Comment on 2 of the responses listed on the class website. Respond to another student's response. Be sure to include your FULL name, and class section in your post.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarressment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarressing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element cultually. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be percived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being drivin into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie."
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
In Life of Pi, Yann Martel talks about how death is "jealous" of life. This is what he means when he says death sticks so closely to life because of envy and not necessity. In my opinion, death is so envious of life, because life seems so full of energy and love, while death is just the end, when we think of death, we tend to vision a dark, sad image. Death only wishes to be like life. Yann Martel also mentions that death grabs at what it can from life, and life only loses a thing or two of no importance and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud. This ties in with the chosen quotation, because it helps us readers understand how "jealous" death is of life. Life only loses a thing or two of no importance, meaning life loses lives everyday, which is what death grabs at from life. I think death could possibly be "hungry" for life, and it is jelaous that it can't have as much life as life itself, so sticking so close to life is practically a necessity for death.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel describes the three-toed sloth to be slow and slothful. He says the sloth survives by being so slow, keeping him out of harm's way. Humans tend to get into trouble and risk their lives everyday, because we don't take the time to [slow] things down, which I think could be tied to the quote from the novel. I believe Yann Martel could possibly be trying to relate the sloth to humans. The sloth takes it's time getting around and doing what it needs to do, while humans try their hardest to speed things up and get as much done as they can, and if we tried taking our time, like the sloths do, than we could possibly stay our of harm's way. Rushing leads to not thinking, and not being able to think straight leads to accidents.
Sydney Clackett- "I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
"This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie"."
(In response..) I agree with Sydney's thought on this quotation. I also think the tie and the noose represents the life or death factor in the workplace. Sometimes people tend to take in so much at work, that it almost kills them. Also not taking any personal time away from work could also kill you, just like the tie could hang a man.
Andrew Kemble ENG4U 02 “Its only real habit is indolence.” Pi Patel is commenting on the Sloth which was the animal he studied for his zoology thesis. This sentence has a much wider application than just the lazy three toed sloth especially. Patel does also comment on him getting his majors mixed up which could lead the reader to believe that the only accountable thing in religion is its indolence to take on change. Most religions once they have come to power and have a set doctrine are reluctant to change and prefer to change the society they belong to. It is the same approach to hammering in a puzzle piece where it clearly does not belong. Throughout the medieval ages, Christianity was preaching that the plague was called from God unto the sacrilegious. This message persisted until the 18th century when it was proven wrong from modern medicine. After this, Christianity was forced to change or go extinct. Another connection to religion would be the use of habit, which is a scowl, robe or tunic. A habit is traditionally given to a young initiate to mark the end of postulancy, and the beginning of being a novice. Once again showing that the only real religious attire needed is laziness. The one promise human instinct can guarantee is that humans will forever be as indolent as possible. A human will forever do the easiest thing as long as it gets the same result. This is a habit that cannot be broken, and is found in humans to animals. Indolence is the first rule of nature. "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" This quote is saying that death is envious of life. Greek myth supports this as well, Cerberus the three headed dog to guard the Underworld, was used to keep the dead spirits in and to stop them from getting to the world of the living. The dead were envious of the living. Christianity supports this as well if common sense is used, a soul that has gone to hell would surely prefer to be back in the world of living and would repent for the sins they have done. The elderly typically tell adolescence to not take life for granted because death is so close to them, they most likely envy the youth, and wish to be young and full of life. Cambridge researcher Aubrey de Grey says aging and growing old can be avoided, and his scientific proof shows that death is indeed not biological. If death is not biological, why is it present? Death must be present to add value to life, just as evil is present to add value to good, and just as darkness is present to show the value of light.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
This quote gives readers a lot more information about the speaker than one would think at first glance. For one, it tells us that religion is something that the speaker values greatly. We already know from the author’s note that the main character in the story, Pi (the speaker/narrator), is not from Canada, “I love Canada. I miss the heat of India … but I love Canada…Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry.” From this quote one can assume that Pi came to Canada from India. When people immigrate to other countries, especially North American countries, it is not uncommon for them to shed their past religions and adapt more ‘western views’. Pi however, says that he keeps up with his strange religious practices. We know that they are important to him, and probably used as a way to feel connected with his home country. To say that his religious practices are ‘strange’ seems to connote much negativity. Something is only strange if we are not familiar with it. Different and strange things should not be viewed as wrong simply because we do not understand them. I think the word strange was used to point out this judgmental habit.
"My suffering left me sad and gloomy" (3).
This phrase is a great way to start the novel. It immediately sets the mood, allowing readers the knowledge of the narrator’s unhappiness as well as raising the question ‘how does he plan to change things around for himself?’ From the word ‘suffering’, we know that the narrator has not had an easy life. This raises readers’ interest, as we now want to know how he has suffered and why he is unhappy. The use of alliteration (suffering/sad) goes along with its recurring use (also with ‘s’) within the chapter.
********* "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. I wiped them guiltily on my napkin. He had no idea how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. I had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarrassment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarrassing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element culturally. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be perceived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being driven into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
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I agree with Sydney’s interpretation of the text. For the speaker, eating with your fingers is completely acceptable, however in Canada it is viewed as impolite and unclean: “My fingers…became dirty under his gaze.” The speaker is meant to feel like he has done something wrong and as if he isn’t good enough to be in that restaurant. Embarrassment, like Sydney said, is surely one of the things he is feeling. Foreign people are often meant to feel like they do not belong and are not accepted. I think that if more people were to experience different cultures then they would be less quick to judge those who do things differently than them.
"The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
My response: To me this quote could be a relation to how society is or how it should be. If we take the sloth as a person and place them in society we would think of a person that is completely satisfied with their life because it states that they live in harmony and peace. The sloth is also being compared to a human with the personification "A good natured smile is forever on its lips." We all know that animals and sloths can't smile but it is a human characteristic. However, if we picture a society that shares the same characteristics of a sloth doesn't it equal a perfect society? The downfall is that our society is imperfect, and many people are unhappy. Maybe the life of a sloth is what we should be striving for, and maybe we are supposed to be living a simple and care free life like the sloth in order to be happy. Many of us look passed the sloth because it is an unimportant but maybe we should be paying more attention because it could be the thing we are supposed to follow.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
My Response: This quote shows how close minded we are and how our multi-cultural country claims to be full of diversity but yet we are still controlling the different cultures that appear in Canada. For example if someone comes into an Indian resturant and started eating with your figers it should be acceptable because that resturant is geared to that specific culture. If that is how they eat in India then it should be how we eat in Indian resturants here. People who do not know the culture should not discriminate those who have lived it. We claim to be multi-cultural but we are just lead to beleive it. We have the option to experience what Indian, Chinease and French food etc. tastes like but we are not really living the experience because we still sit on our canadian chairs and typical tables, and walk into the same typical buildings. I think that we should only consider our country to be mulit-cultural if we actually make the effort to make it that way. I think that if we actually accept different cultures for what they are and make no need to change them then new immigrants will feel at home right away. I think that if we truly have a multi-cultural society then we would have a better understanding of what the entire world is like.
Kelsey Cunningham Eng 4U Section 03 "I would have received the Governor General's Academic Medal, the University of Toronto's highest undergraduate award, of which no small number of illustrious Canadians have been recipients, were it not for the beef-eating pink boy with a neck like a tree trunk and a temperament of unbearable good cheer" (6).
The author thinks that he should have won the prestigious Governor General’s Academic Medal if it weren’t for some boy. From his description the boy was fat with a thick neck like a tree trunk and he was Caucasian who ate beef something that the author did not do because it conflicted with his religion. The winner had a good cheer meaning he was happy so obviously he didn’t have many bad or tragic experiences in his life time that would have left him “sad and gloomy”. I think that the author believes he should have won and it makes him even angrier to think about the fact that he lost to this normal Canadian boy who is like everyone else only smarter. On the other point I believe the author is happy to at least of been considered and almost the recipient of this award. The author uses the world illustrious which means brilliant and outstanding to describe the applicants and recipients of the award. I think this would be an honor to even be considered.
I am not one given to projecting human traits and emotions onto animals, but many a time during that month in Brazil, looking up at sloths in repose, I felt I was in the presence of upside-down yogis deep in mediation or hermits deep in prayer, wise beings whose intense imaginative lives were beyond the reach of my scientific probing" (5).
The author states here that he doesn’t like giving human traits such as happy and sad to animals but during the time he spent studying for his thesis he thought they were peaceful and almost human like. They were meditating like yogis who are relaxing. I think that mediating is an easy process and when I think of it simple comes to mind. But I agree with the author this is not always true when living things humans included meditate what they imagine and think is out of our control thoughts are one of the only things that are safe from the outside world. You may never know what someone else is thinking this is out of scientific control. This is a trait that both humans and animals have, thought and imagination, and being peaceful and relaxed is something we can both do.
Response to Taylor Armstrong "How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel describes the three-toed sloth to be slow and slothful. He says the sloth survives by being so slow, keeping him out of harm's way. Humans tend to get into trouble and risk their lives everyday, because we don't take the time to [slow] things down, which I think could be tied to the quote from the novel. I believe Yann Martel could possibly be trying to relate the sloth to humans. The sloth takes it's time getting around and doing what it needs to do, while humans try their hardest to speed things up and get as much done as they can, and if we tried taking our time, like the sloths do, than we could possibly stay our of harm's way. Rushing leads to not thinking, and not being able to think straight leads to accidents.
My Response I agree with Taylor’s interpretation of the author’s message, how he is trying to tell us to slow things down and how he is trying to relate the sloth to humans. I think that this could also be him describing the simplicity of the creature and its lifestyle. I agree that humans need to slow things down but I believe that we have more complicated lives and therefore we need to be faster and less relaxed because we are more complex creatures.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel describes the three-toed sloth to be slow and slothful. He says the sloth survives by being so slow, keeping him out of harm's way. Humans tend to get into trouble and risk their lives everyday, because we don't take the time to [slow] things down, which I think could be tied to the quote from the novel. I believe Yann Martel could possibly be trying to relate the sloth to humans. The sloth takes it's time getting around and doing what it needs to do, while humans try their hardest to speed things up and get as much done as they can, and if we tried taking our time, like the sloths do, than we could possibly stay our of harm's way. Rushing leads to not thinking, and not being able to think straight leads to accidents.
My comment: I think that Taylor and I were thinking the same thing when it comes to the relationship of the sloth to humans. Her relation relates to the sloth being a good role model for a specific person, telling us how to act as an individual. Whereas my comment was about how the sloths are a good role model that our whole society should mimic, because it would make our society a better place. It is interesting that we both considered the sloth to be something that we as humans should follow. Before I read the text I would have never thought that a sloth could be inspirational, but it turns out that it lives a better like than some of us do.
In response to Andrew Kemble's comment on: "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy"
Andrew believe that the quote is saying that death is envious of life. I agree with this statement in the sense that to me, people enjoy life and not death. For many life is a journey and death is the end. I also relate to the fact that Andrew supports his response with research on religeion. I to find that the quotation could be portrayed as religeous due to the fact that many religeons life and death as symbols of God's power and balance. Many different religeons see life and death in different ways, however I have come to notice that life is always more (for lack of a better word) popular.
Andrew Kemble ENG4U 02 In response to Kelsey’s statement about the thick necked boy, I think she is incorrect and not really elaborating her responses. In what way does this quote show that he is happy to have been considered for the award? Why do happy people not go through troubles? Why do tragedies leave people “sad and gloomy”? I agree that he thinks he should have won although he gives nothing against his competitor other than his description and his cheer. I find that most people who are cheery are so cheery because they have gone through troubles and wish to see the good in the world and not the bad. Kelsey comments on how the boy is like every other Canadian except smarter, but the quote actually says only a small number of illustrious Canadians have been recipients, which means he was not a “Canadian boy who is like everyone else only smarter”. It is clear that yes, Patel is upset that he lost to someone who goes against his entire religious beliefs and even his personality.
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live" (3).
1)This quote catches my eyes, and attention. Piscine Patel was a very religious individual who enjoyed the study of religion as well as the study of animals and zoology. He states prior to this quote that he is suffering and this causes him to feel deep emotions for what he misses. His academic studies and religious studies bring him back to life. Pi strives off his two most passionate studies and hobbies. Pi finds the two studies very interesting mainly because the two interconnect with each other. Pi studies the sloth and finds it a fascinating creature to not have any motivation, interest, or even a slight care of what is happening in the real world. The sloth has a personality in which nothing can “disturb” its peace of mind. And Pi finds that the yogi, the religion he is studying, has the exact same personality of a sloth and it sets its mind on freedom rather than being sucked into the rat race of the world. Yann Martel uses allegory to show how the sloth, Yogis, and Pi are at peace of mind when they interconnect with each other.
“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
2)This quote bears many symbolic meanings that make it literally jump out of the page, making you think of the many possibilities that connect life and death. Pi uses the skull in order to mock and remind him of the importance of life. Pi mocks the skull because it makes him superior, he is not afraid of death and it will not catch up to him and bring him down without a battle. Yann Martel shows how Pi uses the skull to overcome the suffering he has encountered in his life and as close as the skull tries to get to Pi, death with never defeat him because death is not an end it is the start to a new beginning. Pi’s symbolism relates to many people being so afraid of death and are scarred their whole life that death even overcomes them in life and all they can look towards is death rather than using death as a motivation to make your mark and do something great in the lifetime you have been provided. Death sticks so closely to life because it envies life and it has such a great passion for life that it wants to be “life.” Death is portrayed as such a dark and ill place to go. Since nobody likes death or wants to be close to it death tries to be close to life but too many people push it away. Life is so beautiful and full of color and everybody loves life and they do not want it to end. Death wishes it could be portrayed as a good thing as well, but life is just so full of love and beauty that no one wants to have a thought of death.
Response to Blaire Stewart: "The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
To me this quote could be a relation to how society is or how it should be. If we take the sloth as a person and place them in society we would think of a person that is completely satisfied with their life because it states that they live in harmony and peace. The sloth is also being compared to a human with the personification "A good natured smile is forever on its lips." We all know that animals and sloths can't smile but it is a human characteristic. However, if we picture a society that shares the same characteristics of a sloth doesn't it equal a perfect society? The downfall is that our society is imperfect, and many people are unhappy. Maybe the life of a sloth is what we should be striving for, and maybe we are supposed to be living a simple and care free life like the sloth in order to be happy. Many of us look passed the sloth because it is an unimportant but maybe we should be paying more attention because it could be the thing we are supposed to follow.
My response: I agree that a sloth would be completely satisfied in society, but that is because a sloth has no motivation and strive to do anything in life or go anywhere, it is a laid back species that does not have interest in life and by this they would be the only “thing” in society that would not be so built up with pressure and stress that they would overload and break down, but they would look at all the people running around like chickens with their heads cut off and simply “laugh” at these people. However if there were people with the characteristic of a sloth the society would not be so much perfect, as a disaster. It is true we all wish we did not have to do any sort of work and live life to the fullest so we do not miss a single beat. But if this were to happen the society would break down, nothing would get down, and there would not be any success. The sloth should be a more recognized symbol, and more people should take the characteristic of the sloth because if people were not able to clear their mind and let loose once in a while they would have so much stress that societies would fold. So to have the characteristics of a sloth is good sometimes, in order to keep peace of mind, but it would simply be too far from reality since the sloth has not much meaning in life and humans are depended on every day.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ."
Being inconspicuous is the key to survival when in a tight situation with many enemies and more attractive defenders. It is also a good way for us to survive day to day life when you don't want to be the person who "Constantly risks absurdity and death", but wishes to be the spectator and enjoy the show. I think that the reason Pi has a fascination with the Three-toed sloth is that he is seeing himself in it. He went through a severe experience where he played the incospicuous one and survived against all odds. He then has lived his life after that, accelling at what he did in university but not because he rushed in head first and hoped for the best but because he played it cool and remained inconspicuous. Now he is living in a pleasant house with his family and is not pushing to become some famous person but is simply on the sidelines living a smooth, careful life that does not endanger his or his families existance.
“Richard Parker has stayed with me…That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart” (7).
This quote contributes immense meaning and relatability to the novel in its very early stages. To begin, Martel has brilliantly illustrated a relatable human suffering that we will all inevitably feel within our lives: abandonment. The reader may not yet be aware just who this Richard Parker character is, or why his absence has brought on such self-contradictory nightmares, but they are still able to relate. Have we not all felt the “axe that chops at our hearts”? The author could not have chosen more accurate, emotion-provoking words to reach his readers. By mentioning an issue that so many readers will undoubtedly identify with, he is establishing his relationship with his audience. Martel knows (even if only on a subconscious level) that his story will never probe the minds of his readers deep enough if they do not completely believe what he is saying. It is necessary, then, for him to lull his readers into a state of vulnerability wherein they will be completely free to experience Pi’s story for themselves. For this reason, he chooses this very point in the novel to insert Pi’s emotions towards Richard Parker. Already he is allowing readers into the mind and soul of the character, being painfully honest, and allowing us all to see the Pi’s vulnerability. In return, the audience lets down their guard. They see less reason to be skeptical, and begin to view both Pi as an honest character, and Martel as a reliable narrator. Moreover, this quote introduces a theme that will become both obvious and important as the novel progresses. Pi’s life in its entirety is a self-contradiction. This is illustrated already in the text in the mention of his two opposing university majors, and will later be illustrated again as we learn about his conflicting beliefs and his internal struggle to separate imagination from reality. Finally, the passage allows for foreshadowing. By illustrating to the reader the aftereffects of Pi’s suffering, Martel has already begun to hint towards what has brought him to this place. The introduction of Richard Parker is the first mention of a key element in the story line. The love that tinges all of Pi’s nightmares is an indication of a love that has grown out of his suffering. Finally, Martel mentions the strangeness of the human heart. Although first-time readers might not know it yet, this will be an important factor in Pi’s journey through the rest of the novel.
"Victims of cancer or car accidents, once they heard my story, they hobbled and wheeled over to see me . . . they moved me to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying" (8).
This quote is the perfect method by which to bring Pi’s suffering into perspective for readers. Victims of cancer and car accidents have undoubtedly experienced unbearable, trifling suffering which has left them both sad and gloomy. However, Pi tells us that even those who we view with utmost sympathy had more sympathy for Pi than themselves. This is illustrated through their behaviour towards him- the fact that they could recognize Pi’s suffering long enough to grant him that sympathetic smile that they so often see themselves, to offer food and gifts and clothing as they have so often been offered, although, as patients, they know that no quality or quantity of gifts could ever make up for their suffering. Their behaviour shows that Pi must have fallen victim to an incredibly unusual and unthinkable suffering that we as readers cannot even imagine. It allows us an indication of what we are about to read. Pi’s reaction to his sympathy will not be completely understandable until later. At this point in the novel, it might seem strange that Pi would uncontrollably laugh or cry (notice the two contradictory actions) at being fawned over. After reading about his great ordeal we will become aware just how painfully wonderful this type of human interaction must be for Pi.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie."
My response... I basically had the same thoughts as Sydney did upon reading this passage for the first time. I believe that the reference to a tie as a noose is ingenius, and that although it does not hold a literal meaning as a suicidal weapon, it can metaphorically kill a person. I believe that Sydney was right that although the tie would not be the means to a physical end, it may still be the end of a life - a social life, a love life, a family life - if a man is not careful. The lives of workaholics slowly deteriorate as they spend more and more time focused on their work than other aspects of their lives. However, I have to wonder if they can feel the tie getting tighter, slowly killing them like a noose?
