In the process of compiling this entire independent study I have definitely grown as a student. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive at first about picking a Canadian author. I thought that no matter what novel I chose I would be reading a 500 page recount of leaves, snow, and beavers. I don't quite know why that was though - perhaps my low expectations for Canadian produced films translated into Canadian produced books.
I chose the book based on its weird name - I think I was lucky. When I first chose the Life of Pi as my novel, most of my friends that have read it went on endlessly about how confusing it was. Looking back at their comments I can see what they mean; most people I know who have read this book did so somewhere between grade 8 - grade 10. This book may be written with a cute and colourful story about a boy and some zoo animals, but it is the type of novel that needs to be re-read, and though about. You need to have the intellectual maturity to put something in the novel in order to experience what it has to offer. This is not saying that a person in that age bracket cannot successfully understand The Life of Pi, it's just unlikely.
Admittedly, I do not read a lot - in fact, the last novel I read was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for last year's English ISU. I don't want to lie in saying that I'm going to be running to the library to pick up books exclusively written by Canadian authors - but I can say that I've gained a new appreciation for Canadian literature. In that light I believe this assignment was very successful. I treat most assignments/projects like mindless work to be completed. However, about half-way through the book I was pulled right into the story and sometimes looked forward to doing sections of the assignment. That is definitely a first.
While I'm not sure when I will pick up my next novel, I have gained a slight interest in blogs. I took a few breaks from my ISU and browsed the website to find a plethora of other blogs about every stupid little thing in the world. I often found myself stuck reading a few of them losing time. I may start my own personal blog if I could think of something to write about. This blog served me as a bit of an intellectual outlet for me to learn and express myself.
Finally, I loved the novel. It's definitely one of my best reads so far. It was able to make me think and wonder about pretty much everything. My favourite character was the tiger, Richard Parker. It sounds lame, but I'm still very upset about Pi and him parting ways forever. It bugs me every time I think about the novel. It made me feel a bit better when the last chapter described the scene with Pi and his future family standing together. Yahn Martel made sure he pointed out that his wife was holding an orange cat in her arms - this I took as a symbol for Richard Parker being with Pi in spirit.
All-in-all this entire study helped me grow a lot intellectually, and emotionally. I'm actually glad to have had the opportunity to do this assignment. Had you told me before that this assignment would do this and that I would enjoy it, I would think you were crazy - but now as I conclude this study, I urge you to not alter this independent study for the next year's classes; not everyone will appreciate the study like I did, but a few people might put some extra work in and get out of it what I did - or maybe even more. Cheers
- Tyler Scott
Sunday
Explication of Ambition in The Life of Pi by Yahn Martel
I chose to do an explication of Ambition for this novel because I feel that the central theme in The Life of Pi is discovering a sense of purpose and the meaning of life. Throughout the odd and often confusing nature of the novel, I couldn’t help notice Pi’s ambition for discovery emanate from his character. The book is a chronicling of Pi Pattel’s discovery of meaning and purpose behind his life - his ambition fuelled solely by intellectual curiosity and a yearning to achieve a higher understanding of self. His ambition echos throughout the book - from beginning to end. This novel is much more than a survival story of a seemingly helpless boy cast out into the sea. It is a story of a boy on an intellectual journey that could only be catalysed by such a catastrophic event.
As the novel started out, I learned of Pi’s origins. When I began reading the story in a figurative context, the text held greater meaning. Pi’s full name is Piscine Molitor Patel - he abbreviated his name to Pi because of teasing. In a figurative context, Pi’s new name is a major symbol in the novel, as Pi himself explains "And so, in that Greek letter that looks like a shack with a corrugated tin roof, in that elusive, irrational number with which scientists try to understand the universe, I found refuge." (Martel, 26)Pi is a lowercase Greek letter, and more commonly known as quotient of circumference divided by diameter. It is also a paradox in the sense that it is an infinite constant. It is often trunicated to the value 3.14, but in reality it is a never ending string of numbers with no apparent pattern or end. We cannot comprehend the idea of pi as it is infinitely big with no end. This can relate to the beginning of Pi’s journey. Pi is attempting the impossible: figure out life - much like a mathematician solving Pi for the last decimal place. The value of pi is infinitely large and seemingly endless - it shares this property with Pi’s intellectual journey. To most individuals, this journey would certainly be a lost cause and hold no promise for fulfilment - but Pi continues eagerly toward his goal with a constant stride. Pi’s dogmatic behaviour is due to ambition - nothing else.
