these and dissect them with a kind of religious lens. Chapter 16 is one that is critical to the religious tones of the story. Studying this chapter gives insight on the religious thoughts of one 16 year old Pi Patel but also his older counterpart telling the story.
Life of Pi is a phenomenal work of literary art given to us by the talented Yann Martel. He based his book on a young boy named Pi Patel and a tiger named Richard Parker who get lost at sea with each other. The name “Pi” is extremely relevant throughout the story in such places as page numbers, boat numbers, names, and several others. However, to get to pi (3.141597…..), you must begin with the number 1, and that is where it all begins. Chapter 1 of Life of Pi begins the famous novel just as any other literary work; with an introduction to the characters and minor conflicts which grow into major conflicts. Nevertheless, there are questions that arise from this chapter: why does this chapter accomplish, what information does it give to the reader, and what does this chapter leave to the reader to answer for themselves?
Piscine Molitor, only 16 years old, was just an average Indian boy with a love for his family zoo. Nobody at 16 expects to overcome anything too arduous at their age. They are more concerned with hanging with their friends or exploring their hobbies, religion in Pi’s case. Pi’s life took a 180 degree turn with no explanation as to why, why him. Castaway at sea, Pi was completely alone, his family presumed dead along with the animals from his family zoo. Or was he really alone? Do you consider a 400 pound tiger a suitable companion while being on a measly 26 foot lifeboat? Pi, considering all variables, realized there was only one feasible option: fight a fight he knew he could not win. His faith, his mind, his physical endurance would all be tested to the extreme and then some.
Oren 2
Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, young and old! Come enjoy the land where present day dinosaurs roam! Feel the rush as 500 pound tigers pounce around! Grow and learn as you waltz on through. Look around and come on down to Zootown! How would an individual live symbiotically with a tiger for 227 days? This is not task for a common masher, but how does Piscine Molitor Patel do it? Perhaps it has something to do with Zootown. Can Pi speak to the animals? They are his alarm clock, his entertainment, his life. What did you have to worry about as a child? If you had your favorite color chalk? Having to do the dishwasher? Piscine's main concern was receiving a surprise from the rear end of peafowl. These animals have become Pi's caretakers and his friends. Pi's vegetarian lifestyle makes him the perfect human companion for the zoo's inhabitants. The animals interact with Pi and in turn he learns much about life from his closest comrades. Chapter four is where Pi derives with survival techniques from. Young Patel understood the basics on animals, they are just hotel guests who are "as unhygienic as alcoholics". Chapter four is where Pi's past life, comes to life; it is arguably the most important section of Yann Martel's novel.
A follower of three antithetical religions, Pi Patel, is the most dedicated and intelligent adolescent. The way he studies and practices these beliefs are beyond most religious followers. All of these different point of views allow for Pi to interpret many situations and circumstances in unique ways. His dedication and judgement are two major factors that guided Pi to survival. Getting to land alive and not torn to pieces by a Bengal tiger is his main goal, aside from making a relationship with Richard Parker.
Moby Dick, the Mariner and the Albatross, and Noah; the literary references that compose one chapter of the 100 chapters in Yann Martel's Life of Pi. A chapter filled with religion and spirituality while certain means are taken to survive. Whales come as holy messengers, providing glimmers of hope for our main character, Pi Patel. Birds fly high above in the sky, both symbolizing biblical stories and helping aid in survival(in more ways then one.) A new form of communication and hallucination is explored and introduced to us, the reader, as we live the 227 day journey that Pi endured with his fellow companion, Richard Parker. In chapter 84, we see such a longing for connection to the outside world from Pi and see how he fills a void within himself.
Instead of writing an essay, I am trying to push myself in a different creative way by completing the ten tasks through a painting. I am working with acrylic on canvas and am doing my best to convey the same feeling that I felt when reading my chapter, 100. This chapter is the conclusion of the novel and is very informative because it is a report from the Oika shipping company. This chapter confirms that the animals were actually representations of the people that Pi spent his journey in the Pacific with. This chapter bring a lot of clarity and confusion at the same time and so I will try to convey this feeling through my artwork. Martel has painted an image in my mind, so in turn I would like to paint the image for everyone to see my interpretations.
For my chapter analysis essay I have chosen to create a painting. I think this is the best way for me to provoke my understanding of the chapter. I am going to make a watercolor painting about chapter 79. In my chapter it mostly is about how Pi is becoming more immuned to the sharks is no longer afraid of them. It brings out how fear can be strained away though time. This is also the chapter where he throws the mako shark towards Richard Parker, which Richard Parker fights and ends up winning. I will paint the scene of Richard Parker fighting the shark. I will also portray Pi’s lost fear of sharks by having him cradle the mako shark like a baby. There will be many other sentences and themes symbolized throughout my painting that you will get to see soon.
227 days to achieve insanity, to find yourself, to lose yourself. 22 divided by 7 gives you 3.14; Pi. As life and symbolic representation revolves around Pi, he is accommodated for his series of unfortunate events. The tell all story of Life of Pi is from a point of view in which is perfectly told. All that is said, matches up beautifully. The wondrous disaster of a curious individual and "a story in which will hinder you to believe in God."