On another note, I think Sydney could have further elaborated on the relation of this quote to the novel thus far, or to what it speaks about Pi's character. I personally believe that it is another detailed illustration of Pi's view of the world, and also of his ability to critcally think and see things for what they are, without being biased or closed-minded. In this respect, this quote could serve as a minor piece of character development.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel refers to the sloth as being slow and out of harm’s way, this is a fact but in a twisted way he could be referring to the life of humans. If you look around you everyone is always is some kind of rush, hurrying from point A to B and then onto point C. When you think about this everyone can relate this to themselves, you push that extra 5 minutes in the shower and then your 5 minutes late for school once at school you struggle to concentrate because you were running late. After finishing school you rush home to get started on your homework only to get distracted by facebook or MSN causing you to run off to your job with out finishing your homework and by the time you get home you are tired and head to bed. And in the end harm’s way has brought it self to you. But by the sloth being so slow and sleepy it avoids harms way, and what I think Yann Martel is trying to say if we didn’t rush and run from one thing to another we also would be able to stay out of harm’s way.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
After reading this quotation from the novel I tried to relate it to my self, it made me think that by what the waiter said had created a sensation that almost everyone has felt at one time or another which is embarrassment. If anyone has ever travelled to a place that has a different culture then what we as Canadians are used to, we try to blend in. An example of this would be buying some of the local clothing or what the small vendors offer where you travelled to but not where you came from. We do this because we want to feel accepted as the other are from around that area. The fact that a waiter pointed and said out loud so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be what would make the situation that much more embarrassing. A word in the quote that is a big clue that the author is out of is Canadian Element Culturally is “sambar” which is a vegetable stew and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. Overall this quote really opened up the reader’s eyes into the perspective of the author and his some what longing to fit in.
In response to Blaire’s comment… First off great minds think alike, after writing my own comment and looking at others to comment on I stumbled upon Blaire’s and because she picked the same quote as me I decided to read over her comment. It was crazy how much our opinion’s were the same and we shared the same perspective but both explained in different ways. I agree with everything that Blaire has to say, we humans rush way to much! :)
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to life" (3).
I believe that at some point in Pi’s life he had a rough time. Many people in our world experience periods of time where living just isn’t fun or worth it. When people have reached a point like this in their lives they need something or someone to pull them out of it. For Pi “academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion” was that something. In my opinion, Pi having academic study and religion brought him back to a time in his life that he may have thought he lost. Academic study could be the facts that he needed to rely on and the mindful practice of religion could be his restoring of faith.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
Pi grew up as a Hindu, but at the age of fourteen he discovered Catholic faith. After he met Mr. Kumar he began to practice Islam. Therefore Pi practiced three religions. Pi’s three religious teachers met up with Pi’s parents and demanded he chose a specific religion, however Pi said that he cannot chose just one religion. Since Pi studies three religions while most people study or practice one, to many Pi’s religious practices would be considered strange. Many people who believe in a specific religious practice may think that people, who do not practice the same religion, may be considered strange to them. Pi who openly practices three religions would be considered strange and possibly disloyal to any of his three religions since he cannot chose one specific practice.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie."
My response to Sydney’s comment: I viewed this quotation a little differently. In my opinion Pi is talking about his previous working experiences. I believe that the tie can symbolize the stress of work and how if you don’t handle your time well and work hard enough you can lose your job, or in other terms be hung career wise. I believe when Pi says “it will hang a man nonetheless if he’s not careful” he is referring to a working career coming to an end because if you are not careful in your job and you make one wrong move you will be fired.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
This quote really caught my eye because it is a question that you want to find out so you read on (one way of capturing the readers attention). Also the answer that Yann gives you has a very contradictory meaning because how can sleepiness and slothfulness keep you out of harm's way? I think that he is talking about how to live your life, since going to fast can cause you to miss mistakes and cause you to not be able to go back and change what you hace already done.
"The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life inprfect ahrmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
What I like about this quote is that if you look at a picture of a three toed sloth you will notice that its lips actually do have a slight smile that it cannot change. This can either tell us that it likes its life style and does not want to change just like some people and it tells us that what ever it chooses to do it does not care. I also think that this relates to how humans can frown upon things they do not like, but for sloths they can only put up with it and not be able to change a thing since they "look" like they like it.
Sydney Clackett-- "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarressment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarressing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element cultually. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be percived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being drivin into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
My Response: I agree one hundred percent with Sydney because I have been in this type of situation where you do no fit in and you try so many different things to fit in. Also I like how she researched what type of dish he had so she could find out if it was a culturally realated food. Since he was out of his country and out of his cultures ways, this made him want to be "normal" or part of the new culture that he was in and not stick out like a sore thumb.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, ard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
This quotation in my opinion, the author tried to say that scientists are ordinary people. Scientists do not have unique personalities and habits, they are the same as everyone. all they work hard and play to relive their stress that comes from working. Also I think that scientits believe in reality and facts rather than spiritual and religious beliefs. They do not rely on religious or emotional comcepts.
The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
I believe that the quotation explains the reason why life has an end. Death sticks so closely to life because life is full of happiness, hope, and dreams. The author mentioned that death is jealous of the beauty of life. The concept makes sense to us that death has to exist and it helps us to overcome the depression when someone passes away.
Also, I think that people would not realize how happy they are about living life without death. For these resons, death is close to life.
What a simple and concise statement, at first glance you think absolutely nothing of it. It is hard to believe that such a simple necessity we take for granted, is unknown to a great many people. In fact, it is almost unfathomable to go to another country and see wide eyes of a person who has never seen something as simple as a tap. I can draw from personal experience, when we were having our new bathtub installed we were without water for a while. I couldn't believe how inconvenient it was to be without such a basic necessity as water, for even a few hours. Perhaps Yann Martel, included this because he wanted to show how even the least of us, in our society are spoiled in comparison to others. For a moment, think of the poorest person you know. Ask yourself this, do they have access to food, water, shelter, employment? Now say that this person were to be viewed from the eyes of someone living in African nation, how would they view this person, would they have the same pity for them as we do? Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate our own standards, and our ideas of standards for others.
“How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3)
This quote is almost antithetical to the very nature of survival by our definition. We think of survival in general terms; we think quick, fast success, and achievement. However ironically enough, in order for this sloth to survive in its environment, it must do exactly the opposite (in fact do nothing at all). When we think of sleepiness and slothfulness we associate that with an underachiever, lazy, all-around bad person. But if that sloth didn't break that deadly sin, it would be quite in fact dead! This sloth may appear slow on the outside, but how do we know that it isn't quick on the inside (as literature has taught us so well, things aren't always what they appear to be). It's interesting to note that we associate sleepiness with grogginess and not being in one's right mind. The contradiction here it is that if the sloth were in what we consider to be a “right mind” it may become more susceptible to predators. Also when you think of harm our first instinct is to run, or to get out of the way. In this case the sloth escapes harm's way, by not getting in harm’s way in the first place.
Sydney said... "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarressment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarressing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element cultually. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be percived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being drivin into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
I can sort of relate to both what Sydney is saying, aswell as Yann Martel. Probably most if not all of the students blogging here have at one time in their life have attempted to use chop sticks to eat and inevitably fail, and start stabbing at the chicken balls as though they were trying to escape your plate. This is sort of the inverted sense of what Pi Patel is going through while eating, ergo it has the embarrassment that comes along with not being socially equivalent to everyone else in that environment. As what Sydney has said, we thrive for acceptance, and in a world where not all of us can use wooden sticks to eat our food, we must settle for our forks and knives, because otherwise, we'll look like social idiots, chasing around our dumplings on the floor.
The one part I like is "My fingers ... froze like criminals in the act. I didn't dare lick them". I think I like it because it follows the metaphor of being out of your "natural element" in the sense that if you were to be captured for something you may have done in another part of the world that you're not familiar with, you would have no earthly idea what to do. You wouldn't be able to do anything for fear of exacerbating the situation. At that point more than ever, would you want to resort to any sort of social conformality was available in order to make yourself seem more acceptable and what is seen as "normal" wherever you happened to be.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think this quote may have some reference to people who spend too much time working, and not enough time with their families. It is very typical, especially in bigger cities, where men specifically spend too much time "at the office", which then leads to a path where a separation is almost inevitable. This being said, families are thought to be the most endearing possession to ourselves, and to be a main cause to a divorce can be earth shattering because it is as though everything you have essentially worked for in your life is gone because of a mistake, which can lead to depression and loneliness which can both lead you to suicide.
The latin quote Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc ("After This, Therefore Because of This") directly applies to Yann Martel's quote because it is generally the same message. Martel's quote is more direct in the sense that it is more of a warning, but in terms of cause and effect, it is a re-statement by saying that there are consequences, good or bad, in turn to any action.
"I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling."
When I analyzed this quote I was forced to research a couple meanings. First off, I had to recognize that when Pi says 'smart' he does not mean intelligence level but someone is acting clever or witty. Slight; "to treat as of little importance" shows that Pi is looking down upon the sight, the sight being the beef-eating pink boy. By looking at the word 'suffering' it made me wonder if it was referring to Pi's suffering, or an experience he heard. The level of one’s suffering is really based our own perspective. I may see my own suffering as the hardest thing while someone else would view mine as simple. Will we see Pi's suffering as average, or more or less compared to what we have gone through? My prediction is that Pi's suffering will be shown a lot more and he will have to analyze his beliefs throughout the book. Each additional pain somebody goes through is extremely trialing, especially if it comes out of your own fear. For physical pain you man be able to endure any type of pain as long as it has nothing to do with, for example, fire. Emotional pain, when added upon, may break someone apart, causing that pain to be completely unbearable. They may lose a job, or lose a loved one and be one the verge of breaking down but that one added pain is extremely trifling. Why would you have the pain added to you when you have already have had so much? Many people may ask this when going through hard situations. These hard situations may have good come out of them, or you may have the opportunity to examine something like your beliefs in extreme detail. We will have to see if Pi’s suffering is for the better of the worse.
***
"It is a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos. Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry."
'Much to cold for good sense'. I looked at that line in relation to my own life. When I am extremely cold or have someone distracting me it is true, good sense is hard to come by. It seems I can’t concentrate on my school work or finish my book. A life and death situation of this would be something like hypothermia; it may cause your adrenaline to react and you won’t actually have the sense to warm yourself. Pi views the country as great but cold. The weather in Pondicherry (at least recently) tends to be rainy and have many thunderstorms. It may not even be the weather Pi is calling cold but the people who appear to own the land (inhabited) are cold in themselves, intelligent but stuck in their ways in things possibly as small as their hairdo. It seems to me like Pi doesn’t feel accepted in Pondicherry and since he lived elsewhere his family appears not to be in Pondicherry. He states, “I have nothing to go home to”, his true home lies elsewhere, a pace where he is accepted and has the good sense to be able to think.
***
My response to another's comment; I agree with Sydney’s comment on the quote "The first time I went to an Indian ... lost its taste." It is true that this relates to embarrassment at least that's what I believe. The only thing I would add is the fact of how hard the comment 'fresh off the boat' would have hit Pi. This phrase is commonly used to describe immigrants arriving from foreign nations that haven’t adapted to the culture they are now placed in. it’s extremely stereotypical. Since we know that Pi spent a long time away he is probably just trying to fit into his old life and by hearing that he realizes that people recognize he isn’t 'normal' as some would say. He has to learn to adapt to the modern day. I believe we will be able to understand this lot better once we have finished the novel and know Pi’s story. The fact that the dish fits in with that restaurant is as she said, simply making Pi 'feel' like he's fitting in.
1. "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
I believe this quote is telling the reader a very important message in a unique way for the reader to interpret it. The way i took this passage was death is not natural or reasonable, we cannot describe the reasons god wants to take us out of this earth but rather we feel death is emotional. When we realize that we have a limited life because everyone dies at the end of their journey we take that into account of how we want to live our life and be remembered by those who love us, some also become very scared of the thought of themselves dying. Our most famous words are "live life to the fullest.." and by that many people do so, you have one life to live why not do it the way you want before your time is up on this earth. Some people also picture life after this one, i wonder is that true? i don't know if i believe in that just yet but those people who do believe they may feel like if they committed sins or lived a life they weren't quite proud of they know there will be life after this one they are currently living so they can have a clean slate next time around. Also another belief people have who believe in life after life is they will pay for those sins and sorrows they have caused in the first life therefore go to "hell" in the next. Therefore death is your own interpretation of your life and how you control or choose to live it.
2. "Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live"(3).
After reading this quote the first time i didn't quite realize what it was getting at but once i read it over a few times something clicked. "Brought me back to life"- another definition of that is rebirth. I haven't read enough of the book yet to understand if that was a symbol of what the rest of the book may be like or if it was just a trigger in Pi's brain to get him motivated again. Like most of us our minds and bodies will be in a daze or lazy state and it takes something to make it come alive again, to him his studies may have been the trigger to that because he was so involved in his work and loved it. But also looking at the cover of the book there is water surrounding most of it, and water is another sign of rebirth which got me thinking maybe it was a symbol of the book. Therefore you can look at this both ways, whether is was a symbol or just his brain being motivated again.
Comment on the classmates: Sydney's The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
I agree to Sydney’s comment because when people go out to new places they are only trying to blend in but there is also some people who tend to be different because they do not all want to be like each other. Although it hurt him when the waiter had said "fresh off the boat" because he was not used to being talked to that way and that people were actually analyzing him when he didn’t know it. I can admit if someone said that to me i would feel out of place but i would not loose my appetite over it. Therefore it shows us more about his character and personality that he gets offended very easily but does not necessarily show it.
"Acedemic Study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live" (3)
If you stimulate the mind you stimulate the body. When we live there are many times when we simply do things so repetitively that sometimes it can seem as though we are "dead". When we stimulate our minds and mix up what we do and learn each day we stay "living" or come back from the "dead". When we stimulate our minds and make them work we learn new things and have to contemplate life more and also stop ourself from becoming like everyone else around us. We create our own versions of life and their routines.
"The reason death sticks so close to life isn't biological neccessity - - it's envy." (6)
We do not live to die. We live for a journey yes there will always be a death in the end of our journey but that is because death tries to get in our way several times over. When we even make the decision to get out of bed in the morning we are putting our lives on the line. We could be hit by a bus or miss a stair and go plummiting to our death down the stairs; Death follows life everywhere because it is envious of the joy and happiness in life and even that sometimes life takes on the cool, calm serenity that death can bring.
Josh W. Commented on “How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3) He said This quote is almost antithetical to the very nature of survival by our definition. We think of survival in general terms; we think quick, fast success, and achievement.
We do not always define Survival by quick and fast. Sometimes survival can be clever and a slow process. Tactical and thought through. Perhaps the sloth is more alert than we believe it to be because it does survive despite being slow and sleepy. When stranded on an Island we must think of survival, we decide that the most important things are food, water and shelter. We must think fast in that case but then we plan out our best way to survive as long as possible on the little we have. We use cunning and our minds, we do not act hastily when faced with a hard decision.
Jenn Lee commented on "I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, ard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
She said This quotation in my opinion, the author tried to say that scientists are ordinary people. Scientists do not have unique personalities and habits, they are the same as everyone. all they work hard and play to relive their stress that comes from working. Also I think that scientits believe in reality and facts rather than spiritual and religious beliefs. They do not rely on religious or emotional comcepts.
I do not agree I believe that what he is saying in this quote is that scientists have it much easier than religious studies students because scientists can base all their ideas on facts and if someone disagrees they make a new experiment to only prove the same thing. Religious studies students have it harder because as some people believe there is no god, While other believe there is. Thus they have nothing to base their original opinion on but their own minds and their beliefs and when others ask them to prove it they can't.
1."I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
1. Although the literal interpretation of this quote can make for excellent imagery, perhaps what Pi is describing here is the folly that is committing your life to your work. A person who has given their life to their career often sacrifices multitudes of life’s pleasures that are far more fulfilling. They become disinterested with their families, loved ones and generally human interaction that is outside their career. Their job becomes their lover and money becomes their mistress, inevitably they find themselves at loss, a great personal loss, such that can be described by suicide. The image itself that is created is morbid and disconcerting, however, the tone of the statement creates a paradoxical effect. Pi delivers the line with nonchalance and an attitude of apathy. This only furthers my speculations that Pi has suffered a great deal in his life, only great pain could cause such a desensitized attitude in a person.
2."The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
2. This quote by Pi is one that is insightful, but one that I believe is not philosophically sound. Humans fear death. This is one of the closest things to an absolute that we are provided in this world. It is our instinct to fear the unknown, to ponder our existence and shake incessantly at the thoughts of being a meaningless cosmic substance to be delivered into nothingness via death. This one fact that describes the majority of us contradicts the claim that death is envious of life. Death does not fear life because life is known, we stick closely to life because it is what we know. Death sits in its corner waiting to allow us to discover its unknown depths and mysterious caverns of the unexplored. If anything, I believe death is the Switzerland of the spiritual realms, it stays neutral and calm letting the living fight a war against their own ill-equipped and constricted minds. Death does not envy life because it knows in the end it takes us all, it does not need to envy what it does not have because it knows all of us are only temporarily on loan. Perhaps in death is more than life, a full experience of self-actualization and no constrictions on what we can comprehend. Believing that death is envious of life may help a person cope with the fear of the unknown and death, but it does not eliminate the fact that we are bound to life as well as death. These thoughts on this quote, in my opinion, follow a major theme of Life of Pi, taking a perspective and putting it on its head taking in all it has to offer from a different point of view.
Response to Sydney Clackett’s thoughts on: The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
Sydney’s interpretation of this quote is entirely credible, however, I looked at this from an alternate perspective. I do not think Pi was describing the feeling of being chastised and mocked as, “nails being driven into my flesh.” Rather I think that the plain ignorance of the man pained him. We know that Pi’s suffering left him sad and gloomy and the fact that a man, only upon watching him consume his meal, decided to judge Pi and belittle him. The pure insensitivity to Pi’s suffering that the man was completely oblivious to left Pi emotionally damaged. Pi discovers almost immediately that the world he is coming into is self-consumed and not concerned with an individual’s story of loss and hardship rather, only his outward appearance. The event of being judged solely based on his eating habits after such great pain and loss is what caused Pi to declare, “They were like nails being driven into my flesh.”
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity--it's envy" (6).