Pi shares some values as he teaches us that "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation." (Martel, 27). In this Yahn Martel is setting up the mindset for the rest of the novel. It also echos an explanation of Pi’s unyielding ambition. The Life of Pi reads much like a parable - full of animals, symbols, and unrealistic events. You will not gain much from this novel if you read it in a literal sense - taken in a figurative context however, many inferences and allusions can be made to discover true themes and motifs Martel presents. This is akin to Pi’s philosophy; he criticizes people who approach out-of-the-world and unlikely stories with a pretense of doubt. The argument he makes is that they cannot look beyond the confines of scientific fact, and by this, they are severely limiting their understanding of life; abstract thoughts and ideas cannot always be explained as literal and factual data - life is not always quantitative and systematic.
At the end of this novel, Pi asks his inquisitors "So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?" (Martel, 326). His inquisitors both answer that they liked the story with the animals better despite their criticisms of it lacking in reality. I believe this is a reflection on modern society as a whole; we have lost ambition for self-discovery - throwing away wonder in lieu of data and fact. Ambition is the ultimate driving force for success with anything, but it is becoming scarce. Pi's ambition is seemingly endless and unyielding. It never dies throughout the novel even as Pi is put through catastrophic and disturbing events. Pi's ambition is a definite theme in The Life of Pi, and I believe that it fits the novel best out of the 36 Polti dramatic themes.
- Tyler Scott
Works Cited
Martel , Yahn. Life of Pi. Vintage Canada Edition. Toronto, CAN: Vintage Canada, 2001.
Winston, Amanda. "Life of Pi Wins Booker." The Daily Telegraph 2002 14 Nov 2008.
Krist, Gary. "Taming the Tiger." New York Times 2002 14 Nov 2008.
Mullan, John. "In the Same Boat." The London Observer 2002 14 Nov 2008.
As the novel started out, I learned of Pi’s origins. When I began reading the story in a figurative context, the text held greater meaning. Pi’s full name is Piscine Molitor Patel - he abbreviated his name to Pi because of teasing. In a figurative context, Pi’s new name is a major symbol in the novel, as Pi himself explains "And so, in that Greek letter that looks like a shack with a corrugated tin roof, in that elusive, irrational number with which scientists try to understand the universe, I found refuge." (Martel, 26)Pi is a lowercase Greek letter, and more commonly known as quotient of circumference divided by diameter. It is also a paradox in the sense that it is an infinite constant. It is often trunicated to the value 3.14, but in reality it is a never ending string of numbers with no apparent pattern or end. We cannot comprehend the idea of pi as it is infinitely big with no end. This can relate to the beginning of Pi’s journey. Pi is attempting the impossible: figure out life - much like a mathematician solving Pi for the last decimal place. The value of pi is infinitely large and seemingly endless - it shares this property with Pi’s intellectual journey. To most individuals, this journey would certainly be a lost cause and hold no promise for fulfilment - but Pi continues eagerly toward his goal with a constant stride. Pi’s dogmatic behaviour is due to ambition - nothing else.
Pi shares some values as he teaches us that "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation." (Martel, 27). In this Yahn Martel is setting up the mindset for the rest of the novel. It also echos an explanation of Pi’s unyielding ambition. The Life of Pi reads much like a parable - full of animals, symbols, and unrealistic events. You will not gain much from this novel if you read it in a literal sense - taken in a figurative context however, many inferences and allusions can be made to discover true themes and motifs Martel presents. This is akin to Pi’s philosophy; he criticizes people who approach out-of-the-world and unlikely stories with a pretense of doubt. The argument he makes is that they cannot look beyond the confines of scientific fact, and by this, they are severely limiting their understanding of life; abstract thoughts and ideas cannot always be explained as literal and factual data - life is not always quantitative and systematic.