Pete Sternburg
Mr. Christensen
English 210: Introduction to Literature
16 March 2016
Title
Life of Pi by Yann Martel is story about a boy, a tiger and god and their interconnected relationship. Of the 100 chapters, none are without merit. Martel has meticulously crafted Life of Pi in a very complex yet easy to understand story, chapter by chapter, page by page. Many chapters explain Pi’s unique view of the world and others paint vivid descriptions of an unfamiliar world. But some chapters make readers reflect on themselves instead of thinking about Pi. Chapter 8 is the perfect example.
Chapter 8 opens with an exposition about the dangers of humans to zoo animals but, the bulk of chapter 8 is a life lesson for Pi and Ravi from their father. Santosh leads the boys to Mahisha, a five hundred pound bengal tiger patriarch. He shows the boys how dangerous the animals can be by feeding the the starving tiger a live goat. This may seem like some sort of tangential side show to the plot but these lessons are crucial for readers to understand Pi’s reactions on the lifeboat and his unusually keen mind in regards to animal instinct. Pi’s mind it a very complex one and this chapter helps you understand is unique and interesting perspective. Thus is it placed early on in the introduction.
The chapters around chapter 8 are also quite interesting. Chapter 6 is a very short chapter, barely quarter page description of adult Pi’s cupboards. The author describes them as “A reserve of food to last the siege of Leningrad”. Chapter 6 is an excellent foreshadow of Pi’s lack of food, and eventually, malnutrition on the life boat. This might be missed by many readers because of how early in the book it is.
Imagine everything you have ever known, loved, or cared about vanishes from your life without warning. Pi Patel experienced this type of rude awakening in Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, when his ship, The Tsimtsum, sinks. In chapter 37, Pi regains consciousness after being pushed and falling several feet from the sinking ship. Upon waking up, he hears a “monstrous metallic burp” and then “Things bubbled at the surface and then vanished” (97). After he believed everything was gone, he sees something from his lifeboat. It appears to be Richard Parker. Pi watches Richard Parker, a pathetic kitten in the Pacific Ocean, struggling for his life. His protective, fatherly instincts kick in, forcing him to try and save Richard Parker. A tiger. Pi is shocked that he is trying to save something that could end up killing him. Ironically, Pi winds up entirely needing Richard Parker to survive. The tiger kills the cannibalistic French castaway in chapter 90. At first glance, chapter 37 seems to be mere plot development; however, upon further probing, we can determine it emerges as entirely significant and clever.
6 Mullet
Will. The will to survive is great. The will to survive for a purpose is greater. The will to survive for yourself is the greatest. Will is the drive of everyday-life life and the brink-of-life life. The strongest will known to man belongs to a fictional character: Pi Patel. Surviving 227 days with a tiger takes more than luck and skill. It requires the will to keep going. If you do not want something, you do not work for it. If you want something, your will to go through what it takes to get it shoots through the roof. There is also a will to believe. The will to believe is perhaps the strongest thing in the universe. Try relentlessly to believe something absurd for long enough and you will. It is how the best liars earn their title. At the end of Life of Pi, the will to choose a story is overwhelming. You wish to believe in the long story, the one where cannibalism is not evident and where there is a reason each animal eats another. On the other hand, the “normal” screaming in your head is willing you to believe that Pi’s mother died and the french cook ate her and that Pi is Richard Parker. Which story are you willing to believe?
6 Kribell
Have you lost a family member? A dog or brother? Losing a mother, however, is ranked as one of the most severe losses to people. In chapter 75, a young boy (who lost his mother) sings a simple song. A simple song that was meant for a happy and joyous occasion. More of a celebration than an occasion even. A celebration where family members gather and wish you luck and love. In other words, Pi's song is not sung under normal circumstances. It is sung without celebration or joy, without multiple members, and without a living person to receive the love and attention. Instead, he sings "Happy Birthday", alone on a boat in the pacific ocean, to a mother who is no longer alive, in a sad and lonesome way. This chapter is a heart-break crushed down into one lone sentence. Yann Martel used this emotion as a tool to pry open readers' hearts and make them feel something.
Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six. A plan of passivity. The war between human and animal. Neither Man nor Tiger was never intended to live in the ocean, but against all odds both managed to. Through their survival however, does one need to parish? Chapter 55 tackles this commentary of Man vs Animal, and shows the distrust Pi has for a particular Tiger. Pi is convinced that in a war of attrition, he will lose. His mind is telling him he will die. A young boy was never supposed to live when pitted against a Tiger, but when stranded at sea, anything can happen.
Thirsty. Imagine being surrounded by miles and miles of water yet not able to take a sip. The waves taunt you as they splash against the boat. Your throat aches for the cool, liquid life. That was Pi Patel’s life for 227 days. Being able gulp down an ice cold glass of water at will is something we often take for granted. Thirsty. Now imagine being on a lifeboat surrounded by miles and miles of water...with a 400-pound, bright orange Bengal tiger on board. His eyes meet yours with a gaze so deep you wonder if he can see right into your soul. Do not show fear. That was Pi Patel’s life for 227 days. Pi shows incredible kindness in chapter 62 when he shares his source of fresh water with the carnivorous beast, Richard Parker--whose birth name was, ironically, Thirsty.