I believe strongly in this quote. The main character "Pi" is not afraid of death, he mocks death. I do believe that death envy's life why would it not, death is such a dark cold image where as life is warm, full of love and joy and bright. There is no beauty in death like there is in life. I do not fear death but fear how it ends and many fear death but you can not spend your life fearing something otherwise it consumes you and death wins. We were all put on this earth for a reason whether that is because of a god or because of science but it is important to live each day, live, love, and laugh. Don't take for granted what you have now. Love your family and friends because you never know when it will be the last time you see them. I think this is a very strong and powerful quote that yet again in a few words has a very powerful meaning. I believe if we do our best to live to the fullest each day it makes death envy us more but also keeps it away just a little longer. It's not the years you put in life, it's the life you put in the years.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
I believe that the writer uses this quote to connect to the reader on how religion confuses people and how so many people are judged on who and what they believe in. People will treat and look at you differently because of how you look, how you dress, how you sound, or what God/religion you follow. Many people from Iraq that are here in Canada and the States are all judged on an act they did not commit but because their people committed the crime ( September 11) they are treated badly and disrespected. Many different religions have their own ways of praying to God or representing themselves. Even in France you are not allowed to show what religion you believe in out in public but there are church's. They do this so the conflict of what religion you believe does not affect you in the work place, school, or out in the public. And I agree with this. There is nothing wrong with showing who and what you believe in but it is unfair to be judged based on that. I like this quote very much because it bring a very important message in just a few words.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he is not careful" (7)
This quotation not only tells us about the character Pi, but also imparts wisdom to the reader. Most people will go on and on about their job if you give them a chance. When people are telling you about themselves, they will tell you about what they do, their contributions to the world, a.k.a. their job. Pi does not think this topic is even worth talking about, which tells us that he finds uninteresting, and does not think too highly of it or else he would have boasted about it. It does not hold a place of importance to him. Next he says that the only thing he has to say about his job is that his tie is a noose. His tie is a needed part of his ensemble, but it’s choking him, and has the potential to squeeze the life out of him. He feels as though his job will be the death of him. “And inverted though it is,” Inverted means “Being in such a position that top and bottom are reversed” (websters-online-dictionary.org). Your job is supposed to be what keeps you alive, provides food, clothing, shelter and so on for you. It is completely backward that your job is actually what is taking the life your working for away. “It will hang a man nonetheless if he is not careful” imparts wisdom on the reader because it warns the reader that your job can “hang” you if you are not careful it you let it take over your life, and become all that matters. It can physically take over your life, daring you to take risks that you otherwise would never make if not for your need to get ahead, or cause so much stress that you get seriously sick or have a heart attack. It can mentally consume your life if it becomes all you think about, and the only thing you can focus on, never focusing on yourself or letting you enjoy the small things in life, and even hating what your life has become; a mess of work. It warns the reader that a balance must be found between work and enjoying life.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with excess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
In this quote Pi sets other scientists apart from himself, and brings scientists down to the level of the “average-Joe”. I would say that society in general thinks of scientists as brilliant people who are introverted, and constantly focused on their studies. Pi tells us that from his experience, they are not how we picture them to be, they are the “average-joe” and could be anybody. This kind of person that he describes does not take life seriously or think deeply about things. This tells us that Pi is more of an intellectual who does not partake in frivolous activities such as drinking beer and watching baseball. Because this quote shows that the general view of stereotyping scientists is wrong (at least according to Pi), it makes me wonder if any other stereotypes will be examined and proved wrong in the eyes of Pi. It also makes me wonder if he sets himself apart from other groups later in the book where he may have fit in based on stereotypes (eg. ethnic group, religious group ect.)…
Response to Sydney "I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
'This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie." '
I had not thought of the tie symbol in that it can be “complicated and tight just like working life can be”. It is interesting to think about, and I believe its true. I think Sydney’s interpretation of the quote is definitely something to think about, and adds even more meaning than what I got out of the quote. Reading Sydney’s interpretations made me think about more than what I had originally thought of about this quote.
Response to my own comment; Clearly I didn't read the section before my quote regarding Canada and India. I thought that Pi was speaking about India being to cold, and filled with strange people. By re-reading the first couple chapters I recognized that Pi was in fact making the 'cold - crazy' comment about Canada. Calling Canada cold makes a lot more sense than Pi referring to India's warm climate but I was thrown off by the weather reports.
By outlining his seemingly unreasonable reaction to something as simple as turning on a tap it shows the reader how distressed Pi was after his suffering. I am not yet sure what his suffering consisted of but his shock may have came from the fact that he had been surrounded by water for so long and seeing more of it overwhelmed him. This passage relates to the repeating symbol of water throughout the book. The element of water also relates to the theme of rebirth because of baptism. At the start of the chapter Pi talks about being brought back to life. In this passage the water in the tap is new and unusual compared to what Pi may have been used and it symbolizes a new start. He describes the tap as noisy, wasteful and superabundant. Pi was probably thirsty throughout his journey and seeing a great deal of water gush out and go down the drain, wasted, may have put him into shock as well. Pi was put into such a shock that he fainted. Pi’s reaction would not have been so extreme before his suffering. Yann Martel was probably intending for this passage to show the reader just how much Pi had endured by illustrating his traumatisation. He also foreshadows the severity of events that are to come in the story.
"If Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, one day favours me bountifully, Oxford is fifth on the list of cities I would like to visit before I pass on, after Mecca, Varanasi, Jerusalem and Paris" (7).
Lakshmi is in fact the goddess of material and spiritual wealth and prosperity. She is the household goddess of most Hindu families. This relates to one of Pi’s three religions, though the mention of Lakshmi is not the only reference to religion in this quote. Mecca, Jerusalem, and Varanasi are the sacred places of Pi’s three religions; Islamic, Christianity and Hinduism. Pi may want to visit Varanasi because it is located on the Ganges River. It is said that anyone who touches these waters are forgiven of all sin and Pi may feel the need to be forgiven. This quote develops Pi’s character and demonstrates his interest and devotion for his religions, though some people may consider them strange. In addition, it builds on the repeated theme of religion throughout the book. Paris is not a sacred city but he may want to travel there because Mamaji visited Paris and Pi is named after a pool that exists there. The reason Oxford is on his list of cities to visit may be because he once had a dream of going to school there. Because the pain of losing the scholarship to another man is ‘unbearable’, Pi has difficulties letting go of his dream. He may not be able to go to school at Oxford but he still wants to experience being there.
Amy Johnston Eng 4U1-03 Kaitlyn commented on Jenn Lee’s comment of the quote: "I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
She said: I do not agree I believe that what he is saying in this quote is that scientists have it much easier than religious studies students because scientists can base all their ideas on facts and if someone disagrees they make a new experiment to only prove the same thing. Religious studies students have it harder because as some people believe there is no god, While other believe there is. Thus they have nothing to base their original opinion on but their own minds and their beliefs and when others ask them to prove it they can't.
I agree with Kaitlyn. I think the author is trying to say that a scientist’s life is simpler than a religion student’s. In addition to the points she has raised, I think he is trying to point out that scientists don’t live by the strict morals to which religious students often live by. This makes their lives more laid back. Religion is something that likely preoccupies its students 24-7 if they are living the way G(g)od(s) would want them to, while a scientist really only feels the need to be preoccupied with science while studying or working. The rest of the time they are focused on simpler activities such as “beer drinking... sex, chess and baseball.” This quote also outlines Pi’s biases towards scientists but shows his acceptance for their nature. His feelings towards them seem slightly contradictory which may help develop a theme of contradiction in the book. If nothing else, it further develops Pi’s dynamic character.
“When you’ve suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling.” (page 6)
Yann Martel always talks about the pain and suffering that he goes through. Since this is true, I don’t really understand what he is suffering from. Perhaps it is obvious to some people, but for me I’m not so sure. When you have suffered a great deal in life it is hard to look at each new day with a smile. It’s sometimes hard to feel the need to want to wake up and experience new things everyday. Suffering is described as the bearing of pain, inconvenience, or loss; pain endured; distress, loss, or injury incurred; as, sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs. (www.webster-dictionary.net/definiti on/suffering). Since it is described as a loss, I thought that perhaps Yann Martel’s loss was his failed books that he never ended up finishing. I also thought that since wanting to achieve something and failing is a way of suffering, his failed books would also fit in that definition. When he states, “each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling,” I agree with his statement. I do because when you are suffering from something, it is hard to do anything but live. However, when more things to suffer from are piled on top, things do become unbearable and trifling. You reach a point where you can no longer function; a point where dying would be much easier than living. I’m not sure if Yann Martel ever reached this point.
“I love him and I hope that his time at Oxford was a rich experience.” (page 7)
This quote is spoken by Yann Martel about the “pink boy,” who won the awards that Yann did not. When he says that he hopes that his time at Oxford was a rich experience it shows his character. It shows that he is understanding and accepting, he is sportsmanlike, unselfish and forgiving. It shows that he is understanding because although he didn’t win the award, he understands that someone else deserved it more and that is why they got it. It shows that he is accepting because he does not fight back or get angry with him, he just hopes the best for him. Since he is hoping for the best, and not a sore loser by complaining about it, he shows that he is sportsmanlike. He is unselfish because he doesn’t say anything about himself, or how he wanted the award. Yann is forgiving in the sense that he does not hold anything against him. This is important for his character development because it shows the reader the type of person he is. For some people it may be easier for them to read knowing this is the type of person that he is.
In response to Dan Knight’s Comment:
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I really like the way that Dan looked at this quote. After reading Dan’s interpretation of the quote a few times I was able to understand his view on it. When he stated that “their job becomes their lover and money becomes their mistress, inevitably they find themselves at loss, a great personal loss, such that can be described by suicide,” This is a very profound thing to say. I really felt like I had a much better understanding of what Yann was perhaps trying to say. I like the way Dan never mentioned himself once throughout his comment. It was like reading actual facts, and made it easier to believe.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
My opinion on this quote is that Pi didn’t know any better not to use his fingers. Maybe assuming it was a Indian restaurant in Canada it would be like this in his home country where you could use fingers and be socially acceptable. The section in this quote “Fresh off the boat, are you?” connects to me with “.. he has not ideas how deeply those words wounded me.” This tells us that something that maybe was not meant to be harmful or hurtful to someone could be if we don’t think about it, I do not think that the waiter realized what he had said could be such a hurtful act. This also reminds me of the old saying “ sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt” The reason it reminds me of this because I think that words do have more power than a broken bones. Almost all broken bones do heal correctly with time and is usually forgotten on a daily basis but if someones words are used hurtfully and are powerful enough towards you I do believe that you will always remember it on daily basis regardless if you try not to think about it.
"Victims of cancer or car accidents, once they heard my story, they hobbled and wheeled over to see me . . . they moved me to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying" (8).
This quote does foreshadow the book in a way that Pi does tell two stories and it is your choice of what to believe. But staying away from the foreshadow aspect of the quote the reason that cancer and car accident victims come to hear a story is because it has a value of entertainment and suffering all at once. In the case of Pi the stories he does tell they could make a person cry because they believe it and they can’t relate to the suffering he went through even though they are “ victims of cancer or car accidents” . The people may be laughing however because they may not believe the story and just think it was all made up and laugh at the idea of the story. I know that Pi uses powerful and meaningful words to enhance they story and make somebody want to come listen too it. A story that is just left to the plain facts of what happened could become boring and uninteresting. If a story is exagerated a bit it is a more interesting story and people will want to hear it.
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity--it's envy" (6).
I agree with what Diamond is saying but I believe this could be looked at a different way. She mentions death as a cold dark image. Death could be a cold dark image with a person with minimal suffering for some people death may actually not be an awful thing because depending on the religion you could have an after life or go to heaven etc… If you look at it that way and you are alive forever in heaven the Earth may just be a test to see if you are worthy or can handle what life throws at you in order to get to heaven. To some people life may have huge suffering like getting beat day after day or extreme poverty and no education so this quote to me could be looked at both ends of the spectrum and death would actually end this suffering.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quote immediately gave me the impression that at this moment, Pi had never felt more like an 'alien' than he did when the waiter spoke to him. It seems the Pi did not know better than to use the utensils provided, rather than his fingers -- and in doing such, picked him out of the crowd, putting a spot light on him. Being from another country, Pi might have assumed that since he had been eating in an Indian restaurant, that their eating etiquette was similar to that of his homes. And although making such an assumption shows a small flaw in his character, I also got the impression that Pi is strong. He was able to go into an environment and behave the way he thought he should. And yes, it wasn’t the correct way to behave, but I still respect him for making an effort to fit in and not look like an ‘outsider.’ I feel that Pi shouldn’t have felt guilty about eating with his fingers. The way the waiter approached Pi was rude and disrespectful. One should not be judged for the way they eat. If Pi felt more comfortable eating with his fingers, so be it. No one can tell us what is right and what is wrong. Those few words spoken to Pi made him feel ashamed to be doing what he was doing – if it was incorrect to eat with his fingers in an Indian restaurant, does it mean that it is incorrect to eat with his fingers in his own town? However, Pi openly accepted his mistake and made an effort to correct his ways in order to ‘fit in’ in his new environment. This shows courage and determination, to fit in with his new surroundings. When he says “My sambar lost its taste,” he is referring to a deer of southern Asia with antlers that have three tines. Having to eat his food in such a way he is unfamiliar with makes eating seem more like a chore than leisure. In my perspective, Pi is giving up a lot by moving to Canada.
“I love him and I hope that his time at Oxford was a rich experience.” (7)
This quote it spoken by Yann Martel about the "pink boy" who received the awards that Yann did not. When Yann speaks of how he hopes his time at Oxford was a rich experience, his character really shines. Despite any anger Yann might hoist towards the "pink boy", it is not shown. Instead, he is understanding and accepting. This made me feel like Yann is, infact, the bigger person. He shows he is an an unselfish and sportsmanlike person, as he understands that there was someone who deserved the award more than he did, and probably worked harder for it. Yann proves his sportsmanlike attitude by hoping for the best, and not making a big deal of his loss. He retains any such comments about his feelings on the matter, and instead just shows his respect towards the "pink boy." This also hints towards the idea that he is a bit more easy going and alot more patient. This aids in character development, and creates a personality that the reader might find more appealing and interesting. This knowledge of a characters' personality can help readers' make early conclusions about any event upcoming in the novel.
Diamond Campbell- "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity--it's envy" (6).
I believe strongly in this quote. The main character "Pi" is not afraid of death, he mocks death. I do believe that death envy's life why would it not, death is such a dark cold image where as life is warm, full of love and joy and bright. There is no beauty in death like there is in life. I do not fear death but fear how it ends and many fear death but you can not spend your life fearing something otherwise it consumes you and death wins. We were all put on this earth for a reason whether that is because of a god or because of science but it is important to live each day, live, love, and laugh. Don't take for granted what you have now. Love your family and friends because you never know when it will be the last time you see them. I think this is a very strong and powerful quote that yet again in a few words has a very powerful meaning. I believe if we do our best to live to the fullest each day it makes death envy us more but also keeps it away just a little longer. It's not the years you put in life, it's the life you put in the years.
After reading Diamond’s response to this quote, I would say I have to agree completely with her. Life is such a boundless treasure. You can not put a limit on its opportunities, its happiness, and its memories. Life should be valued to the fullest and not regretted in ways. A death, on the other hand, is dark, frightening, and some people do fear it. And in this case, Pi mocks it. Whether this shows signs of security or confidence, I think he will live out a more level-headed, exciting life – unafraid to take risks or chances. This is a quality many people should envy, as it is hard to come across. There is a very fine line between life and death, and everyday we escape death in many different ways and forms, often too many to count. Life should be valued and always respected, as you only have one life to live, so you might as well live it to the fullest.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
In my thinking Pi is saying that he has kept up with his religious practices which is what you would think when you read the quote superficially. Reading it more in depth a second time through I when he said "what some people would consider my strange religious practices" when most think of something unknown to them it is most time strange and unusual. For instance from todays class someone commented "why would someone pray to a box".It may seem strange to you but it would not be srange to the person praying to the box, it is their religion it is what they believe.
"I don't believe in death" (7)
When Pi says this he is trying to deny the thing he fears the most, which is death. The thing that I don't undertsand is why should he fear death the most when he was at a time in his life when he over came death, in a round about way, survivng what he did. Yet he seems almost obsessed with death, from page 7 to 8 he personifies death and gives it emotions and even a face, momento mori. Most literature revovles around mortality.
Kelsey Hartford ENG4U1 Section 2 My response to Jacquie's quote "I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with excess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
She said: In this quote Pi sets other scientists apart from himself, and brings scientists down to the level of the “average-Joe”. I would say that society in general thinks of scientists as brilliant people who are introverted, and constantly focused on their studies. Pi tells us that from his experience, they are not how we picture them to be, they are the “average-joe” and could be anybody. This kind of person that he describes does not take life seriously or think deeply about things. This tells us that Pi is more of an intellectual who does not partake in frivolous activities such as drinking beer and watching baseball. Because this quote shows that the general view of stereotyping scientists is wrong (at least according to Pi), it makes me wonder if any other stereotypes will be examined and proved wrong in the eyes of Pi. It also makes me wonder if he sets himself apart from other groups later in the book where he may have fit in based on stereotypes (eg. ethnic group, religious group ect.)
My opinion: I agree with Jacquie. Pi is setting him self apart from the other scientists, even though he is one. Just by defining what they are he setting himself apart. Saying " ...never had problems with my fellow scientists..." he understands again setting himself apart. When Jacquie says that "this tells us that Pi is more of an intellectual who does not partake in frivolous activities" he is saying that he is committed to science and religion. Pi is putting all of the scientists into one big group, which was said in class, to be a regular North American. I have noticed that the descriptions tend to make you think of steorotypes, and alot of them tend to be male North American. For example "beef-eating pink boy with a neck like a tree trunk and a temperament of unbearable good cheer" (6)
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
The figure of speech ‘you are what you eat’ comes into my mind upon reading this quotation, although to make more sense it would be rewritten as ‘you are what you study’. Scientists are highly regarded in their professional lives for good reason: they are essentially the discoverers, the ‘creators’ if you will, of the human realm. Everything we know about almost everything logical and factual comes from science, from the earliest forms of archaic alchemy to the newest technologies and discoveries made, which affect how we live and function. Although scientists are regarded as great thinkers, Pi makes an excellent point in his second sentence that his fellow scientists are no different than the animals they study. He outlines the nature of scientists as being primal, indicating that they are focused on four main things: sociality (friendly; beer-drinking, which is considered by many to be a social habit), survival (hard-working), relationship/procreation oriented (preoccupation with sex) and a need for fun (chess, baseball). He also takes note that scientists are atheistic, much like animals, although animals are atheistic because they are ignorant of the idea of a divine being or force. This quotation is also in close connection with Pi’s occasional confusion between his two majors. In a religious aspect, humans are regarded as a higher form than animals, from Christianity, where Man was giving dominion over every living thing, to Hinduism, where humans are very high up in a Karmic sense. However, in a scientific aspect, Pi must know that humans are in fact in the Kingdom Animalia, and are no different than the animals he researches.
"I love him and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience" (7).
This quotation immediately sends me to a religious connotation. The portion of this phrase which makes me take a religious standpoint is the word ‘love’ specifically. Ordinarily, one would not say that they love someone they do not know, or have developed an emotional connection with, so the only reason that comes to mind for this wording is the Christian concept of ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’ (Matthew 22:39), or its Hindu counterpart ‘never do to others that would pain thyself’ (Panchatantra 3.104). Considering Pi’s ‘beef eating’ comment in contempt for the pink-faced boy, it makes sense that he would make a congratulatory comment with Hindu values in order to restore his Karmic state. Pi realizes that he would want the pink-faced boy to have the same feeling toward him in the event that Pi won the opportunity over him. Also, Pi does not know that significance Oxford has to the beef-eater, for just as Pi wishes to visit Oxford in his lifetime, it may also be his adversary’s dream.
