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Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Yann Martel Video Reaction—due March 29
Watch this interview with Yann Martel in which he's speaking about Beatrice & Virgil (or another Martel video on YouTube) and write about him. Total 150+ words.
87 comments:
Faith Burch
said...
I like how he said that every novel is in some ways an autobiography. Yann Martel writes about what he is interested in. Martel chose to use an autobiographical approach because that gives as sense of truth and reality, thus drawing the reader in. I further understood why Martel used the names for the animals that he did. Beatrice and Virgil were guides in Dante’s Comedy through hell, purgatory, and heaven. Martel pointed out that we need guides like that for the Holocaust. That makes more sense when one thinks of it that way, instead of thinking of the two separately. I am also glad Martel explained why he writes with animals. This whole video is answering questions I had about Martel himself as well as his book. Martel points out that humans know animals but they don’t know about animals. Martel uses that to “suspend readers’ disbelief”, he says. While belief is suspended, Martel can better tell his story.
Yann Martel is a smart guy and a genius when it comes to writing novels and stories. He not only has the ability to communicate themes and symbols through different mediums, like animals, but he accurately expresses himself through vivid imagery and wording. Yann Martel frequently uses animals in order to get his messages across, like showing the animal within a human (Pi). Through Beatrice and Virgil, he has been able to communicate themes that relate to the Holocaust. He tries to bring in the connection that people in the Holocaust were silenced, just like both of the Henrys in his novel are silenced, either by being done with writing or needing help writing. The two Henrys that can't speak serve his purpose and tell the story that Yann Martel is trying to tell. He also makes his novels into sort of an autobiographical story by including Henry as the narrator of Beatrice and Virgil. The autobiographical aspects in his works serve his purposes in telling his story.
Yann Martel seems like a very intelligent individual. He knows what he is talking about and has researched his information. He has an interest in the holocaust which aids to his writing of the book Beatrice & Virgil. He realizes the connection that readers can make to the book and writer Henry, to himself. Yann Martel gives an insight into why he does what he does. His explanation of Henry and the activities he participates in do have meaning. His idea of using animals instead of humans is very fascinating. He believes people are more likely to listen and feel a certain way towards animals that if the character was a human, they wouldn't feel that certain way. Yann's reason for writing this book is to apply the holocaust so we can compare and contrast certain thinking of things. I admire the research and work Yann Martel puts into each and every novel. He knows his subject that he is writing on and presents it in a very superb way.
I watched Yann Martel’s interview about Beatrice and Virgil. Yann Martel’s straightforward character and respect struck me. He was honest about his reasons for writing about the Holocaust from a different point of view. He used his history and family background as a reason for writing in a different style. He felt that there was writing styles he shouldn’t do because he wasn’t Jewish or his family wasn’t directly related to the Holocaust. This shows that he has respect for the survivors and those affected. Yet, he wanted to tell their story. This also shows respect because many of the Holocaust survivors or those closely affected have a hard time telling the story. He showed respect by telling their story in a unique way. He was straightforward in his interview. He didn’t use fancy or long words. He wasn’t worried about sounding intelligent. He wanted to sound real and relatable. His sense of forethought also showed. He addressed the fact that some readers might think the book was autobiographical. He did a great job of thinking of this possibility and addressing it. Yann Martel did an amazing job of being honest and relatable while addressing questions.
After watching this video of Yann Martel you can tell how intelligent he is and how much thought he puts into all parts of his novels. When he is writing he seems to always be well informed on his topics and know what he is talking about. I thought it was interesting the differences he made between himself and the author Henry from Beatrice and Virgil. Martel talked about how people sometimes think his stories are autobiographies even though he states they are not. Using his writing techniques he is able to make the novel seem more realistic and keep readers engaged. I liked that in Beatrice and Virgil, Martel used both Henrys lack of words to describe the loss of words to be used to describe the holocaust. Martel uses his writing to tell the history of the holocaust in a different way and express it in a new way. Martel is able to use all of these skills and more to create great novels that are entertaining and keep you thinking.
This video gives us a good understanding of how truly brilliant Yann Martel is. Every idea in his novels is well researched and composed in a certain way to add a certain effect. He uses animals instead of people in his novels to add a different flavor to his books, but also to get a different reaction and feel in his novels. Beatrice and Virgil is well-researched and gives a different view of the Holocaust. Martel's works keep a reader engaged and always thinking. During the entire time I was reading Beatrice and Virgil I was continuously wondering about what was going to happen next and how it was all going to wrap up in the end. Yann Martel does a good job at implying his opinions and ideas, but also allowing for the reader to interpret the novel differently. He doesn't force his ideas upon readers. Take Life of Pi for example, the ending was to be decided by the reader. He didn't write a clear ending; he wrote an ending, so readers could imagine for themselves what happened. He challenges readers to be just as creative as he is.
Watching this interview of Yann Martel helped me to better understand Beatrice & Virgil and learn a little bit more about Martel himself. I appreciated that Martel explained that while the story seemed autobiographical, it actually is not. His explanation of why and how this story is not about him helped me to eliminate some of the criticisms I had about Beatrice & Virgil. I also found it interesting that Martel intended for Henry to represent the European Jewish people’s well-known artistic ability by having him play the clarinet and be an amateur actor. Henry was also intended to be a representation of Holocaust survivors in the sense that he lost his creative abilities, just as they lost their voices. However, what I found most interesting about this interview was Martel’s explanation of his writing process. He revealed that he prefers to write slowly and that each of his books are his attempt to answer a question that he finds interesting. From learning about Martel’s writing process, to gaining more insight behind the meaning of Beatrice & Virgil, this interview was entertaining and enlightening.
This interview with Yann Martel gave me the understanding of how truly passionate and well-informed he is with the writing of his novels. From the beginning of Beatrice and Virgil, I assumed that Henry was a direct reflection of Martel himself. Turns out, Martel put in unique statements that made himself different from the character, this was so we (the readers) were able to relate Henry more to the novel itself rather than Martel. Along with that. the use of animals in both stories intrigued me. When I noticed the use of animals and animalistic characteristics in Beatrice and Virgil, the first thing I wanted to know was how it related to Life of Pi. Martel explained this in this video. He also stated that animals can play a large role in adult reading, not just children's stories, this was interesting to me because the way he portrays animals is much more realistic than a children's book, making it easier for us to relate and understand to the characters in his novels. Martel thinks out every sentence of his stories and leaves subtle hints and statements as to what he wants the reader to get from the stories. This becomes clear in his use of silence throughout the novel, relating to the subject of the Holocaust and how people are often lost for words. Yann Martel explained himself and his fantastic novels perfectly in this video.
Yann Martel is a pretty incredible individual. He is not only a literary genius, but also highly intelligent as well. He writes in his own style, a style that no other author writes like. His work does a great job at communicating symbols and themes through different characters, specifically animals. He also seems to include himself through different instances in his work, but differently in each instance. Martel definitely favors animals and spends most of his time using them to get his point across. Like in Beatrice and Virgil, he uses two animals to portray and related themes to a horrific event (Holocaust). In life of Pi, he creates his character as a animal in a human. But in Beatrice and Virgil, he focuses on the silence of the two characters; both the characters in the play and the two Henrys have a difficult time coming up with words either to describe the experiences or what the purpose is in the play. Geniusly enough, Martel always writes a strong connection between the author and the characters. He writes with purpose and wisdom, rather than to entertain or to teach in a way.
Wow, Yann Martel is so interesting. As I was watching the interview all I could think about how he is so personable. Yann Martel points out that usually animals are associated with children's books, however he does not understand this because what is childish about a tiger (his example). Each of his books use animals in a different way. "Beatrice and Virgil" challenges the norm. Yann Martell is writing about the holocaust, a very intense and horrific event. Flipping it to fiction could have been risky to the public eye if portrayed skewed. However, I believe since he is a complete outsider with no relationship to Jewish roots at all. It helps him to stray from telling "one side" of the story. His interest in the holocaust and animals combined to create "Beatrice and Virgil". Yann Martel is very creative. I am inspired by all his ideas to think out of the box.
Watching this interview of Yann Martel gave me more insight into him and his work. I feel that I now understand him and his brilliant works of art on a deeper level. He is truly a genius. I love that he puts so much time and effort into his work. I also like his approach to how he composes and develops his stories. Although they are very unique, his techniques and styles work very well for him. His novels "Life of Pi" and "Beatrice and Virgil" differ in a lot of ways, but they also share some of the same elements. I like how in the interview he explains why he uses animals to tell his stories. It makes perfect sense. Using animals allows the readers to disassociate the characters from stereotypes that they would have with people. And although they’re animals, we as readers can still relate to them or try to understand them. And I do like that his novels are almost like autobiographies. Yann Martel is one of the best storytellers ever.
While watching this video, I can see how intelligent Martel is. When he said that he has only written four books over about 20 years. This shows that he really works to include many details into his writing, giving the reader a more active reading experience. I think that it is also interesting how Martel can tell his stories almost like an autobiography. This is a unique writing style that gives the characters more realness in how they act. I think that Martel understands that readers will be skeptical so this is why he uses animals. In the video, he says that by using animals instead of humans readers are much more likely to read his story. I think the use of animals instead of people is a unique way to make stories relatable to events in history. He can draw readers in with his very unique style of writing with both the use of animals and the autobiographical style of writing.
Just because you are interested in a subject does not mean you should write about it. I think Yann Martel did a good job with his creativity in his book Life of Pi, even though there are many coincidences in the book that make it possible. Such as his experience with animals in zoos and all the things he found on the lifeboat that made it possible for him to survive. His next book I think it more confusing as to why it was written and why it was published. I think his way of trying to make the people animals in the book so that there is less stereotyping is more insensitive than it is smart. The whole Holocaust was Nazis making people in the camps feel more animal than human so I think his interpretation of this takes away any sensitivity to anyone who has gone through that. I think if you cannot write out the stereotype of a certain type of person and just turn them into animals is just a lazy way of writing and an easy way out. He thinks turning the people into animals takes that away but everyone stereotypes animals like donkeys are stubborn. I also think the way him trying to take away the stereotypes in the book but then him saying in the interview that he added the clarinet playing and acting because Jews are good musicians and actors just takes away any reliability he once had.
This video intrigued me in many more ways than one. The first thing I was interested in was the way Yann Martel writes. In Life of Pi, there is an author as an actual character. Similarly in Beatrice and Virgil, there is an author as an actual character. I have never heard of a novel or read one with that as a factor, so it was pretty ingenious and really effective. Having an author as a character helps the reader and pushes the reader to buy into what they are reading. In the beginning of Beatrice and Virgil, Henry the writer talked about his life as an author, and immediately I was engaged and interested. He talked about in the video why he uses animals in his story. This is a really effective and awesome thing he does. He said that people will suspend their disbelief and buy into the story if it’s not about humans. It helps him tell his stories better.
You can tell just by the way he talks and the way Martel describes his book in the ways he does that he is a very wise human being. Right in the beginning when he is just giving a summary of the book and does it so crisp and it is kind of cool to see the author of the book describe the novel he wrote because he is going to be the only person in the world that knows absolutely everything about that book that he wrote with his very own two hand. I like how he makes Henry a musician and multilingual because it is a good representation of the jews and it shows that he feels sympathy for the jews during the Holocause so that is exactly why he wrote about it in the way that he did.
From just watching this video, it is easy to see how intelligent Yann Martel really is. The way he describes and talks about his book is clear, concise, and every word is carefully considered. Not only is he smart, but he is also very witty and humorous, both in this video and in his writing. A cool part in the video that I liked was when he was talking about how he was not Jewish or German, and how he really had no connection to the Holocaust at all. However, he had a passion and an interest in the Holocaust, and that was why he decided to write about it. It was interesting to me that Martel was able to form such a deep and complex book from an event that he had literally no relation to, except for the fact that he found it interesting. Martel was able to start from nothing and form an incredible literary work all because he was intrigued by the Holocaust and he was driven and passionate to write about it. This credits Martel even more, as an author and a person.
Yann Martel is a very intelligent man that bases his novels off of things he reads, places he goes, and things that happen in his life. Yann Martel writes about what he wants to write and he says that he got lucky with the Life of Pi because it has sold so good. Yann Martel has been writing since he was twenty six and now he is forty six. He has only written three books in his life. Yann Martel writes slowy and carefully and writes about questions that he is interested in. He feels that his writing style has changed over time because he belives that over time he has gotten better. His next book is going to be about three chimpanzies in Portigul. Yann Martel hopes that his books move reader and provoke them as well because of the subject matter at hand. Yann Martel also hopes to write about teachers and how they effect our life and their styles.
Martel decided to write Beatrice and Virgil because of his interest in the Holocaust. He chose to animals mainly because of his background. Martel has no connection to the Holocaust; he is not Jewish and does not have any Eastern European descent. He thought because of this he couldn’t use people to tell the story, so he chose to use animals instead. Additionally, he says that readers are less critical of animals and tend to suspend their disbelief. If they can suspend their disbelief, Martel has won half the battle with getting readers on board for a story that covers such hard-hitting topics. He also feels that the symbolism for animals is infinite. Lastly, he likes to feel alone in his field and not crowded out by other writers. Animals are primarily used in children’s stories. However, he uses them for adult manners. Another reason he wrote Beatrice & Virgil was to bring notice to the cruel treatment of animals. He believes that this treatment of could become its own version of the Holocaust. Martel is very thorough in his research and his explanations on his books. You can tell that he is deliberate in his speaking as much as he is in his writing. After speculating over both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil it was fascinating to find out what Martel’s thinking was when writing the book and why he wrote the book in the first place.
Yann Martel is quite the intellectual. He has a very different outlook on how books should be written or portrayed. I like how he said that almost every book is an autobiography in some way. The writer can eclipse themselves into their book in small ways all over the novel. I also like how Martel questions other writers of his age on why they don't use animals to tell their stories. He believes that animals are great for storytelling and used in a metaphorical way. He commented on how humans are very cynical of our own species but are more open-minded and willing to accept things if it is done through a wild animal. I really do like how he admitted that he is not apart of "that group", the group of people having ties to the Holocaust. He grew up in Canada; his fascination with the Holocaust and wanting to write about can be said about anyone but he didn't want to write in a historical way. The way he uses Beatrice and Virgil, a donkey and monkey, and put them in a play and have two writers, one who doesn't write anymore and one who is stuck in his writing, to tell the story of the Holocaust is quite genius. Martel has done a fabulous job with Beatrice and Virgil and Life of Pi.
Yann Martel has made me view novels in a different way. I have always despised reading books and I have never been excited to finish a book. Martel's books have overall changed my opinion on reading. HIs books are completely different than the ones I would pick out in a library. I love how Martel questions other writers about the use of animals. In Life of Pi, he views zoos as great things. In Beatrice and Virgil zoos are seen as awful. Martel's intelligence shines through in this interview. You can really see how much effort he puts into his work. Something I have noticed in both of his books that I have read is that he puts a little bit of himself into his books. This really makes me be able to connect with him, the author. His honesty plays a huge role in the way others view him. He is completely honest about all of his responses. He has nothing to hide. He is a remarkable human being and I can't wait to be able to talk with him. Because of this interview, I now have a great understanding of his books and himself as well.
Yann Martel is a very accomplished writer and writes in very unique ways. This video gave me a greater insight into his thoughts about writing and how his books connect to his life. I thought it was interesting how he used Henry and the taxidermist as a symbol of the Holocaust and how it silences people, just like Henry and the taxidermist are stuck for words in their writings. I think that is a good connection that Martel made. He is a very honest man and I like how he understands that there are certain ways that he cannot write, like directly about the Holocaust because he is not Jewish or from around Eastern Europe. This shows his respect but interest. He is very intelligent and puts a lot of thought into his stories so he can write in styles that people are not used to. He uses his skills to write interesting and popular stories that keep readers intrigued.
You can tell from the video that Yann Martel is a very smart and intelligent man. He has a keen interest in the Holocaust which is able to help him in his writing of Beatrice and Virgil. He does he research, but also knows a lot about the information himself. The way he uses animals instead of human beings is very unique and I think very interesting. He tell us in the video why he does what he does and that the things he participates in all have some type of meaning. It was interesting listening to him describe the differences between himself and the author, Henry of Beatrice and Virgil. He states that sometimes people will think that his stories are autobiographies, although, they are not. Martel uses his writing to describe the Holocaust in a new and different way and I thought that was very fascinating. Martel always keeps us thinking and is always able to create great novels.
