Part 2 - Life Of Pi

This second part of the novel begins with the tragic scene of the ship where Pi and his family where traveling with their zoo. Soon after the ship starts to sink Pi finds himself on a lifeboat next to wild animals, the tiger, the zebra, a hyena and a monkey. His family is gone and he is left all alone to survive on a lifeboat full of wild zoo animals that soon kill each other and leave Pi and Richard Parker, the tiger, alone in the boat.

This section of the book shows the will power to live and avoid death. In many occasions we can see how Pi avoids its death and continues to live even if it hurts, he still has hope. It also has many symbols present like Orange Juice the monkey, this character seems to be representing the maternal figure Pi is missing in the boat, I also believe that this specific part shows the turning point in an adolescent’s life where he must navigate the rough waters between the security of family life and the independence of adulthood.

Even though Pi goes through a lot in that lifeboat he manages to learn more about him self and the animals, as well as live through the pain and endure it. For example he can tell that Orange Juice has the most human like qualities, she is seasick and she looks out at the open water in a way that Pi instantly recognises as both hopeful, awaiting the appearance of her two sons, and hopeless, not really expected them to appear after all. Though comforted by Orange Juice’s humanlike manner, Pi is also saddened by their common bond: their loss of family.

Fear is always present along this book, but eventually Pi realizes that to survive he cannot separate from nature, he has to live along it and with it. For example, respecting Richard Parker to get respect back, and fishing instead of just relying on the little rations that he found on the lifeboat. Although manmade tools make survival easier, Pi remains reliant on nature, since, man cannot completely separate himself from and be independent of nature.

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-norris-de-montaigu/do-we-need-nature_b_531053.html

(This article explains the importance of nature in humans and how it is hard to survive without it)

The lifeboat soon starts to look like a zoo enclosure where Pi is the zookeeper of Richard Parker. The repetition of the same activities in life tend to be comforting but in the boat, they are a pain for Pi, maybe that is the reason why each “first” is described with great detail but later on it becomes part of the same dull routine.

By the end of part two we many ups and downs of Pi’s life just like the ups and downs in an open sea. First there is the storm, which Pi feels certain will cause his death. Then, the appearance of the tanker, which holds the potential for a rescue, but ends in hopelessness. Next comes Pi’s dialogue with Richard Parker, which leads to the arrival of the French-accented castaway. The island begins as a beacon of hope, a seemingly healthful oasis that turns out to be dangerous. The real conclusion is sudden and unexpected. Without warning, the lifeboat lands in Mexico, and Pi is saved.

This section of the book teaches us not to give up and always have hope. With hope you will always be able to find a solution to most of your problems and act rationally, this case act with nature not against it.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNuCS5ZtPJg

(This youtube video is of Jim Valvano, a famous motivational speaker that teaches to never give up on yourself)

Part 1- Life Of Pi

At the beginning of the novel we know that Pi has gone through something devastating however extraordinary, we just don’t know what it is. He just tells us that the story will make us believe in God.

The book approaches the story from the very beginning of Pi’s Life. This technique builds up suspense and allows us to get to know Pi in much more personal level and at the same time connect much more with his character.

The zoo occupies a very important place in Pi life. Growing up in a zoo shaped his belief system, taught him about animal nature, and freedom. Zoos are places of habit: there are chores that the keepers must perform every day, such as feeding and cleaning the animals and their cages, as well as animal rituals. Animals prefer the consistency of zoo life just as humans accustom themselves to the rituals and abundance of modern society.

Explanations of Pi’s name is very important in my opinion because given the amount of energy that Pi dedicates to the ideas of rituals and routine in the lives of zoo animals, it is telling that he uses repetition to train his schoolmates and teachers into calling him Pi, for example: one day at school, he jumps up during roll call and writes his full name on the blackboard; then he underlines his nickname, Pi, and even makes a joke about it writing the mathematical symbol for Pi, he carries out this act in each classroom, during every roll call, to the point where his friends start to call him by his nickname and not bully him like on his last school. For humans as well as animals, repetition proves to be a very effective.

From the zoo the novel travels to religion. We start to see objects that bring comfort to faithful people on a daily basis like: paintings of religious figures, like Christ on the cross, and sticks of incense and a copper spoon. A message of the book is becoming appearing: religion is a method humans developed to make their lives more enjoyable, more meaningful, and more understandable.

Both Martel and Pi are captivated by the connection of zoology and religion. Pi studies both subjects at college, Pi makes multiple references to the ways in which zoos are like religion, as well as how zoos are like a government, he even defends religion the same way he defends zoos earlier in the book, by examining the very definition of freedom and imagining what life would be like without religion. Any religion.

Oddly between these chapters on Hindu, Christianity, and Islam and the  chapter on the atheist Mr. Kumar their is the section on the rage of tigers and how territorial animals are. Pi’s father allows a tiger to attack a goat in front of his two sons to teach them to never get too close to the tiger cage. Wild animals, even if they’ve been domesticated and trained, are still wild animals at heart.

• http://www.livescience.com/16815-exotic-pets-wildlife-infographic.html

(The link above is an example of how domesticated wild animals will always have their wild animal side inside.)

The novel then goes back to religion. Pi knows that believing in a story requires a leap of faith. This is precisely why he is so troubled by agnostic people. Agnostics, as Pi explains it, are rational to a fault. They do not trust anything that they cannot see, taste, or experience.

Pi practices multiple religions simultaneously. Normal born and raised Hindus do not adopt two additional faiths. However, something in Pi forces him to need more stories, more versions of reality, more options. Each faith brings with it its own unique myths and stories, its own variety of rituals and customs, and its own take on God. Pi explains that the spirit of every religion is love, and by practicing multiple religions at once he is able to surround himself in layers of affection, acceptance, and understanding.

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/themes/religion/

(The link above is an exploration that shows how religion started and how are their similar between each other)