“When you’ve suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling.” (6)
Yann Martel always talks about the pain and suffering that he goes through. Since this is true, I don’t really understand what he is suffering from. Perhaps it is obvious to some people, but for me I’m not so sure. When you have suffered a great deal in life it is hard to look at each new day with a smile. It’s sometimes hard to feel the need to want to wake up and experience new things everyday. Suffering is described as the bearing of pain, inconvenience, or loss; pain endured; distress, loss, or injury incurred; as, sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs. (www.webster-dictionary.net/definiti on/suffering). Since it is described as a loss, I thought that perhaps Yann Martel’s loss was his failed books that he never ended up finishing. I also thought that since wanting to achieve something and failing is a way of suffering, his failed books would also fit in that definition. When he states, “each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling,” I agree with his statement. I do because when you are suffering from something, it is hard to do anything but live. However, when more things to suffer from are piled on top, things do become unbearable and trifling. You reach a point where you can no longer function; a point where dying would be much easier than living. I’m not sure if Yann Martel ever reached this point.
I would first like to respectfully point out that the speaker is no longer Yann Martel, but the main character Pi. While I understand how the concept of suffering may be confusing in regards to Martel, I think that if approached from Pi’s point of view; missing his homeland, his physical suffering as depicted in the hospital setting and his academic losses, will make the concept of his suffering much clearer. I would also like to take note with Mercedes’ comment that “When you have suffered a great deal in life it is hard to look at each new day with a smile”. I disagree immensely. I believe that it would be much easier to look at each new day with a smile after great suffering; especially to the magnitude that I suspect Pi has suffered, evidently very close to death at one point. Does it not make sense that, if so close to losing your life, every day lived after that event is considered to be a blessing? I have seen from experience that those who have had close contact with death, or stricken with a fatal disease and survived, value and cherish each day with new found happiness. A happiness that is far greater than anything the rest of us have ever experienced.
Mrs. Fung ENG 4U1-04 "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
Through this quote, Yann Martel describes something every person has felt before. It is quite easy to relate to such a situation as we have all been part of an embarassing moment. However, this situation to me seems different to something we may have been through. The character is obviously very embarassed, however I feel that he is also a bit confused. He is so used to the cultures in India of eating food with the hands, however he gets the impression that it is not the way to eat in Canada through the waiter's reaction. It is something new to the character to be doing something he had never done in his life. Just like us, we are not used to doing something or trying something new, although sometimes it can be a good experience. I also think that he felt hurt and wounded because although it is Canada, it was still an Indian restaurant that he was dining in. He felt that he would be accepted by expressing his culture to those that may have shared the same culture as him. However, he was stung through the waiter's words and instead was rejected as being an outsider or what other people may say a "fob". We can also realize through this quote how hard it was for the character described to throw away the culture that he had lived with for so long. It was, in other words, very painful to lose something that had been a part of him.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Most people would believe that being slow would be harmful to an animal out in the wild. In today's society, people live life way too quickly. Unlike the sloth, people are constantly looking for the quickest possible way of doing something. Most people believe that in doing things faster they are more susceptible to being successful. However, we must all realize that a slow careful process is and will always be more prosperous than a rushed one. Other animals in the wild live to fight and feed off of other animals or plants. However, the sloth stays out of harms way by being so slow, it is unnoticed by eager predators looking for food. While other animals are quick to think and quick to being spotted by other more dangerous creatures. When we think of a sloth we may feel that they are unintelligent, lazy, and slow minded creatures but they are actually very unique. People unlike the sloth are quick to act and are therefore quicker in digging their own graves. Too many careless mistakes are the result of hurried actions and often we are more likely to cause ourselves more harm than someone else would cause us. Therefore, I believe that the whole point of this quote is that slothfulness will often be more beneficial to people rather than being quick to act.
Joshua Winters ENG – 4U1 Period 2 Section 2 “The reason death sticks so close to life isn't biological necessity - - it's envy." (6) Kaitlyn said; We do not live to die. We live for a journey yes there will always be a death in the end of our journey but that is because death tries to get in our way several times over. When we even make the decision to get out of bed in the morning we are putting our lives on the line. We could be hit by a bus or miss a stair and go plummeting to our death down the stairs; Death follows life everywhere because it is envious of the joy and happiness in life and even that sometimes life takes on the cool, calm serenity that death can bring.
I disagree with Kaitlyn and her interpretation. I don't believe that death is something getting in the way; I believe it is simple part of life and we should embrace it with arms open. Of course I'm not saying go outside and shoot yourself, but for some people, sadly, that becomes necessary. Death is a natural part of society, that at some point where you like it or not, you eventually have to accept it. You could even say that sometimes we are always “risking absurdity and death”, as Yan Martel so eloquently put it, whether were in our bed or not. I believe that without death we could never really enjoy life, because without the knowledge that something is temporary and you have to enjoy it while you can, you begin taking it for granted and not really enjoy it; As a famous teacher once put it “if we don’t know the sorrow of the valley, how can we ever appreciate the joy of the mountains”. Josh Winters ENG –4U1
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity – it’s envy" (6). In response to Andrew, another Greek myth that shows this is Hades kidnapping Persephone, the goddess of spring. Spring symbolizes life, and Hades is Lord of the Underworld, the place where dead people go. He kidnapped her because he was jealous of her beauty, and he knew that there was no conventional way to get her to go to Hades with him willingly. In the end, he resulted to trickery to get her to stay in the underworld for the winter months. A soul in hell would probably prefer to be back on Earth, but for a soul in heaven? If it’s the greatest place ever, they would have no reason. Death is jealous of life because it needs life to exist, while life doesn’t need death to exist.
Sometimes I got my majors mixed up. A number of my fellow religious-studies students -- muddled agnostics who didn't know which way was up, who were in the thrall of reason, that fool's gold for the bright -- reminded me of the three-toed sloth; and the three-toed sloth, such a beautiful example of the miracle of life, reminded me of God.
According to Pi, the opposite of people of faith and atheist are agnostics, similar to the opposite of love and hate is indifference. They remind him of the sloth because of their confusion and difference to the rest of animals, who survive by being fast, and knowing what they want. In the book, it says the agnostics don’t know which way is up, and in many pictures of sloths, they are hanging upside down from trees. Reason isn’t all it’s made out to be, because it’s setting a limit for people. Thinking within the bounds of reason, and not making leaps of faith at times can limit open mindedness. When thinking of the sloth, one must be open minded, because something so slow and lazy with underdeveloped senses can survive is a “miracle”, and therefore not reasonable. That God “made” the sloth, and yet it is one of the seven deadly sins, proves how incomprehensible the world really is.
"It is a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos. Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry" (7).
Canada is cold. Most people live in the southern parts of Canada. This quote is a stereotype of Canadians. Wherever we go, we are held in pretty high esteem. Generally, we are known as “good people”. Pi seems to praise Canadians in general, but at the same time, he insults -It’s cold, the people have bad hair, and I’m only staying here because my old home has nothing for me anymore. It kinda relates back to " I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling", though I haven’t suffered a lot, compared to him. Even as he belittles Canada and its inhabitants, there’s a kind of jestful teasing. When the other boy got the award, Pi was sad, but at the same time, he was kind about it. So he’s kind about Canada, and accepts that we are pretty awesome, but have bad hair.
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
Pi's talking about the mixed emotions he still harbors about being passed over for not only the Governor General's Award, but the Rhodes Scholarship, for another of his classmates. Though seemingly humble, Pi is a confident, competitive man, and even after all this time, his ego has still not healed. He goes on to say that having lived a life full of suffering, each new loss seems both devastating and unimportant. This statement may seem contradictory at first, but take this into consideration: with all the loss and pain Pi's had to endure, each new setback seems almost unbearable ("What else could/will go wrong?"). At the same time though, having lived through so much, Pi knows that things could be much worse, putting his troubles in perspective, rendering them almost pointless. He will always feel slighted, but he will continue on with life none the less.
"If Lakshmi, goddess of weath, one day favours me bountifully, Oxford is fifth on the list of cities I would like to visit before I pass on, after Mecca, Varanasi, Jerusalem and Paris" (7).
Pi Patel is a man of many faiths, his list of choice cities reflect his religious practices. A practicing Muslim, Hindu and Catholic, he lists all three of their Holy Lands, Mecca, Varanasi and Jerusalem respectively. Voicing his interest in visiting said cities is just another of the many ways the author relays that Pi is a very spiritual man. One might ask "but Paris is no religion's strong hold! Nor Oxford... why even mention them?" Though they might not have a religious connotation, they both hold special meaning to Pi. As the oldest surviving university in the English speak world, Oxford is basically the education Holy Land. Pi's love for knowledge and thirst for information would explain his interest in visiting such a place. Paris, on the other hand, has a personal relation. Pi was name Piscine Molitor Patel in honor of Mamaji's favorite swimming pool in Paris. Though his parents never went there personally, nor were they water-type people, they were entranced by Mamaji's loving descriptions of the pools crisp, clean waters. This emotional connection to his past, to his name, is probably the driving force behind his wanting to visit the city. Each city represents a different pilgrimage to a part of Patel's identity. Each city holds a part of his soul.
"Pi Patel is commenting on the Sloth which was the animal he studied for his zoology thesis. This sentence has a much wider application than just the lazy three toed sloth especially... The one promise human instinct can guarantee is that humans will forever be as indolent as possible. A human will forever do the easiest thing as long as it gets the same result. This is a habit that cannot be broken, and is found in humans to animals. Indolence is the first rule of nature."
With all due respect to Andrew, I do believe he posted this comment in hope of the possible debates and shock vallue it might generate. I respect his opinion, but I didn't find his argument very strong, and his wording seems a bit faulty in areas. I don't exactly understand why he mentioned habits at all, to be honest (though I'm sure he'll be more than happy to explain later). Nice try, Soup, but no cigar.
I swear if this doesn't post this time, I will kick something!
"I would have received the Governor General's Academic Medal, the University of Toronto's highest undergraduate award, of which no small number of illustriuos Canadians have been recipients, were it not for the beef-eating pink boy with a neck like a tree trunk and a temperment of unbearable good cheer" (6).
My response: This quotations shows that Pi Patel was a little bit jealous of the beef-eating pink boy with a neck line like a tree trunk for getting this award instead of himself. The Governor Generals’s Academic Medal is a very prestigious award to get and also very hard to get. Just the fact that it is the University of Toronto’s highest undergraduate award shows how smart Pi Patel is. The definition of illustrious is; notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions. Pi might be a little bit angry about this because he believed that he should have won the award because he had all of those qualities. My thought is that the ‘pink boy’s family was very wealthy and knew a lot of important people. It is very sad to think that but it’s true with a lot of situations. Some people say “It’s all about who you know”. I don’t want to agree with that quote but sometimes it is true.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
My response: Pi Patel is trying to say that scientists are just normal people. Just like many people scientists enjoy watching a good baseball game drinking an ice cold beer, playing a game of chess, or thinking about sex. And of course that is when they are not thinking about science. Many people think that scientists are crazy people who work 24/7 trying to invent new cures to cure diseases and such, but sometimes we forget that they are just like us. We need to think of everyone like that sometimes. You may think that Asians, Africans, Natives, and every other culture in the world are extremely weird and different. But the thing is, that is exactly what they are thinking about us. We can’t be judging people because of their job, hair, religion because they are just like us.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. I wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. I had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
My opinion on this quote is that Pi didn’t know any better not to use his fingers. Maybe assuming it was a Indian restaurant in Canada it would be like this in his home country where you could use fingers and be socially acceptable. The section in this quote “Fresh off the boat, are you?” connects to me with “.. he has not ideas how deeply those words wounded me.” This tells us that something that maybe was not meant to be harmful or hurtful to someone could be if we don’t think about it, I do not think that the waiter realized what he had said could be such a hurtful act. This also reminds me of the old saying “ sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt” The reason it reminds me of this because I think that words do have more power than a broken bones. Almost all broken bones do heal correctly with time and is usually forgotten on a daily basis but if someones words are used hurtfully and are powerful enough towards you I do believe that you will always remember it on daily basis regardless if you try not to think about it.
My response: I agree with Tim on the fact that Pi didn’t know any better than to use his fingers. Pi probably used his fingers back in his home country and that would be normal there. When the waiter says “Fresh off the boat, are you?” I think that Pi might be wounded by those words because he really was fresh off the boat at the time. Pi probably felt embarrassed “..., became dirty under his gaze”, since the waiter was probably thinking that he had no manners or etiquette. When Pi said that he had never used such instruments before I was a little bit surprised. Some people may think that not using utensils is less civilized but it is just another way of life. I also agree with Tim on the fact that words are very hurtful, there are so many people that commit suicide because of hurtful words. “My hands trembled” Usually your hands tremble when you are nervous or trying something new which Pi Patel was doing. Food tends to lose its taste when something upsetting happens.
The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
Life is such a beautiful deep and sensationl experience it's no wonder Pi's analysis of how the ugly, obsqure disaster of death is jealous of life fits perfectly. Death , especially premature death, is not a biological failure, but the jealous rage of the fates stealing away another piece of existance that the mirical of life has presented us with. This quote does not have restrictions to defining death and life but also beauty and evil. The world is riddled with beaty that is continually destroyed by desire of humans to own a piece of that beauty for themsleves with greed and self-promotion. Pi is someone who feels a deep connectin with the world around him so I believe that he has a deep seated image of the destruction of beauty can be equivalent to the destruction of life. This means that this quote is not so much describing life and death, but dscribing the devestation wreaked upon beauty.
First quote I chose is; "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
I chose to analyze this quote because I find the persona that Yenn Martel gave to death amusing. Death is envious of life yet religious people (people whose religion has an after life or reincarnation ect.) tend to spend their life’s attempting to please their G(g)od(s) so their death will be a pleasant one. Humans also work so hard during their life that they tend to forget about actually living, and as they forget they might as well be dead, that is if they are not already wishing for their deaths. In my opinion life should be envious of death not death envious of life.
The second quote I chose to do is; "It is a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compasionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos. Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry" (7).
I enjoyed this quote immensely because of the truth it holds. Canada’s winters are cold but there are places colder such as Antarctica. People in Canada do also have individuality which can become some very odd hair styles yet they are accepted and almost ignored because people in Canada see them so often so to a foreigner they may seem very odd. What makes me interested in this quote is that he combined a humorous moment with one tinged with sadness. He says he has nothing to go home to, so I assume that he placed with the saying about Canada because he wished to find the good or interesting points of Canada so leaving his home in Pondicherry wouldn’t seem as bad. Or maybe his is glad to be away from Pondicherry in some ways, and he could be comparing Canada’s coldness to India’s heat. Ether way he seems to like Canada because of the words intelligent and compassionate for the people of Canada thus he must like Canada.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
My Response: Reading over this quote it seems to be very wise. The sloth seems to have figured out a way of living its life being completely content with it’s self. Although it is a slow moving creature I really think that they are doing themselves a favor not getting involved or even interested with the rest of the world. It is because they are so sleepy and carefree that they are able to remain in there own habitat and keep out of anything that may harm them. I believe that Martel is using this quote to relate to people. If humans weren’t as curious as they are we may have a much simpler life. There wouldn’t be such a thing as news because no one would be interested in learning about anything except themselves. There would be no conflict between people and no one would want power over others that could potentially lead to things like war that could harm others.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7). My Response: Pi starts off by saying "I have nothing to say of my working life,”. I find this to be a bit strange. Almost every human on the planet has experienced what work is, whether it is only a once and a while thing or a day to day thing. Choosing what to call work is also very important. If you enjoy what it is that you do it won’t seem like work and therefore make each day go by much faster. This does not seem to be the case with Pi. He obviously doesn’t like what he does because he is not willing to share it with anyone. Pi also refers to his tie as a noose. A tie, being a part of his uniform should be something you are proud to put on and go off to work in. Pi is making the tie seem like it is what is going to kill him. Saying that “it will hang a man” is telling me that maybe he works to much or that he has no life due to the hours he works.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science"
I chose this quote, not because of how it shows what Piscine thinks of his piers, but because it truly shows more about his character. Although Pi is a very good person at heart, he often stereotypes certain groups of people in the book into black and white. This characteristic in my opinion is a personality flaw of Pi’s, for not all scientists are “friendly, atheistic, hard working, beer drinkers”; in fact many scientists are quite the opposite. For example many scientists are too caught up in their own work, and are therefore unsociable rather than friendly, many do believe in all facts science has proven however still have a sense of faith and go to church every Sunday and abstain from partaking in beverages of the Alcoholic nature. By lumping groups of people into categories, Yann Martel has shown us an important character trait that Piscine posses, “Stereotyping”. Maybe later in the book we will learn about Pi’s past, and Martel will reveal Piscine’s probably cause for being stereotypical. My prediction is that he obtained this quality as a child from his father, or a different fatherly figure. Another crucial inference that can be gained from this quote is that Pi finds it easier to get along with his piers from the science department, than those the religious studies group. Science is fact, Religion is faith, and this is where the issue probably comes into play. Since science is truth, arguments about science aren’t as likely as arguments dealing with religion. In a religious studies class, the students would come from all different sorts of religion. History has shown us on countless occasions that difference in opinion when dealing with religion, results in arguments, quarrels, and sometimes aggressive negotiations (VIOLENCE). In my opinion after reading the book thus far, Pi is a highly opinionated individual who would stand up for his religious beliefs if a “muddled agnostic” was attempting to tell him that his beliefs were incorrect. Although this may cause problems, it shows the readers Pi is a very spiritual person who has an outstanding sense of faith. It inspires me to see a character that can integrate both religion and sciences in post-secondary education, for he is being taught logic and philosophy, and can still maintain learning both without concentrating on how they can contradict one another.
"I chose the sloth because its demeanour -- calm, quiet and introspective --- did something to soothe my shattered self"
This quote was taken from the first page of the book, and with it Martel already attaches a sense of misery to Patel. We are just beginning to read, but we are already finding ourselves diving into Pi’s personal thoughts and emotions. It raises questions for the reader, for why is Pi “shattered”, and of all animals why would a troubled man choose the three toed sloth? I believe Martel used this quotation, to make the audience attempt to infer some of Pi’s character traits early on. I think that Pi can relate to the sloth’s nature and even wishes he could be more like it. Although the three toed sloth may seem boring to most, Patel recognizes that it has reached its own spiritual nirvana and can’t be bothered by the outside world. Although Patel is introspective like the sloth, I believe he is also envious of its calmness. Not much further in the book we realize that Pi can be easily offending, an example is in the restaurant when the waiter prosecuted Pi for eating with his fingers. This embarrassment instigated by the waiter began to swell in the mind of Patel, unlike the sloth that could care less; these words stung Patel and showed that he is very self-conscious. Pi respects the three toed sloth, and although it may not be on the top of the food chain he realizes that this animal obtains all the right tools for survival. Martel effectively uses alliteration in this passage to captivate his reader using his educated arsenal of literary devices. It is amazing the amount of relations that can be reflected upon between the three toed sloth, and Martel’s star character in the novel.
In response to Dan Knight’s comment on: "I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7). I agree with your response to this quote, on how a job can take over a person’s life and cause more problems in the long run. Although I am a firm believer in working hard at a job (if only that would transfer over to school as well), this quote makes me reflect upon myself and realize that there are important things to concern myself with rather than making large sums of “cash money”. Friends, Family, and above all memories are the true markers to leading a happy life. What is the good in money, if one cannot live with themselves?