Yann Martel, for the very little that I have observed of him through his writing and interviews, seems like a very interesting man with a very interesting mind. In his writing, he seems to pull various aspects from his life and his characteristics without making it so autobiographical that it becomes boring. Beatrice and Virgil contains a writer, like Martel, who seems to have given up on writing and another playwright, who has contracted a case of writer's block, something that Martel must have come along at one point or another. I also find his viewpoints on animals very useful. He states that the use of animals have been boxed into only children's books and very few authors use them in novels. He likes to use them because they are perfect to use multiple metaphors on and because humans, for some odd reason, seem to have more sympathy for animals than they do for another human being.
Based on this video, I think of Yann Martel in a different way than before. At first, I thought he was an author with a one hit novel and did not do anything exceptional after writing "Life of Pi". While reading "Beatrice and Virgil", I did not understand what was going on throughout the novel and I found the book rather boring and not a great book. It got better towards the end of the novel, but by watching this video it helped me get a better idea of the book and what it was about and why it was written the way it was. Martel's novels save the suspense for the end and he finishes the book by making it an exciting ending. During the video, he talks about how he uses animals as characters instead of people. I think people depict animals differently and I think it adds a nice touch to his books and makes the readers, like us, to keep reading them. I like how in the video he compares the two novels that we have read in class. He talks about how things are comparable but seen as different from one another. As you read you can find different characteristics that make it Martel's style of writing. He is honest about what he writes and I like how he isn't afraid to put what he wants into the novel he writes. He is different than other writers and that makes his books so unique. By watching this interview, I understand not only "Beatrice and Virgil" better, but I also understand and appreciate Yann Martel more.
Yann Martel is actually a very interesting individual. I find it surprising how humorous he is in this video, as well as in his writing. After I watched the interview, I noticed how personable and intelligent he is. He puts so much effort and interest into his novels that he has written and that amazes me. He does this so he can write in unique styles and he uses his skills to write popular stories that keep readers interested. I’m really intrigued on how passionate he is with the Holocaust, even though he really had no connection to the Holocaust at all. Even with no connection to the Holocaust, he writes Beatrice and Virgil. With Beatrice and Virgil, he uses animals instead of people for the main characters. In the interview, Martel actually explains why he does this, and it allows the readers to disconnect the characters from stereotypes that they would of had with people. Even though they’re animals, readers are still able to relate to them and understand them. I think his writing style brings the reader even more into the book and creates a connection with the reader.
Yann Martel has some intriguing views on certain things that seem insignificant to our puny human minds. He explains his integration of animals into his stories in the video by saying they have limitless amounts of metaphors that can be analyzed from them. Readers can take whatever they want for the tiger to be a symbol of in Life of Pi. Being able to listen to the author explain his own works seems like a huge privilege, and I feel like he has given me a much better understanding of Beatrice and Virgil, now that I have finished reading it. He explained some of the symbolism between Henry, the author, and the European Jews that I would not have picked up on by myself. He states clearly in this video that this novel is not autobiographical, but that does not mean that we cannot examine the similarities of the characters to Martel and question why he made a character that seems to have had similar experiences to himself. My personal opinions of Martel and his works are that he obviously works very, very hard at what he is doing by doing months of research and travels. I think his animal integrations are very creative and are able to tell a great analogy story like Animal Farm. However, I felt throughout the novel Beatrice and Virgil that the symbolism was either forced, or was hidden between two lines of text.
I really just can not agree with Yann Martel’s reasons behind “Beatrice and Virgil.” He begins by saying that every novel is autobiographical. Yes, the author is obviously interested in the subject matter surrounding the novel, but their lives are not engrossed into the novel unless it is intentional. For example, I could write a novel about an old man living in India, and that would have no context to my life in any way. Also, the fact that he uses Henry’s career as the example of an autobiographical item is just lazy; please, be original. Also, I disagree with his decisions to use animals as his main characters. I really feel like I’m reading a children’s book sometimes with the low level of character creativity. His reason “I find animals interesting” was just not enough for me to jump behind his animal theme. Personally, I enjoy reading about people much more than animals because I enjoy being able to find similarities in my own life. Although people may not know everything about animals, a novel is not the time or place to educate the reader on a scientific topic. If I wanted to be educated, I would search “facts about howler monkeys,” not pick up a novel with a monkey as the main character. His reasoning for having no stated setting in the novel is so people can’t make assumptions or leave cultural aspects out of the setting. Honestly, I think he didn’t know where to place his novel or how to properly characterize humans, so he took the easy way out. Yann Martel is a decent writer, but I definitely wouldn’t call him an artist.
Yann Martel is an intriguing guy. His thought process is incredible! After watching this video of Martel talking about Beatrice and Virgil, Life of Pi, and his upcoming book about 3 chimpanzees, the fact that he puts so much time and effort into his novels is obvious. Throughout the video he brought up an interesting point, why do most adult books not include animals? Why are animals thought of as childish to adult authors? For me, the animals are what makes the book so mind-opening. They make it a book that I can’t put down. The way that Martel writes about his characters, whether animal or not, is envious and impressive. Martel has made a good career for himself and he seems to be very content with his life. Yann Martel reminds me of a really smart uncle that always makes you think deeper, but he has a fun personality too.
Fact and fiction are often seen as two separate entities. Yann Martel, though, has found a way to successfully blur the lines between these two seemingly polar opposites. In both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil, Martel was able to make the reader question what was real and what wasn’t. This is not an easy feat to accomplish; it takes a true artist to be able to pull it off. Martel’s use of fact and fiction force the reader to think deeper about what is being read. I find that this makes the novels more interesting and open to interpretation. Martel geniously crafts his novels to answer a question or get an idea across. He is creative and effective in his methods. I have immensely enjoyed his work because it is so interesting. I love the use of animals, especially. I am personally intrigued by animals, and I find that Martel was right when he talked about how people have fewer biases about animals. I completely understand where he was coming from when he mentioned that it is easy for people to get over judgements and actually gain something from the story when they are not focused on human biases. Martel’s use of animals is effective, in my opinion. He tackles very real questions in a way that forces readers to think. Everyone is allowed to extract their own opinion and meaning. This is very valuable in today's society. Anything that promotes thinking and creativity is essential. Martel is an excellent author and genius in blurring fact and fiction. His novels are very enjoyable and thought provoking.
Yann Martel’s interview in which he’s speaking about Beatrice & Virgil gave more insight into the meaning of the book and helped me understand the book more. First, I thought Beatrice & Virgil was an autobiography but after watching the interview I learned it was not. Beatrice and Virgil is a well-researched book with many connections to the Holocaust, I did not know Yann Martel was so intrigued by the history of the Holocaust. Also, Henry the writer was a representation of a Holocaust Survivor with losing his desire to write just like the Jews lost their rights and voices during the holocaust. Additionally, Yann Martel puts animals in Beatrice & Virgil to broaden the Holocaust. For example, the rapid destruction of the environment to animals is similar to the destruction of Jews during the Holocaust. Also interesting, is how Yann Martel uses animals in his fiction. After watching the interview he uses animals because they are effective in telling a story for the reason that people are cynical about their own species but less with wild animals meaning the readers start to suspend disbelief and open themselves up to the book. Yann Martel is very intelligent when it comes to writing and that shows through his novel Beatrice & Virgil.
There are many written reviews of this book that appropriately summarize how I feel, so I will link to a few here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/05/17/beatrice-and-virgil, http://www.edrants.com/why-yann-martels-beatrice-and-virgil-is-the-worst-book-of-the-decade/, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126022215. However, I do feel that there are more deserving author's to talk about, so I will use this place to discuss a couple of my favorites, both recently as well as long term. First is Ruth Ozeki, an author who combines fictional narrative and personal narrative much the same way that Martel does, but she does so in a way that you are drawn to for her downfalls rather than turned away from her downfalls. She looks to merge social issues of the present and past, especially concerning race, war, and politics. She artfully looks at issues and interprets them without diminishing their historical importance and does not talk where she does not belong (i.e. Martel speaking for Jews in Beatrice and Virgil). I am currently reading her latest book, A Tale for the Time Being, and would highly recommend it. It is both interesting and impactful, and certainly worth the read. Another one of my favorite authors is Jeffrey Eugenides, author of works such as The Suicide Virgins, Middlesex, and my personal favorite The Marriage Plot. Each of Eugenides books single narratives that branch far reaching topics not related to each other. They do not piggy back off the others success, and you can tell in his writing that Eugeindes truly enjoys his craft. In my opinion he is a master writer deserving of all the praise in the world for writing such distinct stories with different narrators and different opinions. You can tell all his books are written by the same author because of his writing style rather than his plot devices, and I love him for that. He is able to write about very important things without making them unbearably heavy. The Virgin Suicides discusses suicide from the point of view of the boys living across the street, but you can feel the support the boys have for the girls. Similarly in Middlesex, Eugenides writes about the important and often overlooked condition of being Intersex in a way that you are able to relate to while certainly not having much relation to that subject. Eugenides has so much respect for the topics he writes about and writes about them in a way that you can feel the respect. Martel instead struggles with this, saying that he has been silenced by the holocaust when he certainly hasn't: writing a bad book and people not wanting it to be published does not mean you've been silenced, it means it is a bad book. I feel that both Ruth Ozeki and Jefferey Eugenides are authors deserving of more readers, and that is why I chose to instead write about them here.
Based on the video, I have a completely different view of the book and Yann Martel's motives behind the book. The interview let me see deeper into the novel and made me realize that a lot of the novel has meaning. Furthermore, Martel is an educated man with an abundance of knowledge about the holocaust. He has a lot of insight, and his mind seems to be constantly stimulated. Yann Martel is no doubt a deep thinker who tries to apply meaning in several different ways throughout the novel. As I suspected, the animals were purposely put in the novel just like they were in Life of Pi. The animals serve as the central characters and have human characteristics. After watching the interview, I also came to the realization that Yann Martel takes a lot of time to write his books, and he includes an abundance of details. He has a very unique style of writing and that is partially why I enjoyed the novel.
Yann Martel is a brilliantly calculated man. During this interview, he talked a lot about why he wrote the books—Beatrice and Virgil, and Life of Pi—and the goals and inspirations that came along with it. He stated he always wanted to answer a question that he had through his fiction, whether that be the difference between faith and fact, or how art can deal with tragedy. Although he didn't mention it, one of my favorite aspects of Martel's writing is how he seems to always have some amount of separation between the narrative and himself. In Life of Pi, Pi was telling the story to a journalist so the normal two layers existed: The writer and the one telling the story. You had to frequently remind yourself that Martel was the one writing, not the journalist in the story. The same happens in Beatrice and Virgil. It's just one more example of Martel's brilliant writing.
When watching this video, Yann Martel continuously shows how he portrays himself and his novels. He does an exceptional job by telling the listeners that he sees his novels differently as we might. Although he doesn’t give away certain ideas, he still makes it very understanding. I think by watching this video and reading “Beatrice and Virgil” I understand the book a lot better now. Yann Martel does a great job of clearing things up and helps readers understand why he did certain things throughout the novel. I think the fact that he writes the novel so unique makes his novels so interesting. He definitely has a unique style to his writing. I think that it is also interesting how he uses animals instead of people. I think it is easier to portray what the character will be like when it is a person, and by making it an animal it makes the reader think more and have to come up with their own ideas on how the character should be portrayed. By watching this video, I understand and appreciate Yann Martel more as a writer.
I think that this video provides a small bit of explanation as to why Yann Martel puts so much distance from himself and the author of his books. This might sound outrageous, but in each one of his books that we have read, there is a story and an author. This author in both of these books is NOT Yann Martel, which to me makes it feel like Martel is trying to put distance between himself and the position of being the author of his books. In my opinion, it sets him up as less of an author and more of a creator. Maybe this device he is using is a type of defense mechanism, or maybe it's just a device for him to add another layer of symbolism in his stories. I think that through this video I have seen Martel as more of a creator and less of a person trying to distance himself from his work. He also explains some things about his novels that clears up some questions. Specifically about animals and how art can help to cope with atrocity.
Yann Martel is a man who is a creative artist far beyond his years. He's able to convey and create stories and characters that become so relatable and interesting. He knows how to plan his novels accordingly, and he has a plan for every word he types. After watching the interview and his discussion about "Beatrice and Virgil", I got a better understanding of the novel. It is a novel that is sometimes confusing, but now that he went into a little more detail about it, it makes much more sense and I appreciate it more. He made readers of all his books visualize his characters and make them look like real people. "Life of Pi" seems like a fairy tale, because it is so visually pleasing and the detail within the story is unreal. Mr. Martel pays extra close attention to detail to things that seem to be less important, but when it comes to miscellaneous objects that come up later n the book, there seems to be the least amount of detail. He reels in readers with his lack of details at times. Mr. Martel is a fantastic writer and I appreciate his works more and more as I look back on them.
Yann Martel gives us an insight into a few of the books he has written. I thought it was very interesting how he explains why he uses animals. He says that people have a harder time believing other people, so it is harder for writers to get them to believe and still tell the story. Then he explains this is why he likes to use animals in his writing. People know the animals, but they do not fully know how they would react in a situation. This makes easier for the reader not to doubt the author. I never fully understood why he wrote with animals until I watched this video and he explained this. I find this writing style wonderful and helps the readers observe the reading without questioning the author. Now knowing this information, I believe there were no animals on the lifeboat in Life of PI; this was a way for Pi to make his story more meaningful. Pi creates the story to keep himself sane on the lifeboat and something for him to look forward to.
If Yann Martel never again publishes a book, we will all be better for it. Martel is one of the most arrogant and pretentious people I’ve read, and his writing is lazy and lackluster. Martel’s problem can be summed up by the following: He overthinks the importance of his input. There are many people who need to learn how to shut up, sit down, and listen. I’m tired of reading the insight of people who don’t know what they are talking about, and seeing others take their word as expert knowledge. While this applies more to factual knowledge, I think it relates to creative fiction. Martel thinks lived experience is not important to the creation of a story, which may explain the lifelessness of his writing. Martel’s books lack interesting plotlines. For Postmodern writing, this is okay–if the book has anything else of substance. Does Martel’s? Not only are the plots weak or nonexistent, the characters have minimal growth, and that’s being generous. Anyone beyond the main character is a stock character, in both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil. For abstract art to be great, one has to be a skilled artist, and I think this applies to Postmodernism as well. His writing is contradictory, and fails to be ironic as the mess he creates doesn’t add to the story’s tone or its themes. Allegories work based on the readers’ projections of the symbols, and he claims animals allow readers to not have biases about the story, but...says donkeys and monkeys are fit to represent Jews because they...are stereotypes? He wants to think he is asking big questions, but his books amount to streams of pseudo-profound monologuing that stand for nothing. With Life of Pi, he had some ideas that he clung too tightly to, unwilling to let go of them in the interest of improvement. And his main idea for Life of Pi wasn’t even an original idea, so even if the two novels were quite different, the most important thing about Martel’s book was lifted. With Beatrice and Virgil, Martel wanted to write about the Holocaust (or how we process and discuss trauma) and his struggles writing. So he made up another writer to distance himself from the book, spun a wheel to choose what animals he would use this time (just kidding, he picked them based on anti-semitic stereotypes), and decided on a bunch of allusions, all of which he was too lazy to incorporate seamlessly into his story. Instead, he settled on throwing big names at the reader to give the allusion of thoughtful writing. When I read about his thoughts on India, I knew he was another white man not worth the time.
This video was very captivating to watch. Yann Martel is an amazing writer as seen in both Beatrice & Virgil and life of Pi. Martel is also a great speaker. In this video he talks about how he came up with the idea of the novel and it is genius. He talks about how he has always been interested in the holocaust but was always afraid to write about it because he is not jewish and he cannot relate to the horrible event using a human disguise. That is how he decided to use animals in his stories. He wanted to write about it differently, using this talking animal ploy he was able to write about it without having to try to pretend to be anything else. I also think that it is quite amazing how much research and time he invests into his novels. He read multiple books on the holocaust and even visited Auschwitz. He has been writing for 20 years and has only written four novels. I really enjoyed listening to this video because you can really hear just how brilliant Yann Martel is.
Martel said that he uses his books to investigate further into a question that he has about something. In Beatrice and Virgil, Martel wanted to show how he thought that an artist would express the Holocaust, which I think is a unique viewpoint. He has an interest in the Holocaust and wanted to write about it even though he is a complete outsider. It took him years to research and gather information on this book and I think that that really shows how authentic he manages to make each of his books. Martel uses animals because he finds them great at expressing a story and he also strives to break animals out of just children literature. He thought that approaching the Holocaust using animals would be a unique way of trying to represent the Holocaust. Martel also really tried to distinguish himself from the main character, Henry, due to the fact that he didn’t want Beatrice and Virgil to seem autobiographical, because it’s not. He also tried to give Henry Jewish characteristics that also didn’t fit Martel himself. I think that it was important for Martel to distinguish himself from Henry because I definitely saw some major parallels between the two of them. Overall, I think that Martel’s style of writing is very effective and unique and I enjoy reading his books.
