In part one of Life of Pi a symbol that is significant is the colour orange. The meaning of the colour orange is hope and survival. At the end of part one in the book, the writer describes seeing Pi’s daughter holding an orange cat. From this, we can conclude that Pi will survive the shipwreck and have a family of his own. The orange cat is a somewhat reflection of the big orange cat, Richard Parker, who helps Pi stay sane during the 227 days at sea. When the ship was sinking, the Taiwanese crewmen through Pi into a lifeboat and gave him an orange whistle. Pi also is accompanied by an orangutan named orange juice, which reminds him of his mother. Pi is comforted and has hope for survival when the monkey is on the lifeboat; thus, the colour
In the poem, “Oranges,” Gary Soto uses the symbolism of the oranges to emphasize the theme of love that he has for this girl as well as the theme of sacrifice. It was his first time on a date and he was already prepared as he was “weighted down with two oranges in [his] jacket,” and later when the girl wanted a chocolate bar, he didn’t have enough money, so he sacrificed one of his oranges and a nickel “and set them quietly on the counter.” Based on the fact the he had two oranges in his pocket, the reader can assume that he had planned to give her one so that they could enjoy them together. Considering the importance that the oranges held in his mind though, he loved her enough to sacrifice his plans in order to fulfill her desires and show
On the other hand, the citrus can symbolize the reward of a new day. An example would be on page 302, "The 1st day of school. Take three. I got into my blue plants, white shirt, blue tie, black socks, and black shoes, and went down to the kitchen.
The name Pi is also symbolic because as Pi stated: “I was named after a swimming pool” (8) The word “Piscine” in French translate to ‘swimming pool’ in English. The significance of his name is because he spends 227 days in a huge swimming pool (the ocean) fighting for his life.
3. The colour orange appears many times in the novel "Life of Pi", as do the colours red and yellow, which together create orange. The colour red as an archetype symbolizes great passion, blood and sacrifice. The colour yellow symbolizes hope and happiness. Orange is a combination of these two archetypes. On page 153 in "Life of Pi", Pi remarks, "It seems orange---such a nice Hindu colour---is the colour of survival." Survival could be viewed as passion, sacrifice and hope all combined together.
In the poem, Oranges, by Gary Soto, the orange represents something in your life that is holding you down, that you can use to your advantage, even get something better with it. The orange might originally be something that is holding you down because the poem states, "Cold, and weighted down / With two oranges in my jacket." The weight that the boy is carrying definitely pertains to the oranges, and the fact that it was associated with the cold must mean that it is weighing him down negatively. Later in the poem, though, it states, "I took the nickel from / My pocket, then an orange, / and set them quietly on / The counter..." This shows how the orange that was once a weight could be used to buy something for someone he cared about. Also,
The cargo ship, the Tsimtsum, is also symbolic. The family was forced to Canada from India due to government issues. All the animals from the zoo are put on the ship, the family is excited, and all is well. The ship leaves and Pi is enjoying the journey so far, as everyone is. At the beginning the ship is smooth sailing, until the devastating storm comes and the ship sinks. The Tsimtsum sinking is symbolic of Pi’s life. When Pi was stranded out in the ocean all alone, it was taking a great toll on him emotionally, Pi just stops everything and takes a break, he says; “I looked out at the empty horizon. There was so much water. And I was all alone. All alone. I burst into hot tears. I buried my face in my crossed arms and sobbed. My situation was patently hopeless” (Martel 187). His life was great, he was happy, nothing was wrong, until the age of
The novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel was an outstanding read that captured and interpreted the many strange and unforgeful events that happened throughout the Life of a young Indian boy named Pi. This breathtaking story provides and relates to the many lessons/ideas life has to offer through the challenging episodes Pi had to overcome and live through. Throughout the novel, the title of the book highly depicts and reflects the story in many different ways, but in some cases I believe that the title did not fit the moral of the story. The caption/title of the novel can also be altered to fit and describe the book through a different perspective.
The will to live is a strong urge of survival that occurs when one’s life is threatened. The novel and film Life of Pi is about a boy named Piscine Molitor Patel who is lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean due to a shipwreck with a 450 pound Bengal Tiger. The theme that fits the novel and film the best is the will to live. The novel and film effectively prove the theme by using symbols to portray how badly Pi wants to live. Characterization also plays an important role in proving the theme as the novel and book show how Pi and his tiger have to change themselves to live. Cinematic techniques such as different types of camera angles are used as well to prove that the will to live is the essential theme in the film. In the novel, Yann Martel shows how the camera angles prove what they prove. The film and novel Life of Pi effectively capture the theme of the will to live by the effective use of symbolism, characterization, and cinematic techniques.
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.
Orange is vibrant and illuminating. It conceals every color with either the neon form or the sunset. The black and white symbolize the darkness and the light. One of my many life mottos is that “you always need darkness to receive the light.”
At the beginning of Pi’s journey, he is stuck with 4 animals: a tiger, an orangutan, a hyena, and a zebra. They all represent Pi in some sort of way. The zebra symbolizes individuality, the orangutan represents peace, the hyena represents cleverness, and the tiger represents
One of the biggest parts of the symbolism is the tiger, Richard Parker. He could be compared with many things, but I like to compare Richard Parker to Pi himself, with Richard Parker being a direct link to Pi’s sanity and wellbeing. Hindu belief includes the transferring of the soul to new bodies, and I think that perhaps Richard Parker is Pi’s soul, reincarnated into the form of a tiger. What better to symbolize Pi than a tiger? Tigers live in harsh environments that hold no remorse for them, as does Pi, living in the harsh waters of the Pacific Ocean for two hundred and twenty seven days. As it is not real reincarnation being depicted in the novel, as they both exist at the same time, it can still be used as a representation of reincarnation. The other animals the beginning may also symbolize other objects. I think that the other animals may symbolize the conflicting emotions inside of Pi. The hyena, the part of Pi that wanted to eat the other animals for food. The zebra, symbolizing the hurt part of Pi, wanting to give up. The orangutan, the part of him that wanted to defend himself and the other animals from the
Throughout time, humans have written books based on various genres in an effort to tell a story, whether it is fact or fiction. Storytelling is one of the most beautiful ways to express ideas, and creative thoughts, involving characters, settings, to create a plot. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, cleverly incorporates ambiguity from the omission of information, and lack of resolution. These aspects in turn, create the ambiguity, which leaves the reader to interpret the text in anyway. The ambiguity formed develops the significance of Pi’s storytelling, to the author and the readers. The post-modern aspects in Life of Pi, leave many things open to interpretation based on Pi’s storytelling ability.
What if I told you something so simple and quotidian was actually complex and completely riveting. To most people orange is just an occurrence between the red and yellow spectrum. Maybe an orange is what you have in a bowl on your kitchen counter, patiently waiting to be picked as a snack. Orange is not so simple or mundane as many may believe. At a very young age I despised orange, the color as well as the fruit. The color reminded me of an unfavorable rusty wrench. The fruit itself was lumpy and bravely bold, exhibiting an unconfident standoff with my taste buds. This outlook is no longer true, yet now I truly believe orange is a beautiful color as well as a delicious fruit. Orange is unique, symbolic, and full of history.
Frivolity and immaturity are often negative associations to orange.(Wright) Yellow is the most emotional color. It can be an emotionally strong color or emotionally fragile color. Meaning it symbolizes optimism and can also symbolize depression.(Johnson)