“I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
Pi has suffered a lot in his life. The first line of the story is “My suffering left me sad and gloomy”, hence his suffering is going to be a major theme in this book. We do not know exactly what caused his suffering yet, but we know that something has happened t make him believe there is nothing left for him in his hometown of Pondicherry. Also, Pi has an extraordinary life, being in university at 16, etc., and if we assume that extraordinary lives and people come from extraordinary suffering, then Pi Patel must have gone through something fairly bad. When he describes pain as unbearable and trifling I think he just meant that every time something else happens to you, you automatically think wow , my life is so terrible, this is happening on top of (great suffering in the past)” and the pain from something small can seem horrible. However just as fast as these feelings of sadness descend on us, if we have experience in the field of suffering we can come to terms with what has happened and get over it pretty quickly. Pi is showing us his own ability to cope, or survive the trials of life, and these abilities are probably what helped him survive his situation with the tiger we will soon learn of.
“I love him and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience" (7).
I think that this quote is meant to show how people can grow because of the suffering in their lives. Pi tells us that he would have won the awards had it not been for the pink-boy, and his tone tells us that he is jealous of him, and hurt by the loss. He also tells us that the extra pains in life such as these although seem unbearable, are trifling. The short distance between his statement of resent of jealousy and this quote show just how quickly you can get over something if you’ve gone through worse in your life. Not many people would be so quick to say that they love the person that “stole” away an award of that stature from them; this leads the reader to wonder what exactly happened in his life that was so bad to make this situation such a minor one. It is also one other thing that makes us admire Pi, not only does he excel academically, and be working on a double major in university at the age of 16, but he also is compassionate and can keep his emotions in check. This skill may come up later in the novel, and may be what helps him survive his ordeal to come.
In response to Kyle’s response to this quote: I had not immediately considered the religion aspect when reading and writing my own analysis for this quote, but your point does make it more clear to me why he would use the word “love” instead of something more along the lines of “I am happy for him….”. Not often would someone in our society say they love someone they don’t know very well, let alone someone you feel has stolen something from you. I originally had just thought that the use of the word love was more of just an expression in the “Indian-English” dialect. I will have to keep religion in mind more when reading this text.
Quotation 1 “My suffering left me sad and gloomy” (3).
Pi Patel’s declaration, which informs the reader that the main character has suffered greatly, is a powerful way to begin the opening chapter. Although the specific details of his suffering point are unclear at this point, it captivates the reader: questioning the cause of Pi’s agony. It also develops an immediate connection with the reader in that they may be suffering as well. In addition, the reader learns of his hopelessness. One may also see this is as a very pessimistic view.
Quotation 2 “Its only real habit is indolence” (3).
Indolence is one’s inclination to laziness, which Patel is using to describe the sloth. Known as the world’s slowest mammal (National Geographic website), the sloth is so inactive that algae grows on its fury coat. They rarely depart the tree (only to change trees for food supply). It is evident that sloths, who even upon waking, remain motionless. They are indeed indolent. This quote can also be related to humans in that we perceive others (and sometimes ourselves) as lazy. We get up off of our couches once in a while to obtain food, much like the sloths.
Kelsey said: The author thinks that he should have won the prestigious Governor General’s Academic Medal if it weren’t for some boy. From his description the boy was fat with a thick neck like a tree trunk and he was Caucasian who ate beef something that the author did not do because it conflicted with his religion. The winner had a good cheer meaning he was happy so obviously he didn’t have many bad or tragic experiences in his life time that would have left him “sad and gloomy”. I think that the author believes he should have won and it makes him even angrier to think about the fact that he lost to this normal Canadian boy who is like everyone else only smarter. On the other point I believe the author is happy to at least of been considered and almost the recipient of this award. The author uses the world illustrious which means brilliant and outstanding to describe the applicants and recipients of the award. I think this would be an honor to even be considered.
RESPONSE: I believe that the description of the boy who won the Governor General's award is irrelevant in relating them to his intellectual capabilities. I also disagree with her view that eating beef was against Pi's religion; perhaps he did not like beef, much like I do not like brussel sprouts. We do not have concrete proof that this was a "normal" boy, who was below the level of Pi. However, I do agree with the fact that it would indeed be an honour to be considered for such a prestigious award.
Richard Parker has stayed with me. I’ve never really forgotten him. Dare I say I miss him? I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love. Such is the strangeness of the human heart. I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of good-bye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart. (pg.7)
Yann Martel selecting the name Richard Parker for an animal character was somewhat humorous, since it gives the impression of a human. Perhaps that was Martel’s intention; maybe Richard Parker symbolizes something humanistic. Martel named the character after an Edgar Allan Poe character from “The Narrator of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket”. The poem is about four shipwrecked men. To survive each man drew a straw to select which of the four would be sacrificed. A man by the name of Richard Parker was selected as the meal. Martel stated ‘Richard Parker stayed with me’ which made me believe Richard Parker represents Ggod(s). In addition, Richard Parker being killed for the other men to live in the poem by Edgar Allan Poe is similar to what Jesus did when he sacrificed his life for the rest of civilization to have an afterlife. Pi also says that he doesn’t understand why he abandoned him abruptly. Ggod(s) often may feel distant at times, which makes us feel like they have left, however they are hidden. They do this to see if we still faith in them even when things are going wrong in our life. It is clear that Pi has become very close to Richard Parker because he describes his farewell as `an axe that chops at my heart` which is very graphic and gives the impression that Pi was torn and crushed from his absence.
To me this quote also suggests that Richard Parker may represent Pi`s alter-ego because he misses him and still has nightmares about him. This causes me to believe when Richard Parker was visible, Pi`s alter-ego was present, but when Richard Parker left, Pi`s alter ego vanished. Aside from the `darkness` of nightmares he states they are `tinged with love`. This makes me predict that Richard Parker symbolizes Pi`s `shadow` even though this side of him may be dark, it also brings joy to Pi`s heart to see a different side to him. In addition a person’s `alter-ego` never goes away, it always stays with you.
"Sometimes I got my majors mixed up. A number of my fellow religious-studies students -- muddled agnostics who didn't know which way was up, who were in the thrall of reason, that fool's gold for the bright -- reminded me of the three-toed sloth; and the three-toed sloth, such a beautiful example of the miracle of life, reminded me of God" (5).
To me Martel is sending the message that he gets his two majors mixed up because people in his religion class remind him of animals. He refers to his classmates as `mixed up` because they `muddled agnostics`. This is confusing to me because normally you either believe in a Ggod(s), you don’t believe or you aren`t really sure. I think it is strange that people are boarding between ``not really sure`` and ``believing`` and they are in a religion class. Pi seems to believe that agnostics have become so puzzled that they entirely remove themselves from the equation, refusing to maintain their questioning in favour of quitting. Agnostics live by the notion that nothing can be verified, which Pi sees as a terrible life attitude, allowing for no religious development. Pi makes me assume that his classmates were dim-witted because `they didn`t know which way was up`. He believes his classmates are slaves and were looking for a cause to trick the eyes of the brilliant. This makes me think that his classmates were trying to make the professors or perhaps religious people believe they are something that they are not.
Martel compares his classmates to a three-toed sloth which are known for being slow moving, uninterested, and partial to staying in one place. This makes me wonder if Yann is signifying that his classmates are lazy and don`t seem interested in what they are learning, or if he`s trying to be humorous and say they are slow in the head. The agnostics are similar to sloths because they stay in their comfort zone, rejecting participation in any spiritual progression.
Yann refers to Sloth`s as a beautiful example of the miracle of life because historically sloths disappeared immediately after the arrival of humans to South and North America, until geologically recent times they reappeared. It is considered a miracle that something that was once extinct can become living again in the future. Yann probably is reminded of God when he thinks of the miracle of the sloths because possibly a miracle takes place throughout the story the Life of Pi. I predicted this because Pi is supposed to tell Yann a story that will make him believe in God. I believe that God performs miracles all the time, so I also am reminded of God when I think of the miracle of the sloths. If God wanted the sloth species living on the earth, then ultimately he will make it occur.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science"
I agree with Scott that Pi is being very judgmental in his description of scientists, and perhaps this is a flaw of his. He stereotypes Scientists to acting in these ways, which is only his perspective. Personally, I don’t think that most scientists would go out and drink beer because I assume they would be knowledgeable of the calories in beer, and would likely drink water. However, that is stereotypical of me to think this.
I believe that Yann probably feels more comfortable with the science majors at school than the religion majors because he describes his religion classmates as brainless. Pi appears to be a very smart person and probably can’t stand being around people who aren’t at his level of intelligence, because stereotypically science majors are intelligent.
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live" (3).
This to me seems like a complete paradox all on its own. Religion is based strictly on faith and one book it seems while academic study is usually based on facts and science. Academic studies and religion have been fighting each other for centuries so it's very interesting that Pi says this to us. I think what he's trying to say here is that a little bit of faith can go a long way in the sense of being happy and maybe not always feeling so alone. The academic studies is just saying that education is important and so it interpreting things to better understand yourself as a person. He says it brought him back to life as if he was dead before. I think he is saying that he lost himself some where in his life and with the help of these two things he found himself once more.
"How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
What he is saying here I think is quite straight forward and simple. He's saying to slow down and stop rushing through life. People always seem to be stressing and sweating over the most little things. Everyone looks at the small facts and no one looks at the big picture which means they are missing the whole point of life! If people were to slow down much like the sloth does then maybe they could figure things out without hurting themselves over it. Slow down and you will see the bigger pictures. It's like reading a poem once and never looking at it again. You would miss every metaphor, simile, all of the imagery and probably the entire point and message of the piece.
Geoff Millward interpretion: "I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think this quote may have some reference to people who spend too much time working, and not enough time with their families. It is very typical, especially in bigger cities, where men specifically spend too much time "at the office", which then leads to a path where a separation is almost inevitable. This being said, families are thought to be the most endearing possession to ourselves, and to be a main cause to a divorce can be earth shattering because it is as though everything you have essentially worked for in your life is gone because of a mistake, which can lead to depression and loneliness which can both lead you to suicide.
My response: I would have to agree with Geoff on this one. People spend way too much time on stupid material things such as money and cars and who has the best and biggest house. People need to stop doing what they hate just for what people say is the "better way of living". Who says that you have to be a doctor in order to be successful. In my view if your happy then you are successful. My aunt went to university and has a lot of education under her belt but she chooses to live day by day with not to much money and playing music because it's what she loves to do and it's what makes her happy. If you hate what your doing you will eventually hate yourself.
---- "My life is like a memento.... remind me of the folly of human ambition." (p6)
"Memento" is memorable, special, exquisite and meaningful. The author said his life like that. I doubt it, wasn't he? But something I'm pretty sure, it was, we never, never can affirm evaluate whose life whether splendid or badness if the person who the background is not too wickedness. Because we’re not them, we don't know what their real life is entirely. Mostly we just know a part of them to through the books, histories or media, different ways can see different angles. Anyway I am so surprised and glad that he describes his life is like that. How many people dare say my life is like a "memento". Afterward he also reminds himself: human of ambition were folly by the grinning and scary of skull. Is that real? How to people get that? Are they killed that person? Why? There has a lot can't explain of questions and secrets certainly. It is like people kill people. What is that a world! When you’ve killed a person, will you get life better? Will you get their lifespan add on your life? Will you get everything whatever that you want? Will you… People were just like that unreasonable and no sense. The author's correct, used that evil but stimulate deep thought of "memento" to remind and consider himself.
---- "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant.... My sambar lost its taste." (p8)
That paragraph was so funny since I am a foreigner. I really understand what the author's feeling. We had a big and difficult to decompose of hindrance in our culture. Some people would like to change their life habit, some don't, and it just depends on what is your mind. Also the old people they won’t, it never happened to them, they just will accept the old and eternal things. My first several times, went to foreign restaurant to diner. It feels uncomfortable often, and always thinks they were looked at on me all around the people. Maybe I know why, people were envious, they would think, who you are? Have you bring enough money to pay? You're so rude like that dressing. There just for dignitary, not you, don't come here again. People were extremely care status of height. Whoever you are, only you were a distinguished person, that they must flatter, so if someone think who's a failure. Don't give up yet. The world need you, because it has gave you a lots happiness, the world let you birth, let you live, everything appear as possible as you can touch. Remember those things weren't you should own it. Just please help yourself, Christine!
---- My response to Sydney "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant.... My sambar lost its taste."
It is true, it is an embarrassment. When we travel to culturally different places, then we will do the same mistake or the embarrassing stuff. And the author didn’t realize there was Canada, wasn’t his country, different places stand different normality. And I agree with Sydney the author described the scene really well, we can thoughtful what situation and his emotion was. And that section let me laugh a while, because I was put myself in it, it was so mush awkward, alert don’t happen on me
"My suffering left me sad and gloomy" (3). Well that just seems redundant. Not many people would say they were happy that they suffered. Of course when we suffer, we learn. It is not something that we want to learn, but or more or less forced to learn if we want to move on. People at first when forced to learn start to rationalize and deny the inevitable truth that is being brought upon them. Through denial this causes even more suffering until eventually the message finally makes its way into our head. This uses foreshadowing as we already know that Pi is going to survive, but in the process suffers a great amount of pain and loss. But that also is a redundant remark. Survival is not seen to be an easy process, and to survive we have to endure the troubling problems we are being forced to face with.
"I never had problems wigh my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, ard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6). I would first like to point out Mrs. Fung, that you filled this quote with many a spelling mishaps. This quote is showing the contradictions that fill Pi’s life. Not to point the finger but many Christians, scientists, and people in general deny a person solely based on their religious affiliation. As the reader does not yet know of Pi’s religious affiliation but know that he is religious, some readers might assume he is Christian. For Pi to be religious but associate with atheistic people might take away from his belief. But for Pi to see people deeper then that is where his true character lies. The message I believe that Pi is trying to get across is that if we were to strip away our religious beliefs, we are all a “hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball”.
My response to "How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ."
Being inconspicuous is the key to survival when in a tight situation with many enemies and more attractive defenders. It is also a good way for us to survive day to day life when you don't want to be the person who "Constantly risks absurdity and death", but wishes to be the spectator and enjoy the show. I think that the reason Pi has a fascination with the Three-toed sloth is that he is seeing himself in it. He went through a severe experience where he played the incospicuous one and survived against all odds. He then has lived his life after that, accelling at what he did in university but not because he rushed in head first and hoped for the best but because he played it cool and remained inconspicuous. Now he is living in a pleasant house with his family and is not pushing to become some famous person but is simply on the sidelines living a smooth, careful life that does not endanger his or his families existance.
When I read this I saw the contradiction in Pi’s statement based on his current setting. What I though Sam was saying is that to survive we have to be fit in to our settings. Toronto, Pi’s new home, is not at all a slow city. People on Yonge Street, or in Dundas Square are constantly running around trying to get to wherever they are going, as quickly as possible. This is the exact opposite of the sloth. It only moves when it has to. Maybe Pi is infatuated with the sloth as it is the opposite of how he is forced to live.
"Then the elderly man said, "I have a story that will make you believe in God." (P ix)
Personally, as a borderline atheist, I would call this a tall order. The use of the words "make you believe" suggests evidence or proof of the existence of whichever god to which Francis Adirubisamy was referring, beyond immaculate conception or miracle healing or something of the like. This type of concrete statement based on an implied concrete foundation would be the holy grail (pardon the pun) of any person with faith who sought to validate their faith. I know that I would be deeply skeptical should a stranger make such a bold statement to me. In order to understand the nature of Yann Martel as an author, I studied the way he responded to this situation and his thoughts about the story as it was retold to him by Mr. Adirubisamy. When Yann says "please tell me your story," it speaks to his understanding of the purpose of storytelling. The story Mr. Adirubisamy is telling is not his story, though Yann realizes all the same that there is some personal reason that compelled Mr. Adirubisamy to share the story with him. He also tells Mr. Adirubisamy absolutely that he will listen carefully, which suggests either honesty, interest, or a combination of the two. I believe it is the combination of the two, since he also takes it upon himself to seek out the main character and pursue the details of the story. I think, though, perhaps Yann was not seeking out the main character for superficial gossip, but in for the sake of greater truth.
Sammy said: The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
Life is such a beautiful deep and sensationl experience it's no wonder Pi's analysis of how the ugly, obsqure disaster of death is jealous of life fits perfectly. Death , especially premature death, is not a biological failure, but the jealous rage of the fates stealing away another piece of existance that the mirical of life has presented us with. This quote does not have restrictions to defining death and life but also beauty and evil. The world is riddled with beaty that is continually destroyed by desire of humans to own a piece of that beauty for themsleves with greed and self-promotion. Pi is someone who feels a deep connectin with the world around him so I believe that he has a deep seated image of the destruction of beauty can be equivalent to the destruction of life. This means that this quote is not so much describing life and death, but dscribing the devestation wreaked upon beauty.
I agree with this interpretation, and would like to offer some support from page 7.
"Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud." (P.7)
This quote would support the connection to human greed and artifice, as mentioned by Sammy, since greed is not a healthy love, but a possessive, perverted love for wealth. Death is jealous of the wealth of life, for death is cold and hard, and life is vibrant and lush. The part about leaping over oblivion lightly designates life as far more powerful and beyond the possessive clutches of death. That it loses only a thing or two of no importance suggests that Yann is aware of the vastness of the term "life" and he implies that life can certainly afford its losses and is capable of regenerating itself (within reason).
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
Pi understands and respects work, but finds that some people overlook the beauty of life. Some people get too caught up in making money. They wear the suits, the ties, and the confidence. They become so caught up in the business world that they become distant from reality. They forget about what matters the most in life, family, love, friends, health, etc. Many people notice change in others who focus mainly on their jobs. Their personality begins to change, and also their lifestyles due to stress and work overload. The quotation “only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he’s not careful” could mean that the tie represents the workforce; a tie is tight around the neck, the workforce if tight around your neck when you are presented with deadlines. When it says that that it will hang a man nonetheless this could mean that when you get caught up in the working life you lose touch with reality, people become depressed and lonely and this could cause a man to “nonetheless hang himself”.
"Victims of cancer or car accidents, once they heard my story, they hobbled and wheeled over to see me . . . they moved me to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying" (8).
This quotation shows the mass amount of suffering Pi Patel must have been faced with. Cancer is a disease which causes the human body to undergo a great deal of suffering, which could last for a long period of time. Being in a car accident can leave you crippled, mentally challenged, or with any other injuries that can cause you suffering. An example would be a hockey player becoming paralyzed in the legs. This quotation shows that those who have been put through the above scenarios found Pi Patel’s story to be extraordinary. When they moved him to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying he could have been realizing that he was not the only one who has been through the pain and suffering that life throws at you.
Response to Geoff Millward "I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think this quote may have some reference to people who spend too much time working, and not enough time with their families. It is very typical, especially in bigger cities, where men specifically spend too much time "at the office", which then leads to a path where a separation is almost inevitable. This being said, families are thought to be the most endearing possession to ourselves, and to be a main cause to a divorce can be earth shattering because it is as though everything you have essentially worked for in your life is gone because of a mistake, which can lead to depression and loneliness which can both lead you to suicide.
