Question 8 (chapters 93-100)
Pi’s story from pages 303-311 is a disturbing, traumatic account of a violent journey with human characters taking the place of animals. Discuss the author’s spiritual growth in relation to his “possibly” fabricated story. What does the author, Yann Martel, want you to believe? Argue your position.
posted by Davis at
2:37 PM
7 Comments:
As I had previously stated, I think that the animals are metaphors for peoples attributes and opinions, if you look at the portion where Pi "Becomes a zookeeper" feeding Richard 3 times a day to save himself, Pi feels empowered for this when in reality he is simply the slave of Richard who is dominant and has gained everything from this relationship.
9:04 AM
I believe that the account of the human passengers is the only satirical part of this entire story. Pi merely tells this story to the Japanese scientists because he knows that this is what they want to hear. Perhaps Pi questions his own recollection of his story with the animals and thus comes up with an alternative to make him seem less crazy. Any way you look at it, the author wants us to make our own decision on the "true" story of Piscine Molitor Patel. Looking at the last line of the book, "Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and none in the company of an adult Bengal Tiger" Martel 401) one can see the decision that the Japanese scientists have come to and possibly the author Yann Martel. Thank you and goodnight.
5:56 PM
Martel leaves us with this seperate account of Pi's story to create an imagination in his readers. He wants us to create our own version, substituting what we believe the characters represent with our own. Life of Pi turns into a book of interpretation this way, rather than a book of whos whats and wheres.
7:49 PM
The story Pi told the investigators was a much more believable one and, i think, the true story. Pi made up the story with the animals to remove himself from all the pain and suffering that came with the true story. He created Richard Parker while on the boat so he could have some company when he felt alone. The he realized that the could excuse any actions he would feel guilty about by blaming Richard Parker, who no one can prove or disprove existed.
9:59 AM
Martel clearly wants us to believe the animal story, but I think it doesn’t matter what we choose. In the end both stories are pretty much the same with the exception that people replace the animals in the second version. No mater what you choose to believe, Pi grew the same spiritually and is still a hero in a sense.
11:07 AM
I believe that Martel intented the story for animals and someone else has interpreted it as human beings. The story seems to be a bit more interesting with the animals while the story with human beings is one of brutal and deadly honesty where Pi is the only one left standing after a series of cannabalistic killings.
11:30 AM
This is purely and simply a twist on the often portrayed lifeboat saga. It's always a tale of survival but this one has a twist. It utilizes animal metaphors and allegory to portray the survival instincts of mankind. The human and animals forms are mirror images of each other and one in the same. If you don't believe that man will reduce himself to cannibalism to survive then you've missed a good deal of anthropology and the history of mankind.
Typical set up...
There are 4 survivors set out on the lifeboat. Pi (Richard Parker being his alter ego and his animalistic survival instinct), the sailor (Zebra), Pi's mother (Orangutan) and the cook (Hyena). One (the sailor) is already gravely injured so it's just a matter of time or expedition to eliminate him. The cook takes the lead and offs the sailor. The contraversy riles up Pi and his mother, and desperation leads to more bloodshed which begets more bloodshed and Pi is the lone survivor of the violence beset in the heart of man and their survival at any price. Richard Parker is manifested within Pi to help him survive. He must abandon his pacifistic ways and his vegetarianism to survive. He resorts to become a survivor an animal and a bengal tiger.
The stuff about the blind cook and the island are all delusions of a tired, lonely, hungry and distraught individual facing the end of his life.
It's all about surviving life and the reality of mankind and our truly animalistic behaviors to continue evolution.
How bad do you want to live? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to survive? The lifeboat game is the ultimate test of one's will.
11:35 AM
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home