Download Life of Pi: ​Close Reading for Part 1 Important information to note

Life of Pi: ​
Close Reading for Part 1
Important information to note before moving on to Part 2: Read over this guide once you
have finished reading part 1! :)
Facts about Animals – According to Pi Patel
○ Both zoos and religion are no longer in people’s good graces; certain illusions about
freedom plague them both.
○ The most dangerous animal in the zoo is man
○ The most dangerous animal overall is ​
Animalus anthropomorphicus​
(the animal as seen
through human eyes)
○ Almost all animals have the capacity to be ferocious and dangerous. Life will defend itself
no matter how small it is.
○ Getting animals used to the presence of humans is at the heart of the art and science of
zookeeping. The key aim is to diminish flight distance (the minimum distance at which an
animal wants to keep a perceived enemy).
○ The tools for diminishing flight distance are:
■ the knowledge we have about an animal
■ the food and shelter we provide
■ the protection we afford
○ While there will always be animals that seek to escape from zoos, animals don’t escape ​
to
somewhere​
but ​
from something’ ​
If their needs are not being met, or they are too set in their
ways to adapt to a new environment, they will run from it.
○ All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes
inexplicable ways. Without this madness, no species would survive.
○ Wild animals that escape may be living without detection for a long time. They are there,
but no one knows.
○ An animal will attack not to feed, but because its territory has been invaded. Amimals will
defend their territories to the death.
○ To establish dominance, a lion tamer must enter the ring first, in view of the lions, thus
establishing that it is the man’s territory the lions will eventually enter. The man must
establish himself as the super alpha male.
○ A ring is round so there is nowhere to hide. If an animal can hide, it gains confidence and
strength.
○ The most “trainable” lion is the one with the lowest social standing in the pride – the
omega, not the alpha. This is because he has the most to gain from the trainer.
○ Animals are capable of the animal version of anthropomorphism, which is Zoomorphism.
This is where an animal takes a human being, or another animal, to be one of its kind. Pi
thinks the explanation is the “Measure of Madness.”
What do we learn from the writer in Part 1?
>>Don’t forget that we need to read part 1 knowing that the writer already knows the whole story.
Sometimes he slips up and tells us things we aren’t really supposed to know yet; pay attention to these little
“slips’ (more about this under the “Ambiguities” section).
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While in India, the author met a man named Francis Adirubasamy who told him he had
story that would make him believe in God​
(we later learn from Pi that this is Mamaji,
the close friend of the family who also named him after a swimming pool in Paris).
Later in Canada, he looked for and found Mr. Piscine Patel, the man behind the story. The
st​
writer conducted numerous personal interviews with Mr. Patel and read 1​
person diary
accounts and newspaper articles of the event. He also received, after lots of hassles and
difficulty, a tape and report from the Japanese Ministry of Transport. We don’t know what
these are about, but he does thank three Japanese professional men: from the Japanese
Embassy, the Oika Shipping Company, and the Japanese Ministry of Transport. We can
infer that he needed lot of help in securing the report and tape, but they must have been
valuable to his research.
We know that what we read (starting in chapter 1) is as though Mr. Patel is telling the story.
In other words, the story is written in his voice as much as possible. We also know the
italicized sections are where the author breaks in with interjections.
We learn personal information about Pi: his physical characteristics, the look of his home,
his culinary skills.
We learn that Mr. Patel’s home shows evidence that he is a practicing Christian, Hindu, and
Muslim faiths. Since this section appears among Pi’s own recollections of his religious
experiences, so we learn that he still embraces all 3 religions of his youth.
We also learn that he has a wife (which takes the writer by surprise).
From Mr. Patel, the writer has learned that ​
“the founding principle of existence is
what we call love.”​
The writer seems to be wrestling with some of the philosophical
ideas he’s been exposed to through his research.
Pi has shown the writer some photos:
○ from his wedding and honeymoon
○ from his student days at University of Toronto
○ from various religious ceremonies in Toronto
○ from his job in the lab
○ from his graduation
○ from his research in Brazil – of sloths
○ from the years he lived in India, mailed by Mamaji “after the events”- a picture
from the zoo (which included Mr. Adirubasamy); a picture of schoolchildren; a
picture of a swimming pool; and a picture of the front gate of Pi’s old school.
Other than the pictures (see ‘g’ above), Pi says that all other photos of his childhood were
lost. He also can’t remember his mother’s face or the sound of her voice.
We learn that he has children. We learn that​
the story will have a happy ending
despite the fact that Pi begins Part 1 with “My suffering left me sad and gloomy.)
Life of Pi: ​
Boundary Crossings
○ Majored in Zoology and Religious Studies
○ Studying and researching sloths reminded him of studying God
○ Sees a kinship between atheists and those who believe in God. Has no tolerance for the
beliefs of agnostics.
○ Life and death are inseparable (ch. 1)
○ Zoos and religion elicit the same incorrect illusions – that neither encourages freedom
○ Religion is darkness/Religion is light
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Animals can be thought of as people
Animals can accept another species as their own
A degree of madness can help anyone stay sane and be able to survive
An animal’s nature is to keep distance from man/woman; man/woman can shorten the
distance by convincing the animal he/she can provide what is needed for survival.
Just because you can’t see it, it’s not unusual for an animal to be there
Pi accepts Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, even though they each contradict one
another. He also accepts atheism. He says, ​
“All religions are true.”
There are 2 Mr. Kumars. Pi considers that each one was his “teacher.”
A man’s life can be both sorrowful and joyous at the same time.
Part 1 Ambiguities (Keep your reading eyes & ears peeled)
○ What was the “ordeal”? What happened to Pi after he left India? What happened to his
mother?
○ What was the report and tape about?
○ Who was Richard Parker? Why is it that Pi can’t forget him? Why “nightmares tinged with
love”? (ch. 1)
○ Why all the information about animals and religion?
○ Why does Martel keep paring faith and Reason (religion and science) together in so many
ways?
○ How is Pi’s name symbolic? What will happen that will make the name make sense?
○ What’s with the part at the end of ch. 11: ​
“And they expected to find – ha! In the
middle of a Mexican tropical Jungle, imagine! Ha! Ha! It’s laughable, simply
laughable. What were they thinking.”
○ Chapter 21 and 22? It’s like eavesdropping on someone’s conversation.
○ In ch. 31, there is a lot going on about eyes. What’s it mean?
○ How has Pi used colors in such a way that is symbolic?