At the end of this novel, Pi asks his inquisitors "So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?" (Martel, 326). His inquisitors both answer that they liked the story with the animals better despite their criticisms of it lacking in reality. I believe this is a reflection on modern society as a whole; we have lost ambition for self-discovery - throwing away wonder in lieu of data and fact. Ambition is the ultimate driving force for success with anything, but it is becoming scarce. Pi's ambition is seemingly endless and unyielding. It never dies throughout the novel even as Pi is put through catastrophic and disturbing events. Pi's ambition is a definite theme in The Life of Pi, and I believe that it fits the novel best out of the 36 Polti dramatic themes.
- Tyler Scott
Works Cited
Martel , Yahn. Life of Pi. Vintage Canada Edition. Toronto, CAN: Vintage Canada, 2001.
Winston, Amanda. "Life of Pi Wins Booker." The Daily Telegraph 2002 14 Nov 2008
Krist, Gary. "Taming the Tiger." New York Times 2002 14 Nov 2008
Mullan, John. "In the Same Boat." The London Observer 2002 14 Nov 2008
Apologia
Apologia
The Life of Pi by Yahn Martel is a significant contribution to Canadian Literature. The book itself presents the reader with very ambiguous themes masked by a cute story dealing with animals and a young boy named Pi. The major theme in the novel is in a round-about way an encompassing reflection on life itself: the main character in the novel, Pi, is searching for the meaning of life – discovering a sense of purpose. Pi achieves this somewhat through a vehicle of recognition and appreciation of the beauty in minor details. There’s also a vague theme suggesting that a person is shaped largely by society and his/her surroundings (in the sense of one’s own identity). The novel would not have had the significant impact were it not for the author, Yahn Martel. While this novel was for the most part his only praised work, his devotion is apparent in the text. Martel spent thirteen months abroad visiting zoos and religious institutions in India; he also did two years of research on most of the settings/nature described in his book. Yahn Martel completely immersed himself in Pi’s environment before he wrote the book; this is why he is able to so-vividly describe colours and settings presented in the novel. The parallel between Martel’s life experiences and Pi’s story creates an honest tone in the novel – one that cannot be replicated by an inexperienced author.
Arguing that the meaning of life is a topic of weighty significance is like arguing that a person requires oxygen to live. Martel utilizes his knowledge of animals and religion to present this topic in a unique light. The theme of discovering a sense of purpose and overall meaning of life climaxes in chapter 99. This is where Pi retells the story of what he had experienced – he first presents the full story complete with the animal characters, then after disbelief, he offers a second version fixed to satisfy his inquisitors. Pi protests, “I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality.” – In this, a very important point is made: humans cannot discover true sense of purpose or a meaning of life if they are not able to move beyond the confines of empirical knowledge. Humans inherently test stories against fact, and this leads to a downfall – a bottlenecking of the mind. This is a very powerful message which can be explored and applied to the real world. It evokes the reader into deep reflection on one’s self, and modern society.
The Life of Pi is an internationally acclaimed novel. It was first published in Canada in 2001 and a year later in 2002 in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was generally well-received everywhere; The Daily Telegraph insists The Life of Pi is a “hilarious novel, full of clever tricks, amusing asides and grand originality.”. The New York Times says the “story inevitably takes on the quality of a parable.” and “could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life.”. The trend continued with The London Observer echoing that “Martel has large amounts of intellectual fun with outrageous fable”. The Life of Pi was Yahn Martel’s first – and so far his only – critically acclaimed novel. He went on to receive numerous awards: including Canada’s Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction for 2001, and the Man Booker Prize in 2002. The novel remained a best-seller for the greater part of 2002-2003 in both the U.K. and U.S, and maintained strong sales thereafter. Yahn Martel’s The Life of Pi sold well over three million copies, and has a movie counterpart currently in production to be released in 2011.