I found this video very interesting. I have been wondering why he always uses animals in his book and he answered that question. He said he does not understand why animals are only used in children books because he does not see a tiger being childish. I found that response very intriguing. He also says that he writes each book about something he is interested in which I find very cool. I personally like Yann Martel's style of writing. I did not love the book Beatrice and Virgil but I loved the book Life of Pi. I like how he relates people to animals and how he inserts ideas that the readers have to discover. I think the new book that he is writing sounds very interesting and I would want to give it a try. The fact that it has to deal with teachers and leaders and how a chimpanzee deals with it. I find it interesting about how he will relate a chimpanzee to people.
The video was very interesting and gave me insight to what drives Martel to write what he writes and how he writes. Life of Pi was an outstanding novel. Easily, it can be deciphered that Martel put a lot of effort into each aspect of the book. It was larger than life and thought-provoking; I was completely engaged throughout the book. In this video, Martel describes his motivations behind Beatrice and Virgil. After reading the book and forming my overall low opinion of Beatrice and Virgil, the video seemed to be more of Martel's defense. I appreciate the effort that he puts forth into each of his works—spending years to research and compose is not something to be overlooked. His writing style is flawless. It describes elaborately without becoming too verbose. He evokes emotions and creates emotional verisimilitude. Life of Pi has truly been a shining star for Martel. He has shown his potential for being a phenomenal writer; unfortunately, Beatrice and Virgil doesn't seem to quite live up to his potential.
Yann Martel is a very interesting writer. He has been writing for many years and yet only has a few novels to show for it, although these novels have been highly praised and successful. This is because he takes his time in writing these novels so that he can be sure that they are crafted in the way he wants them to be. One example of this deliberation is in Beatrice and Virgil, where Martel says that he wanted to make it obvious to the reader that the play the taxidermist was writing was a story about the Holocaust. He did this so that he could talk about the way that people talk about the Holocaust and the similarities between it and the treatment and extinction of certain species of animals. I also find it interesting that he realizes that he is one of the few authors that includes animals as a part of his adult fiction stories, and accepts that it may be the reason why people are attracted to his novels so much.
In this video, Martel talks about different aspects of himself and his writing. Martel likes to be in an expert in what he writes about, which I think helps his writing a lot. I thought it was interesting that people think that his stories are autobiographies about his life even though he says that they are not. I think that he might use some of his own life experiences in his books even though he says they are not about his own life. I think this because his stories and life seem to line up often. Often people say that there are no new things to write about so I think Martel attempted to find a "new" topic with his different approach to the Holocaust for Beatrice and Virgil. This different approach shows his intelligence and passion for writing. People may bash Beatrice and Virgil but Martel was just trying to make something new for people to read.
Listening to this interview helps understand Martel’s purpose to writing this novel. In the interview he comes straight out and says he has no personal experience with the holocaust and almost says that he doesn’t deserve to write about it in human characteristics. He explains that the reason he chose to write about the holocaust with animals was because as he said we are “very cynical about our own race”. The purpose behind the animals was not to try and say that Jews are less than people or animals themselves but rather to try and get the reader to tear down their presumptions in order for them to hear the story from another point. I however do not agree with him when he said you could compare the extinction of animals with the holocaust. I do not believe there is any relations between these two events and I believe it was a very demeaning and foolish comment to make and downplays the significance of the holocaust.
Watching the interview of Yann Martel was very interesting. I’ve never watched an author talk about his novel so it was engaging to listen to the reasons for why he wrote Beatrice and Virgil. Yann Martel was very open and straightforward about why he wanted to write about the holocaust. It is a topic that had always interested him but he didn’t think he was in the social group that allowed him to write about it. He understands that part of his book was autobiographical and he connects to the character Henry. I enjoyed hearing why he used animals so much in his stories. He is using them to try and rid of bias from people reading the story and have a more artistic, storytelling lens when reading. I personally don’t think that animals were the best choice for this particular story because the Holocaust was real and it was people that went through that horrific event, not animals. My favorite part of the book was the Games for Gustav because it really allowed the reader to think about what it would be like to be in some of the situations the Jews were put in.
Yann Martel is an extremely brilliant man. I love how he explicitly says in the interview that he takes his time when writing his novels. You can see this effort clearly throughout his published works. The fact that he wrote Life of Pi in exactly 100 chapters by using an envelope for each shows the thought and planning he put in to his writings. I actually really enjoyed his use of varied short and long chapters in Life of Pi. On the other hand, I definitely feel that his use of no chapters was much more effective in Beatrice and Virgil. The book is only separated a few times, and not by using a title or chapter number, but a simple extra spacing. This layout formed a much more cohesive reading of a novel that needed that level of cohesiveness. I love the amount of detail that Martel puts into his works. In Beatrice and Virgil, a prime example of this is the description of a pear. This description of the pear went far beyond any that I had read before. These factors put together is making Yann Martel one of my favorite authors.
After watching the video it is clear to see that the book Beatrice and Virgil deeply intrigued Martel. He is in no way connected to the Holocaust by religion or decent but he has always been interested in the topic. He wanted to write a book that he could relate to but is not directly biographical. The writer in the story is not exactly Martel but is similar in many ways. Things such as playing the clarinet and acting Martel does not do. Many find the very typical similarity of animals in both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil and there are many reasons Martel uses them. He believes animals are very interesting and another reason is he believes animals should be used in more than just child books. Adult books need the use of animals as representation and he does not see what is childish in a tiger. Martel overall use many deep thoughts in his writing and Beatrice and Virgil is definitely no exception to that. Hailey Stengel
After watching Yann Martel’s interview about Beatrice and Virgil, I understand the book a little better. He is in no way connected to the Holocaust by religion or descent, but he has been fascinated by the holocaust for a long time. I love how he used a fascination that he loves that he incorporated into a book. The writer in the story is not exactly Martel, but in a way he is. He puts in things like playing clarinet and being an actor, so people do not think that he is in the book. Martel uses animals because they are interesting. Another reason he uses animals is that many adult books do not use animals. He doesn’t understand what is childish about a tiger. He expresses that every animal goes on the endangered list and how they become extinct, just like how the Jews were almost extinct during the holocaust.
From the video, I can tell that Yann Martel is a very intelligent man. He talks in a very intellectually stimulating way and understands deeper concepts that most people don’t think about in their day to day lives. He discusses the core parts and ideas of the holocaust and how he portrayed it in his novel, Beatrice and Virgil. In the interview, Martel also gave us some insight on why he chose to use animals to portray these deeper themes in his books. He said that animals often help the readers to put aside their disbelief, bringing them closer to the book. If he uses animals to portray these evils then his readers are more likely to believe them. This is shown in Life of Pi. Everyone is quick to believe that Pi could have lived with the Tiger on the boat, but at the end when Pi comes up with the human version of the story they are repulsed and don’t want to think about it.
Yann Martel is a very intelligent and interesting author. When he is writing, he does not care about what would be typical or predictable in his stories. He likes to go against status quo and write about what he finds important. He also draws his inspiration from many different authors and events. In Beatrice and Virgil in particular, is references countless classic books and authors and uses their work within his own. This variety also allows each one of his books to be unique and different from the last. One fairly constant theme in Martel’s books would be the use of animals as characters. In the interview, he states that he finds animals intriguing and wants to do away with the idea that they are only meant for children’s stories. He makes a very interesting point when he asks, what is so childish about a tiger or a monkey? Martel also uses animals because he thinks it allows him to tell the story in a better and more impactful way without confusion.
Before watching this video, I did not fully grasp how intelligent Yann Martel was. However, afterward, I can now see that Yann Martel is very creative and intelligent. In every book, he shows us a new way of shaping a book. However, I will say that many of his characters grow and if they are not the main character, they stay the same. However, his books are brilliantly crafted and cause the reader to think more deeply about the true meaning of the book. This interview lets me see deeper into each of his novels and made me realize that every part of his books has a specific purpose. I also thought it was very fascinated with his choice of always having animals present in his book. Not only are they present, but they all have a specific meaning behind them, especially in the book Beatrice and Virgil. Overall, I believe that Yann Martel is a brilliant man with wonderful ideas.
I was interested and refreshed when Martel said that he writes his books for himself. Recently, I think so many authors and artists create only because they know what their base likes. At first, That is what I thought of Beatrice and Virgil. Though the subject matter is much different, I noted his use of animals again; But when he said that he uses animals as a mature way to change the way we look at stories, I feel like I started to understand him more as an author. Not only is he extremely informed about whatever subject he is writing about, whether it is religion or the holocaust, but he is so passionate about what he writes. Even though I may like some of his novels more than others, I have so much respect for him as an artist because his first goal is to write about what he is interested in, and the success can come from there.
Yann Martel brought up many interesting points. I agree with what he sort of describes as a stigmatized environment around the holocaust which people don’t really write or create art about it if they were not involved with it in any fashion. There lacks a certain amount of derivation from the subject matter, which may be done out of respect, but it is still interesting to note. Martel also brings up the point that people are naturally cynical towards other humans but are more open to abstract ideas if delivered through animals. Martel also feels like animals aren’t portrayed in an adult setting as much as they should be. He points out that there is nothing childish about animals really. I found Martel’s dialogue about how he came up with the idea of Life of Pi. His journey through India was what he said was one of the biggest influences on it. He also commented on how the book was born out of a reflection of how he viewed the nature of facts and faith. He had “a fatigue of being reasonable”, making him want to write something that explores these notions. Overall, Martel’s writing is always meant to be thoughtful and to explore a question without necessarily answering it.
The thing that interests me about Yann Martel is that he wrote this book as someone who is completely disconnected from the Holocaust. As a white man of French European descent, he has no connection to the actual events and wrote the characters as someone who is looking form the outside. A lot of people think that this book is autobiographical because it is about an author but he just need something to fill in the character and archetype of the Jewish culture and he decides to make the character an author. It is interesting to see that he uses animals to describe Jews during the holocaust and that the Taxidermist saw them that way during the time of his writing of the play. During this time, he was apparently struggling with his own novel like the author in the story and he just decided to write the book about something that interests not only himself but with the author of the story.
Yann Martel’s interview was incredibly fascinating. He brought up many interesting points and things to think about. One of my favorite things he said was that he wrote Life of Pi because he was tired of being reasonable. I think that is a good tip for anyone writing a story, or trying to think outside the box. Beatrice and Virgil also seemed to follow this mantra because while it was entirely unreasonable, it had a sort of believable quality that kept me reading. In the interview, Martel said he likes to write with animals because we are less cynical of them, which also makes the stories more believable. I also thought it was interesting that he posed the question, “What is childish about a tiger?” I think he could write an entire book on that! Martel mentioned that his next book will be about three chimpanzees who illustrate the importance of teachers. Knowing Martel and his writing style, it sounds intriguing, yet about absolutely unrelated subjects. I can’t wait to read it!
I found Yann Martel's interview quite interesting. His personable character made it easy to comprehend the point and emotion he was trying to get across to viewers. After watching the video I feel much more informed about his reasoning behind the plot of the novel. Although Beatrice and Virgil was not a favorite story of mine, I was able to understand the importance of reading it. Martel made the video quite captivating and I was able to learn a lot. One thing I had thought wrong about the novel was that Henry the writer was supposed to be somewhat of a character based off of Martel. However, after listening to his interview. I learned Martel did not mean for that to be the case. His use of the talking animals instead of humans was clever because as he explained humans are much more cynical about other humans. I was very impressed with the research he did and amount of time he spent learning everything he can about the Holocaust in order to make it realistic and moving.
After reading Yann Martel's novels and watching his interview, I have found a new respect for his work. Before watching the interview, I thought that Martel's work was much more scripted rather than thoughtful. During the interview he explains his novels and the deeper meaning he implies, this made me realized how brilliant he is in his works. When I started to read Beatrice and Virgil I was disappointed in the literary devices and flow that he used. The interview made me realize that he did this purposely, allowing the reader to imply more thought into the book. The interview did not convince me that Beatrice and Virgil is better than Life of Pi, but it did convince me that the story is meaningful. I liked knowing that he used the holocaust references with thoughtfulness, rather than with idiocy. Through Beatrice and Virgil, Martel created a great, yet annoying, book.
As I was watching this video, I could clearly see the dedication that Yann Martel has for his books. He is very involved in them, even the ones he wrote long ago. Martel said he used animals in his books because he was interested in animals. I think that it was very smart of him to do that because other people are very intrigued by animals too. The use of animals makes his books different than other books. I can tell that he thinks out every little thing very carefully. He said that he is very interested in the Holocaust and I like that he realizes he doesn’t know everything about it. He isn’t Jewish and he has no relation to it and he realizes that. Many Holocaust authors may claim they are experts even though they weren’t there. He has a passion for his books and that really makes his books more meaningful than most.
The interview was very interesting to me. Martel seems like a very observant person; I enjoyed when he said "Animals are usually used in children's books but I don't know why... I don't see anything childish about a tiger, or a monkey". This comment was intriguing to me because there really are not that many adult novels that centralize around animals. I also think that the way Martel used Henry as a stand-in for himself being an Eastern European Jew was very clever, making Henry very interested in the arts similar to a lot of Jewish people back then. How he relates the Holocaust to today's environmental detriments is great. Martel saying that species are killed every year and that it is similar to the suffering that the Holocaust victims went through shows that he cares for the environment which I think is great. Overall, I learned a lot about the books motive and Yan Martel.
Yann Martel's interview gave me immense insight into his thought process and inspiration for his books. He is an extremely inspiring individual because he not only successfully does what he loves, but he also provokes thought through his writing. I love that he writes about whatever he wants, rather than writing what he thinks will sell well. Too many authors write for the readers, but Martel writes to answer the questions he has. Not only does he satisfy his questions by researching and writing stories, but he also forces readers to think in new and unexpected ways. His Games for Gustav pose questions that make readers uncomfortable, but by being uncomfortable, readers grow by making hard decisions. To answer his questions you have to dig deep into your personal morals and decide for yourself what is right and wrong. I enjoy Martel's works because they have a long-lasting impact on me.
After watching the video and reading Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil, I realized that Yann Martel is an extremely smart individual. Also, I think he writes his novels in a very interesting and unique way. While reading, I was wondering why Yann Martel used so many animals throughout his novels. In the video, he said that he does this because he doesn't know why animals are used only in children's stories. I think that it is so creative to use animals within his novels. After watching the video, I feel like I understand the meaning behind Beatrice and Virgil a little bit more and why the book was written the way it was. I think the way that he ties the Holocaust into the story is very interesting and creative. I now understand how much time, effort, and thought Yann Martel puts into his novels. Overall, I think that this video was very helpful and I feel like I understand much more about Martel’s novels and Yann Martel, himself.
Since finishing Beatrice and Virgil, and now watching this interview, it is easy to see the mindset of Yann Martel and how it is displayed in his writing. Martel talks in a very similar way to his writing which is very intellectual and descriptive. He spends most of his time researching for his novels and then applies the knowledge in a way that makes sense to him. What is interesting about this is sometimes it doesn't make sense to the reader. I found the same confusion I experienced when reading his book as I did with watching this interview. He is a very intelligent and I think his mind works in a very different way compared to what is viewed as normal. His thought process is very much scattered and a higher level than what is common and he very much phrases things in ways I have never heard them before.
From the video interviewing Yann Martel, I enjoyed how he explained Beatrice and Virgil and his reasoning behind the novel. I think that Martel’s reasoning behind wanting to write the novel. I can appreciate a writer taking a new approach to the Holocaust, and creating a fictitious story about the event that holds some truth to it. Although, I do not like Martel’s approach. I wish that Martel would have looked at The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and learned from his approach at the Holocaust.
I have said it numerous times, but I think that this novel is simply a long short story that was stretched to meet 200 pages. I find the timeline of the book to be too drawn out and rushed to finish, also the fact that Martel includes the work of others authors makes him a lazy writer. Instead of creating a story of his own, he used the words of others. I think to create an interesting novel Martel should have expanded on the play he wrote, and pair with an essay or something of the sorts. Like Henry the author, Martel could have created a flip book and a more interesting and appealing novel.
