Life Of Pi Book One Lecture Notes

Life of Pi: Part 1 Lecture Notes Pi’s Naming Pi is named by Francis Adirubasamy, a close family friend. Instead of naming Pi after Adirubasamy, he chooses the name of the his favourite swimming pool in Paris. Pg 15 “But no swimming pool in Mamaji’s eyes matched the glory of Piscine Molitor. It was the crowning aquatic glory of Paris, indeed, of the entire civilized world.” What does water symbolize? Traditionally, water has symbolized a number of similar ideas in different cultures throughout history. It is often seen as a symbol of purity and fertility. It is the most essential element to life. We are mostly water. We can survive for long periods without food but not without water. How is Pi like a pool? Pi first learns to swim in the ocean before he is allowed to swim in the pool at the ashram. Pools are mankind’s “civilizing” effect on water. Pi is drawn to the more uncivilized version of it. His intensive swimming lessons by Adirubasamy give him the survival skills he needs to not drown while adrift on the Pacific. “When your name is Bob, no one asks you, “How do you spell that?” Claiming his identity: In order to survive, Pi must not lose sight of who he is. He develops a strong sense of self at a very young age. His classmates tease him by calling him “Pissing” pg 28. Even the teachers call him this. When he moves to Petit Seminaire, pg 32, Pi writes his name on the board and says that he is known as Pi. Pg 34, “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.” His name symbolizes his lack of concern with the irrational. He embraces the irrational. If he had been consumed by looking for reason, he would not survive. Religion/Theology Pi’s biology teacher finds faith in science, and Pi can at least sympathize with this because it a kind of faith. Why doesn’t Mr. Kumar believe in God? Pg 39 God allowed him to suffer with polio. Raises a classic theological conundrum: God is supposed to be all-powerful and all-good. But if God is all good, He would not allow his children to suffer. So he is either all-powerful but not all-good, or his is all-good but not all-powerful Pi is born into the Hindu faith as introduced to him by Auntie Rohini, og 67-68 “I am a Hindu because of sculptured cones of red kumkum powder and baskets of yellow tumeric nuggets… I became loyal to these sense impressions even before I knew what they meant or what they were for.” Pg 69-70, he gives us Hinduism in a “nutshell” Pi finds more similarities than differences in religion. Pg 71 “ Hindus in their capacity for love are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing

Muslims.” Christianity: Pi is attracted to the “story” of Christianity pg 76. He finds these stories very troubling, because in Pi’s mind, gods should be more like superheroes, pg 77. He finds Jesus’s humanity and suffering both frustrating and compelling. Islam: What Pi finds compelling about Islam is the personal and loving relationship with God, being in the presence of God. Pg 89 Essentially, this is the conclusion Pi comes to about religion: pg 92 Religion is the better story. Neither of the Mr. Kumars is right or wrong, but one has the better story. Zoology Pi begins his portion of the narration by describing the the three-toed sloth, pg 3. How is Pi like the three-toed sloth? The sloth seems the most unlikely creature to survive, but he does and his survival to Pi is evidence of the existence of God. Pg 16, description of the zoo. Pg 21 “I have heard nearly as much nonsense about zoos as I have about God and religion. Well-meaning but misinformed people think animals in the wild are “happy because they are “free.” What animals really just want is their own territory. A well constructed zoo does this. In what sense can the same be said for people and the society we live in? Do we really want freedom? Cruelty toward animals pg 41-42 Most dangerous animal pg 44 according to Pi’s father is the animalus anthropomorphicus, the animal seen through human eyes. In order to teach Pi this lesson, Pi’s father makes him watch as he feeds the goat to the tiger. Pg 47. How does this prepare Pi for Richard Parker? How does Pi’s knowledge of zoology prepare him? Pg 56, 57 pg 61 \