Hanson 6
Create a place in your head where you have a family who mocks you for having an idea. Now imagine if your family mocked you for believing in multiple religions when they do not believe in one. Now imagine your family dies without apologizing, or even worse, without you forging them. This is the life of Pi Patel. A life that is intertwined with the complex knots of faith, family, memory, and survival. His entire life is about survival, from childhood to adulthood. Yes he is stranded at sea for 227 days, but is that the worst part? He survives bombardments of attacks from his family for choosing to believe in multiple faiths. The arrows of bombardment is shot from those who do not even have a faith. To many, it would be easier to survive on a life-boat with a Tiger.
The large majority of animal trainers know that it is extremely difficult to train an animal to behave exactly how they want the animal to act. Owners of pets want to teach their horses not to kick them off when they try to ride it; owners of pets teach their dogs to stay off the furniture and to shake their hands, but Piscene Molitor Patel had an advanced difficulty in training an animal known for violence and murder. To be training the one of the most vicious animals in the world, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, became one of the main goals for Piscene to accomplish. Prior skill, knowledge, and bravery is necessary in order to overcome this arduous task, which Pi contained before he became stranded in the almighty Pacific Ocean. In Chapter 76 it explains how Pi uses all three of these characteristics in order to train his only companion not to devour him while he is sleeping, and Pi shows the world how, with a little time and effort, anything is possible.
It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth. The minor fall. The major lift. The baffled king composing Life of Pi. Songs are a form of poetry, they enliven the world of literature as much as they do our society. Songs are a form a literature as well, and literature is, in a way, songwriting. For example, in Chapter 55 of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, the words seem to have a rhythm and beat to themselves, which is exactly how Martel composed it. “Dull-eyed, shaking and numb, one hand gripping the rain catcher, the other clinging to the raft, I continued to wait” is but one example of how flowing and musical this chapter is, at the very least, through a musical lens, it seemed to me (Martel 159). Another direct example of how Martel understood that he was writing musically was when he wrote, “The words ‘Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six, Plan Number Six’ repeated themselves in my mind like a mantra [which is a hymn or song used for meditation] and brought me comfort…”. This not only shows his self-awareness while writing, but also shows his appreciation for music and literature combined. He speaks of music in such a manner as to imply that it can be used to comfort and console someone, no matter the situations they face, or the trouble they may be in. This is deep and philosophical, and is a grand idea that should be spread about. In pain, music. In music, solace. In solace, peace. Therefore, in pain, there can be peace. Comfort. A relaxation or reprieve. In that simple statement, Martel describes the panacea of all the world’s problems. But it is not as simple as that, some may argue. While music can comfort and console an individual, it can not make a truly impactful, well, impact. This is not so! During a war in an African nation, both of the opposing armies proposed a truce one night to go to a Bob Marley concert. During World War One (WWI), on Christmas Eve, the Germans and the British troops called a one-time-only truce, and left the trenches, met in the middle of the battlefield, and shared Christmas hymns and songs. Music is literature. Literature is music. Therefore, music (and transitively literature) has the ability to shape lives and change the world.
Confinement. Nothing to keep himself company besides a ravenous hyena and a zebra who shall soon come face to face with Death himself. Piscine Patel is in one of the most difficult situations that a human could possibly be in. With little food, little company, and little hope, Pi begins to question if his will to survive is big enough to allow him to make it through this endless trip over the Pacific Ocean. When hope began to chip down to its last piece, he notices that out in the distance, a floating island of bananas was advancing towards him. As it becomes closer, he realises that it is Orange Juice, the prize Borneo orang-utan matriarch. Upon seeing Orange Juice it gives Pi great hope for survival, for if an animal such as an orang-utan can make it out of a sinking ship and find herself a floating boat of bananas to ride along, he too, will survive this predicament. With this brilliant phenomenon in his presence, it allows him to find hope for survival he never knew existed inside of him. Throughout chapter 42, Yann Martel explains how such a short chapter can have such a big impact.
Brett Hoffman 2
Religion. Is it real? Is it fake? Piscine, having little to no reason to believe there is such thing as any type of God, still turns to him in time of dyer need. Desperately awaiting his saving grace, he prays four times a week. Pi is one of the most unbelievable individuals in terms of always having faith and believing in a miracle. But, will Pi let his beliefs fall due to being abandoned with a viscous tiger, able to kill Pi at anytime he wants? Or, will he be able to get past the fact of being stranded and realize he has made it this far, why try to quit now. With Pi's realization, he comes to the conclusion, God's Earth is amazing in the way it works, but, it will have flaws in which he needs to accept and believe in God for only he knows the path ahead.
Each and every person at some point in their life has moments in which they discover more about themselves. In these moments of self discovery the understanding of self can be small while others like in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi can be life altering. With what is learned in these discoveries people can ignore them or embrace them, in this case Pi chooses to embrace his and in chapter 60 he decides that though his suffering in the grandest scheme of things is small he chooses to fight for his life. Due to this choice chapter 60 is one of the most vital in the novel for both the continuation of the story and to understand the narrator.
2 Rasmussen
“Suddenly a bolt struck much closer. Perhaps it was meant for us”.(223) Perhaps death really is not worth fearing, maybe the the fear of death is what brings the most suffering, but the thought of letting those around you die is the true fear. The fear that keeps you going. Death can seem so different when you are not the only one threatened by it. Some people say that a life is not worth living if you do not have somebody to share it with and Pi holds that true. Pi Patel has only one companion on his trek across the Pacific Ocean, and that is a 400 pound tiger named Richard Parker. The companionship is held strong through wind, through rain, through sun, and thought heat. And for what reason besides the fight for survival?