After watching this interview about Yann Martel explaining his thoughts behind Beatrice and Virgil, it made me think more about his work. I personally believe Yann Martel is an extremely intelligent person, but I do not think he displayed that in his two books that we have read. Although I think Life of Pi was a better book than Beatrice and Virgil, I just did not enjoy them as much as the other books we have read. I think that by him using animals to depict people in the Holocaust was insensitive. Although, I get that more people would have been upset if he were to have Beatrice and Virgil be people since he did not have the first-hand experience with the Holocaust. I think that by using animals in his work, it made the readers think more so it would seem more believable, but animals in modern-day books are usually used in children’s books so it was a weird take on his part. Although I believe Yann Martel had great success with his books, I personally did not enjoy them as much as others I have read in this class.
Personally, I think that Martel is not worth anyone's words, thoughts, or time to talk about him. He is a narcissistic, pathetic excuse for a writer and his works reflect him perfectly. So instead of wasting my time, I'm going to talk about something that is actually important and relevant to society. The movie "The Emporer's New Groove" is one of the most underrated movies of all time and I think that we need to all know why. It is most certainly not for its lack of amazing comedic timing or its exquisite use of breaking the fourth wall, but rather its, sadly, way more technical than that. First of all, it is one of the last movies in the Disney renaissance (aka the classic Disney movies we know and love today) and it followed two flops of traditional ways of storytelling, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Hercules". Ergo Disney decided to change the original storyboard for the movie from a "Prince and the Pauper" esque tale to the buddy comedy we all know and love today. Unfortunately, the director of the film quit during this change and they were not expected to meet the 2000 release date. And on top of that, they were beaten to the box office by another buddy comedy about the Incan empire "The Road to El Dorado". (I quite frankly love both of these movies but The Emporer's New Groove is out of The Road to El Dorado's league.) Realizing the mess it has turned into Disney productions shifted the funds to its other project at the time "102 Dalmations" (how awful right?). Therefore it didn't see as much press and made the second worst box-office debut of the renaissance movies. But despite all the cards being stacked against them I can go up to just about anybody my age and ask them if they have seen this movie and they will say with a grin of happy memories that yes they have seen this wonderful movie. And I think that a movie that can rise from its own pitfalls and become a kidhood cult(ish) classic is a story worth telling, unlike Martel's Beatrice and Virgil which is a book about his own pitfalls of making this very book and it. still. flopped.
Yann Martel is different than any other author whose books I have ever read in my life. His styles in composing his books are so unique in many different ways. For example, the structure in which he puts his books together is very peculiar but effective. In Life of Pi, the chapters were spread out one for each envelope that he had. They were very terse and meaningful. Whereas in Beatrice and Virgil there were no chapters at all! Another unique piece of his literature that I have noticed is his tendency to write very long lists with more description than some authors have throughout their whole book. Book critics and other readers can obviously tell Martel spends much time thinking and planning his literature out in order to be perfect. My favorite part about Yann is his outlook on using animals in adult literature! Like he said, talking animals are usually limited to children's books and Martel incorporates them into his books carefully. As he said in the video, it opens up the reader's disbelief and allows him to tell his story. Martel deliberately plans out everything in his books from the opening sentence to the closing statement. Martel is brilliant.
I think Yann Martel is a good author, and has some interesting ideas. Life of Pi an artistic story between a boy and a tiger. Beatrice and Virgil, on the other hand, is a book a lot of readers probably will not understand until the last few pages. Personally, I thought the book was confusing and odd, but I did appreciate the effort to bring elements of the Holocaust into it. I think learning about what happened is historically and morally important. Yann Martel seems like an intelligent guy, and he tries to be different in his writing style. I appreciate this, as sometimes books can seem like they only fit a certain mold. His use of animals is intriguing, and I like the parallels between humans and animals. Beatrice and Virgil is a mediocre book in my opinion, because of how confusing and odd it is. I did enjoy the dialogue between Beatrice and Virgil, and it was entertaining enough to keep me wanting to turn the page.
Yann Martel is very unique compared to other authors of books I have read previously. The way he proposes himself brings out the intelligence he has. After reading Life of Pi I noticed how much thought and research had to be put into a book that had 100 chapters of pure intelligence. The way he composes himself really makes me want to read more and more about him and more of his stories. I like how he said that humans know animals but not all animals know humans. I agree with him. The Holocaust has always been interesting to me, so Beatrice and Virgil was a book that I was excited to read about. Although it was not what I was expecting, this interview helped explain it to me. The way he includes himself in his books was very odd to me because I have never read a book where I know so much about the author. I think Yann and I would be good friends because of our similar interests.
After learning more about Yann Martel as an author and person, and after reading his novels, I have found this man to be a very interesting character himself. He is a man who has a passion for the arts and believes in the power of reading and traveling to better yourself and to become more well-versed in the ways of the world. After watching an interview with Martel, I found it comical that he decided to send his prime minister classic books every 2 weeks for 4 years to help better expand the views of his country's leader. Things such as this just show how much he can use irony and different ways of approaching ideas using art and writing. For example, in Beatrice and Virgil, he chose to use a different method of exploring the holocaust through fiction and a more artistic way of portraying it. I appreciate that he gets that not all people will like his books or writing and that he will still be content is people don't like his novels as long as they take the courage and determination to read it and open their eyes to it. I enjoy the descriptive nature and figurative language that Martel inundates his writings with because it makes his novels more realistic even if they are fiction. Mostly, I enjoy Yann Martel as an author because he takes different approaches to telling stories, for example, using animals in all of his stories instead of only humans. After reading Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil, I am tempted to read his newer novel, High Mountains of Portugal, especially because he started working on this novel before even Life of Pi. Overall, I really enjoy his writing and agree with his ideals of art and the power that every type of art holds.
Yann Martel is an outstanding writer who writes very well thought out books. I found it interesting in the video when he goes to talk about how he likes to write with animals as characters. Not many other authors use them because they are usually linked to kid books. He likes to break that norm because he can empower them with so much meaning. I think that including them in the book Beatrice and Virgil is beneficial. It makes such a tragic event a little less hard to read. Reducing all this power into them to move readers is his main goal. Another thing that Martel does is include his games at the end of the book. These questions are so open-ended and allow everyone to think about the very arduous situations people have been put in. Overall, I learned a lot about the author and the novel from this interview.
Yann Martel clearly cares deeply about each of his novels with the number of details, symbols, and verisimilitude in his writing. In an interview, Martel talks about just how much attention he puts into each of his books. Each story takes at least 5 years to write including studying the culture and perspectives he will be writing about. In the interview Martel said his story Life of Pi was inspired by a trip to India, however, he didn’t stop there; he continued to do more research by reading a Brazilian novel and produce his story slowly and carefully. Other than his dedication, the thing I found most interesting about Martel’s interview was his different perspective. He stated that he becomes “fatigued with being reasonable” meaning he wants to approach the readers in a unique way. In Beatrice and Virgil, Martel’s goal was to not only move the readers emotionally but also stimulate them intellectually. I enjoyed learning more personal characteristics about such an amazing author, this video gave me a larger understanding of each of Martel’s stories which allows me to appreciate their complexity so much more.
I think that this video provides a small bit of explanation as to why Yann Martel puts so much distance from himself and the author of his books. First, I thought Beatrice & Virgil was an autobiography but after watching the interview I learned it was not. Beatrice and Virgil is a well-researched book with many connections to the Holocaust, I did not know Yann Martel was so intrigued by the history of the Holocaust. He has a lot of insight, and his mind seems to be constantly stimulated. Yann Martel is no doubt a deep thinker who tries to apply meaning in several different ways throughout the novel. t was interesting to me that Martel was able to form such a deep and complex book from an event that he had literally no relation to, except for the fact that he found it interesting. Martel was able to start from nothing and form an incredible literary work all because he was intrigued by the Holocaust and he was driven and passionate to write about it.
Yan Martel is an incredible writer and a brilliant person. In many ways, his descriptive portions can be long and drawn out, but in the long term, I've grown to appreciate them. Movies can capture every detail and essence of a scene from a 3rd person point of view, but you do not get the feel of a room from the main character. Martel has a way of describing a scene through the main character, such as in Beatrice and Virgil we as a reader can understand and process Henry's appreciation and admiration of the work of the taxidermist. He could have just said there were taxidermied animals, but Martel chose to make it an experience to walk into the taxidermy shop alongside Henery. I have also grown to appreciate the medium of animals, in reflection Martel is completely right about how people are skeptical of others, using animals is a brilliant way to surpass human cynicism.
After watching and analyzing this video, the talent of Yann Martel is crystal clear. Each and every aspect of his books are well researched and developed which shows that he puts careful thought into every sentence. He is a man with a passion for literature and a passion to open and expand the minds of readers. While watching this interview, I thought it was amusing how Martel would send books to his country's leader with the sole purpose of expanding the leader's views. This shows that Martel does have a great sense of humor as well as an expansive mind full of ideas. For example, Life of Pi is a fictional story about a man and a tiger, with exciting descriptions and events portrayed with a deeper meaning. Then, Beatrice and Virgil is a story that explores the true background of the Holocaust through fiction. This variation of writing is shows the process that Martel uses in order to develop such deep and meaningful stories and the excitement that Martel has for literature.
I very much enjoyed watching this interview with author, Yann Martel. Listening to him explain his motives for writing gives his readers a better understanding and appreciation for his books. I especially loved when Martel said that he usually writes to answer a specific (or non-specific) question he has about a topic. I found this incredibly intriguing because when reading, he has the reader ponder the same question. Knowing this, I have a new appreciation for the inconclusiveness of his books. We, as readers, are asking the same question Martel asked himself while writing his novel. Though Beatrice and Virgil was a novel that was a little too inconclusive for me, I can begin to understand Martel’s motives and reasoning behind it. I do love his writing and writing style. I have loved reading his novels so much that I definitely plan on reading more from this author in the future.
Yann Martel is a different guy compared to most of his league I would have to say in my opinion. He seems to be in a sense “encased” in irony which provokes more interest towards learning more about him as a person, not an author. He seems to be very passionate about what he creates for writing by using the style of personal experiences to influence his phenomenal stories. However, as being a person by throwing so much real life experiences to make a composition he turns it into the least expected of an abstract with talking animals. Martel is a determined, overly considerate person indeed after hearing what all information he compiled just to start on the work on Beatrice and Virgil. A man that treads that far to make every detail “just to the point” shows dedication. This is what I find unique in Martel’s style and what drives him ever more to be the best at what he does and I truly respect him for it.
Yann Martel is an incredibly smart man and you can infer that just from the things he has written. Although “Beatrice and Virgil” didn’t seem to be as successful as “Life of Pi” was. “Beatrice and Virgil was overall a boring book compared to “Life of Pi”. By reading the things he has wrote I think has a very interesting mind. I think his style of writing is so intriguing for many reasons. He leaves some ideas unanswered for the reader to decide what they want it to mean. Although this can be somewhat annoying to not know what the author meant by it, I like how you can make some parts of his novels to relate to your own life by interpreting it in your own way. To me, the video really showed me how intelligent he really is. I think the time and all the thought he put into the novels he has written is amazing. I am also very excited to read his poetry to see how it compares to his novels.
I really like the fact that we studied two novels by the same author. By doing this not only did we study novels, but we studied the author. I feel like the author is very important to literature. Without the author, literature would be impossible. We would have nothing to study and enjoy. Watching this video gave me a little bit better of an understanding of Yann Martel and how he writes. I really related to him when he said he writes to answer a question he has because I felt like I had questions answered also. By understanding how and why the author writes enhances the reading experience. I saw similarities in the style of writing in both “Life of Pi’ and in “Beatrice and Virgil.” It is just interesting to me to see that in books that are not a series. And I feel like I had an advantage because I figured out how to analyze and understand “Life of Pi” first, then I was already prepared to read “Beatrice and Virgil.”
I think Yann Martel is a very interesting person. He was born and raised in a wide range of places, which I believe is a good way to gain a multitude of viewpoints and opinions on a number of subjects, and which can make one quite well versed in the areas they wish to comment on. His novels, at least the ones we have read in class, are written in a way to minimize the amount that the reader assumes or comes into the novel with predetermined beliefs, and this allows his messages to be seen more clearly and cleanly without having to go to great lengths to break those beliefs beforehand. This is seen in the stark and alien settings and backstories he uses, as well as the abstract characters. This style is annoying to some, because they find it a challenge to read and interpret instead of other works, where the meaning is spoon fed to the reader.
Yann Martel is a great author which is evidenced by his great pieces of literature such as Life of Pi. In this interview, he states that every novel is autobiographical when talking about Beatrice and Virgil. There is a major difference however between Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil. The latter was not nearly as successful as the first. This could be for man reasons and I infer that a lot of it is that Yann Martel has a very unique mind that sees things differently from other people. This could explain why Beatrice and Virgil is liked by few and despised by many, because they simply don't understand Martel. I think that becomes even more evident when watching the interview that he gives. When you hear about how much work he put into the novel and the dedication he showed during the project, you can understand how much he cares about his works of literature. Overall, after looking back on the interview and the novel, I see Beatrice and Virgil in a whole new light that makes the story more sensible and appealing to me.
Yann Martel is a very interesting author that is very creative. LIfe of Pi was a very enjoyable book that peeked my interest. I also wanted to keep reading it. He has a very unique way of writing his novels. In the video, Martel says that people think Beatrice and Virgil is an autobiography, but he explains that he just wanted to write a book that relates to people but can also teach about the holocaust. I think that is very creative and I've never really seen another author do that. He has also used animals in his books which is usually unheard of because most books with animals are kid books. I believe the animals aspect make it easier for people to understand what he is trying to explain. In my opinion, Yann Martel is a very good author and he stands alone to me. He has become one of my favorite authors even though I did not enjoy Beatrice and Virgil like I enjoyed Life of Pi.
I found it really interesting the way he writes. He was describing it as though he was answering his own questions with books that he writes and that they have such an immense about of meaning behind them and looking at Life of Pi, it is just completely full of hidden meaning and things that could stand for something. I think hearing his way of thinking for Beatrice and Virgil sort of makes the book make more sense now, which I think I needed to here because I was really stuck wondering just like, what the heck. His way of being so interested in it that he wanted to write about it, but did not use a person standpoint since he was no way affected by the holocaust was interesting. It is for sure a different approach that I would have never thought of, and the way he used the animals was a lot more polite.
While conversing with my group during the Beatrice and Virgil forums, we found ourselves slightly agitated that Yann Martel would try to write about something that he has zero relation to, and has no personal experience with. Though most authors do not actually have the first-hand experience with whatever they are writing about, the holocaust is a very sensitive topic and only someone who genuinely knows the pain and horrors of it all should write about it. I found myself wondering why he would even attempt to write about something so fragile when he had nothing to do with it. Right off the bat in the video, he actually does make it known that has no relation to the holocaust but finds a great interest in it. He says that he finds more interest in it as an artist, rather than a citizen, and that actually irritates me a slight bit. I don't think there is anything artistic about the holocaust, and i don't think there are many other perspectives to take besides being completely horrified by the mass genocide. However, I can tell by his writing and by this video that Martel is a very well educated man, who does not tread lightly on the topic that interests him. He takes the topic and completely immerses himself in research to become as best educated about the topic to his ability, despite having no relation to it in the first place. If Martel had not spent years and years collecting knowledge for Beatrice and Virgil then I think I would have been more agitated. The fact that he went about so much research for the novel shows that he truly has respect about the holocaust, and had no intention of just trying to "wing it" with as much information he had in the initial beginning. He must have thought about readers and those who may have ties to the holocuast, and went about writing the novel so as to not offend or hurt anyone involved. He respects those involved (not the nazis) and has tried put himself in their shoes in order to perfect his novel. I really respect Martel for that.
Yann Martel is a unique author, and his writing style is incredibly unique to him. The way one can hear a song or watch a movie and recognize the artist behind it, the same goes for Martell's literature. I found it interesting when he says that every story he has written is in some way an autobiography. When an artist puts emotion into their work or a piece of themselves in their art, it makes the art much more powerful and impactful. This interview also, personally, saved the novel for me. On a surface level, I did not enjoy the novel and missed a lot of his intent behind it, but watching this interview has given me insight into the process behind it and his true intention in writing this novel.
I thought it was unique how Martel got his inspiration for writing. The way that animals helped facilitate the story to the readers was very effective and I appreciate the effort he went through to convey that. Displaying the savagery of our own race through the actions of animals is a brilliant way to convince readers that those actions are more plausible. I thought before that Martel meant to portray Henry as himself but apparently, that's just how it turned out to fit into his story. He also added in factors that made Henry different than himself by making him a musician and an actor to parallel the jew stereotypical archetypes. The destruction of the environment was also a way to parallel savage ways by having it represent the genocide that the Nazis were committing to the world. By wiping out a type of people, that is like wiping out an endangered species in nature and that is just another way to compare animals to the savagery and tragedy of mankind.