I totally agree with his interpretation of the quote but he mentioned that "men specifically" spend to much time at the office, I think he should have used the word people instead of men. Women just as much as men get caught up in the working world. Women sometimes hire Nanny's to watch their children and neglect their kids just as much as men do.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quote makes me feel relatable to Pi’s character as a minority stuck in a new city with a new culture. It is hard to drop your normal habits and traditions just because the majority of people don’t approve or are confused from it. Being called a FOB (fresh off the boat) is very offensive and hurtful. Not only does it make you feel like you don’t belong, it makes you feel as though you are disgusting to these people if they must point out that you are an immigrant. Especially not being able to eat the way you are used to, it would make you lose your appetite and will make you reconsider your eating etiquette. It is obvious that Pi just wants to fit in with the new country, seeing as how he “guiltily” wiped his fingers on his napkin instead of habitually licking them. He may be feeling guilty about wiping because he knows that he does not want to nor does he want to change his etiquette just for some random stranger, but he knows that he needs to learn how Canada works culturally before he can learn to accept both his own and Canada’s at the same time. It is also ironic how he is eating at a Indian restaurant in Canada yet he is not allowed to dine like them. Indian’s are known to use their hands and fingers and use little dining instruments.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
Pi understands the responsibilities and privileges of a “tied” job. It takes a lot of time and work to be good at what you do, and even when people prevail at their responsibilities at work, that does not mean that he enjoys it. A high paying job does not make a person feel any better at work, especially if he is overworked and cares too much about the objectives at work instead of caring about the job itself. Pi is stating that there unless a worker is careful, a job can feel like jail if he not careful. Work is the tie and the tighter and tighter you wrap the tie, the closer you are to having a half decent noose. Making sure you enjoy your “tie” will help you loosen it at the same time in my opinion.
Blaire Stewart said... "The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
My response: To me this quote could be a relation to how society is or how it should be. If we take the sloth as a person and place them in society we would think of a person that is completely satisfied with their life because it states that they live in harmony and peace. The sloth is also being compared to a human with the personification "A good natured smile is forever on its lips." We all know that animals and sloths can't smile but it is a human characteristic. However, if we picture a society that shares the same characteristics of a sloth doesn't it equal a perfect society? The downfall is that our society is imperfect, and many people are unhappy. Maybe the life of a sloth is what we should be striving for, and maybe we are supposed to be living a simple and care free life like the sloth in order to be happy. Many of us look passed the sloth because it is an unimportant but maybe we should be paying more attention because it could be the thing we are supposed to follow.
(My Response) I agree with Blaire on this quote because I feel that society is in chaos within them also. If sloths are able to live in perfect harmony despite their “disadvantages” at life, why aren’t intellectual and emotional humans not able to the do the same yet? The personification of the sloth was cleverly used. Not only does it raise a good point the state of human’s society and behavior, it is also ironic because the sloth is considers a sin, and is looked down upon.
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
When reading this quotation, the audience is guided to the knowledge that Pi has with gone suffering in his lifetime at some point. Although it is not cleary stated at this point in the story why Pi has suffered, it is important to see the symbol of suffering to further character development later in the plot. When one reads the opening sentance of the novel, "My suffring left me sad and gloomy" (3), it becomes apparent that suffering is going to be a large portion of the story. We know this because there is repition several times, mentioning suffering within a short number of pages, practically telling the reader one of the main themes. I think that Yann Martel made the theme of suffering and obvious subject so that the reader will be prepared for possible tragic events in the future advances in plot. We also see that Pi is a sensitive being, because his sense of pain heightens every time he experiences suffering.
" I love him, and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience. " (7)
I chose this quotation because it shows the reader two things about the character Pi. One is that Pi is a compassionate being, and even though his academic achievments did not match those of the pink boy who ate beef, he could still be forgiving and communicate with his competator in a positive manor. The second is that Pi, even though angered and deeply affected by the loss of awards, is able to deal with situations in a calm, and submissive attitude. This may be because of his "strange religious practices", or maybe even the tragic events that happend to him in the past (I say the events of the past because when one has experienced such awful events, the individual may be subjected to desensitising thoughts that cause them pain). As the statement is made, we see Yann Martel portreying Pi as a calm, and forgiving character. This leads the reader to once again believe that the story is truthful, because the character is made to be entirly genuin.
To respond to Alex's quotation:
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I agree with Alex's annalysis. Pi goes through his responsibilities as a man in the work world, and while he does not enjoy this task, he understands the priviledge of a job that does well to serve a purpose. Pi goes on to explain that if we are indeed not careful enough to handle our stress properly, our work tie becomes our nuse. To add to Alex's analysis, I think that Yann Martel has given Pi characteristics of stress that are relatable to the reader. In my opinion, Yann Martel did this so that the reader would feel personally connected and have trust with the character. Once again, trust and truth become present in the story line.
“ I love him and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience" (7).
This quote is written by the author, Yann Martel after he explains a “beef-eating pink boy” received the Governor General's Academic Medal instead of him. This award is the University of Toronto's highest undergraduate award and Yann wanted this award more than anything. I think that Yann felt that he deserved the award but his hard work and suffering that he had been through did not pay off. Yann was able to disregard his loss and show unselfish concern for the man who had been given what he had desired. This quote reflects the type of person that the author is which is accepting and unselfish. This comment helps with the author’s character development which is appealing to readers who are interested in learning background information about the author so that they have previous knowledge before reading his work.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
From this quote it is clear that religion is a major theme in this novel. Religion can be a very sensitive topic because some people have very strong beliefs and not everyone is tolerant of differing views. Pi mentions that some may find his religious practices “strange”. Pi always had a hard time choosing one religion. Pi had three religions, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. This was strange to others because most people study one practice. I think that the author feels that some find his religious practices strange because some people are judgmental and not accepting of other religious views. Pi realizes that his religious practices may seem strange to others but he is openly honest about his own personal religious practices anyways because it is something that is important to him.
Response to Jackie
I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he is not careful" (7)
I agree with Jackie Wanamaker’s comments on this quote. I think that what you do for a living does not have to define who you are as a person. I think that it is important that people work to live not live to work. I agree that it is important to enjoy your life and the things that are most important to you rather than getting caught up in your job and becoming obsessed with “success”.
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to life" (3).
This quote is the second phrase of the novel, following, “My suffering left me sad and gloomy.” As this quote says “brought me back to life,” it is as though his suffering has killed him, and his academic studies and religious practices bring him back to life, giving us the image of rebirth. On the cover of the novel we see water, a symbol of rebirth, and also a symbol of baptism, relating to the religious themes of this novel. This quote also relates to the theme of life and death, as Martel later discusses how death is envious of life, and that is why death sticks so closely to life. Also, Martel uses the word “slowly,” relating to the slow demeanour of the sloth. The sloth survives precisely by being slow, and Martel uses the word “slowly” in this phrase to put emphasis on survival being a slow process. This quote also relates to the poem, “After Great Pain a Formal Feeling Comes,” by Emily Dickinson. This poem ends with the speaker “letting go” of the pain. Although Pi still feels some sense of being “sad and gloomy,” he finally lets go of the pain through his religious practice, and continues to be successful in his academic studies.
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
This quote further shows the great deal of suffering Pi has endured. As if Pi has not already gone through enough pain, he must now deal with being very close to receiving the Governor General’s Academic Medal, the University of Toronto’s highest undergraduate award, and being slighted by a “beef-eating pink boy.” The use of “unbearable and trifling” is just one of the many contradictions in Life of Pi, relating to the theme of upside-downedness, causing the reader to see the same thing in multiple ways. The additional pain can be unbearable, as he is already a shattered person, and adding any more pain causes him to almost completely break down. Yet at the same time, this additional pain can be insignificant (or he tells himself it is insignificant) compared to the great amount of suffering he has already endured. Martel also uses alliteration with “s” at the start of the quote, showing just one of the many literary devices Martel uses in this novel.
Amy said... "The first time I turned a tap on . . . " (8).
By outlining his seemingly unreasonable reaction to something as simple as turning on a tap it shows the reader how distressed Pi was after his suffering. I am not yet sure what his suffering consisted of but his shock may have came from the fact that he had been surrounded by water for so long and seeing more of it overwhelmed him. This passage relates to the repeating symbol of water throughout the book. The element of water also relates to the theme of rebirth because of baptism. At the start of the chapter Pi talks about being brought back to life. In this passage the water in the tap is new and unusual compared to what Pi may have been used and it symbolizes a new start. He describes the tap as noisy, wasteful and superabundant. Pi was probably thirsty throughout his journey and seeing a great deal of water gush out and go down the drain, wasted, may have put him into shock as well. Pi was put into such a shock that he fainted. Pi’s reaction would not have been so extreme before his suffering. Yann Martel was probably intending for this passage to show the reader just how much Pi had endured by illustrating his traumatisation. He also foreshadows the severity of events that are to come in the story.
My Response: I agree with Amy’s comment, as Pi’s highly dramatic reaction to the simple action of turning on a tap clearly shows how distraught he has become. As turning on a tap is a very common action in everyday life, Pi’s reaction shows that he has been isolated and alienated from society. As Amy said, Pi would not react this way before having suffered the way he did, showing that Pi is seeing the water in a different way, as noisy, wasteful, and superabundant, relating to the theme of upside-downedness. I also like how Amy has related the water to rebirth. This quote discusses the events after the worst part of Pi’s suffering, which would be the time where Pi would have a chance for a new beginning.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think Pi is trying to say that people should enjoy the jobs that they choose. He understands that people need to enjoy themselves even if it is at the workplace. If a person is stressed out at a job that they hate, each day will make them feel worse and worse about their work and eventually they may even have a panic attack or something similar. Pi is comparing this situation to a tie and a noose. The tie represents the job and the noose represents stress. When a person becomes stressed, the noose tightens more and more and if a person is not careful with dealing with the stress, they will be hanged. I think the hanging part represents a panic attack, a mental breakdown, or even suicide.
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
I think we all can agree what Pi is trying to say here. If someone has suffered a great deal in life, each pain will be much more trifling for that person compared to someone who has lived an easier life. This can apply to both physical and emotional pain. When someone is physically injured and they are hurt again, the pain will be more intence to that person compared to healthy people. I think this relates even better to emotional pain. If something drastic happens early in a person's life, they may become emotionally scarred. Something such as the loss of a whole family can do this to a person. These people can be offended easier than people who haven't been scarred. But is isn't just emotionally scarred people who can be suceptable to this. All of us can be affected. Think of it this way: if you have been having a rough day and somebody cracks a joke about you, that joke will most likely anger you. On the other hand, if you've had a great day and you hear the same joke you will probably just laugh it off and not even give it any thought for the rest of the day. Its all about your mood and how it affects how you perceive things. I think Pi wants us to know that he is like this because it shows what kind of character he is going to be, and it may help in the understanding of the novel.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation creates a theme of distressing nature. Pi feels like he is caught in the act and is embarrassed to be centered out in a country he is new to. Pi feels the waiters eyes looking at him in disgust and the flavourful food suddenly looses its flavour because Pi is more focused on other's watching him and criticizing what he does, and now he is not focused on the Sambar he is eating. Pi feels alienated in this "new" country and describes this in a painful way; as "like nails being driven into my flesh".
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- its envy"
Yann Martel is saying that death isn’t so close because it has to happen but because it wants to be everything that life is. life is considered a "miracle" and death is considered as the end to that miracle, nothing to look forward to. Everyone has a life and everyone has a death but no one lives for death they live their life. death is envious and wishes is could be everything that life is it wishes that everyone would look forward to death. Death is so envious that it can take life away in a second, one hiccup in your life can bring death forward and that’s the end of your life.
This is my response to what Darcy Derbecker said about this quote "Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to life" (3).
I agree that he used academic study and the practice of religion to pull him out the slump he was in because of his past experiences. I think that he also used the study of zoology to help him cope with what happened to him as a kid with his father being so brutally honest to such a young child. He studied zoology to better understand the things that scare him, so he can respect what animals are capable of. The practice of religion helped him also because he has something to turn to and he can rely on faith, with god on his side he feels safer. the same safety coming from a better understanding of dangerous animals.
76 comments:
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarressment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarressing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element cultually. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be percived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being drivin into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie."
-Sydney Clackett
ENG4U1-02
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
In Life of Pi, Yann Martel talks about how death is "jealous" of life. This is what he means when he says death sticks so closely to life because of envy and not necessity. In my opinion, death is so envious of life, because life seems so full of energy and love, while death is just the end, when we think of death, we tend to vision a dark, sad image. Death only wishes to be like life. Yann Martel also mentions that death grabs at what it can from life, and life only loses a thing or two of no importance and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud. This ties in with the chosen quotation, because it helps us readers understand how "jealous" death is of life. Life only loses a thing or two of no importance, meaning life loses lives everyday, which is what death grabs at from life. I think death could possibly be "hungry" for life, and it is jelaous that it can't have as much life as life itself, so sticking so close to life is practically a necessity for death.
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel describes the three-toed sloth to be slow and slothful. He says the sloth survives by being so slow, keeping him out of harm's way. Humans tend to get into trouble and risk their lives everyday, because we don't take the time to [slow] things down, which I think could be tied to the quote from the novel. I believe Yann Martel could possibly be trying to relate the sloth to humans. The sloth takes it's time getting around and doing what it needs to do, while humans try their hardest to speed things up and get as much done as they can, and if we tried taking our time, like the sloths do, than we could possibly stay our of harm's way. Rushing leads to not thinking, and not being able to think straight leads to accidents.
Sydney Clackett-
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
"This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie"."
(In response..)
I agree with Sydney's thought on this quotation. I also think the tie and the noose represents the life or death factor in the workplace. Sometimes people tend to take in so much at work, that it almost kills them. Also not taking any personal time away from work could also kill you, just like the tie could hang a man.
-Taylor Armstrong
ENG4U1-03
Andrew Kemble ENG4U 02
“Its only real habit is indolence.”
Pi Patel is commenting on the Sloth which was the animal he studied for his zoology thesis. This sentence has a much wider application than just the lazy three toed sloth especially. Patel does also comment on him getting his majors mixed up which could lead the reader to believe that the only accountable thing in religion is its indolence to take on change. Most religions once they have come to power and have a set doctrine are reluctant to change and prefer to change the society they belong to. It is the same approach to hammering in a puzzle piece where it clearly does not belong. Throughout the medieval ages, Christianity was preaching that the plague was called from God unto the sacrilegious. This message persisted until the 18th century when it was proven wrong from modern medicine. After this, Christianity was forced to change or go extinct. Another connection to religion would be the use of habit, which is a scowl, robe or tunic. A habit is traditionally given to a young initiate to mark the end of postulancy, and the beginning of being a novice. Once again showing that the only real religious attire needed is laziness. The one promise human instinct can guarantee is that humans will forever be as indolent as possible. A human will forever do the easiest thing as long as it gets the same result. This is a habit that cannot be broken, and is found in humans to animals. Indolence is the first rule of nature.
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy"
This quote is saying that death is envious of life. Greek myth supports this as well, Cerberus the three headed dog to guard the Underworld, was used to keep the dead spirits in and to stop them from getting to the world of the living. The dead were envious of the living. Christianity supports this as well if common sense is used, a soul that has gone to hell would surely prefer to be back in the world of living and would repent for the sins they have done. The elderly typically tell adolescence to not take life for granted because death is so close to them, they most likely envy the youth, and wish to be young and full of life. Cambridge researcher Aubrey de Grey says aging and growing old can be avoided, and his scientific proof shows that death is indeed not biological. If death is not biological, why is it present? Death must be present to add value to life, just as evil is present to add value to good, and just as darkness is present to show the value of light.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
This quote gives readers a lot more information about the speaker than one would think at first glance. For one, it tells us that religion is something that the speaker values greatly. We already know from the author’s note that the main character in the story, Pi (the speaker/narrator), is not from Canada, “I love Canada. I miss the heat of India … but I love Canada…Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry.” From this quote one can assume that Pi came to Canada from India. When people immigrate to other countries, especially North American countries, it is not uncommon for them to shed their past religions and adapt more ‘western views’. Pi however, says that he keeps up with his strange religious practices. We know that they are important to him, and probably used as a way to feel connected with his home country. To say that his religious practices are ‘strange’ seems to connote much negativity. Something is only strange if we are not familiar with it. Different and strange things should not be viewed as wrong simply because we do not understand them. I think the word strange was used to point out this judgmental habit.
"My suffering left me sad and gloomy" (3).
This phrase is a great way to start the novel. It immediately sets the mood, allowing readers the knowledge of the narrator’s unhappiness as well as raising the question ‘how does he plan to change things around for himself?’ From the word ‘suffering’, we know that the narrator has not had an easy life. This raises readers’ interest, as we now want to know how he has suffered and why he is unhappy. The use of alliteration (suffering/sad) goes along with its recurring use (also with ‘s’) within the chapter.
Sophia Roth
ENG4U1-03
Sophia Roth
ENG4U1-03
In response to Sydney:
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"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. I wiped them guiltily on my napkin. He had no idea how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. I had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarrassment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarrassing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element culturally. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be perceived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being driven into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
*********
I agree with Sydney’s interpretation of the text. For the speaker, eating with your fingers is completely acceptable, however in Canada it is viewed as impolite and unclean: “My fingers…became dirty under his gaze.” The speaker is meant to feel like he has done something wrong and as if he isn’t good enough to be in that restaurant. Embarrassment, like Sydney said, is surely one of the things he is feeling. Foreign people are often meant to feel like they do not belong and are not accepted. I think that if more people were to experience different cultures then they would be less quick to judge those who do things differently than them.
"The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
My response: To me this quote could be a relation to how society is or how it should be. If we take the sloth as a person and place them in society we would think of a person that is completely satisfied with their life because it states that they live in harmony and peace. The sloth is also being compared to a human with the personification "A good natured smile is forever on its lips." We all know that animals and sloths can't smile but it is a human characteristic. However, if we picture a society that shares the same characteristics of a sloth doesn't it equal a perfect society? The downfall is that our society is imperfect, and many people are unhappy. Maybe the life of a sloth is what we should be striving for, and maybe we are supposed to be living a simple and care free life like the sloth in order to be happy. Many of us look passed the sloth because it is an unimportant but maybe we should be paying more attention because it could be the thing we are supposed to follow.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
My Response: This quote shows how close minded we are and how our multi-cultural country claims to be full of diversity but yet we are still controlling the different cultures that appear in Canada. For example if someone comes into an Indian resturant and started eating with your figers it should be acceptable because that resturant is geared to that specific culture. If that is how they eat in India then it should be how we eat in Indian resturants here. People who do not know the culture should not discriminate those who have lived it. We claim to be multi-cultural but we are just lead to beleive it. We have the option to experience what Indian, Chinease and French food etc. tastes like but we are not really living the experience because we still sit on our canadian chairs and typical tables, and walk into the same typical buildings. I think that we should only consider our country to be mulit-cultural if we actually make the effort to make it that way. I think that if we actually accept different cultures for what they are and make no need to change them then new immigrants will feel at home right away. I think that if we truly have a multi-cultural society then we would have a better understanding of what the entire world is like.
Kelsey Cunningham
Eng 4U Section 03
"I would have received the Governor General's Academic Medal, the University of Toronto's highest undergraduate award, of which no small number of illustrious Canadians have been recipients, were it not for the beef-eating pink boy with a neck like a tree trunk and a temperament of unbearable good cheer" (6).
