Life of Pi Analysis

Title: LIFE OF PI

Genre: FICTION, NOVEL

Characters: 

• Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi)
• Richard Parker-Bengal Tiger
• Mamaji-Pi's uncle
• Ravi -Pi's older brother
• Santosh Patel- Pi's father
• Gita Patel-Pi's mother
• Father Martin-Catholic priest

Setting: story sets initially in India but the greater part of the story sets in Pacific Ocean and the last are set in Mexico where Pi recovers from His 227 days adventure

Plot: Life of Pi is divided into three sections. In the first section, the main character, Pi, an adult, reminisces about his childhood. He was named Piscine Molitor Patel after a swimming pool in France. He changes his name to "Pi" when he begins secondary school, because he is tired of being taunted with the nickname "Pissing Patel". His father owns a zoo in Pondicherry, providing Pi with a relatively affluent lifestyle and some understanding of animal psychology

Pi is raised a Hindu, but as a fourteen-year-old he is introduced to Christianity and Islam, and starts to follow all three religions as he "just wants to love God. He tries to understand God through the lens of each religion and comes to recognize benefits in each one.

Eventually, his family decides to sell their zoo over a land dispute with the government, and sell the animals to various zoos around the world before emigrating to Canada. In the second part of the novel, Pi's family embarks on a Japanese freighter to Canada carrying some of the animals from their zoo, but a few days out of port, the ship meets a storm and sinks, resulting in his family's death. During the storm, Pi escapes death in a small lifeboat with a spotted hyena, an injured Grant's zebra, and an orangutan.

As Pi strives to survive among the animals, the hyena kills the zebra, then the orangutan, much to Pi's distress. At this point, it is discovered that a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker had been hiding under the boat's tarpaulin; it kills and eats the hyena. Frightened, Pi constructs a small raft out of flotation devices, tethers it to the boat, and retreats to it. He delivers some of the fish and water he harvests to Richard Parker to keep him satisfied, conditioning Richard Parker not to threaten him by rocking the boat and causing seasickness while blowing a whistle. Eventually, Richard Parker learns to tolerate Pi's presence and they both live in the boat.

Pi recounts various events while adrift, including discovering an island of carnivorous algae inhabited by meerkats. After 227 days, the lifeboat washes up onto the coast of Mexico and Richard Parker immediately escapes into the nearby jungle.

In the third part of the novel, two officials from the Japanese Ministry of Transport speak to Pi to ascertain why the ship sank. When they do not believe his story, he tells an alternative story of human brutality, in which Pi was adrift on a lifeboat with his mother, a sailor with a broken leg, and the ship's cook, who killed the sailor and Pi's mother and cut them up to use as bait and food. Parallels to Pi's first story lead the Japanese officials to believe that the orangutan represents his mother, the zebra represents the sailor, the hyena represents the cook, and Richard Parker is Pi himself.

After giving all the relevant information, Pi asks which of the two stories they prefer. Since the officials cannot prove which story is true and neither is relevant to the reasons behind the shipwreck, they choose the story with the animals. Pi thanks them and says, "and so it goes with God".

Theme: Survival, Faith, Hope and Believing in God

Symbolism:

• Color Orange

In Life of Pi, the color orange symbolizes hope and survival. Just before the scene in which the Tsimtsum sinks, the narrator describes visiting the adult Pi at his home in Canada and meeting his family. Pi’s daughter, Usha, carries an orange cat. This moment assures the reader that the end of the story, if not happy, will not be a complete tragedy, since Pi is guaranteed to survive the catastrophe and father children of his own. The little orange cat recalls the big orange cat, Richard Parker, who helps Pi survive during his 227 days at sea. As the Tsimtsum sinks, Chinese crewmen give Pi a life jacket with an orange whistle; on the boat, he finds an orange lifebuoy. The whistle, buoy, and tiger all help Pi survive, just as Orange Juice the orangutan provides a measure of emotional support that helps the boy maintain hope in the face of horrific tragedy.

1. What does the title mean in relation to the film as a whole?

    Life of Pi is a story about the adventures of the boy named Pi. It is a story of survival and the will to live and not to be alone and forgotten. A story about faith and hope that someday soon they were able to land in a shore with people and Believing in God and how God is watching him through out his ordeal.

2. Among the characters, to whom can you relate to?

      I can relate to the main character Pi which has a strong personality, willing to learn new things, seeing beyond the soul of every individuals and most of all I can relate to Pi's will to survive. Everyday we face life struggles and life is a survival of the fittest those who are weak never survive and everyday I'm trying to survive may it in school or with my family. I'm willing to learn new things and accept change.

3. Which part of the presentation struck you the most? Why?

       Part of the movie that struck me the most when Richard Parker chose to live with the jungle and Pi was whining because Richard Park left him. It struck me because after all the things they have been through Richard Parker never look back and have a last glance to Pi. 

4. What is the movie’s message?

    Movie's message is never loose hope because in every struggles there is a great things ahead of us. Always have hope and believe in yourself. Lastly, Believe in God that in ever struggles he gave to us there is a lesson to learn and he knows we can survive.

5. Did I like this in general? Why?  

  Yes. 2 thumbs up for the movie. I love the way they have narrated the movie and so many lessons that we can have in the story.

6. Did I agree with the main theme/purpose? Why or why not?

  Yes, because life is a journey and a time it is unfair. when you think you have already lost your hopes God will gave you something to hold on to. 

7. What specifically did I like/dislike? Why?

   I love everything in the story. The father who have so many lessons to impart with Pi, the mom who is supportive, the priest who never got tired of explaining to Pi and Pi himself who made it. I love the forest and the ocean and how he imagine things. 

8. Are there any aspects of theme which are left ambiguous at the end? Why?

  The ship wreck. No one can explained why the ship sunk and that was the Japanese guy that they were trying to figure out. 

9. How does this film relate to the things that are happening in your life?

    In my life, I have so many struggles and the temptation as a student. I have struggle so many years to finished college but I havent had a clear view of yet but it never stop me in trying. I am 24 now but Im still trying to prove I can do it. I still have high hopes that I can graduate and Im still surviving.