Lonely. Starving. Frustrated. Barley able to stay sane. Pi Patel managed to overcome all of these difficulties with the help of his surroundings. Is it possible for a human being to stay alive on a boat in the middle of the ocean for 227 days? Many people have difficulties in their life, some worse than others. Is it possible to overcome those difficulties? Difficulties lead to choices. There will always be choices in life that can be life changing if not chosen well. Pi had to make numerous choices in order to keep himself alive. On top of all of the choices that were being made, Pi had to live on a boat with a 400-pound Bengal tiger. Now try to find a way to live without the fear of getting eaten by a tiger for 227 days. Put yourself in Pi's shoes, what decisions and choices would you make?
Loneliness. Depression. Grief. Different people deal with loss differently, but there are similarities between almost all of these responses. The human mind can be incredibly resilient in the face of terrible stress. In a situation such as Pi’s falling into a suicidal depression could mean the end of his days. Pi’s entire challenge is to simply survive. He is unable to do anything to alleviate the horror of the situation, and he has all the time in the world to sit and think. When given these choices the human mind would rather just do its best to forget about the tragedies of the past and move on to present, where survival is key. However, Pi is different. Pi chooses to remember.
1 Mixell
When one thinks to pass the time, perhaps they might go hang out with friends or pursue a hobby. However, when trapped on a lifeboat with a tiger, one has to find different ways to fight the slow passage of time. Pi chooses to asphyxiate himself in order to pass the time. Now I do not know about you, but I cannot say that asphyxiation would be my first choice when I am bored. However, the results of Pi's asphyxiation seem to be well worth the minuscule amount of risk he puts himself in. We learn of extraordinary visions, sights, dreams and trances. When surrounded by endless ocean, this method seems very appealing. Pi seems to have zero regrets about his decision as well. He is only pleased with the passing of time.
1 Jacobson
Cannibalism, deceit, and blindness. Three of the most common fears known to man. Imagine going blind, when your sight was the only portion of your sanity you had left...and suddenly it's gone. The last grip you have on life is gone. Imagine a cannibal gripping you by the throat ready to eat your flesh...but a tiger saves you. Then imagine exploring your "brothers" boat only to find he lied to you and had food and water the whole time. Crying tears of joy due to the heavenly taste of a clear, salt free liquid going down your throat. The same tears that bring back your sight. Now imagine seeing your friend mangled in your boat. How does one deal with that? Pi Patel has a strong deal of strength and a mighty will to live. When most people would give up, he keeps fighting.
“Everything suffered. Everything became sun-bleached and weather-beaten…” Pi Patel said as he continued to what he thought would be his last words… “We perished away. It happened slowly, so that I didn’t notice all the time.” A life boat can only be lived upon for so long, but a survivor a sinking ship, Pi Patel, pushes the limit. He endures the opposing forces of not only weather, food, and water; but a tiger. The first sight of this tiger is an immediate sign of death for Pi, so he thinks. Little does he know he is in for the ride of his life along the never-ending Pacific Ocean. He will come across: orangutans, sharks, hyenas, acidic-islands, and a never ending nightmare of dying, or not dying and being an orphan all his life. But the question is: Will he be able to endure this water physically, or will the pressure burn him out mentally first...
Bravery, powerful, and heroic. These are all the traits that Pi Patel gives a title to. Almost nonhuman like? Dependent on himself, Pi Patel, had to deal with horrid struggles of fear, pain, and agony throughout the 227 days left on the boat. How does he survive? With a little help of his friend Richard Parker. Richard Parker is no human friend, but a Bengal tiger instead. Pi has to show Richard that he is the boss. It seems crazy that a tiger and a human can survive on a boat together with no danger does it not? But, Pi and Richard prove us all wrong. They have strong will power and are both bold characters. When reading Life of Pi expect the unexpected.
Death is inevitable. Life forms of all sorts have come and gone throughout the history, but how they went varies dramatically. It is like a parent trying to get a child to the car after a day at the playground. A child could be playing king of the hill with his friends and they are at the king. The child is happy, healthy, and in good company, but suddenly their mom or dad snaps after enduring hours of screaming and crying from the child’s group of friends. Fight as they might, their efforts are of no use. They are told that they can see their friends another time and that is the end of that. More patient parents might give the child the option to stay there for awhile longer, or to go see their grandparents. The child then not only allows their parents to take them, but they are happy to go. A more stubborn child may not want to relinquish their title as king just yet, and is willing to lose everything to stay. Pi is a stubborn child that was forced to go from being a happy-go-lucky teenager in India to a castaway nearing the brink of death within a matter of days. In his journey through the vast, treacherous waters of Pacific Ocean, his knowledge of animals and his ability to learn did indeed help him, but his true saving grace was his faith in the Divine. Knowledge is a helpful tool that aides one’s progress, but without hope, without faith, accomplishing any goal and in this case, surviving, is all but impossible.
What is the most dangerous animal in the world? Some may say a ferocious lion, a 20 foot great white with razor sharp teeth, or simply a snake hiding under shrubs. To Pi he thought it was man. Man, able to take and kill whatever he wants to. People are the one endangering animals, billions of animals die every year due to the fact that people kill for game and food. Animals are threatening to people, yes. As Pi’s father explains each habitat has its own dangers even the safest pastures can be infested with birds that have beaks that can cut through human flesh.