Most people underestimate or completely overlook the capabilities of Canada as a nation for a variety of expressive mediums, including literature. Martel created a novel which effectively invites the reader to explore and ponder metaphysical topics that plague the minds of even the greatest philosophers: What is the meaning of life? Why do we think the way we do? What is our purpose as Human beings? This novel is fortified with a solid backing of knowledge acquired through years of intense research and personal experience on Martel’s part. Yahn Martel’s The Life of Pi is a powerful and compelling piece that not only puts Canadian literature on the map, it circles it with a fancy glitter pen.
- Tyler Scott
The Life of Pi by Yahn Martel is a significant contribution to Canadian Literature. The book itself presents the reader with very ambiguous themes masked by a cute story dealing with animals and a young boy named Pi. The major theme in the novel is in a round-about way an encompassing reflection on life itself: the main character in the novel, Pi, is searching for the meaning of life – discovering a sense of purpose. Pi achieves this somewhat through a vehicle of recognition and appreciation of the beauty in minor details. There’s also a vague theme suggesting that a person is shaped largely by society and his/her surroundings (in the sense of one’s own identity). The novel would not have had the significant impact were it not for the author, Yahn Martel. While this novel was for the most part his only praised work, his devotion is apparent in the text. Martel spent thirteen months abroad visiting zoos and religious institutions in India; he also did two years of research on most of the settings/nature described in his book. Yahn Martel completely immersed himself in Pi’s environment before he wrote the book; this is why he is able to so-vividly describe colours and settings presented in the novel. The parallel between Martel’s life experiences and Pi’s story creates an honest tone in the novel – one that cannot be replicated by an inexperienced author.
Arguing that the meaning of life is a topic of weighty significance is like arguing that a person requires oxygen to live. Martel utilizes his knowledge of animals and religion to present this topic in a unique light. The theme of discovering a sense of purpose and overall meaning of life climaxes in chapter 99. This is where Pi retells the story of what he had experienced – he first presents the full story complete with the animal characters, then after disbelief, he offers a second version fixed to satisfy his inquisitors. Pi protests, “I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality.” – In this, a very important point is made: humans cannot discover true sense of purpose or a meaning of life if they are not able to move beyond the confines of empirical knowledge. Humans inherently test stories against fact, and this leads to a downfall – a bottlenecking of the mind. This is a very powerful message which can be explored and applied to the real world. It evokes the reader into deep reflection on one’s self, and modern society.
The Life of Pi is an internationally acclaimed novel. It was first published in Canada in 2001 and a year later in 2002 in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was generally well-received everywhere; The Daily Telegraph insists The Life of Pi is a “hilarious novel, full of clever tricks, amusing asides and grand originality.”. The New York Times says the “story inevitably takes on the quality of a parable.” and “could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life.”. The trend continued with The London Observer echoing that “Martel has large amounts of intellectual fun with outrageous fable”. The Life of Pi was Yahn Martel’s first – and so far his only – critically acclaimed novel. He went on to receive numerous awards: including Canada’s Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction for 2001, and the Man Booker Prize in 2002. The novel remained a best-seller for the greater part of 2002-2003 in both the U.K. and U.S, and maintained strong sales thereafter. Yahn Martel’s The Life of Pi sold well over three million copies, and has a movie counterpart currently in production to be released in 2011.
Most people underestimate or completely overlook the capabilities of Canada as a nation for a variety of expressive mediums, including literature. Martel created a novel which effectively invites the reader to explore and ponder metaphysical topics that plague the minds of even the greatest philosophers: What is the meaning of life? Why do we think the way we do? What is our purpose as Human beings? This novel is fortified with a solid backing of knowledge acquired through years of intense research and personal experience on Martel’s part. Yahn Martel’s The Life of Pi is a powerful and compelling piece that not only puts Canadian literature on the map, it circles it with a fancy glitter pen.
