Life of Pi

Author’s Note-Part 1, Chapters 1-12

Reading Check

1. France (Author’s Note)

2. Francis Adirubasamy (Author’s Note)

3. Religious Studies and Zoology (Part 1, Chapters 1-12)

Short Answer

1. Pi believes Zoology and religion are closely related. He personally connected to the three-toed sloth because of its calm, quiet, and introspective manner. Emulating the sloth’s mannerisms helped Pi to soothe his feelings of brokenness. (Part 1, Chapters 1-12)

2. Physically, Pi suffered from fluid retention, anemia, swollen limbs, dark urine, and skin abrasions. Psychologically, Pi indicates that he was so afraid of water after his return that he passed out after turning on a water tap. He was also ostracized by a waiter for eating with his hands. (Part 1, Chapters 1-12)

3. Pi does not believe zoos are oppressive places that deprive animals of freedom; rather, he believes zoos provide animals with much-needed predictability. He does concede that animals are prone to escape, but claims it is due to an intrinsic madness that is linked to their survival. (Part 1, Chapters 1-12)

Part 1, Chapters 13-36

Reading Check

1. Hinduism (Part 1, Chapters 13-24)

2. Meena (Part 1, Chapters 25-36)

3. Tsimtsum (Part 1, Chapters 25-36)

Short Answer

1. Pi distinguishes between alpha, beta, and omega animals. Pi believes animals have a social hierarchy to maintain social order in the animal world. He explains that social anxieties among animals create animal violence. Omega animals, the lowest on the hierarchy, compensate for social inferiority by currying favor with their masters. (Part 1, Chapters 13-24)

2. When Pi meets Father Martin, he expects to be removed from the church but is embraced by his loving kindness and is taught about Christianity. Though Pi found Christianity to be a “peculiar psychology,” he felt driven to convert because of Jesus’s sacrifices and God’s self-inflicted death. He later converts to Islam when he meets Satish Kumar, a hafiz, or memorizer of the Qur’an. Pi is moved by his recitations, the annihilation of the ego, and the remembrance of God’s name. (Part 1, Chapters 13-24)

3. Pi’s parents feel that his religious zeal contradicts their image as a modern family. Pi’s father is embarrassed by his son’s claims to pray out of love for God, while Pi’s mother attempts to develop other interests in Pi. (Part 1, Chapters 25-36)

4. Pi’s father is concerned about the state of emergency declared by Indira Gandhi’s government. He feels the government is oppressive and dictatorial. The choices made by the prime minister compromise the family’s financial security. (Part 1, Chapters 25-36)

Part 2, Chapters 37-60

Reading Check

1. On a tarpaulin (Part 2, Chapters 37-48)

2. They speak Chinese (Part 2, Chapters 37-48)

3. Fear (Part 2, Chapters 37-48)

4. The hyena (Part 2, Chapters 37-48)

Short Answer

1. Pi recalls the behavior of the hyenas in the zoo, their wide range of tastes, and accidental cannibalism during feeding. Pi makes attempts to avoid anthropomorphizing the animals as his father advised. He creates a barrier between himself and the animals on his life raft, later witnessing the hyenas kill both the zebra and orangutan. (Part 2, Chapters 37-48)

2. Pi believes his death is inevitable given that he is on a lifeboat in the ocean with a tiger. His inevitable fate causes him to act as though he has nothing to lose. He draws comparisons to a tennis player who, when playing against a champion, plays like the devil to beat a formidable foe. (Part 2, Chapters 49-60)

3. Given the inevitability of his fate, Pi develops a strategy to survive on the life raft with the tiger. Pi takes an inventory of supplies aboard the lifeboat, constructs a raft to create distance between himself and Richard Parker, kills the hyena, and determines to tame the tiger. (Part 2, Chapters 49-60)

Part 2, Chapters 61-85

Reading Check

1. A dorado (Part 2, Chapters 61-73)

2. 227 (Part 2, Chapters 61-73)

3. A mako shark (Part 2, Chapters 74-85)

4. Boredom and terror (Part 2, Chapters 61-85)

Short Answer

1. Pi’s belief in pacifism and vegetarianism begins to erode as he struggles to survive. He observes that he has little trouble bludgeoning the dorado to death for sustenance. Likewise, Pi has difficulty practicing his religious routines when he cannot remember the direction of Mecca, forgets the Arabic he knew, and replaces traditional offerings with turtle meat. (Part 2, Chapters 61-85)

2. Pi thinks his routines and his mental state are the essential elements of his survival. He has difficulty maintaining these routines because it is difficult to measure the passage of time while he is stranded; he keeps a journal to track his routines and thoughts. (Part 2, Chapters 62-73)

3. Pi experiences great suffering aboard the lifeboat with Richard Parker due to starvation and dehydration. He attempts to eat Richard Parker’s feces but spits it out because of the lack of nutritional value. When he does acquire food, he describes himself eating it the same way Richard Parker does by devouring it in an animalistic manner. He also experiences a decline in his mental capacity as his memories erode. (Various Chapters)

Part 2, Chapters 86-94-Part 3, Chapters 95-100

Reading Check

1. France (Part 2, Chapters 86-94)

2. Mexico (Part 2, Chapters 86-94)

3. An algae island (Part 3, Chapters 95-100)

4. Engine failure (Part 3, Chapters 95-100)

Short Answer

1. Pi discovers an algae-covered low island that he explores with Richard Parker. He thanks Allah and takes in the work of Allah, drawing the connection between greenness and Islam. (Part 2, Chapters 86-94)

2. Aside from the island being carnivorous, Pi decides to leave there rather than live a half-life of physical comfort and spiritual death. (Part 2, Chapters 86-94)

3. Richard Parker departs into the Mexican jungle. His departure upsets Pi because he has built a connection with the tiger throughout their journey and feels Richard Parker has unceremoniously departed from him without any fond feelings for Pi. (Part 2, Chapters 86-94)