The author thinks that he should have won the prestigious Governor General’s Academic Medal if it weren’t for some boy. From his description the boy was fat with a thick neck like a tree trunk and he was Caucasian who ate beef something that the author did not do because it conflicted with his religion. The winner had a good cheer meaning he was happy so obviously he didn’t have many bad or tragic experiences in his life time that would have left him “sad and gloomy”. I think that the author believes he should have won and it makes him even angrier to think about the fact that he lost to this normal Canadian boy who is like everyone else only smarter. On the other point I believe the author is happy to at least of been considered and almost the recipient of this award. The author uses the world illustrious which means brilliant and outstanding to describe the applicants and recipients of the award. I think this would be an honor to even be considered.
I am not one given to projecting human traits and emotions onto animals, but many a time during that month in Brazil, looking up at sloths in repose, I felt I was in the presence of upside-down yogis deep in mediation or hermits deep in prayer, wise beings whose intense imaginative lives were beyond the reach of my scientific probing" (5).
The author states here that he doesn’t like giving human traits such as happy and sad to animals but during the time he spent studying for his thesis he thought they were peaceful and almost human like. They were meditating like yogis who are relaxing. I think that mediating is an easy process and when I think of it simple comes to mind. But I agree with the author this is not always true when living things humans included meditate what they imagine and think is out of our control thoughts are one of the only things that are safe from the outside world. You may never know what someone else is thinking this is out of scientific control. This is a trait that both humans and animals have, thought and imagination, and being peaceful and relaxed is something we can both do.
Response to Taylor Armstrong
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel describes the three-toed sloth to be slow and slothful. He says the sloth survives by being so slow, keeping him out of harm's way. Humans tend to get into trouble and risk their lives everyday, because we don't take the time to [slow] things down, which I think could be tied to the quote from the novel. I believe Yann Martel could possibly be trying to relate the sloth to humans. The sloth takes it's time getting around and doing what it needs to do, while humans try their hardest to speed things up and get as much done as they can, and if we tried taking our time, like the sloths do, than we could possibly stay our of harm's way. Rushing leads to not thinking, and not being able to think straight leads to accidents.
My Response
I agree with Taylor’s interpretation of the author’s message, how he is trying to tell us to slow things down and how he is trying to relate the sloth to humans. I think that this could also be him describing the simplicity of the creature and its lifestyle. I agree that humans need to slow things down but I believe that we have more complicated lives and therefore we need to be faster and less relaxed because we are more complex creatures.
In response To Taylor Armstrong:
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel describes the three-toed sloth to be slow and slothful. He says the sloth survives by being so slow, keeping him out of harm's way. Humans tend to get into trouble and risk their lives everyday, because we don't take the time to [slow] things down, which I think could be tied to the quote from the novel. I believe Yann Martel could possibly be trying to relate the sloth to humans. The sloth takes it's time getting around and doing what it needs to do, while humans try their hardest to speed things up and get as much done as they can, and if we tried taking our time, like the sloths do, than we could possibly stay our of harm's way. Rushing leads to not thinking, and not being able to think straight leads to accidents.
My comment: I think that Taylor and I were thinking the same thing when it comes to the relationship of the sloth to humans. Her relation relates to the sloth being a good role model for a specific person, telling us how to act as an individual. Whereas my comment was about how the sloths are a good role model that our whole society should mimic, because it would make our society a better place. It is interesting that we both considered the sloth to be something that we as humans should follow. Before I read the text I would have never thought that a sloth could be inspirational, but it turns out that it lives a better like than some of us do.
In response to Andrew Kemble's comment on: "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy"
Andrew believe that the quote is saying that death is envious of life. I agree with this statement in the sense that to me, people enjoy life and not death. For many life is a journey and death is the end. I also relate to the fact that Andrew supports his response with research on religeion. I to find that the quotation could be portrayed as religeous due to the fact that many religeons life and death as symbols of God's power and balance. Many different religeons see life and death in different ways, however I have come to notice that life is always more (for lack of a better word) popular.
Sydney Clackett
ENG4U1-02
Andrew Kemble ENG4U 02
In response to Kelsey’s statement about the thick necked boy, I think she is incorrect and not really elaborating her responses. In what way does this quote show that he is happy to have been considered for the award? Why do happy people not go through troubles? Why do tragedies leave people “sad and gloomy”? I agree that he thinks he should have won although he gives nothing against his competitor other than his description and his cheer. I find that most people who are cheery are so cheery because they have gone through troubles and wish to see the good in the world and not the bad. Kelsey comments on how the boy is like every other Canadian except smarter, but the quote actually says only a small number of illustrious Canadians have been recipients, which means he was not a “Canadian boy who is like everyone else only smarter”. It is clear that yes, Patel is upset that he lost to someone who goes against his entire religious beliefs and even his personality.
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live" (3).
1)This quote catches my eyes, and attention. Piscine Patel was a very religious individual who enjoyed the study of religion as well as the study of animals and zoology. He states prior to this quote that he is suffering and this causes him to feel deep emotions for what he misses. His academic studies and religious studies bring him back to life. Pi strives off his two most passionate studies and hobbies. Pi finds the two studies very interesting mainly because the two interconnect with each other. Pi studies the sloth and finds it a fascinating creature to not have any motivation, interest, or even a slight care of what is happening in the real world. The sloth has a personality in which nothing can “disturb” its peace of mind. And Pi finds that the yogi, the religion he is studying, has the exact same personality of a sloth and it sets its mind on freedom rather than being sucked into the rat race of the world. Yann Martel uses allegory to show how the sloth, Yogis, and Pi are at peace of mind when they interconnect with each other.
“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
2)This quote bears many symbolic meanings that make it literally jump out of the page, making you think of the many possibilities that connect life and death. Pi uses the skull in order to mock and remind him of the importance of life. Pi mocks the skull because it makes him superior, he is not afraid of death and it will not catch up to him and bring him down without a battle. Yann Martel shows how Pi uses the skull to overcome the suffering he has encountered in his life and as close as the skull tries to get to Pi, death with never defeat him because death is not an end it is the start to a new beginning. Pi’s symbolism relates to many people being so afraid of death and are scarred their whole life that death even overcomes them in life and all they can look towards is death rather than using death as a motivation to make your mark and do something great in the lifetime you have been provided. Death sticks so closely to life because it envies life and it has such a great passion for life that it wants to be “life.” Death is portrayed as such a dark and ill place to go. Since nobody likes death or wants to be close to it death tries to be close to life but too many people push it away. Life is so beautiful and full of color and everybody loves life and they do not want it to end. Death wishes it could be portrayed as a good thing as well, but life is just so full of love and beauty that no one wants to have a thought of death.
Response to Blaire Stewart:
"The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
To me this quote could be a relation to how society is or how it should be. If we take the sloth as a person and place them in society we would think of a person that is completely satisfied with their life because it states that they live in harmony and peace. The sloth is also being compared to a human with the personification "A good natured smile is forever on its lips." We all know that animals and sloths can't smile but it is a human characteristic. However, if we picture a society that shares the same characteristics of a sloth doesn't it equal a perfect society? The downfall is that our society is imperfect, and many people are unhappy. Maybe the life of a sloth is what we should be striving for, and maybe we are supposed to be living a simple and care free life like the sloth in order to be happy. Many of us look passed the sloth because it is an unimportant but maybe we should be paying more attention because it could be the thing we are supposed to follow.
My response: I agree that a sloth would be completely satisfied in society, but that is because a sloth has no motivation and strive to do anything in life or go anywhere, it is a laid back species that does not have interest in life and by this they would be the only “thing” in society that would not be so built up with pressure and stress that they would overload and break down, but they would look at all the people running around like chickens with their heads cut off and simply “laugh” at these people. However if there were people with the characteristic of a sloth the society would not be so much perfect, as a disaster. It is true we all wish we did not have to do any sort of work and live life to the fullest so we do not miss a single beat. But if this were to happen the society would break down, nothing would get down, and there would not be any success. The sloth should be a more recognized symbol, and more people should take the characteristic of the sloth because if people were not able to clear their mind and let loose once in a while they would have so much stress that societies would fold. So to have the characteristics of a sloth is good sometimes, in order to keep peace of mind, but it would simply be too far from reality since the sloth has not much meaning in life and humans are depended on every day.
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ."
Being inconspicuous is the key to survival when in a tight situation with many enemies and more attractive defenders. It is also a good way for us to survive day to day life when you don't want to be the person who "Constantly risks absurdity and death", but wishes to be the spectator and enjoy the show. I think that the reason Pi has a fascination with the Three-toed sloth is that he is seeing himself in it. He went through a severe experience where he played the incospicuous one and survived against all odds. He then has lived his life after that, accelling at what he did in university but not because he rushed in head first and hoped for the best but because he played it cool and remained inconspicuous. Now he is living in a pleasant house with his family and is not pushing to become some famous person but is simply on the sidelines living a smooth, careful life that does not endanger his or his families existance.
Sammy Tamman
ENG 4U1-02
Kelsey Allen
ENG4U-02
“Richard Parker has stayed with me…That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart” (7).
This quote contributes immense meaning and relatability to the novel in its very early stages. To begin, Martel has brilliantly illustrated a relatable human suffering that we will all inevitably feel within our lives: abandonment. The reader may not yet be aware just who this Richard Parker character is, or why his absence has brought on such self-contradictory nightmares, but they are still able to relate. Have we not all felt the “axe that chops at our hearts”? The author could not have chosen more accurate, emotion-provoking words to reach his readers. By mentioning an issue that so many readers will undoubtedly identify with, he is establishing his relationship with his audience. Martel knows (even if only on a subconscious level) that his story will never probe the minds of his readers deep enough if they do not completely believe what he is saying. It is necessary, then, for him to lull his readers into a state of vulnerability wherein they will be completely free to experience Pi’s story for themselves. For this reason, he chooses this very point in the novel to insert Pi’s emotions towards Richard Parker. Already he is allowing readers into the mind and soul of the character, being painfully honest, and allowing us all to see the Pi’s vulnerability. In return, the audience lets down their guard. They see less reason to be skeptical, and begin to view both Pi as an honest character, and Martel as a reliable narrator.
Moreover, this quote introduces a theme that will become both obvious and important as the novel progresses. Pi’s life in its entirety is a self-contradiction. This is illustrated already in the text in the mention of his two opposing university majors, and will later be illustrated again as we learn about his conflicting beliefs and his internal struggle to separate imagination from reality.
Finally, the passage allows for foreshadowing. By illustrating to the reader the aftereffects of Pi’s suffering, Martel has already begun to hint towards what has brought him to this place. The introduction of Richard Parker is the first mention of a key element in the story line. The love that tinges all of Pi’s nightmares is an indication of a love that has grown out of his suffering. Finally, Martel mentions the strangeness of the human heart. Although first-time readers might not know it yet, this will be an important factor in Pi’s journey through the rest of the novel.
"Victims of cancer or car accidents, once they heard my story, they hobbled and wheeled over to see me . . . they moved me to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying" (8).
This quote is the perfect method by which to bring Pi’s suffering into perspective for readers. Victims of cancer and car accidents have undoubtedly experienced unbearable, trifling suffering which has left them both sad and gloomy. However, Pi tells us that even those who we view with utmost sympathy had more sympathy for Pi than themselves. This is illustrated through their behaviour towards him- the fact that they could recognize Pi’s suffering long enough to grant him that sympathetic smile that they so often see themselves, to offer food and gifts and clothing as they have so often been offered, although, as patients, they know that no quality or quantity of gifts could ever make up for their suffering. Their behaviour shows that Pi must have fallen victim to an incredibly unusual and unthinkable suffering that we as readers cannot even imagine. It allows us an indication of what we are about to read.
Pi’s reaction to his sympathy will not be completely understandable until later. At this point in the novel, it might seem strange that Pi would uncontrollably laugh or cry (notice the two contradictory actions) at being fawned over. After reading about his great ordeal we will become aware just how painfully wonderful this type of human interaction must be for Pi.
Kelsey Allen
ENG4U-02
In response to Sydney:
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie."
My response...
I basically had the same thoughts as Sydney did upon reading this passage for the first time. I believe that the reference to a tie as a noose is ingenius, and that although it does not hold a literal meaning as a suicidal weapon, it can metaphorically kill a person. I believe that Sydney was right that although the tie would not be the means to a physical end, it may still be the end of a life - a social life, a love life, a family life - if a man is not careful. The lives of workaholics slowly deteriorate as they spend more and more time focused on their work than other aspects of their lives. However, I have to wonder if they can feel the tie getting tighter, slowly killing them like a noose?
On another note, I think Sydney could have further elaborated on the relation of this quote to the novel thus far, or to what it speaks about Pi's character. I personally believe that it is another detailed illustration of Pi's view of the world, and also of his ability to critcally think and see things for what they are, without being biased or closed-minded. In this respect, this quote could serve as a minor piece of character development.
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Yann Martel refers to the sloth as being slow and out of harm’s way, this is a fact but in a twisted way he could be referring to the life of humans. If you look around you everyone is always is some kind of rush, hurrying from point A to B and then onto point C. When you think about this everyone can relate this to themselves, you push that extra 5 minutes in the shower and then your 5 minutes late for school once at school you struggle to concentrate because you were running late. After finishing school you rush home to get started on your homework only to get distracted by facebook or MSN causing you to run off to your job with out finishing your homework and by the time you get home you are tired and head to bed. And in the end harm’s way has brought it self to you.
But by the sloth being so slow and sleepy it avoids harms way, and what I think Yann Martel is trying to say if we didn’t rush and run from one thing to another we also would be able to stay out of harm’s way.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
After reading this quotation from the novel I tried to relate it to my self, it made me think that by what the waiter said had created a sensation that almost everyone has felt at one time or another which is embarrassment. If anyone has ever travelled to a place that has a different culture then what we as Canadians are used to, we try to blend in. An example of this would be buying some of the local clothing or what the small vendors offer where you travelled to but not where you came from. We do this because we want to feel accepted as the other are from around that area. The fact that a waiter pointed and said out loud so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be what would make the situation that much more embarrassing. A word in the quote that is a big clue that the author is out of is Canadian Element Culturally is “sambar” which is a vegetable stew and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. Overall this quote really opened up the reader’s eyes into the perspective of the author and his some what longing to fit in.
In response to Blaire’s comment…
First off great minds think alike, after writing my own comment and looking at others to comment on I stumbled upon Blaire’s and because she picked the same quote as me I decided to read over her comment. It was crazy how much our opinion’s were the same and we shared the same perspective but both explained in different ways. I agree with everything that Blaire has to say, we humans rush way to much! :)
Darcy Derbecker
ENG 4U1 – 02
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to life" (3).
I believe that at some point in Pi’s life he had a rough time. Many people in our world experience periods of time where living just isn’t fun or worth it. When people have reached a point like this in their lives they need something or someone to pull them out of it. For Pi “academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion” was that something. In my opinion, Pi having academic study and religion brought him back to a time in his life that he may have thought he lost. Academic study could be the facts that he needed to rely on and the mindful practice of religion could be his restoring of faith.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
Pi grew up as a Hindu, but at the age of fourteen he discovered Catholic faith. After he met Mr. Kumar he began to practice Islam. Therefore Pi practiced three religions. Pi’s three religious teachers met up with Pi’s parents and demanded he chose a specific religion, however Pi said that he cannot chose just one religion. Since Pi studies three religions while most people study or practice one, to many Pi’s religious practices would be considered strange. Many people who believe in a specific religious practice may think that people, who do not practice the same religion, may be considered strange to them. Pi who openly practices three religions would be considered strange and possibly disloyal to any of his three religions since he cannot chose one specific practice.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie."
My response to Sydney’s comment: I viewed this quotation a little differently. In my opinion Pi is talking about his previous working experiences. I believe that the tie can symbolize the stress of work and how if you don’t handle your time well and work hard enough you can lose your job, or in other terms be hung career wise. I believe when Pi says “it will hang a man nonetheless if he’s not careful” he is referring to a working career coming to an end because if you are not careful in your job and you make one wrong move you will be fired.
Michael Deryck
ENG4U 02
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
This quote really caught my eye because it is a question that you want to find out so you read on (one way of capturing the readers attention). Also the answer that Yann gives you has a very contradictory meaning because how can sleepiness and slothfulness keep you out of harm's way? I think that he is talking about how to live your life, since going to fast can cause you to miss mistakes and cause you to not be able to go back and change what you hace already done.
"The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life inprfect ahrmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
What I like about this quote is that if you look at a picture of a three toed sloth you will notice that its lips actually do have a slight smile that it cannot change. This can either tell us that it likes its life style and does not want to change just like some people and it tells us that what ever it chooses to do it does not care. I also think that this relates to how humans can frown upon things they do not like, but for sloths they can only put up with it and not be able to change a thing since they "look" like they like it.
Sydney Clackett--
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarressment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarressing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element cultually. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be percived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being drivin into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
My Response:
I agree one hundred percent with Sydney because I have been in this type of situation where you do no fit in and you try so many different things to fit in. Also I like how she researched what type of dish he had so she could find out if it was a culturally realated food. Since he was out of his country and out of his cultures ways, this made him want to be "normal" or part of the new culture that he was in and not stick out like a sore thumb.
Jenn Lee
ENG4U1-01
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, ard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
This quotation in my opinion, the author tried to say that scientists are ordinary people. Scientists do not have unique personalities and habits, they are the same as everyone. all they work hard and play to relive their stress that comes from working. Also I think that scientits believe in reality and facts rather than spiritual and religious beliefs. They do not rely on religious or emotional comcepts.
The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
I believe that the quotation explains the reason why life has an end. Death sticks so closely to life because life is full of happiness, hope, and dreams. The author mentioned that death is jealous of the beauty of life. The concept makes sense to us that death has to exist and it helps us to overcome the depression when someone passes away.
Also, I think that people would not realize how happy they are about living life without death. For these resons, death is close to life.
Joshua Winters
ENG – 4U1
Period 2
Section 2
“The first time I turned a tap on . . . " (8)”
What a simple and concise statement, at first glance you think absolutely nothing of it. It is hard to believe that such a simple necessity we take for granted, is unknown to a great many people. In fact, it is almost unfathomable to go to another country and see wide eyes of a person who has never seen something as simple as a tap. I can draw from personal experience, when we were having our new bathtub installed we were without water for a while. I couldn't believe how inconvenient it was to be without such a basic necessity as water, for even a few hours. Perhaps Yann Martel, included this because he wanted to show how even the least of us, in our society are spoiled in comparison to others. For a moment, think of the poorest person you know. Ask yourself this, do they have access to food, water, shelter, employment? Now say that this person were to be viewed from the eyes of someone living in African nation, how would they view this person, would they have the same pity for them as we do? Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate our own standards, and our ideas of standards for others.
“How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3)
This quote is almost antithetical to the very nature of survival by our definition. We think of survival in general terms; we think quick, fast success, and achievement. However ironically enough, in order for this sloth to survive in its environment, it must do exactly the opposite (in fact do nothing at all). When we think of sleepiness and slothfulness we associate that with an underachiever, lazy, all-around bad person. But if that sloth didn't break that deadly sin, it would be quite in fact dead! This sloth may appear slow on the outside, but how do we know that it isn't quick on the inside (as literature has taught us so well, things aren't always what they appear to be). It's interesting to note that we associate sleepiness with grogginess and not being in one's right mind. The contradiction here it is that if the sloth were in what we consider to be a “right mind” it may become more susceptible to predators. Also when you think of harm our first instinct is to run, or to get out of the way. In this case the sloth escapes harm's way, by not getting in harm’s way in the first place.