- Tyler Scott
Tuesday
Entry One - Part 1 (Chapters 1-36)
After reading the Part one of The Life of Pi, I realized that I made a mistake in skipping the author's note. The book itself is a work of fiction, trying to disguise itseld as non-fiction. The author - Yann Martel - claims to have met an older man in a cafe who told him: “I have a story that will make you believe in God.”. This author's note is really a means of explaining that this novel is a story telling another story - preparing the reader somewhat for the confusion in the following pages. Part one largely consists of introducing the character, Pi. The perspective in which the story is told constantly alternates between the author and Pi himself, I found this very confusing. The first six chapters tell us that Pi is a small, middle-aged man living in Toronto. He is an immigrant from India, and has completed a double major in zoology and religion. Martel draws the reader in with hints of a devastating event in Pi's life - and his missing for Richard Parker. He reccounts his memories of being teased for his first name, Piscine - with his classmates often calling him 'pissing'. He fixed this by writing his name on the chalk board everyday until he 'trained' everybody to call him Pi. Pi was named after a pool in France, and relates his love for swimming to the repition and ritualistic behaviour of it. His father owned a zoo in India, and zoo conduct seems to have manifested itself into Pi's entire lifestyle. He finds happiness through systematic protocol and routine he grew up with at the zoo.
When doing further research on the novel, I came across a very interesting part of the book. Pi makes allusion to his thesis on sixteenth-century Kabbalist Isaac Luria's cosmogony theory. This theory states that God made room for the universe in an action called Tsimstum via five vessels of light. These vessels were destroyed and God reformed the vessels as dimensions of reality. I don't quite fully understand the theory, but it definitely foreshadows the rest of the novel: Pi's boat - also called the Tsimstum - sinks on its way to Canada. The sinking of the Tsimstum creates room for Pi's story. There are five characters in the lifeboat which rescues Pi that parallel the five reformed vessels that make up reality in the theory.
In the spirit of reading too much into things, there was a very long explanation of Pi's name. The most obvious thing to point out is that Pi was named after a pool. This is relavent because Pi grew up as a good swimmer and part two of this novel involves Pi stranded in the ocean. Another thing I noticed as soon as I first saw the title of the novel is the word Pi. I found it odd, and it's what ultimately drew me into choosing this novel to study. Pi is a lowercase Greek letter, and more commonly known as quotient of circumference divided by diameter. It is also a paradox in the sense that it is an infinite constant. It is often trunicated to the value 3.14, but in reality it is a never ending string of numbers with no apparent pattern or end. We cannot comprehend the idea of pi as it is infinitely big with no end. The author could possibly be trying to infer something about the story or character of Pi.
The novel continues on with Pi reccounting the time when his father fed a live goat to a tiger in front of him and his brother to show them how dangerous the animal can be. He was taught while animals are dangerous, they are not evil. They are dangerous when provoked. It continues to tell how Pi has practiced Hinduism, Christianity, and the Muslim religion all together since age 15. I believe that these two ideas are meant to contrast eachother to convey a message in the book. Relgion can be the root of a lot of violence, as can wild animals - they can both be very dangerous things. If time is taken to truely understand an animal, exactly why and how it is provoked through its ritualistic behaviour, there is plenty to learn from it. The same goes for relgion with Pi: Pi takes the time to understand the full meaning behind religion, and understands that the rituals behind them are hollow acts. Without the true understanding of religion, there is nothing to be gained from it. Consequently, Pi has taken a lot of time to understand religions and now practices three of them and boasts a university degree.
The conclusion of part one is largely setting up an explanation for Pi's family's move to Canada from India: politics. This part seems to focus on the importance of imagination and additives. Pi has a hate for agnostics because they do not believe in anything because there is no tangible evidence to prove its existance. Pi surrounds himself with three religions because he likes the imaginative quality of their stories and myths, and their own unique outlook of life and God. This could be a reason why Pi's cooking, and well stocked kitchen is described in such detail. Pi uses a lot of spices and condiments to flavour his cooking. This may represent his take on religion or imagination. Pi believes that everybody wants a story because it helps them get through life. He alludes to the fact that animals will regard other species as their own, even though they know that they are different. Personally, I don't find this idea well put together - I feel like explanations and connections made are a bit scattered.