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I like how he said that every novel is in some ways an autobiography. Yann Martel writes about what he is interested in. Martel chose to use an autobiographical approach because that gives as sense of truth and reality, thus drawing the reader in. I further understood why Martel used the names for the animals that he did. Beatrice and Virgil were guides in Dante’s Comedy through hell, purgatory, and heaven. Martel pointed out that we need guides like that for the Holocaust. That makes more sense when one thinks of it that way, instead of thinking of the two separately. I am also glad Martel explained why he writes with animals. This whole video is answering questions I had about Martel himself as well as his book. Martel points out that humans know animals but they don’t know about animals. Martel uses that to “suspend readers’ disbelief”, he says. While belief is suspended, Martel can better tell his story.
Yann Martel is a smart guy and a genius when it comes to writing novels and stories. He not only has the ability to communicate themes and symbols through different mediums, like animals, but he accurately expresses himself through vivid imagery and wording. Yann Martel frequently uses animals in order to get his messages across, like showing the animal within a human (Pi). Through Beatrice and Virgil, he has been able to communicate themes that relate to the Holocaust. He tries to bring in the connection that people in the Holocaust were silenced, just like both of the Henrys in his novel are silenced, either by being done with writing or needing help writing. The two Henrys that can't speak serve his purpose and tell the story that Yann Martel is trying to tell. He also makes his novels into sort of an autobiographical story by including Henry as the narrator of Beatrice and Virgil. The autobiographical aspects in his works serve his purposes in telling his story.
Yann Martel seems like a very intelligent individual. He knows what he is talking about and has researched his information. He has an interest in the holocaust which aids to his writing of the book Beatrice & Virgil. He realizes the connection that readers can make to the book and writer Henry, to himself. Yann Martel gives an insight into why he does what he does. His explanation of Henry and the activities he participates in do have meaning. His idea of using animals instead of humans is very fascinating. He believes people are more likely to listen and feel a certain way towards animals that if the character was a human, they wouldn't feel that certain way. Yann's reason for writing this book is to apply the holocaust so we can compare and contrast certain thinking of things. I admire the research and work Yann Martel puts into each and every novel. He knows his subject that he is writing on and presents it in a very superb way.
I watched Yann Martel’s interview about Beatrice and Virgil. Yann Martel’s straightforward character and respect struck me. He was honest about his reasons for writing about the Holocaust from a different point of view. He used his history and family background as a reason for writing in a different style. He felt that there was writing styles he shouldn’t do because he wasn’t Jewish or his family wasn’t directly related to the Holocaust. This shows that he has respect for the survivors and those affected. Yet, he wanted to tell their story. This also shows respect because many of the Holocaust survivors or those closely affected have a hard time telling the story. He showed respect by telling their story in a unique way. He was straightforward in his interview. He didn’t use fancy or long words. He wasn’t worried about sounding intelligent. He wanted to sound real and relatable. His sense of forethought also showed. He addressed the fact that some readers might think the book was autobiographical. He did a great job of thinking of this possibility and addressing it. Yann Martel did an amazing job of being honest and relatable while addressing questions.
After watching this video of Yann Martel you can tell how intelligent he is and how much thought he puts into all parts of his novels. When he is writing he seems to always be well informed on his topics and know what he is talking about. I thought it was interesting the differences he made between himself and the author Henry from Beatrice and Virgil. Martel talked about how people sometimes think his stories are autobiographies even though he states they are not. Using his writing techniques he is able to make the novel seem more realistic and keep readers engaged. I liked that in Beatrice and Virgil, Martel used both Henrys lack of words to describe the loss of words to be used to describe the holocaust. Martel uses his writing to tell the history of the holocaust in a different way and express it in a new way. Martel is able to use all of these skills and more to create great novels that are entertaining and keep you thinking.
This video gives us a good understanding of how truly brilliant Yann Martel is. Every idea in his novels is well researched and composed in a certain way to add a certain effect. He uses animals instead of people in his novels to add a different flavor to his books, but also to get a different reaction and feel in his novels. Beatrice and Virgil is well-researched and gives a different view of the Holocaust. Martel's works keep a reader engaged and always thinking. During the entire time I was reading Beatrice and Virgil I was continuously wondering about what was going to happen next and how it was all going to wrap up in the end. Yann Martel does a good job at implying his opinions and ideas, but also allowing for the reader to interpret the novel differently. He doesn't force his ideas upon readers. Take Life of Pi for example, the ending was to be decided by the reader. He didn't write a clear ending; he wrote an ending, so readers could imagine for themselves what happened. He challenges readers to be just as creative as he is.
Watching this interview of Yann Martel helped me to better understand Beatrice & Virgil and learn a little bit more about Martel himself. I appreciated that Martel explained that while the story seemed autobiographical, it actually is not. His explanation of why and how this story is not about him helped me to eliminate some of the criticisms I had about Beatrice & Virgil. I also found it interesting that Martel intended for Henry to represent the European Jewish people’s well-known artistic ability by having him play the clarinet and be an amateur actor. Henry was also intended to be a representation of Holocaust survivors in the sense that he lost his creative abilities, just as they lost their voices. However, what I found most interesting about this interview was Martel’s explanation of his writing process. He revealed that he prefers to write slowly and that each of his books are his attempt to answer a question that he finds interesting. From learning about Martel’s writing process, to gaining more insight behind the meaning of Beatrice & Virgil, this interview was entertaining and enlightening.
This interview with Yann Martel gave me the understanding of how truly passionate and well-informed he is with the writing of his novels. From the beginning of Beatrice and Virgil, I assumed that Henry was a direct reflection of Martel himself. Turns out, Martel put in unique statements that made himself different from the character, this was so we (the readers) were able to relate Henry more to the novel itself rather than Martel. Along with that. the use of animals in both stories intrigued me. When I noticed the use of animals and animalistic characteristics in Beatrice and Virgil, the first thing I wanted to know was how it related to Life of Pi. Martel explained this in this video. He also stated that animals can play a large role in adult reading, not just children's stories, this was interesting to me because the way he portrays animals is much more realistic than a children's book, making it easier for us to relate and understand to the characters in his novels. Martel thinks out every sentence of his stories and leaves subtle hints and statements as to what he wants the reader to get from the stories. This becomes clear in his use of silence throughout the novel, relating to the subject of the Holocaust and how people are often lost for words. Yann Martel explained himself and his fantastic novels perfectly in this video.
Yann Martel is a pretty incredible individual. He is not only a literary genius, but also highly intelligent as well. He writes in his own style, a style that no other author writes like. His work does a great job at communicating symbols and themes through different characters, specifically animals. He also seems to include himself through different instances in his work, but differently in each instance. Martel definitely favors animals and spends most of his time using them to get his point across. Like in Beatrice and Virgil, he uses two animals to portray and related themes to a horrific event (Holocaust). In life of Pi, he creates his character as a animal in a human. But in Beatrice and Virgil, he focuses on the silence of the two characters; both the characters in the play and the two Henrys have a difficult time coming up with words either to describe the experiences or what the purpose is in the play. Geniusly enough, Martel always writes a strong connection between the author and the characters. He writes with purpose and wisdom, rather than to entertain or to teach in a way.
Wow, Yann Martel is so interesting. As I was watching the interview all I could think about how he is so personable. Yann Martel points out that usually animals are associated with children's books, however he does not understand this because what is childish about a tiger (his example). Each of his books use animals in a different way. "Beatrice and Virgil" challenges the norm. Yann Martell is writing about the holocaust, a very intense and horrific event. Flipping it to fiction could have been risky to the public eye if portrayed skewed. However, I believe since he is a complete outsider with no relationship to Jewish roots at all. It helps him to stray from telling "one side" of the story. His interest in the holocaust and animals combined to create "Beatrice and Virgil". Yann Martel is very creative. I am inspired by all his ideas to think out of the box.
Watching this interview of Yann Martel gave me more insight into him and his work. I feel that I now understand him and his brilliant works of art on a deeper level. He is truly a genius. I love that he puts so much time and effort into his work. I also like his approach to how he composes and develops his stories. Although they are very unique, his techniques and styles work very well for him. His novels "Life of Pi" and "Beatrice and Virgil" differ in a lot of ways, but they also share some of the same elements. I like how in the interview he explains why he uses animals to tell his stories. It makes perfect sense. Using animals allows the readers to disassociate the characters from stereotypes that they would have with people. And although they’re animals, we as readers can still relate to them or try to understand them. And I do like that his novels are almost like autobiographies. Yann Martel is one of the best storytellers ever.
While watching this video, I can see how intelligent Martel is. When he said that he has only written four books over about 20 years. This shows that he really works to include many details into his writing, giving the reader a more active reading experience. I think that it is also interesting how Martel can tell his stories almost like an autobiography. This is a unique writing style that gives the characters more realness in how they act. I think that Martel understands that readers will be skeptical so this is why he uses animals. In the video, he says that by using animals instead of humans readers are much more likely to read his story. I think the use of animals instead of people is a unique way to make stories relatable to events in history. He can draw readers in with his very unique style of writing with both the use of animals and the autobiographical style of writing.
Just because you are interested in a subject does not mean you should write about it. I think Yann Martel did a good job with his creativity in his book Life of Pi, even though there are many coincidences in the book that make it possible. Such as his experience with animals in zoos and all the things he found on the lifeboat that made it possible for him to survive. His next book I think it more confusing as to why it was written and why it was published. I think his way of trying to make the people animals in the book so that there is less stereotyping is more insensitive than it is smart. The whole Holocaust was Nazis making people in the camps feel more animal than human so I think his interpretation of this takes away any sensitivity to anyone who has gone through that. I think if you cannot write out the stereotype of a certain type of person and just turn them into animals is just a lazy way of writing and an easy way out. He thinks turning the people into animals takes that away but everyone stereotypes animals like donkeys are stubborn. I also think the way him trying to take away the stereotypes in the book but then him saying in the interview that he added the clarinet playing and acting because Jews are good musicians and actors just takes away any reliability he once had.
This video intrigued me in many more ways than one. The first thing I was interested in was the way Yann Martel writes. In Life of Pi, there is an author as an actual character. Similarly in Beatrice and Virgil, there is an author as an actual character. I have never heard of a novel or read one with that as a factor, so it was pretty ingenious and really effective. Having an author as a character helps the reader and pushes the reader to buy into what they are reading. In the beginning of Beatrice and Virgil, Henry the writer talked about his life as an author, and immediately I was engaged and interested. He talked about in the video why he uses animals in his story. This is a really effective and awesome thing he does. He said that people will suspend their disbelief and buy into the story if it’s not about humans. It helps him tell his stories better.
You can tell just by the way he talks and the way Martel describes his book in the ways he does that he is a very wise human being. Right in the beginning when he is just giving a summary of the book and does it so crisp and it is kind of cool to see the author of the book describe the novel he wrote because he is going to be the only person in the world that knows absolutely everything about that book that he wrote with his very own two hand. I like how he makes Henry a musician and multilingual because it is a good representation of the jews and it shows that he feels sympathy for the jews during the Holocause so that is exactly why he wrote about it in the way that he did.
From just watching this video, it is easy to see how intelligent Yann Martel really is. The way he describes and talks about his book is clear, concise, and every word is carefully considered. Not only is he smart, but he is also very witty and humorous, both in this video and in his writing. A cool part in the video that I liked was when he was talking about how he was not Jewish or German, and how he really had no connection to the Holocaust at all. However, he had a passion and an interest in the Holocaust, and that was why he decided to write about it. It was interesting to me that Martel was able to form such a deep and complex book from an event that he had literally no relation to, except for the fact that he found it interesting. Martel was able to start from nothing and form an incredible literary work all because he was intrigued by the Holocaust and he was driven and passionate to write about it. This credits Martel even more, as an author and a person.
Yann Martel is a very intelligent man that bases his novels off of things he reads, places he goes, and things that happen in his life. Yann Martel writes about what he wants to write and he says that he got lucky with the Life of Pi because it has sold so good. Yann Martel has been writing since he was twenty six and now he is forty six. He has only written three books in his life. Yann Martel writes slowy and carefully and writes about questions that he is interested in. He feels that his writing style has changed over time because he belives that over time he has gotten better. His next book is going to be about three chimpanzies in Portigul. Yann Martel hopes that his books move reader and provoke them as well because of the subject matter at hand. Yann Martel also hopes to write about teachers and how they effect our life and their styles.
Martel decided to write Beatrice and Virgil because of his interest in the Holocaust. He chose to animals mainly because of his background. Martel has no connection to the Holocaust; he is not Jewish and does not have any Eastern European descent. He thought because of this he couldn’t use people to tell the story, so he chose to use animals instead. Additionally, he says that readers are less critical of animals and tend to suspend their disbelief. If they can suspend their disbelief, Martel has won half the battle with getting readers on board for a story that covers such hard-hitting topics. He also feels that the symbolism for animals is infinite. Lastly, he likes to feel alone in his field and not crowded out by other writers. Animals are primarily used in children’s stories. However, he uses them for adult manners. Another reason he wrote Beatrice & Virgil was to bring notice to the cruel treatment of animals. He believes that this treatment of could become its own version of the Holocaust. Martel is very thorough in his research and his explanations on his books. You can tell that he is deliberate in his speaking as much as he is in his writing. After speculating over both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil it was fascinating to find out what Martel’s thinking was when writing the book and why he wrote the book in the first place.
Yann Martel is quite the intellectual. He has a very different outlook on how books should be written or portrayed. I like how he said that almost every book is an autobiography in some way. The writer can eclipse themselves into their book in small ways all over the novel. I also like how Martel questions other writers of his age on why they don't use animals to tell their stories. He believes that animals are great for storytelling and used in a metaphorical way. He commented on how humans are very cynical of our own species but are more open-minded and willing to accept things if it is done through a wild animal. I really do like how he admitted that he is not apart of "that group", the group of people having ties to the Holocaust. He grew up in Canada; his fascination with the Holocaust and wanting to write about can be said about anyone but he didn't want to write in a historical way. The way he uses Beatrice and Virgil, a donkey and monkey, and put them in a play and have two writers, one who doesn't write anymore and one who is stuck in his writing, to tell the story of the Holocaust is quite genius. Martel has done a fabulous job with Beatrice and Virgil and Life of Pi.
Yann Martel has made me view novels in a different way. I have always despised reading books and I have never been excited to finish a book. Martel's books have overall changed my opinion on reading. HIs books are completely different than the ones I would pick out in a library. I love how Martel questions other writers about the use of animals. In Life of Pi, he views zoos as great things. In Beatrice and Virgil zoos are seen as awful. Martel's intelligence shines through in this interview. You can really see how much effort he puts into his work. Something I have noticed in both of his books that I have read is that he puts a little bit of himself into his books. This really makes me be able to connect with him, the author. His honesty plays a huge role in the way others view him. He is completely honest about all of his responses. He has nothing to hide. He is a remarkable human being and I can't wait to be able to talk with him. Because of this interview, I now have a great understanding of his books and himself as well.
Yann Martel is a very accomplished writer and writes in very unique ways. This video gave me a greater insight into his thoughts about writing and how his books connect to his life. I thought it was interesting how he used Henry and the taxidermist as a symbol of the Holocaust and how it silences people, just like Henry and the taxidermist are stuck for words in their writings. I think that is a good connection that Martel made. He is a very honest man and I like how he understands that there are certain ways that he cannot write, like directly about the Holocaust because he is not Jewish or from around Eastern Europe. This shows his respect but interest. He is very intelligent and puts a lot of thought into his stories so he can write in styles that people are not used to. He uses his skills to write interesting and popular stories that keep readers intrigued.
You can tell from the video that Yann Martel is a very smart and intelligent man. He has a keen interest in the Holocaust which is able to help him in his writing of Beatrice and Virgil. He does he research, but also knows a lot about the information himself. The way he uses animals instead of human beings is very unique and I think very interesting. He tell us in the video why he does what he does and that the things he participates in all have some type of meaning. It was interesting listening to him describe the differences between himself and the author, Henry of Beatrice and Virgil. He states that sometimes people will think that his stories are autobiographies, although, they are not. Martel uses his writing to describe the Holocaust in a new and different way and I thought that was very fascinating. Martel always keeps us thinking and is always able to create great novels.