A tale about religion, survival, and one miraculous boy, Life of Pi leads its readers to an assortment of questions: Is Pi sane? Is Pi telling the truth? Was there even a tiger on the boat? And perhaps the most important question of all: Can the reader trust Pi Molitor Patel as a narrator? Here is what the reader knows to be true: Pi is the lone survivor of the Tsimtsum, he somehow makes it out alive, and he seems to have a knack for storytelling. Relying on the account of an unreliable narrator can be challenging, but the question of what is true or false is up to the reader to determine for themselves. The story has points where events overlap and stories coincide between different characters’ accounts; the reader can assume these to be true. The chapters in the novel are placed in a specific manner and written a certain way. Sometimes the chapters are extremely long, and sometimes they are less than seven sentences. Each chapter holds an important place in the novel and it is up to the reader to discover the secrets it may contain. This essay will examine the importance of chapter 95 and explore the hidden meanings behind sacred numbers and newly introduced characters. In section I, the essay will outline the new characters and discuss their possible motives. Section II will cover the writing of the chapter itself and its significance of its placement in the novel. In section III, the essay will examine the chapter using a religious lens. This lens will serve to provide further insight into Pi’s religion and beliefs. Section IV will explore the numbers within the chapter and novel. In conclusion, this essay will help the reader to decide whether to trust the narrator, Pi Molitor Patel.
2 Klumpp
Hot. Cold. Dark. Light. Pi struggles with finding a balance with the sea’s arduous elements. “When it is light, the openness of the sea is blinding and frightening. When it's dark, the darkness is claustrophobic.” This is how Pi Patel describes the sea that he has been drifting on for awhile now with a vicious tiger. Not only would it be physically draining being at sea for 227 days but it would cause monumental hits to someone’s mental health. How would one keep their morale up? Pi is mainly focusing on how to stay alive and keeping himself entertained by watching the sea and sky change. Will Pi’s mind keep him alive? Or drive him closer to insanity? Only time will tell.
2 Laycock
Some scientists say a wild animal could never assimilate to a controlled social culture. They may say, even though they are tamed by their trainer and are under their rule, their true wild animal characteristics will never leave their system and will emerge without constant surveillance from a higher respected authority. Pi Patel, however, has something else to say about it. A short, true story about a black leopard and his ten week journey all alone after being captivated in the zoo his entire life reveals some hints and strongly foreshadows to Pi’s story and how he survived in the middle of the pacific with a deadly-yet-tamable Bengal tiger.
Slowly they appeared. They started in small numbers but grew day by day overcoming all available space below the boat. Why were they here? What did they want from Pi? Could they help him send for help? Now, they were bringing new friends. Translucent one, spiked backed ones, crabby ones all started coming. Pi anxiety started to rise. They were all working together in perfect harmony and did not seem to miss a beat. And all the more they kept growing and growing. He did not know what to do what could he possibly do against all of them. Again what did they want and what were they going to do? Bring Pi peace for his frayed brain.
7 Waldner
Alliances formed between the weak and the strong, the smart and the dumb, the superior and the lesser. Friendships form between various different pairs of individuals. Some relationships, however, are for gain only. Yann Martel mentions in his book, Life of Pi, that it is a recurring tendency for individuals with much to gain will strain to build a relationship with one who can benefit them. The placement of this chapter within the story helps demonstrate the meaning of the book and leads the reader to analyze their own life and relationships. Relationships are formed based off of need, want, and advantage. Each factor can play a more dominating part of a relationship, and this essay will serve to analyze these roles.
Pd.6 Schroeder
Many can agree that the book, The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel is an extraordinary tale of a boy and his tiger defying all odds. The book has a way of capturing the reader's interest and keeping them interested until they are blown away by the ending. Martel has a unique way in which he places the chapters in his book, not only to make the story flow smoothly, but also to entice the reader to think. The class had a highly motivated discourse about the book and its mind-blowing ending, while engaging in full thought of what exactly Martel was trying to tell them. There were seldom times where some of the classmates could think of nothing to say on some particular parts in the book. Life of Pi is an amazing book to some and just another story to others, but no matter where one stands, Martel has done an extraordinary job of adding symbols and other literary work to every chapter in his book.
2 Rise
In a boat, with a tiger, stranded in the middle of the ocean would push anyone to do unspeakable deeds. Actions that would prove difficult, and possibly embarrassing, to repeat to another soul. This is the case with Pi Patel. Hunger, starvation creeping in and a boy so deep in famine the lack of food pushing him to the edge. His original way of life, his customs and food habits intensely tested, his will and resolve being proved, he must choose to retain his original and brought up thoughts or change them to save his life. This chapter in its entirety is vital to the story based on the effect it has on the reader and the way it is able to give insight to the strife felt by Pi within his time on the boat.
Blok 7
If you were stuck in the ocean, couldn't get a wink of sleep, becoming slapped by the waves and having boils all over your body what would you do. Go insane maybe? Lose all hope? Leave your sanity in the ocean? Die maybe? Would you try everything possible to stay alive, including monitoring the habits of the tiger living on your boat? Pi was faced with these types of decisions. Giving in to death, or fighting on?
