An Allegory as an Antidote
“That's what fiction is about, isn't it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence?” – Life of Pi (Author’s Note VI)
Allegory has played a major role in all aspects of storytelling – literature, films, and art – and is employed prominently in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. The character of Pi uses an altered version of the events (one that substitutes the humans for animals) in order to soothe the pain and raw horror of being on the boat, seeing his mother’s murder, witnessing the cook’s cannibalistic actions, and ultimately having to kill the cook.
The animal allegory becomes apparent at the end of the book when the Japanese interviewers realize that Pi’s differing stories contain
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The orangutan, fairly early on during Pi’s journey on the lifeboat, is attacked by the hyena (the cook). Orange juice’s death, being Pi’s mother, forces Pi to use the animal allegory to deflect the pain off of him and onto Richard Parker. “Bearing an expression profoundly sad and mournful, she began to look about, slowly turning her head from side to side… She had given birth at the zoo to two young ones, strapping males five and eight years old that… It was unmistakably these she had on her mind as she searched over the water” (Martel 138). Orange Juice has two sons as does Gita (Pi and Ravi) and is shown to be searching for those that she had lost in the sinking of the ship. Pi also uses these words to describe Orange Juice, although the same words could be used to describe his mother, “She came floating on an island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely as the Virgin Mary. The rising sun was behind her. Her flaming hair looked stunning” (123). Here we see Pi comparing the orangutan to the Virgin Mary – a very well known perfect mother to Jesus Christ. This solidifies the connection between Orange Juice, motherhood, and Pi’s mother, showing them to be the same character, only in different versions of the same
Without it, no species would survive.”(Martel, 2011, p. 41). For him to deal with trauma and the struggle, he chose madness and formed a story that would keep him sane. Pi gives the Japanese a choice, similar to himself. He chose to believe the story that gave him comfort rather than the one that would have caused him pain. Pi’s faith and fear of God had also kept him alive, the island gave him faith of survival but his fear led him to cover the murder he committed. Pi failed to realize the two stories he told by fit together flawlessly. He is also irritated when asked to tell the story with the humans, this ultimately indicates he was not ready to consider the darker side which is more plausible. Everyone has different approach of coping through life changing events, the subconscious mind determines the creates stories that are created. The subconscious picks the story that gives an individual comfort and strength to survive, even though the story might not be true. Some choose to believe is fantastical stories, other believe only what is plausible. Ultimately, when an individual is dealing with trauma it is hard to differentiate between reality and illusion. It is the comforting story that helps to cope with loss and
Religious people often sacrifice their beloved items such as food, jewelers, and even animals in order to impress God, so they can fulfill their wishes and desires. In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the author tries to relate individual’s life’s goals and sacrifices through the characters of his story. In order to survive, the main character of the novel- Pi - sacrifices his beliefs and integrity. The young, bookish, and religious boy faces the harsh truth of reality. He stays with Richard Parker-a Bengali tiger-on the dangerous journey of his life. Throughout the novel, he learns about sacrifices and he himself gives sacrifice. One of the major themes is sacrifice; Martel argues that sacrifices are often essential in order to gain higher goals.
Yann Martel`s Life of Pi follows A journey of a young man and a Bengal tiger as they travel across the ocean in a lifeboat.Director Ang lee made many consider the book to be beautiful,but virually unflimable.Being needed to told on screen Ang lee discerned very adeptly,about Life of Pi ‘’if there is will there is a way’’.
Karanvir Dhami Ms. Yu ENG3U March 7, 2011 Symbolism in Life of Pi In Life of Pi there are many literary devices used to present the different themes in the novel. The main literary device used in Life of Pi is symbolism. Symbolism is often used to represent an object to something else, either by association or by resemblance. Most of the names of animals, objects and even humans in this novel have a symbolic meaning. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, symbolism such as pi’s name, the colour orange and the algae island, are used throughout the novel to provide Pi with protection to help him either survive or overcome his emotional pain. The mathematical pi is undefined, infinite and unable to be understood, just like Piscine Patel.
When pressed on the issue of the lack of credibility of the animal story, Pi is forced to give a second, human story because it is the only story that would be reasonably believable, full of “dry yeastless factuality”.
The animals on board that Pi perceives as imperative are additionally orange. Orange Juice, the matronly orangutan, floated to the lifeboat on a raft of bananas.
To begin with, storytelling is used to enhance both tell tales and make them more palatable to the audience. It is used as a coping mechanism for the characters in the novels, which gives them perspective of their struggles. In Life of Pi, the animals are replaced by human beings in the form of an orangutan, zebra, and hyena; each individually representing Pi Patel’s
Everybody; no matter your religion, skin colour, or gender possess a combination of morals based on the things internally believed are right or wrong. These can be established through many influences including, social constructs, personal experiences, and upbringing. Yann Martel is constantly challenging the reader’s morals throughout Life of Pi, after Pi is on the lifeboat, he has to make the extremely hard decision between his own religious morals, and survival. In all of Pi’s dilemmas, survival always outweighs the “needs” of mankind 's culture, making these constructs no longer a priority. Utilitarianism, consequential versus categorical moral
Yann Martel offers two accounts of Pi’s survival story so that Pi is able to personify animals and also give animalistic qualities to humans. This exchange is only seen after both accounts are read. The reader is able to determine which he or she accepts as reality, but since the facts of the story go unchanged and both tales are primarily the same, the sole purpose is to highlight the traits humans and animals posses. Yann Martel exemplifies human traits in animals and animal traits in people through his claim in passage A by telling the two stories of Pi’s survival.
On its surface, Martel’s Life of Pi proceeds as a far-fetched yet not completely unbelievable tale about a young Indian boy named Pi who survives after two hundred twenty-seven days on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. It is an uplifting and entertaining story, with a few themes about companionship and survival sprinkled throughout. The ending, however, reveals a second story – a more realistic and dark account replacing the animals from the beginning with crude human counterparts. Suddenly, Life of Pi becomes more than an inspiring tale and transforms into a point to be made about rationality, faith, and how storytelling correlates the two. The point of the book is not for the reader to decide which
Everyone can pick an animal that they believe describes themselves or symbolizes themselves, but in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi he takes those characteristics to a new level. The symbolism of a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a tiger all contribute to the characteristics of Pi and his journey through the sea, together, on a life boat.
Due to Pi’s devotion to all of his faiths, particularly Hinduism, not only changed how he thought about his current situation, but also changed how he would think about every single situation after in Martel’s Life of Pi.
Subsequently, the main event that happens is the sinking of Pi’s ship, Tsimtsum. Pi’s attempt to help his family left with him being stranded, as the cabins were flooded. As Pi was trying to find the crew he saw “Towards the bow I saw some men running in the gloom. I thought I saw some animals too, but I dismissed the sight as illusion crafted by rain and shadow.”(Martel, 101) The author leaves out how the animals escaped their secure cages,
1. Marvelous body of Richard Parker as both an image of God and a sign
The saying “desperate times call for desperate measures” holds truth to an extent. In the award winning novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, drastic measures are taken by characters in order to survive while stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. Through his journey, main character, Pi Patel, endures many hardships and witnesses several deaths. Significantly, the death of the zebra accompanying Pi and the other animals establishes a generalization of human nature being sophisticated yet inherently vicious according to methods of survival.