Yann Martel, for the very little that I have observed of him through his writing and interviews, seems like a very interesting man with a very interesting mind. In his writing, he seems to pull various aspects from his life and his characteristics without making it so autobiographical that it becomes boring. Beatrice and Virgil contains a writer, like Martel, who seems to have given up on writing and another playwright, who has contracted a case of writer's block, something that Martel must have come along at one point or another. I also find his viewpoints on animals very useful. He states that the use of animals have been boxed into only children's books and very few authors use them in novels. He likes to use them because they are perfect to use multiple metaphors on and because humans, for some odd reason, seem to have more sympathy for animals than they do for another human being.
Based on this video, I think of Yann Martel in a different way than before. At first, I thought he was an author with a one hit novel and did not do anything exceptional after writing "Life of Pi". While reading "Beatrice and Virgil", I did not understand what was going on throughout the novel and I found the book rather boring and not a great book. It got better towards the end of the novel, but by watching this video it helped me get a better idea of the book and what it was about and why it was written the way it was. Martel's novels save the suspense for the end and he finishes the book by making it an exciting ending. During the video, he talks about how he uses animals as characters instead of people. I think people depict animals differently and I think it adds a nice touch to his books and makes the readers, like us, to keep reading them. I like how in the video he compares the two novels that we have read in class. He talks about how things are comparable but seen as different from one another. As you read you can find different characteristics that make it Martel's style of writing. He is honest about what he writes and I like how he isn't afraid to put what he wants into the novel he writes. He is different than other writers and that makes his books so unique. By watching this interview, I understand not only "Beatrice and Virgil" better, but I also understand and appreciate Yann Martel more.
Yann Martel is actually a very interesting individual. I find it surprising how humorous he is in this video, as well as in his writing. After I watched the interview, I noticed how personable and intelligent he is. He puts so much effort and interest into his novels that he has written and that amazes me. He does this so he can write in unique styles and he uses his skills to write popular stories that keep readers interested. I’m really intrigued on how passionate he is with the Holocaust, even though he really had no connection to the Holocaust at all. Even with no connection to the Holocaust, he writes Beatrice and Virgil. With Beatrice and Virgil, he uses animals instead of people for the main characters. In the interview, Martel actually explains why he does this, and it allows the readers to disconnect the characters from stereotypes that they would of had with people. Even though they’re animals, readers are still able to relate to them and understand them. I think his writing style brings the reader even more into the book and creates a connection with the reader.
Yann Martel has some intriguing views on certain things that seem insignificant to our puny human minds. He explains his integration of animals into his stories in the video by saying they have limitless amounts of metaphors that can be analyzed from them. Readers can take whatever they want for the tiger to be a symbol of in Life of Pi. Being able to listen to the author explain his own works seems like a huge privilege, and I feel like he has given me a much better understanding of Beatrice and Virgil, now that I have finished reading it. He explained some of the symbolism between Henry, the author, and the European Jews that I would not have picked up on by myself. He states clearly in this video that this novel is not autobiographical, but that does not mean that we cannot examine the similarities of the characters to Martel and question why he made a character that seems to have had similar experiences to himself. My personal opinions of Martel and his works are that he obviously works very, very hard at what he is doing by doing months of research and travels. I think his animal integrations are very creative and are able to tell a great analogy story like Animal Farm. However, I felt throughout the novel Beatrice and Virgil that the symbolism was either forced, or was hidden between two lines of text.
I really just can not agree with Yann Martel’s reasons behind “Beatrice and Virgil.” He begins by saying that every novel is autobiographical. Yes, the author is obviously interested in the subject matter surrounding the novel, but their lives are not engrossed into the novel unless it is intentional. For example, I could write a novel about an old man living in India, and that would have no context to my life in any way. Also, the fact that he uses Henry’s career as the example of an autobiographical item is just lazy; please, be original. Also, I disagree with his decisions to use animals as his main characters. I really feel like I’m reading a children’s book sometimes with the low level of character creativity. His reason “I find animals interesting” was just not enough for me to jump behind his animal theme. Personally, I enjoy reading about people much more than animals because I enjoy being able to find similarities in my own life. Although people may not know everything about animals, a novel is not the time or place to educate the reader on a scientific topic. If I wanted to be educated, I would search “facts about howler monkeys,” not pick up a novel with a monkey as the main character. His reasoning for having no stated setting in the novel is so people can’t make assumptions or leave cultural aspects out of the setting. Honestly, I think he didn’t know where to place his novel or how to properly characterize humans, so he took the easy way out. Yann Martel is a decent writer, but I definitely wouldn’t call him an artist.
Yann Martel is an intriguing guy. His thought process is incredible! After watching this video of Martel talking about Beatrice and Virgil, Life of Pi, and his upcoming book about 3 chimpanzees, the fact that he puts so much time and effort into his novels is obvious. Throughout the video he brought up an interesting point, why do most adult books not include animals? Why are animals thought of as childish to adult authors? For me, the animals are what makes the book so mind-opening. They make it a book that I can’t put down. The way that Martel writes about his characters, whether animal or not, is envious and impressive. Martel has made a good career for himself and he seems to be very content with his life. Yann Martel reminds me of a really smart uncle that always makes you think deeper, but he has a fun personality too.
Fact and fiction are often seen as two separate entities. Yann Martel, though, has found a way to successfully blur the lines between these two seemingly polar opposites. In both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil, Martel was able to make the reader question what was real and what wasn’t. This is not an easy feat to accomplish; it takes a true artist to be able to pull it off. Martel’s use of fact and fiction force the reader to think deeper about what is being read. I find that this makes the novels more interesting and open to interpretation. Martel geniously crafts his novels to answer a question or get an idea across. He is creative and effective in his methods. I have immensely enjoyed his work because it is so interesting. I love the use of animals, especially. I am personally intrigued by animals, and I find that Martel was right when he talked about how people have fewer biases about animals. I completely understand where he was coming from when he mentioned that it is easy for people to get over judgements and actually gain something from the story when they are not focused on human biases. Martel’s use of animals is effective, in my opinion. He tackles very real questions in a way that forces readers to think. Everyone is allowed to extract their own opinion and meaning. This is very valuable in today's society. Anything that promotes thinking and creativity is essential. Martel is an excellent author and genius in blurring fact and fiction. His novels are very enjoyable and thought provoking.
Yann Martel’s interview in which he’s speaking about Beatrice & Virgil gave more insight into the meaning of the book and helped me understand the book more. First, I thought Beatrice & Virgil was an autobiography but after watching the interview I learned it was not. Beatrice and Virgil is a well-researched book with many connections to the Holocaust, I did not know Yann Martel was so intrigued by the history of the Holocaust. Also, Henry the writer was a representation of a Holocaust Survivor with losing his desire to write just like the Jews lost their rights and voices during the holocaust. Additionally, Yann Martel puts animals in Beatrice & Virgil to broaden the Holocaust. For example, the rapid destruction of the environment to animals is similar to the destruction of Jews during the Holocaust. Also interesting, is how Yann Martel uses animals in his fiction. After watching the interview he uses animals because they are effective in telling a story for the reason that people are cynical about their own species but less with wild animals meaning the readers start to suspend disbelief and open themselves up to the book. Yann Martel is very intelligent when it comes to writing and that shows through his novel Beatrice & Virgil.
There are many written reviews of this book that appropriately summarize how I feel, so I will link to a few here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/05/17/beatrice-and-virgil, http://www.edrants.com/why-yann-martels-beatrice-and-virgil-is-the-worst-book-of-the-decade/, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126022215. However, I do feel that there are more deserving author's to talk about, so I will use this place to discuss a couple of my favorites, both recently as well as long term. First is Ruth Ozeki, an author who combines fictional narrative and personal narrative much the same way that Martel does, but she does so in a way that you are drawn to for her downfalls rather than turned away from her downfalls. She looks to merge social issues of the present and past, especially concerning race, war, and politics. She artfully looks at issues and interprets them without diminishing their historical importance and does not talk where she does not belong (i.e. Martel speaking for Jews in Beatrice and Virgil). I am currently reading her latest book, A Tale for the Time Being, and would highly recommend it. It is both interesting and impactful, and certainly worth the read. Another one of my favorite authors is Jeffrey Eugenides, author of works such as The Suicide Virgins, Middlesex, and my personal favorite The Marriage Plot. Each of Eugenides books single narratives that branch far reaching topics not related to each other. They do not piggy back off the others success, and you can tell in his writing that Eugeindes truly enjoys his craft. In my opinion he is a master writer deserving of all the praise in the world for writing such distinct stories with different narrators and different opinions. You can tell all his books are written by the same author because of his writing style rather than his plot devices, and I love him for that. He is able to write about very important things without making them unbearably heavy. The Virgin Suicides discusses suicide from the point of view of the boys living across the street, but you can feel the support the boys have for the girls. Similarly in Middlesex, Eugenides writes about the important and often overlooked condition of being Intersex in a way that you are able to relate to while certainly not having much relation to that subject. Eugenides has so much respect for the topics he writes about and writes about them in a way that you can feel the respect. Martel instead struggles with this, saying that he has been silenced by the holocaust when he certainly hasn't: writing a bad book and people not wanting it to be published does not mean you've been silenced, it means it is a bad book. I feel that both Ruth Ozeki and Jefferey Eugenides are authors deserving of more readers, and that is why I chose to instead write about them here.
Based on the video, I have a completely different view of the book and Yann Martel's motives behind the book. The interview let me see deeper into the novel and made me realize that a lot of the novel has meaning. Furthermore, Martel is an educated man with an abundance of knowledge about the holocaust. He has a lot of insight, and his mind seems to be constantly stimulated. Yann Martel is no doubt a deep thinker who tries to apply meaning in several different ways throughout the novel. As I suspected, the animals were purposely put in the novel just like they were in Life of Pi. The animals serve as the central characters and have human characteristics. After watching the interview, I also came to the realization that Yann Martel takes a lot of time to write his books, and he includes an abundance of details. He has a very unique style of writing and that is partially why I enjoyed the novel.
Yann Martel is a brilliantly calculated man. During this interview, he talked a lot about why he wrote the books—Beatrice and Virgil, and Life of Pi—and the goals and inspirations that came along with it. He stated he always wanted to answer a question that he had through his fiction, whether that be the difference between faith and fact, or how art can deal with tragedy. Although he didn't mention it, one of my favorite aspects of Martel's writing is how he seems to always have some amount of separation between the narrative and himself. In Life of Pi, Pi was telling the story to a journalist so the normal two layers existed: The writer and the one telling the story. You had to frequently remind yourself that Martel was the one writing, not the journalist in the story. The same happens in Beatrice and Virgil. It's just one more example of Martel's brilliant writing.
When watching this video, Yann Martel continuously shows how he portrays himself and his novels. He does an exceptional job by telling the listeners that he sees his novels differently as we might. Although he doesn’t give away certain ideas, he still makes it very understanding. I think by watching this video and reading “Beatrice and Virgil” I understand the book a lot better now. Yann Martel does a great job of clearing things up and helps readers understand why he did certain things throughout the novel. I think the fact that he writes the novel so unique makes his novels so interesting. He definitely has a unique style to his writing. I think that it is also interesting how he uses animals instead of people. I think it is easier to portray what the character will be like when it is a person, and by making it an animal it makes the reader think more and have to come up with their own ideas on how the character should be portrayed. By watching this video, I understand and appreciate Yann Martel more as a writer.
I think that this video provides a small bit of explanation as to why Yann Martel puts so much distance from himself and the author of his books. This might sound outrageous, but in each one of his books that we have read, there is a story and an author. This author in both of these books is NOT Yann Martel, which to me makes it feel like Martel is trying to put distance between himself and the position of being the author of his books. In my opinion, it sets him up as less of an author and more of a creator. Maybe this device he is using is a type of defense mechanism, or maybe it's just a device for him to add another layer of symbolism in his stories. I think that through this video I have seen Martel as more of a creator and less of a person trying to distance himself from his work. He also explains some things about his novels that clears up some questions. Specifically about animals and how art can help to cope with atrocity.
Yann Martel is a man who is a creative artist far beyond his years. He's able to convey and create stories and characters that become so relatable and interesting. He knows how to plan his novels accordingly, and he has a plan for every word he types. After watching the interview and his discussion about "Beatrice and Virgil", I got a better understanding of the novel. It is a novel that is sometimes confusing, but now that he went into a little more detail about it, it makes much more sense and I appreciate it more. He made readers of all his books visualize his characters and make them look like real people. "Life of Pi" seems like a fairy tale, because it is so visually pleasing and the detail within the story is unreal. Mr. Martel pays extra close attention to detail to things that seem to be less important, but when it comes to miscellaneous objects that come up later n the book, there seems to be the least amount of detail. He reels in readers with his lack of details at times. Mr. Martel is a fantastic writer and I appreciate his works more and more as I look back on them.
Yann Martel gives us an insight into a few of the books he has written. I thought it was very interesting how he explains why he uses animals. He says that people have a harder time believing other people, so it is harder for writers to get them to believe and still tell the story. Then he explains this is why he likes to use animals in his writing. People know the animals, but they do not fully know how they would react in a situation. This makes easier for the reader not to doubt the author. I never fully understood why he wrote with animals until I watched this video and he explained this. I find this writing style wonderful and helps the readers observe the reading without questioning the author. Now knowing this information, I believe there were no animals on the lifeboat in Life of PI; this was a way for Pi to make his story more meaningful. Pi creates the story to keep himself sane on the lifeboat and something for him to look forward to.
If Yann Martel never again publishes a book, we will all be better for it. Martel is one of the most arrogant and pretentious people I’ve read, and his writing is lazy and lackluster. Martel’s problem can be summed up by the following: He overthinks the importance of his input. There are many people who need to learn how to shut up, sit down, and listen. I’m tired of reading the insight of people who don’t know what they are talking about, and seeing others take their word as expert knowledge. While this applies more to factual knowledge, I think it relates to creative fiction. Martel thinks lived experience is not important to the creation of a story, which may explain the lifelessness of his writing. Martel’s books lack interesting plotlines. For Postmodern writing, this is okay–if the book has anything else of substance. Does Martel’s? Not only are the plots weak or nonexistent, the characters have minimal growth, and that’s being generous. Anyone beyond the main character is a stock character, in both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil. For abstract art to be great, one has to be a skilled artist, and I think this applies to Postmodernism as well. His writing is contradictory, and fails to be ironic as the mess he creates doesn’t add to the story’s tone or its themes. Allegories work based on the readers’ projections of the symbols, and he claims animals allow readers to not have biases about the story, but...says donkeys and monkeys are fit to represent Jews because they...are stereotypes? He wants to think he is asking big questions, but his books amount to streams of pseudo-profound monologuing that stand for nothing. With Life of Pi, he had some ideas that he clung too tightly to, unwilling to let go of them in the interest of improvement. And his main idea for Life of Pi wasn’t even an original idea, so even if the two novels were quite different, the most important thing about Martel’s book was lifted. With Beatrice and Virgil, Martel wanted to write about the Holocaust (or how we process and discuss trauma) and his struggles writing. So he made up another writer to distance himself from the book, spun a wheel to choose what animals he would use this time (just kidding, he picked them based on anti-semitic stereotypes), and decided on a bunch of allusions, all of which he was too lazy to incorporate seamlessly into his story. Instead, he settled on throwing big names at the reader to give the allusion of thoughtful writing. When I read about his thoughts on India, I knew he was another white man not worth the time.
This video was very captivating to watch. Yann Martel is an amazing writer as seen in both Beatrice & Virgil and life of Pi. Martel is also a great speaker. In this video he talks about how he came up with the idea of the novel and it is genius. He talks about how he has always been interested in the holocaust but was always afraid to write about it because he is not jewish and he cannot relate to the horrible event using a human disguise. That is how he decided to use animals in his stories. He wanted to write about it differently, using this talking animal ploy he was able to write about it without having to try to pretend to be anything else. I also think that it is quite amazing how much research and time he invests into his novels. He read multiple books on the holocaust and even visited Auschwitz. He has been writing for 20 years and has only written four novels. I really enjoyed listening to this video because you can really hear just how brilliant Yann Martel is.
Martel said that he uses his books to investigate further into a question that he has about something. In Beatrice and Virgil, Martel wanted to show how he thought that an artist would express the Holocaust, which I think is a unique viewpoint. He has an interest in the Holocaust and wanted to write about it even though he is a complete outsider. It took him years to research and gather information on this book and I think that that really shows how authentic he manages to make each of his books. Martel uses animals because he finds them great at expressing a story and he also strives to break animals out of just children literature. He thought that approaching the Holocaust using animals would be a unique way of trying to represent the Holocaust. Martel also really tried to distinguish himself from the main character, Henry, due to the fact that he didn’t want Beatrice and Virgil to seem autobiographical, because it’s not. He also tried to give Henry Jewish characteristics that also didn’t fit Martel himself. I think that it was important for Martel to distinguish himself from Henry because I definitely saw some major parallels between the two of them. Overall, I think that Martel’s style of writing is very effective and unique and I enjoy reading his books.