There is an important scene with Pi standing with his wife an kids. His wife is holding an orange cat. The orange cat symbolizes Richard Parker - the orange bengal tiger that Pi befriends out at sea. This appearance of an orange house cat was actually very heart-warming after reading the novel. This scene also tells the reader that no matter what tradegy Pi will face in part two, the book ends on a happy note.
- Tyler Scott
When doing further research on the novel, I came across a very interesting part of the book. Pi makes allusion to his thesis on sixteenth-century Kabbalist Isaac Luria's cosmogony theory. This theory states that God made room for the universe in an action called Tsimstum via five vessels of light. These vessels were destroyed and God reformed the vessels as dimensions of reality. I don't quite fully understand the theory, but it definitely foreshadows the rest of the novel: Pi's boat - also called the Tsimstum - sinks on its way to Canada. The sinking of the Tsimstum creates room for Pi's story. There are five characters in the lifeboat which rescues Pi that parallel the five reformed vessels that make up reality in the theory.
In the spirit of reading too much into things, there was a very long explanation of Pi's name. The most obvious thing to point out is that Pi was named after a pool. This is relavent because Pi grew up as a good swimmer and part two of this novel involves Pi stranded in the ocean. Another thing I noticed as soon as I first saw the title of the novel is the word Pi. I found it odd, and it's what ultimately drew me into choosing this novel to study. Pi is a lowercase Greek letter, and more commonly known as quotient of circumference divided by diameter. It is also a paradox in the sense that it is an infinite constant. It is often trunicated to the value 3.14, but in reality it is a never ending string of numbers with no apparent pattern or end. We cannot comprehend the idea of pi as it is infinitely big with no end. The author could possibly be trying to infer something about the story or character of Pi.
The novel continues on with Pi reccounting the time when his father fed a live goat to a tiger in front of him and his brother to show them how dangerous the animal can be. He was taught while animals are dangerous, they are not evil. They are dangerous when provoked. It continues to tell how Pi has practiced Hinduism, Christianity, and the Muslim religion all together since age 15. I believe that these two ideas are meant to contrast eachother to convey a message in the book. Relgion can be the root of a lot of violence, as can wild animals - they can both be very dangerous things. If time is taken to truely understand an animal, exactly why and how it is provoked through its ritualistic behaviour, there is plenty to learn from it. The same goes for relgion with Pi: Pi takes the time to understand the full meaning behind religion, and understands that the rituals behind them are hollow acts. Without the true understanding of religion, there is nothing to be gained from it. Consequently, Pi has taken a lot of time to understand religions and now practices three of them and boasts a university degree.
The conclusion of part one is largely setting up an explanation for Pi's family's move to Canada from India: politics. This part seems to focus on the importance of imagination and additives. Pi has a hate for agnostics because they do not believe in anything because there is no tangible evidence to prove its existance. Pi surrounds himself with three religions because he likes the imaginative quality of their stories and myths, and their own unique outlook of life and God. This could be a reason why Pi's cooking, and well stocked kitchen is described in such detail. Pi uses a lot of spices and condiments to flavour his cooking. This may represent his take on religion or imagination. Pi believes that everybody wants a story because it helps them get through life. He alludes to the fact that animals will regard other species as their own, even though they know that they are different. Personally, I don't find this idea well put together - I feel like explanations and connections made are a bit scattered.
There is an important scene with Pi standing with his wife an kids. His wife is holding an orange cat. The orange cat symbolizes Richard Parker - the orange bengal tiger that Pi befriends out at sea. This appearance of an orange house cat was actually very heart-warming after reading the novel. This scene also tells the reader that no matter what tradegy Pi will face in part two, the book ends on a happy note.
- Tyler Scott
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