Life Of Pi Dialectical Journal
Area of study 1: Reading and responding
Set texts: novels
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
Overview Piscine Molitor Patel is the narrator and main character of this unusual story that begins in Pondicherry, India. The son of a zoo keeper, Pi, as he comes to be known, has an extensive knowledge of the animals that inhabit his own backyard, as well as an interest in stories of all kinds and a fascination with the spiritual. He practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family - his mother, his father and brother, Ravi, emigrate from India to Canada. They set sail aboard a Japanese cargo ship, Tsimtsum, along with many of their zoo animals, bound for their new homes. On the journey, the ship sinks and Pi finds himself alone in a life boat, adrift at sea. He soon discovers that he is not the only survivor, but shares his raft with an escaped hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450 pound Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker. Although Pi is confronted with the dangers of these wild animals at sea, his extraordinary knowledge of animal behaviour, along with his faith and determination, allow him to survive, even after the other animals have fallen victim to the tiger’s predatory instincts. For 227 days Pi and Richard Parker float aimlessly at sea. Pi is very aware …show more content…
Like Pi, he shares an ‘abiding interest’ in animals and this leads him into the zoo business. Although the reader does not get to know Father in great detail, Pi paints him as a man with many who is frank and straight forward, even somewhat eccentric. After all, he names his son after a swimming pool and he is very direct about his view of visitors to his zoo, ‘DO YOU KNOW WHICH IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE ZOO?’ is the sign that greets his guests. An arrow then points to a small curtain which when pulled open reveals a
Set texts: novels
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
Overview Piscine Molitor Patel is the narrator and main character of this unusual story that begins in Pondicherry, India. The son of a zoo keeper, Pi, as he comes to be known, has an extensive knowledge of the animals that inhabit his own backyard, as well as an interest in stories of all kinds and a fascination with the spiritual. He practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family - his mother, his father and brother, Ravi, emigrate from India to Canada. They set sail aboard a Japanese cargo ship, Tsimtsum, along with many of their zoo animals, bound for their new homes. On the journey, the ship sinks and Pi finds himself alone in a life boat, adrift at sea. He soon discovers that he is not the only survivor, but shares his raft with an escaped hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450 pound Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker. Although Pi is confronted with the dangers of these wild animals at sea, his extraordinary knowledge of animal behaviour, along with his faith and determination, allow him to survive, even after the other animals have fallen victim to the tiger’s predatory instincts. For 227 days Pi and Richard Parker float aimlessly at sea. Pi is very aware …show more content…
Like Pi, he shares an ‘abiding interest’ in animals and this leads him into the zoo business. Although the reader does not get to know Father in great detail, Pi paints him as a man with many who is frank and straight forward, even somewhat eccentric. After all, he names his son after a swimming pool and he is very direct about his view of visitors to his zoo, ‘DO YOU KNOW WHICH IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE ZOO?’ is the sign that greets his guests. An arrow then points to a small curtain which when pulled open reveals a