I found this video very interesting. I have been wondering why he always uses animals in his book and he answered that question. He said he does not understand why animals are only used in children books because he does not see a tiger being childish. I found that response very intriguing. He also says that he writes each book about something he is interested in which I find very cool. I personally like Yann Martel's style of writing. I did not love the book Beatrice and Virgil but I loved the book Life of Pi. I like how he relates people to animals and how he inserts ideas that the readers have to discover. I think the new book that he is writing sounds very interesting and I would want to give it a try. The fact that it has to deal with teachers and leaders and how a chimpanzee deals with it. I find it interesting about how he will relate a chimpanzee to people.
The video was very interesting and gave me insight to what drives Martel to write what he writes and how he writes. Life of Pi was an outstanding novel. Easily, it can be deciphered that Martel put a lot of effort into each aspect of the book. It was larger than life and thought-provoking; I was completely engaged throughout the book. In this video, Martel describes his motivations behind Beatrice and Virgil. After reading the book and forming my overall low opinion of Beatrice and Virgil, the video seemed to be more of Martel's defense. I appreciate the effort that he puts forth into each of his works—spending years to research and compose is not something to be overlooked. His writing style is flawless. It describes elaborately without becoming too verbose. He evokes emotions and creates emotional verisimilitude. Life of Pi has truly been a shining star for Martel. He has shown his potential for being a phenomenal writer; unfortunately, Beatrice and Virgil doesn't seem to quite live up to his potential.
Yann Martel is a very interesting writer. He has been writing for many years and yet only has a few novels to show for it, although these novels have been highly praised and successful. This is because he takes his time in writing these novels so that he can be sure that they are crafted in the way he wants them to be. One example of this deliberation is in Beatrice and Virgil, where Martel says that he wanted to make it obvious to the reader that the play the taxidermist was writing was a story about the Holocaust. He did this so that he could talk about the way that people talk about the Holocaust and the similarities between it and the treatment and extinction of certain species of animals. I also find it interesting that he realizes that he is one of the few authors that includes animals as a part of his adult fiction stories, and accepts that it may be the reason why people are attracted to his novels so much.
In this video, Martel talks about different aspects of himself and his writing. Martel likes to be in an expert in what he writes about, which I think helps his writing a lot. I thought it was interesting that people think that his stories are autobiographies about his life even though he says that they are not. I think that he might use some of his own life experiences in his books even though he says they are not about his own life. I think this because his stories and life seem to line up often. Often people say that there are no new things to write about so I think Martel attempted to find a "new" topic with his different approach to the Holocaust for Beatrice and Virgil. This different approach shows his intelligence and passion for writing. People may bash Beatrice and Virgil but Martel was just trying to make something new for people to read.
Listening to this interview helps understand Martel’s purpose to writing this novel. In the interview he comes straight out and says he has no personal experience with the holocaust and almost says that he doesn’t deserve to write about it in human characteristics. He explains that the reason he chose to write about the holocaust with animals was because as he said we are “very cynical about our own race”. The purpose behind the animals was not to try and say that Jews are less than people or animals themselves but rather to try and get the reader to tear down their presumptions in order for them to hear the story from another point. I however do not agree with him when he said you could compare the extinction of animals with the holocaust. I do not believe there is any relations between these two events and I believe it was a very demeaning and foolish comment to make and downplays the significance of the holocaust.
Watching the interview of Yann Martel was very interesting. I’ve never watched an author talk about his novel so it was engaging to listen to the reasons for why he wrote Beatrice and Virgil. Yann Martel was very open and straightforward about why he wanted to write about the holocaust. It is a topic that had always interested him but he didn’t think he was in the social group that allowed him to write about it. He understands that part of his book was autobiographical and he connects to the character Henry. I enjoyed hearing why he used animals so much in his stories. He is using them to try and rid of bias from people reading the story and have a more artistic, storytelling lens when reading. I personally don’t think that animals were the best choice for this particular story because the Holocaust was real and it was people that went through that horrific event, not animals. My favorite part of the book was the Games for Gustav because it really allowed the reader to think about what it would be like to be in some of the situations the Jews were put in.
Yann Martel is an extremely brilliant man. I love how he explicitly says in the interview that he takes his time when writing his novels. You can see this effort clearly throughout his published works. The fact that he wrote Life of Pi in exactly 100 chapters by using an envelope for each shows the thought and planning he put in to his writings. I actually really enjoyed his use of varied short and long chapters in Life of Pi. On the other hand, I definitely feel that his use of no chapters was much more effective in Beatrice and Virgil. The book is only separated a few times, and not by using a title or chapter number, but a simple extra spacing. This layout formed a much more cohesive reading of a novel that needed that level of cohesiveness. I love the amount of detail that Martel puts into his works. In Beatrice and Virgil, a prime example of this is the description of a pear. This description of the pear went far beyond any that I had read before. These factors put together is making Yann Martel one of my favorite authors.
After watching the video it is clear to see that the book Beatrice and Virgil deeply intrigued Martel. He is in no way connected to the Holocaust by religion or decent but he has always been interested in the topic. He wanted to write a book that he could relate to but is not directly biographical. The writer in the story is not exactly Martel but is similar in many ways. Things such as playing the clarinet and acting Martel does not do. Many find the very typical similarity of animals in both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil and there are many reasons Martel uses them. He believes animals are very interesting and another reason is he believes animals should be used in more than just child books. Adult books need the use of animals as representation and he does not see what is childish in a tiger. Martel overall use many deep thoughts in his writing and Beatrice and Virgil is definitely no exception to that.
Hailey Stengel
After watching Yann Martel’s interview about Beatrice and Virgil, I understand the book a little better. He is in no way connected to the Holocaust by religion or descent, but he has been fascinated by the holocaust for a long time. I love how he used a fascination that he loves that he incorporated into a book. The writer in the story is not exactly Martel, but in a way he is. He puts in things like playing clarinet and being an actor, so people do not think that he is in the book. Martel uses animals because they are interesting. Another reason he uses animals is that many adult books do not use animals. He doesn’t understand what is childish about a tiger. He expresses that every animal goes on the endangered list and how they become extinct, just like how the Jews were almost extinct during the holocaust.
From the video, I can tell that Yann Martel is a very intelligent man. He talks in a very intellectually stimulating way and understands deeper concepts that most people don’t think about in their day to day lives. He discusses the core parts and ideas of the holocaust and how he portrayed it in his novel, Beatrice and Virgil. In the interview, Martel also gave us some insight on why he chose to use animals to portray these deeper themes in his books. He said that animals often help the readers to put aside their disbelief, bringing them closer to the book. If he uses animals to portray these evils then his readers are more likely to believe them. This is shown in Life of Pi. Everyone is quick to believe that Pi could have lived with the Tiger on the boat, but at the end when Pi comes up with the human version of the story they are repulsed and don’t want to think about it.
Yann Martel is a very intelligent and interesting author. When he is writing, he does not care about what would be typical or predictable in his stories. He likes to go against status quo and write about what he finds important. He also draws his inspiration from many different authors and events. In Beatrice and Virgil in particular, is references countless classic books and authors and uses their work within his own. This variety also allows each one of his books to be unique and different from the last. One fairly constant theme in Martel’s books would be the use of animals as characters. In the interview, he states that he finds animals intriguing and wants to do away with the idea that they are only meant for children’s stories. He makes a very interesting point when he asks, what is so childish about a tiger or a monkey? Martel also uses animals because he thinks it allows him to tell the story in a better and more impactful way without confusion.
Before watching this video, I did not fully grasp how intelligent Yann Martel was. However, afterward, I can now see that Yann Martel is very creative and intelligent. In every book, he shows us a new way of shaping a book. However, I will say that many of his characters grow and if they are not the main character, they stay the same. However, his books are brilliantly crafted and cause the reader to think more deeply about the true meaning of the book. This interview lets me see deeper into each of his novels and made me realize that every part of his books has a specific purpose. I also thought it was very fascinated with his choice of always having animals present in his book. Not only are they present, but they all have a specific meaning behind them, especially in the book Beatrice and Virgil. Overall, I believe that Yann Martel is a brilliant man with wonderful ideas.
I was interested and refreshed when Martel said that he writes his books for himself. Recently, I think so many authors and artists create only because they know what their base likes. At first, That is what I thought of Beatrice and Virgil. Though the subject matter is much different, I noted his use of animals again; But when he said that he uses animals as a mature way to change the way we look at stories, I feel like I started to understand him more as an author. Not only is he extremely informed about whatever subject he is writing about, whether it is religion or the holocaust, but he is so passionate about what he writes. Even though I may like some of his novels more than others, I have so much respect for him as an artist because his first goal is to write about what he is interested in, and the success can come from there.
Yann Martel brought up many interesting points. I agree with what he sort of describes as a stigmatized environment around the holocaust which people don’t really write or create art about it if they were not involved with it in any fashion. There lacks a certain amount of derivation from the subject matter, which may be done out of respect, but it is still interesting to note. Martel also brings up the point that people are naturally cynical towards other humans but are more open to abstract ideas if delivered through animals. Martel also feels like animals aren’t portrayed in an adult setting as much as they should be. He points out that there is nothing childish about animals really. I found Martel’s dialogue about how he came up with the idea of Life of Pi. His journey through India was what he said was one of the biggest influences on it. He also commented on how the book was born out of a reflection of how he viewed the nature of facts and faith. He had “a fatigue of being reasonable”, making him want to write something that explores these notions. Overall, Martel’s writing is always meant to be thoughtful and to explore a question without necessarily answering it.
The thing that interests me about Yann Martel is that he wrote this book as someone who is completely disconnected from the Holocaust. As a white man of French European descent, he has no connection to the actual events and wrote the characters as someone who is looking form the outside. A lot of people think that this book is autobiographical because it is about an author but he just need something to fill in the character and archetype of the Jewish culture and he decides to make the character an author. It is interesting to see that he uses animals to describe Jews during the holocaust and that the Taxidermist saw them that way during the time of his writing of the play. During this time, he was apparently struggling with his own novel like the author in the story and he just decided to write the book about something that interests not only himself but with the author of the story.
Yann Martel’s interview was incredibly fascinating. He brought up many interesting points and things to think about. One of my favorite things he said was that he wrote Life of Pi because he was tired of being reasonable. I think that is a good tip for anyone writing a story, or trying to think outside the box. Beatrice and Virgil also seemed to follow this mantra because while it was entirely unreasonable, it had a sort of believable quality that kept me reading. In the interview, Martel said he likes to write with animals because we are less cynical of them, which also makes the stories more believable. I also thought it was interesting that he posed the question, “What is childish about a tiger?” I think he could write an entire book on that! Martel mentioned that his next book will be about three chimpanzees who illustrate the importance of teachers. Knowing Martel and his writing style, it sounds intriguing, yet about absolutely unrelated subjects. I can’t wait to read it!
I found Yann Martel's interview quite interesting. His personable character made it easy to comprehend the point and emotion he was trying to get across to viewers. After watching the video I feel much more informed about his reasoning behind the plot of the novel. Although Beatrice and Virgil was not a favorite story of mine, I was able to understand the importance of reading it. Martel made the video quite captivating and I was able to learn a lot. One thing I had thought wrong about the novel was that Henry the writer was supposed to be somewhat of a character based off of Martel. However, after listening to his interview. I learned Martel did not mean for that to be the case. His use of the talking animals instead of humans was clever because as he explained humans are much more cynical about other humans. I was very impressed with the research he did and amount of time he spent learning everything he can about the Holocaust in order to make it realistic and moving.
After reading Yann Martel's novels and watching his interview, I have found a new respect for his work. Before watching the interview, I thought that Martel's work was much more scripted rather than thoughtful. During the interview he explains his novels and the deeper meaning he implies, this made me realized how brilliant he is in his works. When I started to read Beatrice and Virgil I was disappointed in the literary devices and flow that he used. The interview made me realize that he did this purposely, allowing the reader to imply more thought into the book. The interview did not convince me that Beatrice and Virgil is better than Life of Pi, but it did convince me that the story is meaningful. I liked knowing that he used the holocaust references with thoughtfulness, rather than with idiocy. Through Beatrice and Virgil, Martel created a great, yet annoying, book.
As I was watching this video, I could clearly see the dedication that Yann Martel has for his books. He is very involved in them, even the ones he wrote long ago. Martel said he used animals in his books because he was interested in animals. I think that it was very smart of him to do that because other people are very intrigued by animals too. The use of animals makes his books different than other books. I can tell that he thinks out every little thing very carefully. He said that he is very interested in the Holocaust and I like that he realizes he doesn’t know everything about it. He isn’t Jewish and he has no relation to it and he realizes that. Many Holocaust authors may claim they are experts even though they weren’t there. He has a passion for his books and that really makes his books more meaningful than most.
The interview was very interesting to me. Martel seems like a very observant person; I enjoyed when he said "Animals are usually used in children's books but I don't know why... I don't see anything childish about a tiger, or a monkey". This comment was intriguing to me because there really are not that many adult novels that centralize around animals. I also think that the way Martel used Henry as a stand-in for himself being an Eastern European Jew was very clever, making Henry very interested in the arts similar to a lot of Jewish people back then. How he relates the Holocaust to today's environmental detriments is great. Martel saying that species are killed every year and that it is similar to the suffering that the Holocaust victims went through shows that he cares for the environment which I think is great. Overall, I learned a lot about the books motive and Yan Martel.
Yann Martel's interview gave me immense insight into his thought process and inspiration for his books. He is an extremely inspiring individual because he not only successfully does what he loves, but he also provokes thought through his writing. I love that he writes about whatever he wants, rather than writing what he thinks will sell well. Too many authors write for the readers, but Martel writes to answer the questions he has. Not only does he satisfy his questions by researching and writing stories, but he also forces readers to think in new and unexpected ways. His Games for Gustav pose questions that make readers uncomfortable, but by being uncomfortable, readers grow by making hard decisions. To answer his questions you have to dig deep into your personal morals and decide for yourself what is right and wrong. I enjoy Martel's works because they have a long-lasting impact on me.
After watching the video and reading Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil, I realized that Yann Martel is an extremely smart individual. Also, I think he writes his novels in a very interesting and unique way. While reading, I was wondering why Yann Martel used so many animals throughout his novels. In the video, he said that he does this because he doesn't know why animals are used only in children's stories. I think that it is so creative to use animals within his novels. After watching the video, I feel like I understand the meaning behind Beatrice and Virgil a little bit more and why the book was written the way it was. I think the way that he ties the Holocaust into the story is very interesting and creative. I now understand how much time, effort, and thought Yann Martel puts into his novels. Overall, I think that this video was very helpful and I feel like I understand much more about Martel’s novels and Yann Martel, himself.
Since finishing Beatrice and Virgil, and now watching this interview, it is easy to see the mindset of Yann Martel and how it is displayed in his writing. Martel talks in a very similar way to his writing which is very intellectual and descriptive. He spends most of his time researching for his novels and then applies the knowledge in a way that makes sense to him. What is interesting about this is sometimes it doesn't make sense to the reader. I found the same confusion I experienced when reading his book as I did with watching this interview. He is a very intelligent and I think his mind works in a very different way compared to what is viewed as normal. His thought process is very much scattered and a higher level than what is common and he very much phrases things in ways I have never heard them before.
From the video interviewing Yann Martel, I enjoyed how he explained Beatrice and Virgil and his reasoning behind the novel. I think that Martel’s reasoning behind wanting to write the novel. I can appreciate a writer taking a new approach to the Holocaust, and creating a fictitious story about the event that holds some truth to it. Although, I do not like Martel’s approach. I wish that Martel would have looked at The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and learned from his approach at the Holocaust.
I have said it numerous times, but I think that this novel is simply a long short story that was stretched to meet 200 pages. I find the timeline of the book to be too drawn out and rushed to finish, also the fact that Martel includes the work of others authors makes him a lazy writer. Instead of creating a story of his own, he used the words of others. I think to create an interesting novel Martel should have expanded on the play he wrote, and pair with an essay or something of the sorts. Like Henry the author, Martel could have created a flip book and a more interesting and appealing novel.