And then he was gone. The very thing that kept him alive for 227 days was gone. Richard Parker was gone. “Richard Parker, companion of torment, awful, fierce thing that kept me alive, moved forward and disappeared forever from my live. (285)” The faith that held on to Pi as he clung to the life he could barely endure, left his life. When the faith leaves someone, what is left? Well, that is the whole meaning of faith. Faith does not leave you, as long as you have it. Even if the tiger leaves you.
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi embodies the mathematical term that is found in the title. Pi: a mathematical term used to represent the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. One would never expect a novel to be so closely related to this math term that causes distress and anxiety in the worlds of young mathematicians. The novel does so by exhibiting endless behavior--exactly like Pi. Martel’s masterpiece simply does not end; the story runs out of pages. It is not finite, but is infinite with its combinations that span endlessly. Life of Pi can be analyzed from so many different angles, each producing a different outcome. It is unfair to read Life of Pi as just a story about an Indian boy that overcomes the impossible; it is a work of art that is riddled with endless symbols and meanings.
Memories and hope. The scents of home and the longing for rescue. The scent of a spent flare. Cumin, a warm-smelling spice commonly used in Indian cuisine native to Pi’s home of Pondicherry, India. Giving Pi hope of being saved followed by the smell of a life that he once knew, and will never know again, the flares were a bittersweet tool. Humans have incredibly well-forged neural pathways connecting olfaction and memories. These spent rescue flares may not have even smelled like Cumin; it might have only been Pi’s extreme hope of safety and home. With the Pacific Ocean having an area of over 63 million square miles, and with Pi only being able to see 6.25Ï€ square miles, it is nearly impossible for a boat to see Pi’s flare. One might call it asymptotically possible.
Sailing like Columbus. How does sailing across the ocean like Columbus feel? Well just as Pi Patel. Pi's family planned to moved from India to Canada. The trip takes a turn for the worse and Pi is left stranded in a life boat, but he is not alone. This is even worse than how Columbus felt! Pi is stuck in a life boat with extremely little food, water, and a grown Bengal tiger. Pi and Richard Parker, the tiger, begin a circus on the ocean. How will Pi possibly live? Pi uses his smarts of the zoo to put himself in the best position he can. Just before the wreck, Pi talks about the zoo and his time on the ship. This section is extremely important and can be broken down easily to answer questions about its inclusion.
Paauw pd 6
It is hard enough juggling the life of a young boy--now throw in three contradictory complementary religions all quartering you to be in their favor...impossible (or is it). The result of this inhumane task on the fragile mind of the boy is astronomical--especially when he does not receive support from either of his guardians, who only seem to use his confusion for comic relief in their self absorbed lives. The attempt to rationalize their kin’s actions ultimately leads to failure and their son is as bewildered as ever--though this “confused” boy’s thoughts may be the most awe inspiring of all, they may be swallowed under the severe weight of authority and precedence.
Bailey Stroud and Laycee Cain,
Imagine the nightmare of being on a small life boat with a 400 pound tiger, dying zebra, hysterical hyena, and loving orangutan. Only word alone can be used to describe this horrible nightmare:suffering. However this is not a nightmare, it is simply a reality for the unfortunate Pi Patel. This is life now and will continue for the next 227 days. Clouds begin to appear where rescue ships should, Pi’s hopeless mind has come to the conclusion that his parents and most likely Ravi have died. Why continue to suffer when there is no hope left?
Brevity
noun | brev·i·ty | \ˈbre-vÉ™-tÄ“\
: the use of few words to say something
: the quality or fact of lasting only for a short period of time (Merriam-Webster)
: the contrary to an AP student’s nightly workload
: the approximate measurement of an artist’s free time
Chapter 31 of Yann Martel’s award-winning novel, Life of Pi, defines brevity with the prowess of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This sector of the text exhibits flawless brevity not through its limited breadth but rather through the irrefutable decisiveness of each individual word. If this chapter was a terribly perturbing feat for Martel to compose, it is doubtfully due to extensive research regarding the behavior and classification of Grant’s zebras. A far more probable force of delay in production would be simple refinery--proofing and polishing of the text to achieve the most efficient script possible. One might imagine the prolific author slumped back in a cushioned swivel chair, chin resting on one fist while the other spins a pen round its fingers, eyes looking off (perhaps through a window or at a painting) distantly as his brow clenches in seasoned contemplation. His thoughts? A stream of six word stories:
“Life of Pi. Simplify, simplify, simplify.”
“Odd, smallest prime: 3, 1. Brevity.”
“‘All these years...never seen it.’”
“‘Come on.’ ‘Please, Raj, move on!’”
“‘See you tomorrow morning.’ ‘Yes, Mamaji.’”
“‘No, nothing. Just a bit of dust.’”
“He was dumbfounded. ‘They’re called zebras.’”
“Mr. and Mr. Kumar looked delighted.”
And so on, just like that. (To be continued, on another day.)
Klumpp 1
"I wished to be baptized because I love god." Pi has immersed himself into religion and requests to be baptized and get a prayer rug. Pi's father gets very angry because Pi wants to believe and practice different religions. Pi's mother also states that he must pick one of the three religions he follows. She suggests he read some books about it but pi has already done extensive research. She says they are Indian and should follow Hinduism. But how could Pi pick from Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism when all three promote such great things? He defies his parent’s wishes and practices all three intensely.
When stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, and an orangutan, you really have to roll with the punches thrown. At this point in the book, Pi has almost lost all hope. He is grounded to the tarpaulin due to the lack of nutrients consumed. It has been three days since his last bite of food, or his last drink of water. The body can last about four to nine days without water so Pi has to act quick before time runs out. This whole novel is about survival of the fittest. Some might ask, Wouldn’t Richard Parker win in that battle? He is the strongest, fastest, and biggest animal on the boat. But there is one thing that is keeping Pi alive for so long. That is his intelligence. In this chapter we see how smart Pi is by the way he reads the actions of the other animals. Another reason he is surviving is his will to survive. Pi really has the drive and determination to make it off of the lifeboat alive.
Dangling over a shark infested ocean or join a Bengal Tiger on a boat? Pi has to make this decision in chapter 41. Also on this boat includes a crippled zebra and hyena. The hyena displays alpha animals characteristics, but so does Richard Parker, the tiger, which indicates that will will be some commotion. How will Pi’s survival be affected by this? Why did we read this and why was this chapter written? Yann Martel did not merely write this for fun, but for literary enlightening.
Night-time was the worst. Never knowing what was going on around me. Not knowing what sea creature made the loud splash on the surface of the water. Not being able to tell the distance between Richard Parker and I. Not being able to see his emotions and analyze his mood. And worst of all: staying awake the entire night. I was not fond of the uneasy feeling of never being secure. I had no control over anything that occurred at night and that frightened me more than the fact that there was a menacing bengal tiger barely ten feet away from me. The only relief night-time granted me was being out of the sun. I was finally able to let my scorching sores have a few hours of easement. The wandering thoughts and emotions the night unveiled were simply unbearable. I was having nightmares without even being asleep. They haunted me into daylight and never fully left my thoughts. I believed darkness could not become any worse until I began to encounter a frequent, murderous, night-time visitor.
The gentle rocking of a boat in the sea, resembling that of a baby locked in its mother’s embrace being cradled into a dreamless slumber. The only difference, one takes us to a tranquil and peaceful place while the other is an endless inescapable trap. Trapped. A term that does not come across so sweetly. Trapped in a place where the only company are the shadows when the sun deems you worthy of them. The only sounds to be heard are the soft pats of the waves against the sides, the ever harmonious wind that infrequently graces your presence, and the continually occurring hallucinations of someone being out there, but unable to be seen. Unless, you are found to not be worthy and the only companion is the never ending, deafening silence. And you are reminded of how truly alone you are.
Miles upon miles of water. Not one drop to drink. Life of Pi, a story of faith and suffering, yields an incredible journey. Only the author, Martel, would boldly throw an Indian boy, a lifeboat, and a tiger in the middle of the Pacific and create such a thought-provoking story that tests your faith in God. In the story, Pi endures a tremendous 227 days on a lifeboat in the Pacific, but not by himself. He has a companion and friend to keep him company. Richard Parker. A tiger. Richard Parker proves to be essential in Pi's survival for he saves Pi's life. Yes a tiger saved a human's life. Though hard to believe, it is true. Pi and Richard Parker undergo great tribulation throughout their trek and yet Pi keeps his faith in God strong the entire time.
One tragedy after the other seemed to keep crawling into Pi’s life as it all started with his ship sinking. After losing all his family and everyone he has ever come to know he is stuck on a boat with a tiger. Pi’s luck just keeps getting worse and he is going to endure lots of pain if he wants to keep going on. Even though it seems all hope is lost he continues to battle through and find the strength to keep moving forward. Imagine living with a tiger for several months after losing everything you’ve ever loved.
The curiosity of a young boy certainly can not be matched. It is the unknown and the unknown is plentiful. "What's your religion about?", asks young Piscine Molitor Patel to the Muslim man. He is a baker and it is he who first shows Pi what the Muslim time of prayer is all about. Pi was astounded when the man went through his prayer four times and the next time he found himself praying, he was on his knees, immobile, silent before Chris on the Cross. "It is about the Beloved", he replies. That is when Pi really becomes one with Islam. Bringing his forehead to the ground was comforting to him. It felt like a deeply religious contact.
7 Hammond
A machine is nothing without its parts. A factory is nothing without its workers. A book is nothing without letter, words, pages, chapters, readers. There are many different types of books, but each follows that rule of common existence and nothingness. Novels, books, short stories, all are written for purpose, for rhyme or reasons known or unknown. Some books become novels, and some are born that way. Others have even become so acclaimed that they are apart of classics. As an artist Martel tell wonderful and epic colorful stories. Weaving them out of thin air, this well oiled machine of a book puts much emphasis when you finally finish.
1 Peltier
Lost at sea. No one there to help. Need to survive. What do you do? Finding yourself in a predicament such as this can be difficult, but it is possible to survive. It is times like this where we waver between fight or flight. In this situation it is crucial that you chose to fight. Going through the motions and not using your brain to use your resources will be your worst enemy. Surrounded only by water can cause a person to go insane, it is how you manage your behavior that will determine your fate. Every little thing you do is going to affect the outcome of the horrific situation that you are being faced with. When faced with this predicament Pi can be known as an expert. The actions Pi took in order to survive and make it to the end is the perfect example of what to do.
