Life of Pi Animal Behavior Essay

Explanation and Analysis: There really are a lot of characteristics overlooked when talking about Elephants as a whole species.

In human and animal nature, many similarities are portrayed in Life of Pi as well as a strong relation between the two. In contrast, humans and animals share the same sort of lifestyle, just living a different life according to Pi’s thoughts. In a tragic situation that one is in, such as Pi they must find a way to pass time and keep themselves busy by using their circumstances,

“The tiger is the biggest of the big cats, reaching an extraordinary 4 meters in length and 350 kilograms in weight-as heavy as 100 domestic cats!” (“Tiger Facts” 1). That is one big cat! You might think that such a large predator would thrive, but tigers are an endangered species, and have been for years. “Intelligent and agile, big cats are ideally designed to hunt, with sharp teeth and claws, strong jaws, powerful bodies, excellent eyesight, acute hearing and a good sense of smell” (“Tiger Facts” 1). They are also very beautiful; these are some of the reasons why tigers are used in circuses, displayed in zoos, seen at fairs, and even kept as personal pets. Keeping tigers captive can be good or bad taking into account the feeding and

Zootopia is one of Disney’s most successful films in recent years. Its main goal at the time was to use animals as metaphors for humans in order to help kids understand racial tensions in the police and with the public. Disney achieved this, as well as incorporating underlying psychological themes that could be interpreted by audience members both big and small. They were harder to uncover, but some that I noted are how the characters are unique depending on how they were born and raised, the effects of isolation, and how they build relationships. I believe it’s important to look at the behavior of these animals since this film can be used as a tool to help children, and even adults, deal with their own behavior.

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.

Tigers are a fascinating, and endangered, animal. They develop fast, and go off on their own when they’re mature. Tigers live in various climates, and eat various things as well. They are very strong, and have amazing energy. Not only are they magnificent to watch, but there are many interesting, and not well known, facts about them.

To understand an animal more, you must first understand the history behind it. The evolution of Siberian tigers started when a fossil of Siberian tigers were found in China. It was two million years old. Even though the animals have different features that make them appear different, they are very much alike internally, including that in the distant past they had a common ancestor. For example, all tigers have characteristics such as; strip patterns,large paws, long claw, whiskers,sharp teeth, long tail, and strong hind legs. The tiger species may have common characteristics, but their

Survival is an instinct. Often times, in order to survive, people must shed a part of their innocence. For some, it may be subtle, taken in tiny bites along the way, and for others it could be in one traumatizing moment. Ang Lee, director of “The Life of Pi,” explores this theme throughout his film. Lee shows the viewer this loss in the use of imagery, lighting, and color. He takes the viewer on a journey through the eyes of Piscine Patel as his innocence and humanity slowly get chipped away and he is forced to do what is necessary to survive and the lengths he goes to to regain that lost innocence.

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.

Whether is be the individualism of a zebra, the hope of an orangutan, the hatred of a hyena, or the determination of a tiger symbolism can be determined for any character. Pi’s journey obtains symbolism for each animal and a story of faith for himself through the sea and the rigors that he and the animals

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.

The behavior of different species of wildlife which are brought into the circus industry also varies, and they therefore require different living conditions. Observing the natural behavior of tigers versus lions illustrates this fact. Unlike tigers, which have a mainly solitary existence, lions are very social, and are really the only big cats which display this characteristic (Whitney). Furthermore, elephants have yet another type of lifestyle, and “form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal family groups” (Whitney). By looking at just these few select animals, one can see that they all require different treatment based on their natural predilections. Tigers may be comfortable to exist in solitude with the circus, but a lion would be more accustomed to travelling with his pride, not alone, a sentiment which would be shared my an elephant used to being with a family. Moreover, separate from their preferences for company, both tigers and lions are extremely territorial and are usually in charge

1. From reading this summary of tiger ecology, what aspects of the tiger’s environment need to be recreated in a zoo environment?

Yann Martel’s visit to the Trivandrum Zoo helped to largely inspire the characters in his novel “Life of Pi.” Even Luke Harding agrees that the: “Trivandrum Zoo – one of India's oldest – provided much of the inspiration behind Yann Martel's extraordinary novel Life of Pi, which won the Booker prizelast week” (Harding). Some of the most important characters in “Life of Pi” come in the form of animals, and all of these animals can be found in this zoo except for the orangutan. Martel’s visit to the Trivandrum Zoo helped to give character to the animals as it helped to give Martel a perspective on the animals’ behavior, particularly the

Animals are meant to roam miles and miles every day. These animals are contained every hour of every day in small enclosures that prohibit the animals from following their basic instincts. Looking at the tigers, I could very clearly see how this was affecting the animals. The tigers’ whole body was round and looked like a balloon. Although it was an adorable sight, I immediately noticed that the tigers were so fat they would roll around on the ground instead of walking. I quickly stopped smiling when I realized just how miserable the tigers looked and