After watching this interview about Yann Martel explaining his thoughts behind Beatrice and Virgil, it made me think more about his work. I personally believe Yann Martel is an extremely intelligent person, but I do not think he displayed that in his two books that we have read. Although I think Life of Pi was a better book than Beatrice and Virgil, I just did not enjoy them as much as the other books we have read. I think that by him using animals to depict people in the Holocaust was insensitive. Although, I get that more people would have been upset if he were to have Beatrice and Virgil be people since he did not have the first-hand experience with the Holocaust. I think that by using animals in his work, it made the readers think more so it would seem more believable, but animals in modern-day books are usually used in children’s books so it was a weird take on his part. Although I believe Yann Martel had great success with his books, I personally did not enjoy them as much as others I have read in this class.
Personally, I think that Martel is not worth anyone's words, thoughts, or time to talk about him. He is a narcissistic, pathetic excuse for a writer and his works reflect him perfectly. So instead of wasting my time, I'm going to talk about something that is actually important and relevant to society. The movie "The Emporer's New Groove" is one of the most underrated movies of all time and I think that we need to all know why. It is most certainly not for its lack of amazing comedic timing or its exquisite use of breaking the fourth wall, but rather its, sadly, way more technical than that. First of all, it is one of the last movies in the Disney renaissance (aka the classic Disney movies we know and love today) and it followed two flops of traditional ways of storytelling, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Hercules". Ergo Disney decided to change the original storyboard for the movie from a "Prince and the Pauper" esque tale to the buddy comedy we all know and love today. Unfortunately, the director of the film quit during this change and they were not expected to meet the 2000 release date. And on top of that, they were beaten to the box office by another buddy comedy about the Incan empire "The Road to El Dorado". (I quite frankly love both of these movies but The Emporer's New Groove is out of The Road to El Dorado's league.) Realizing the mess it has turned into Disney productions shifted the funds to its other project at the time "102 Dalmations" (how awful right?). Therefore it didn't see as much press and made the second worst box-office debut of the renaissance movies. But despite all the cards being stacked against them I can go up to just about anybody my age and ask them if they have seen this movie and they will say with a grin of happy memories that yes they have seen this wonderful movie. And I think that a movie that can rise from its own pitfalls and become a kidhood cult(ish) classic is a story worth telling, unlike Martel's Beatrice and Virgil which is a book about his own pitfalls of making this very book and it. still. flopped.
Yann Martel is different than any other author whose books I have ever read in my life. His styles in composing his books are so unique in many different ways. For example, the structure in which he puts his books together is very peculiar but effective. In Life of Pi, the chapters were spread out one for each envelope that he had. They were very terse and meaningful. Whereas in Beatrice and Virgil there were no chapters at all! Another unique piece of his literature that I have noticed is his tendency to write very long lists with more description than some authors have throughout their whole book. Book critics and other readers can obviously tell Martel spends much time thinking and planning his literature out in order to be perfect. My favorite part about Yann is his outlook on using animals in adult literature! Like he said, talking animals are usually limited to children's books and Martel incorporates them into his books carefully. As he said in the video, it opens up the reader's disbelief and allows him to tell his story. Martel deliberately plans out everything in his books from the opening sentence to the closing statement. Martel is brilliant.
I think Yann Martel is a good author, and has some interesting ideas. Life of Pi an artistic story between a boy and a tiger. Beatrice and Virgil, on the other hand, is a book a lot of readers probably will not understand until the last few pages. Personally, I thought the book was confusing and odd, but I did appreciate the effort to bring elements of the Holocaust into it. I think learning about what happened is historically and morally important. Yann Martel seems like an intelligent guy, and he tries to be different in his writing style. I appreciate this, as sometimes books can seem like they only fit a certain mold. His use of animals is intriguing, and I like the parallels between humans and animals. Beatrice and Virgil is a mediocre book in my opinion, because of how confusing and odd it is. I did enjoy the dialogue between Beatrice and Virgil, and it was entertaining enough to keep me wanting to turn the page.
Yann Martel is very unique compared to other authors of books I have read previously. The way he proposes himself brings out the intelligence he has. After reading Life of Pi I noticed how much thought and research had to be put into a book that had 100 chapters of pure intelligence. The way he composes himself really makes me want to read more and more about him and more of his stories. I like how he said that humans know animals but not all animals know humans. I agree with him. The Holocaust has always been interesting to me, so Beatrice and Virgil was a book that I was excited to read about. Although it was not what I was expecting, this interview helped explain it to me. The way he includes himself in his books was very odd to me because I have never read a book where I know so much about the author. I think Yann and I would be good friends because of our similar interests.
After learning more about Yann Martel as an author and person, and after reading his novels, I have found this man to be a very interesting character himself. He is a man who has a passion for the arts and believes in the power of reading and traveling to better yourself and to become more well-versed in the ways of the world. After watching an interview with Martel, I found it comical that he decided to send his prime minister classic books every 2 weeks for 4 years to help better expand the views of his country's leader. Things such as this just show how much he can use irony and different ways of approaching ideas using art and writing. For example, in Beatrice and Virgil, he chose to use a different method of exploring the holocaust through fiction and a more artistic way of portraying it. I appreciate that he gets that not all people will like his books or writing and that he will still be content is people don't like his novels as long as they take the courage and determination to read it and open their eyes to it. I enjoy the descriptive nature and figurative language that Martel inundates his writings with because it makes his novels more realistic even if they are fiction. Mostly, I enjoy Yann Martel as an author because he takes different approaches to telling stories, for example, using animals in all of his stories instead of only humans. After reading Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil, I am tempted to read his newer novel, High Mountains of Portugal, especially because he started working on this novel before even Life of Pi. Overall, I really enjoy his writing and agree with his ideals of art and the power that every type of art holds.
Yann Martel is an outstanding writer who writes very well thought out books. I found it interesting in the video when he goes to talk about how he likes to write with animals as characters. Not many other authors use them because they are usually linked to kid books. He likes to break that norm because he can empower them with so much meaning. I think that including them in the book Beatrice and Virgil is beneficial. It makes such a tragic event a little less hard to read. Reducing all this power into them to move readers is his main goal. Another thing that Martel does is include his games at the end of the book. These questions are so open-ended and allow everyone to think about the very arduous situations people have been put in. Overall, I learned a lot about the author and the novel from this interview.
Yann Martel clearly cares deeply about each of his novels with the number of details, symbols, and verisimilitude in his writing. In an interview, Martel talks about just how much attention he puts into each of his books. Each story takes at least 5 years to write including studying the culture and perspectives he will be writing about. In the interview Martel said his story Life of Pi was inspired by a trip to India, however, he didn’t stop there; he continued to do more research by reading a Brazilian novel and produce his story slowly and carefully. Other than his dedication, the thing I found most interesting about Martel’s interview was his different perspective. He stated that he becomes “fatigued with being reasonable” meaning he wants to approach the readers in a unique way. In Beatrice and Virgil, Martel’s goal was to not only move the readers emotionally but also stimulate them intellectually. I enjoyed learning more personal characteristics about such an amazing author, this video gave me a larger understanding of each of Martel’s stories which allows me to appreciate their complexity so much more.
I think that this video provides a small bit of explanation as to why Yann Martel puts so much distance from himself and the author of his books. First, I thought Beatrice & Virgil was an autobiography but after watching the interview I learned it was not. Beatrice and Virgil is a well-researched book with many connections to the Holocaust, I did not know Yann Martel was so intrigued by the history of the Holocaust. He has a lot of insight, and his mind seems to be constantly stimulated. Yann Martel is no doubt a deep thinker who tries to apply meaning in several different ways throughout the novel. t was interesting to me that Martel was able to form such a deep and complex book from an event that he had literally no relation to, except for the fact that he found it interesting. Martel was able to start from nothing and form an incredible literary work all because he was intrigued by the Holocaust and he was driven and passionate to write about it.
Yan Martel is an incredible writer and a brilliant person. In many ways, his descriptive portions can be long and drawn out, but in the long term, I've grown to appreciate them. Movies can capture every detail and essence of a scene from a 3rd person point of view, but you do not get the feel of a room from the main character. Martel has a way of describing a scene through the main character, such as in Beatrice and Virgil we as a reader can understand and process Henry's appreciation and admiration of the work of the taxidermist. He could have just said there were taxidermied animals, but Martel chose to make it an experience to walk into the taxidermy shop alongside Henery. I have also grown to appreciate the medium of animals, in reflection Martel is completely right about how people are skeptical of others, using animals is a brilliant way to surpass human cynicism.
After watching and analyzing this video, the talent of Yann Martel is crystal clear. Each and every aspect of his books are well researched and developed which shows that he puts careful thought into every sentence. He is a man with a passion for literature and a passion to open and expand the minds of readers. While watching this interview, I thought it was amusing how Martel would send books to his country's leader with the sole purpose of expanding the leader's views. This shows that Martel does have a great sense of humor as well as an expansive mind full of ideas. For example, Life of Pi is a fictional story about a man and a tiger, with exciting descriptions and events portrayed with a deeper meaning. Then, Beatrice and Virgil is a story that explores the true background of the Holocaust through fiction. This variation of writing is shows the process that Martel uses in order to develop such deep and meaningful stories and the excitement that Martel has for literature.
I very much enjoyed watching this interview with author, Yann Martel. Listening to him explain his motives for writing gives his readers a better understanding and appreciation for his books. I especially loved when Martel said that he usually writes to answer a specific (or non-specific) question he has about a topic. I found this incredibly intriguing because when reading, he has the reader ponder the same question. Knowing this, I have a new appreciation for the inconclusiveness of his books. We, as readers, are asking the same question Martel asked himself while writing his novel. Though Beatrice and Virgil was a novel that was a little too inconclusive for me, I can begin to understand Martel’s motives and reasoning behind it. I do love his writing and writing style. I have loved reading his novels so much that I definitely plan on reading more from this author in the future.
Yann Martel is a different guy compared to most of his league I would have to say in my opinion. He seems to be in a sense “encased” in irony which provokes more interest towards learning more about him as a person, not an author. He seems to be very passionate about what he creates for writing by using the style of personal experiences to influence his phenomenal stories. However, as being a person by throwing so much real life experiences to make a composition he turns it into the least expected of an abstract with talking animals. Martel is a determined, overly considerate person indeed after hearing what all information he compiled just to start on the work on Beatrice and Virgil. A man that treads that far to make every detail “just to the point” shows dedication. This is what I find unique in Martel’s style and what drives him ever more to be the best at what he does and I truly respect him for it.
Yann Martel is an incredibly smart man and you can infer that just from the things he has written. Although “Beatrice and Virgil” didn’t seem to be as successful as “Life of Pi” was. “Beatrice and Virgil was overall a boring book compared to “Life of Pi”. By reading the things he has wrote I think has a very interesting mind. I think his style of writing is so intriguing for many reasons. He leaves some ideas unanswered for the reader to decide what they want it to mean. Although this can be somewhat annoying to not know what the author meant by it, I like how you can make some parts of his novels to relate to your own life by interpreting it in your own way. To me, the video really showed me how intelligent he really is. I think the time and all the thought he put into the novels he has written is amazing. I am also very excited to read his poetry to see how it compares to his novels.
I really like the fact that we studied two novels by the same author. By doing this not only did we study novels, but we studied the author. I feel like the author is very important to literature. Without the author, literature would be impossible. We would have nothing to study and enjoy. Watching this video gave me a little bit better of an understanding of Yann Martel and how he writes. I really related to him when he said he writes to answer a question he has because I felt like I had questions answered also. By understanding how and why the author writes enhances the reading experience. I saw similarities in the style of writing in both “Life of Pi’ and in “Beatrice and Virgil.” It is just interesting to me to see that in books that are not a series. And I feel like I had an advantage because I figured out how to analyze and understand “Life of Pi” first, then I was already prepared to read “Beatrice and Virgil.”
I think Yann Martel is a very interesting person. He was born and raised in a wide range of places, which I believe is a good way to gain a multitude of viewpoints and opinions on a number of subjects, and which can make one quite well versed in the areas they wish to comment on. His novels, at least the ones we have read in class, are written in a way to minimize the amount that the reader assumes or comes into the novel with predetermined beliefs, and this allows his messages to be seen more clearly and cleanly without having to go to great lengths to break those beliefs beforehand. This is seen in the stark and alien settings and backstories he uses, as well as the abstract characters. This style is annoying to some, because they find it a challenge to read and interpret instead of other works, where the meaning is spoon fed to the reader.
Yann Martel is a great author which is evidenced by his great pieces of literature such as Life of Pi. In this interview, he states that every novel is autobiographical when talking about Beatrice and Virgil. There is a major difference however between Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil. The latter was not nearly as successful as the first. This could be for man reasons and I infer that a lot of it is that Yann Martel has a very unique mind that sees things differently from other people. This could explain why Beatrice and Virgil is liked by few and despised by many, because they simply don't understand Martel. I think that becomes even more evident when watching the interview that he gives. When you hear about how much work he put into the novel and the dedication he showed during the project, you can understand how much he cares about his works of literature. Overall, after looking back on the interview and the novel, I see Beatrice and Virgil in a whole new light that makes the story more sensible and appealing to me.
Yann Martel is a very interesting author that is very creative. LIfe of Pi was a very enjoyable book that peeked my interest. I also wanted to keep reading it. He has a very unique way of writing his novels. In the video, Martel says that people think Beatrice and Virgil is an autobiography, but he explains that he just wanted to write a book that relates to people but can also teach about the holocaust. I think that is very creative and I've never really seen another author do that. He has also used animals in his books which is usually unheard of because most books with animals are kid books. I believe the animals aspect make it easier for people to understand what he is trying to explain. In my opinion, Yann Martel is a very good author and he stands alone to me. He has become one of my favorite authors even though I did not enjoy Beatrice and Virgil like I enjoyed Life of Pi.
I found it really interesting the way he writes. He was describing it as though he was answering his own questions with books that he writes and that they have such an immense about of meaning behind them and looking at Life of Pi, it is just completely full of hidden meaning and things that could stand for something. I think hearing his way of thinking for Beatrice and Virgil sort of makes the book make more sense now, which I think I needed to here because I was really stuck wondering just like, what the heck. His way of being so interested in it that he wanted to write about it, but did not use a person standpoint since he was no way affected by the holocaust was interesting. It is for sure a different approach that I would have never thought of, and the way he used the animals was a lot more polite.
While conversing with my group during the Beatrice and Virgil forums, we found ourselves slightly agitated that Yann Martel would try to write about something that he has zero relation to, and has no personal experience with. Though most authors do not actually have the first-hand experience with whatever they are writing about, the holocaust is a very sensitive topic and only someone who genuinely knows the pain and horrors of it all should write about it. I found myself wondering why he would even attempt to write about something so fragile when he had nothing to do with it. Right off the bat in the video, he actually does make it known that has no relation to the holocaust but finds a great interest in it. He says that he finds more interest in it as an artist, rather than a citizen, and that actually irritates me a slight bit. I don't think there is anything artistic about the holocaust, and i don't think there are many other perspectives to take besides being completely horrified by the mass genocide. However, I can tell by his writing and by this video that Martel is a very well educated man, who does not tread lightly on the topic that interests him. He takes the topic and completely immerses himself in research to become as best educated about the topic to his ability, despite having no relation to it in the first place. If Martel had not spent years and years collecting knowledge for Beatrice and Virgil then I think I would have been more agitated. The fact that he went about so much research for the novel shows that he truly has respect about the holocaust, and had no intention of just trying to "wing it" with as much information he had in the initial beginning. He must have thought about readers and those who may have ties to the holocuast, and went about writing the novel so as to not offend or hurt anyone involved. He respects those involved (not the nazis) and has tried put himself in their shoes in order to perfect his novel. I really respect Martel for that.
Yann Martel is a unique author, and his writing style is incredibly unique to him. The way one can hear a song or watch a movie and recognize the artist behind it, the same goes for Martell's literature. I found it interesting when he says that every story he has written is in some way an autobiography. When an artist puts emotion into their work or a piece of themselves in their art, it makes the art much more powerful and impactful. This interview also, personally, saved the novel for me. On a surface level, I did not enjoy the novel and missed a lot of his intent behind it, but watching this interview has given me insight into the process behind it and his true intention in writing this novel.
I thought it was unique how Martel got his inspiration for writing. The way that animals helped facilitate the story to the readers was very effective and I appreciate the effort he went through to convey that. Displaying the savagery of our own race through the actions of animals is a brilliant way to convince readers that those actions are more plausible. I thought before that Martel meant to portray Henry as himself but apparently, that's just how it turned out to fit into his story. He also added in factors that made Henry different than himself by making him a musician and an actor to parallel the jew stereotypical archetypes. The destruction of the environment was also a way to parallel savage ways by having it represent the genocide that the Nazis were committing to the world. By wiping out a type of people, that is like wiping out an endangered species in nature and that is just another way to compare animals to the savagery and tragedy of mankind.
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