7 Nador
Land, finally. People. Memories... A plot twist awaits the reader, as in the big reveal of a more believable, but less appealing story of Pi's survival is told. The question is: which version of the story is true? Which one do you believe? At the end of the day, does it really matter though? Fictionality and factuality don't always work exclusively without one another. It does not matter which version one believes to be true, as both stories come down to Pi's misery and belief-trying journey, in which he loses his whole family, and eventually ends up all alone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; desperate, starving, and hopeless.
In place of the assigned essay, I am creating a painting to symbolize and further explain the chapter I have chosen: Chapter 56. The nature of fear is contemplated; it is omnipresent and furthermore is a constant weight on the already sea-stressed mind of young Pi Patel. Fear comes in many form for Pi. Pi fears the giant tiger aboard the life boat. Pi fears for his family and their fate. Pi fears for his own life. This chapter delves deeper into fear and, as I stated above, the nature of fear. Pi must realize the true enemy: fear.
Jared Rohrbach
Can a story make you believe in God? The beautifully woven story by Yann Martel, Life of Pi, makes the claim that it has the power to make a person believe in God. The idea seems like some ludicrous ploy developed for a self-help book in order to sell a preposterous number of copies, except this novel is nothing like a self-help book but is a wonderfully fabricated tale. When having such a bold boast, the book surprises its reader when it lets them witness the blurring of reality into fiction, and then quickly transports them into the middle of the Pacific with a carnivorous four-hundred pound Bengal tiger called Richard Parker and a petite herbivorous Indian boy named Piscine Patel. But in order to discover the merit in such a claim, one must explore the epicenter of the story. Conveniently, the author had declared two of his one-hundred enchanting chapters that he considers to be at the core of his precisely crafted masterpiece, the first being chapter number twenty-one and the other being twenty-two. Therefore a person needs to understand what topics chapter twenty-one discusses and mentions, what meaning is found within this chapter, and how it could ever make a person believe in a deity.
7 Ullom
And then there were three. The one on the left, the one in the middle and the one on the right. They all stood for something different. What did or would it stand for? What is it that Pi would stand for? What was it about the one on the left that was so attractive? The one in the middle was such a beautiful mosque. The one on the right? It was a regal Hindu temple. But the one on the left. It keeps calling out. Why? What is it about that hill that was “crowned with a Christian church?” Why was it pulling and tugging and what was it trying to say? Take a chance? Come and see? And the conversion experience it had on Pi means that he will never, ever be the same.
Hope. Faith. Love. The most important words known to man. Without hope, faith, and love, there may not be a reason for one to live on earth. When life is not going how you want it, what makes it seem to get better? Hope. Faith. Love. You hope for a better day ahead, and have faith that will get better. You cherish the people you love, as the people you love get you through the hard times. Pi Patel, a God-loving sixteen-year-old boy, would not been able to survive his two hundred and twenty-seven-day voyage without hope, faith, and love.
A story of one man traveling to a better future on a freight ship containing some wild savage animals and many hopeless individuals. Something goes horribly wrong and no survivors are left except one man and many different savage animals that could kill someone in a matter of seconds. The man on the small lifeboat drifts aimlessly through the ocean waiting to be found trying to survive but life slowly slips away. The man loses all sense of sanity and reverts back to ways of unspeakable savagery.
Pi Patel is much different than your average indian man. One thing that makes him much different is his belief in not only one religion but three. This does not make much sense because the religions he follows have many beliefs that contradict each other. For example, one of the ten commandments in christianity is to not believe in more than one god, but hindus follow more than one god. This makes Pi a very unique individual but I believe him following three religions is a good thing for what happens later in the book. When he is stranded in the ocean alone, he needs all of the faith he can get. Following these religions all together may have gave him that help. In this essay we will look at one religion in specific, Islam.
Kelsey Koupal
Mr. Christensen
English 210: Introduction to Literature
28 March 2016
Buzzing, Teeming, Crawling: the Sounds of Horror
The flies are buzzing. Perhaps the most annoying of animals, flies are the creatures that can drive one to insanity. As Pi spends his first night on the boat, it is not the eerie splash of the waves against his lonesome boat, or the heavy breathing of a tiger beneath him: he notices the flies. Yann Martel places this detail in the book where he does for a significant reason: to hint at the opportunity for insanity to arise.
If one were completely alone on a lifeboat and all one could hear as the buzzing of flies, he/she would certainly go insane. The only reason the flies hold no power over Pi and his sanity is because of Richard Parker. His threatening persona keeps Pi distracted enough not to listen to the silence that surrounds him After all, it is deafening silence that makes one most aware of his/her surroundings--and if Pi decides to become fully aware of his, he would perish from despair.
As darkness falls, Pi becomes afraid, and for good reason. Darkness means uncertainty: one of the least desirable feelings when one is stranded in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Children are afraid of the dark because they think monsters come out at the time when the cannot be seen; the prime time to attack. Pi feels the same with the animals. Maretl places that realization in this chapter in order to show readers just how high-strung Pi must remain in order to survive. He also hints at the significance of the fact that P’s life at the moment is completely void of human life, but teeming with the animal sort.
Martel is buzzing with all sorts of literature forms, but never ceases to toy with Pi’s sanity: one of the only things he manages to keep when he loses everything.
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