Quarter #1- Life of Pi
Synopsis
The first quarter for this novel is very informational and the background is presented. The protagonist, Pi, describes his education at the University of Toronto and his double-major in Religion and Science. The reader gets to know that he grew up in India but then moved to Canada when he was a teenager, that he loves Canada but misses India too. Pi's full name is Piscine Molitor Patel and he is named after a great swimming pool called Piscine Molitor. Piscine's father is introduced and it is said that he was a hotel manager but always wanted to start a zoo, so he did. Since Pi's father has his own zoo now, the protagonist knows a lot about the zoo itself and the animals kept inside. He understands the danger a man poses to animals in a zoo, is aware of the fact that there will always be animals that try to escape from the zoo because animals always escape from something, never to something. His father makes sure that Pi really understands the full danger, so he makes Pi and his older brother Ravi watch how a tiger kills and eats a goat. This is just the first of many similar lessons he gives to his sons regarding the dangerous animals in the zoo. After all, it becomes clear that animals, survival and freedom will all be important in the tale and the danger of animals.
Characters introduced
Piscine Molitor Patel- This is the protagonist and narrator, who is also called Pi, who grew up in Pondicherry but left when he was in his teens and headed to Canada with his family. He is highly interested in Religion and Science, therefore he has double-majors in Zoology and Religion. Piscine considers himself a Hindu, Christian and Muslim. -round character/dynamic character
Santosh Patel- Santosh Patel is Pi's father who was a hotel manager but is now a successful zoo keeper of the Pondicherry Zoo. He has a great understanding of his animals and a huge respect for them. -flat character
Ravi Patel- Ravi Patel is Pi's older brother who is very different compared to Pi because he is popular, he is a talented athlete and even the captain of the cricket team and he is a merciless teaser. -flat character
Gita Patel- Gita Patel is Pi's mother who usually is a calm and unruffled woman. -flat character
Mamaji or Francis Adirubasamy- This man is Pi's father earliest business contact who became a very good friend of the family and he even tries to teach his love of swimming to Pi's parents, brother and Pi. -flat character/static character
Satish Kumar- Satish Kumar is Pi's weird looking biology teacher with a bald and pointy head at Petit Seminaire. He is Pi's favourite teacher. -flat character/static character
Richard Parker- Only his name has been mentioned.
Point of view
At first there is a fictional author's note, explaining the origins of the book but later on the protagonist becomes the narrator at first person's view. This point of view only reveals the thoughts of the protagonist which is most important in the story. The reader is not interested on the personal feelings of the other flat characters so it is good that Yann Martel chose the protagonist to become the narrator.
Setting
At the very beginning the story takes place in Pondicherry, a former French territory of India in the 1990's but then Canada is the next setting in this novel.
Writer's Style
The first section of this tale is very informational where a lot of background information is presented. Yann Martel uses a diary-like writing style which is easy to understand and we can also find dialogues in his story.
Statement of Themes
I think that there for sure is a minor theme representing Science and Religion or rather the connection between those two categories. Since Pi has a really strong focus on religion throughout this novel, another theme would be the belief in God, accepting and sharing different religions.
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