2/2 Life of
Pi
Synopsis
In the second
half of Life of Pi all the
lifeboat survivors are killed accept for Pi and Richard Parker. Pi catch’s
and gathers food for himself as well as Richard Parker. Pi decides that to
safely coexist with Richard Parker he will need to become Richard Parkers
master and does so successfully. The lifeboat continues to drift and Pi
encounters another castaway which try’s to kill him. Luckily Richard Parker
kills the castaway before the castaway can kill Pi, which at the time was blind.
Pi’s lifeboat ends up docking in México 227
days after the sinking of the Tsimtsum where he and Richard Parker have an
informal departure. Two Japanese ministry of transportation employees interrogate
Pi about the Tsimtsum which sunk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Pi tells
the interrogators two stories one with animals and one without. It was
unanimous that the story with animals makes a better story.
Characters Introduced
·
Piscine Molitor Patel: Pi is the protagonist and is the narrator of the story.
He is a very rounded and dynamic character who is religious and understands the
dangers of animals.
·
Santosh
Patel: Mr. Patel was Pi’s father and understood animals complexly. Mr.
Patel was a round character that drowned on the sinking of the boat.
·
Ravi
Patel: Ravi was Pi’s older brother who was a flat and static
character. He also drowned to death.
·
Gita
Patel: Gita Patel was Pi’s mother who died on the boat. She was a flat and
static character.
Mamaji: Mamaji
is Pi’s uncle who taught him how to swim. He is a flat character who is
mentioned very little.
·
Mr.
Kumar (#1): Mr. Kumar is Pi’s favorite teacher at the University of
Toronto. He is a flat static character.
Mr. Kumar (#2): Mr. Kumar is a poor baker who pi likes a lot
and invited to the zoo. He is a flat character.
·
Father Martin: Father
Martin is Pi’s Christian priest mentioned little. He is a flat character.
·
The Hindu Pandit: The Pandit is Pi’s Hindu leader
and he is a flat character.
·
Meena Patel: Meena is Pi's wife and is a Flat and
Static Character.
·
Sailors: Two sailors throw Pi onto the lifeboat.
This is all we know about them.
·
Richard Parker: Richard Parker is a large
Bengal tiger from the Pondicherry zoo. He is the largest worry in Pi’s survival
on the lifeboat. He is a well rounded tiger. Later on in the story we find out
that Richard Parker is not a Bengal tiger but Pi’s inner animal.
·
Orange
juice: Orange Juice is an orangutan from the Pondicherry zoo.
The Hyena killed her and Pi was very sad. She was a flat and static orangutan.
·
Zebra: The
Hyena killed The Zebra with the broken leg. The zebra was a flat and static
character.
·
Spotted
Hyena: The Hyena is a mean ruthless killer who has already killed
Orange Juice and the Zebra. The hyena is a round character.
·
The blind Castaway: The Castaway tried to kill Pi but Richard Parker kills him
first. Flat character with little dialogue.
· Mr. Okamoto and Mr.Chiba: Mr.Okamoto and Mr.Chiba are the two
investigators for the sinking of the vessel. They are both flat characters.
·
The
Cook: The cook is a mental cannibal who Richard
Parker killed. He is a flat character in the novel.
Point of View
The story is told in first person by Pi himself. Pi being the
protagonist and the narrator allows us too understand Pi’s thinking on a new
level of intimacy: we are making strong connections with Pi. Writing in first
person also gives a level of believability to the story and a large backdrop of
knowledge. While reading the story we are able to make connections with Pi and
other characters.
Setting
The setting of the story started in
Pondicherry, India; Pi’s hometown but has moved to a lifeboat in the middle of
Pacific Ocean. The lifeboat is twenty-six feet long and has a lot of the colour
orange. After docking the boat the new setting becomes Mexico in the small city
of Tomatan this is where the story ends.
The Author’s style
Yann Martel’s writing is very informational
and descriptive. Martel tends to start thoughts often and change them regularly
making his writing a little confusing at times. Martel likes writing journal
type entrees and starting new chapters with new thoughts and ideas.
Statement of Themes
The themes in the story so far are survival
and religion. The whole story is focused on Pi’s survival and his religious
views are helping him survive on the lifeboat. The theme of adaptability is
also showing up quite regularly. Pi’s capability of creating a new self is
astonishing and necessary for his survival. Pi has gone thru immense pain and
suffering from watching his mothers head flying towards him and the struggles
of loneliness. Pi’s inner self saves him and without Richard Parker Pi would
simply not have survived.
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