- Joshua Winters
Sydney said...
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation from the novel seemed very relatable to me in the sense that it created a sensation that everyone feels, embarressment. When we travel to culturally different places than what we are used to, we want to blend in, we want to feel accepted as the others are. The fact that a waiter pointed out so quickly that the author was "fresh off the boat" would be painful and embarressing without a doubt. The dish referred to as "sambar" is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. This shows that the author was out of his Canadian element cultually. To be accepted is something that I feel every person longs for, and to be percived as different can sometimes cause the pain the author describes as "nails being drivin into my flesh." The significance of this quotation to the author is that he too has emotions just as everyone does and has some desire to be accepted in my opinion.
I can sort of relate to both what Sydney is saying, aswell as Yann Martel. Probably most if not all of the students blogging here have at one time in their life have attempted to use chop sticks to eat and inevitably fail, and start stabbing at the chicken balls as though they were trying to escape your plate. This is sort of the inverted sense of what Pi Patel is going through while eating, ergo it has the embarrassment that comes along with not being socially equivalent to everyone else in that environment. As what Sydney has said, we thrive for acceptance, and in a world where not all of us can use wooden sticks to eat our food, we must settle for our forks and knives, because otherwise, we'll look like social idiots, chasing around our dumplings on the floor.
Geoff Millward
ENG4U1-02
Pt. 2
The one part I like is "My fingers ... froze like criminals in the act. I didn't dare lick them". I think I like it because it follows the metaphor of being out of your "natural element" in the sense that if you were to be captured for something you may have done in another part of the world that you're not familiar with, you would have no earthly idea what to do. You wouldn't be able to do anything for fear of exacerbating the situation. At that point more than ever, would you want to resort to any sort of social conformality was available in order to make yourself seem more acceptable and what is seen as "normal" wherever you happened to be.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think this quote may have some reference to people who spend too much time working, and not enough time with their families. It is very typical, especially in bigger cities, where men specifically spend too much time "at the office", which then leads to a path where a separation is almost inevitable. This being said, families are thought to be the most endearing possession to ourselves, and to be a main cause to a divorce can be earth shattering because it is as though everything you have essentially worked for in your life is gone because of a mistake, which can lead to depression and loneliness which can both lead you to suicide.
The latin quote Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc ("After This, Therefore Because of This") directly applies to Yann Martel's quote because it is generally the same message. Martel's quote is more direct in the sense that it is more of a warning, but in terms of cause and effect, it is a re-statement by saying that there are consequences, good or bad, in turn to any action.
Geoff Millward
ENG 4U1-02
"I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling."
When I analyzed this quote I was forced to research a couple meanings. First off, I had to recognize that when Pi says 'smart' he does not mean intelligence level but someone is acting clever or witty. Slight; "to treat as of little importance" shows that Pi is looking down upon the sight, the sight being the beef-eating pink boy. By looking at the word 'suffering' it made me wonder if it was referring to Pi's suffering, or an experience he heard. The level of one’s suffering is really based our own perspective. I may see my own suffering as the hardest thing while someone else would view mine as simple. Will we see Pi's suffering as average, or more or less compared to what we have gone through? My prediction is that Pi's suffering will be shown a lot more and he will have to analyze his beliefs throughout the book. Each additional pain somebody goes through is extremely trialing, especially if it comes out of your own fear. For physical pain you man be able to endure any type of pain as long as it has nothing to do with, for example, fire. Emotional pain, when added upon, may break someone apart, causing that pain to be completely unbearable. They may lose a job, or lose a loved one and be one the verge of breaking down but that one added pain is extremely trifling. Why would you have the pain added to you when you have already have had so much? Many people may ask this when going through hard situations. These hard situations may have good come out of them, or you may have the opportunity to examine something like your beliefs in extreme detail. We will have to see if Pi’s suffering is for the better of the worse.
***
"It is a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos. Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry."
'Much to cold for good sense'. I looked at that line in relation to my own life. When I am extremely cold or have someone distracting me it is true, good sense is hard to come by. It seems I can’t concentrate on my school work or finish my book. A life and death situation of this would be something like hypothermia; it may cause your adrenaline to react and you won’t actually have the sense to warm yourself. Pi views the country as great but cold. The weather in Pondicherry (at least recently) tends to be rainy and have many thunderstorms. It may not even be the weather Pi is calling cold but the people who appear to own the land (inhabited) are cold in themselves, intelligent but stuck in their ways in things possibly as small as their hairdo. It seems to me like Pi doesn’t feel accepted in Pondicherry and since he lived elsewhere his family appears not to be in Pondicherry. He states, “I have nothing to go home to”, his true home lies elsewhere, a pace where he is accepted and has the good sense to be able to think.
***
My response to another's comment;
I agree with Sydney’s comment on the quote "The first time I went to an Indian ... lost its taste."
It is true that this relates to embarrassment at least that's what I believe. The only thing I would add is the fact of how hard the comment 'fresh off the boat' would have hit Pi. This phrase is commonly used to describe immigrants arriving from foreign nations that haven’t adapted to the culture they are now placed in. it’s extremely stereotypical. Since we know that Pi spent a long time away he is probably just trying to fit into his old life and by hearing that he realizes that people recognize he isn’t 'normal' as some would say. He has to learn to adapt to the modern day. I believe we will be able to understand this lot better once we have finished the novel and know Pi’s story. The fact that the dish fits in with that restaurant is as she said, simply making Pi 'feel' like he's fitting in.
Rachael Loney
ENG4U1-03
1. "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
I believe this quote is telling the reader a very important message in a unique way for the reader to interpret it. The way i took this passage was death is not natural or reasonable, we cannot describe the reasons god wants to take us out of this earth but rather we feel death is emotional. When we realize that we have a limited life because everyone dies at the end of their journey we take that into account of how we want to live our life and be remembered by those who love us, some also become very scared of the thought of themselves dying. Our most famous words are "live life to the fullest.." and by that many people do so, you have one life to live why not do it the way you want before your time is up on this earth. Some people also picture life after this one, i wonder is that true? i don't know if i believe in that just yet but those people who do believe they may feel like if they committed sins or lived a life they weren't quite proud of they know there will be life after this one they are currently living so they can have a clean slate next time around. Also another belief people have who believe in life after life is they will pay for those sins and sorrows they have caused in the first life therefore go to "hell" in the next. Therefore death is your own interpretation of your life and how you control or choose to live it.
2. "Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live"(3).
After reading this quote the first time i didn't quite realize what it was getting at but once i read it over a few times something clicked. "Brought me back to life"- another definition of that is rebirth. I haven't read enough of the book yet to understand if that was a symbol of what the rest of the book may be like or if it was just a trigger in Pi's brain to get him motivated again. Like most of us our minds and bodies will be in a daze or lazy state and it takes something to make it come alive again, to him his studies may have been the trigger to that because he was so involved in his work and loved it. But also looking at the cover of the book there is water surrounding most of it, and water is another sign of rebirth which got me thinking maybe it was a symbol of the book. Therefore you can look at this both ways, whether is was a symbol or just his brain being motivated again.
Comment on the classmates:
Sydney's
The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
I agree to Sydney’s comment because when people go out to new places they are only trying to blend in but there is also some people who tend to be different because they do not all want to be like each other. Although it hurt him when the waiter had said "fresh off the boat" because he was not used to being talked to that way and that people were actually analyzing him when he didn’t know it. I can admit if someone said that to me i would feel out of place but i would not loose my appetite over it. Therefore it shows us more about his character and personality that he gets offended very easily but does not necessarily show it.
Samantha Louzon
"Acedemic Study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live" (3)
If you stimulate the mind you stimulate the body. When we live there are many times when we simply do things so repetitively that sometimes it can seem as though we are "dead". When we stimulate our minds and mix up what we do and learn each day we stay "living" or come back from the "dead". When we stimulate our minds and make them work we learn new things and have to contemplate life more and also stop ourself from becoming like everyone else around us. We create our own versions of life and their routines.
"The reason death sticks so close to life isn't biological neccessity - - it's envy." (6)
We do not live to die. We live for a journey yes there will always be a death in the end of our journey but that is because death tries to get in our way several times over. When we even make the decision to get out of bed in the morning we are putting our lives on the line. We could be hit by a bus or miss a stair and go plummiting to our death down the stairs; Death follows life everywhere because it is envious of the joy and happiness in life and even that sometimes life takes on the cool, calm serenity that death can bring.
Josh W. Commented on
“How does it survive, you might ask. Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3)
He said
This quote is almost antithetical to the very nature of survival by our definition. We think of survival in general terms; we think quick, fast success, and achievement.
We do not always define Survival by quick and fast. Sometimes survival can be clever and a slow process. Tactical and thought through. Perhaps the sloth is more alert than we believe it to be because it does survive despite being slow and sleepy. When stranded on an Island we must think of survival, we decide that the most important things are food, water and shelter. We must think fast in that case but then we plan out our best way to survive as long as possible on the little we have. We use cunning and our minds, we do not act hastily when faced with a hard decision.
Jenn Lee commented on
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, ard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
She said
This quotation in my opinion, the author tried to say that scientists are ordinary people. Scientists do not have unique personalities and habits, they are the same as everyone. all they work hard and play to relive their stress that comes from working. Also I think that scientits believe in reality and facts rather than spiritual and religious beliefs. They do not rely on religious or emotional comcepts.
I do not agree I believe that what he is saying in this quote is that scientists have it much easier than religious studies students because scientists can base all their ideas on facts and if someone disagrees they make a new experiment to only prove the same thing. Religious studies students have it harder because as some people believe there is no god, While other believe there is. Thus they have nothing to base their original opinion on but their own minds and their beliefs and when others ask them to prove it they can't.
1."I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
1. Although the literal interpretation of this quote can make for excellent imagery, perhaps what Pi is describing here is the folly that is committing your life to your work. A person who has given their life to their career often sacrifices multitudes of life’s pleasures that are far more fulfilling. They become disinterested with their families, loved ones and generally human interaction that is outside their career. Their job becomes their lover and money becomes their mistress, inevitably they find themselves at loss, a great personal loss, such that can be described by suicide. The image itself that is created is morbid and disconcerting, however, the tone of the statement creates a paradoxical effect. Pi delivers the line with nonchalance and an attitude of apathy. This only furthers my speculations that Pi has suffered a great deal in his life, only great pain could cause such a desensitized attitude in a person.
2."The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
2. This quote by Pi is one that is insightful, but one that I believe is not philosophically sound. Humans fear death. This is one of the closest things to an absolute that we are provided in this world. It is our instinct to fear the unknown, to ponder our existence and shake incessantly at the thoughts of being a meaningless cosmic substance to be delivered into nothingness via death. This one fact that describes the majority of us contradicts the claim that death is envious of life. Death does not fear life because life is known, we stick closely to life because it is what we know. Death sits in its corner waiting to allow us to discover its unknown depths and mysterious caverns of the unexplored. If anything, I believe death is the Switzerland of the spiritual realms, it stays neutral and calm letting the living fight a war against their own ill-equipped and constricted minds. Death does not envy life because it knows in the end it takes us all, it does not need to envy what it does not have because it knows all of us are only temporarily on loan. Perhaps in death is more than life, a full experience of self-actualization and no constrictions on what we can comprehend. Believing that death is envious of life may help a person cope with the fear of the unknown and death, but it does not eliminate the fact that we are bound to life as well as death. These thoughts on this quote, in my opinion, follow a major theme of Life of Pi, taking a perspective and putting it on its head taking in all it has to offer from a different point of view.
Response to Sydney Clackett’s thoughts on:
The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
Sydney’s interpretation of this quote is entirely credible, however, I looked at this from an alternate perspective. I do not think Pi was describing the feeling of being chastised and mocked as, “nails being driven into my flesh.” Rather I think that the plain ignorance of the man pained him. We know that Pi’s suffering left him sad and gloomy and the fact that a man, only upon watching him consume his meal, decided to judge Pi and belittle him. The pure insensitivity to Pi’s suffering that the man was completely oblivious to left Pi emotionally damaged. Pi discovers almost immediately that the world he is coming into is self-consumed and not concerned with an individual’s story of loss and hardship rather, only his outward appearance. The event of being judged solely based on his eating habits after such great pain and loss is what caused Pi to declare, “They were like nails being driven into my flesh.”
-Diamond Campbell-
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity--it's envy" (6).
I believe strongly in this quote. The main character "Pi" is not afraid of death, he mocks death. I do believe that death envy's life why would it not, death is such a dark cold image where as life is warm, full of love and joy and bright. There is no beauty in death like there is in life. I do not fear death but fear how it ends and many fear death but you can not spend your life fearing something otherwise it consumes you and death wins. We were all put on this earth for a reason whether that is because of a god or because of science but it is important to live each day, live, love, and laugh. Don't take for granted what you have now. Love your family and friends because you never know when it will be the last time you see them. I think this is a very strong and powerful quote that yet again in a few words has a very powerful meaning. I believe if we do our best to live to the fullest each day it makes death envy us more but also keeps it away just a little longer. It's not the years you put in life, it's the life you put in the years.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
I believe that the writer uses this quote to connect to the reader on how religion confuses people and how so many people are judged on who and what they believe in. People will treat and look at you differently because of how you look, how you dress, how you sound, or what God/religion you follow. Many people from Iraq that are here in Canada and the States are all judged on an act they did not commit but because their people committed the crime ( September 11) they are treated badly and disrespected. Many different religions have their own ways of praying to God or representing themselves. Even in France you are not allowed to show what religion you believe in out in public but there are church's. They do this so the conflict of what religion you believe does not affect you in the work place, school, or out in the public. And I agree with this. There is nothing wrong with showing who and what you believe in but it is unfair to be judged based on that. I like this quote very much because it bring a very important message in just a few words.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he is not careful" (7)
This quotation not only tells us about the character Pi, but also imparts wisdom to the reader. Most people will go on and on about their job if you give them a chance. When people are telling you about themselves, they will tell you about what they do, their contributions to the world, a.k.a. their job. Pi does not think this topic is even worth talking about, which tells us that he finds uninteresting, and does not think too highly of it or else he would have boasted about it. It does not hold a place of importance to him.
Next he says that the only thing he has to say about his job is that his tie is a noose. His tie is a needed part of his ensemble, but it’s choking him, and has the potential to squeeze the life out of him. He feels as though his job will be the death of him.
“And inverted though it is,” Inverted means “Being in such a position that top and bottom are reversed” (websters-online-dictionary.org). Your job is supposed to be what keeps you alive, provides food, clothing, shelter and so on for you. It is completely backward that your job is actually what is taking the life your working for away.
“It will hang a man nonetheless if he is not careful” imparts wisdom on the reader because it warns the reader that your job can “hang” you if you are not careful it you let it take over your life, and become all that matters. It can physically take over your life, daring you to take risks that you otherwise would never make if not for your need to get ahead, or cause so much stress that you get seriously sick or have a heart attack. It can mentally consume your life if it becomes all you think about, and the only thing you can focus on, never focusing on yourself or letting you enjoy the small things in life, and even hating what your life has become; a mess of work. It warns the reader that a balance must be found between work and enjoying life.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with excess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
In this quote Pi sets other scientists apart from himself, and brings scientists down to the level of the “average-Joe”. I would say that society in general thinks of scientists as brilliant people who are introverted, and constantly focused on their studies. Pi tells us that from his experience, they are not how we picture them to be, they are the “average-joe” and could be anybody. This kind of person that he describes does not take life seriously or think deeply about things. This tells us that Pi is more of an intellectual who does not partake in frivolous activities such as drinking beer and watching baseball. Because this quote shows that the general view of stereotyping scientists is wrong (at least according to Pi), it makes me wonder if any other stereotypes will be examined and proved wrong in the eyes of Pi. It also makes me wonder if he sets himself apart from other groups later in the book where he may have fit in based on stereotypes (eg. ethnic group, religious group ect.)…
Jacquie Wanamaker
ENG 4U1 02
Response to Sydney
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
'This quotation in my opinion, describes the stress and discomfort that a working life can cause on a person. Very few men enjoy wearing a tie, it is complicated and tight, just as working life can be. The fact that the author claims that a tie "will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" shows the depth of of vunerability in the working world. To be hung, is a final goodbye, the end in most cases. What I percieve the author to be putting forth is that in life, if you do not take time to live life and enjoy the small things, you will be consumed and lost forever. Perhaps the author chose the profession he did and travelled to the extent that he did, so that he could enjoy the smaller things and "losen the tie." '
I had not thought of the tie symbol in that it can be “complicated and tight just like working life can be”. It is interesting to think about, and I believe its true. I think Sydney’s interpretation of the quote is definitely something to think about, and adds even more meaning than what I got out of the quote. Reading Sydney’s interpretations made me think about more than what I had originally thought of about this quote.
Jacquie Wanamaker
ENG 4U1 02
Response to my own comment; Clearly I didn't read the section before my quote regarding Canada and India. I thought that Pi was speaking about India being to cold, and filled with strange people. By re-reading the first couple chapters I recognized that Pi was in fact making the 'cold - crazy' comment about Canada. Calling Canada cold makes a lot more sense than Pi referring to India's warm climate but I was thrown off by the weather reports.
"The first time I turned a tap on . . . " (8).
By outlining his seemingly unreasonable reaction to something as simple as turning on a tap it shows the reader how distressed Pi was after his suffering. I am not yet sure what his suffering consisted of but his shock may have came from the fact that he had been surrounded by water for so long and seeing more of it overwhelmed him. This passage relates to the repeating symbol of water throughout the book. The element of water also relates to the theme of rebirth because of baptism. At the start of the chapter Pi talks about being brought back to life. In this passage the water in the tap is new and unusual compared to what Pi may have been used and it symbolizes a new start. He describes the tap as noisy, wasteful and superabundant. Pi was probably thirsty throughout his journey and seeing a great deal of water gush out and go down the drain, wasted, may have put him into shock as well. Pi was put into such a shock that he fainted. Pi’s reaction would not have been so extreme before his suffering. Yann Martel was probably intending for this passage to show the reader just how much Pi had endured by illustrating his traumatisation. He also foreshadows the severity of events that are to come in the story.
"If Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, one day favours me bountifully, Oxford is fifth on the list of cities I would like to visit before I pass on, after Mecca, Varanasi, Jerusalem and Paris" (7).
Lakshmi is in fact the goddess of material and spiritual wealth and prosperity. She is the household goddess of most Hindu families. This relates to one of Pi’s three religions, though the mention of Lakshmi is not the only reference to religion in this quote. Mecca, Jerusalem, and Varanasi are the sacred places of Pi’s three religions; Islamic, Christianity and Hinduism. Pi may want to visit Varanasi because it is located on the Ganges River. It is said that anyone who touches these waters are forgiven of all sin and Pi may feel the need to be forgiven. This quote develops Pi’s character and demonstrates his interest and devotion for his religions, though some people may consider them strange. In addition, it builds on the repeated theme of religion throughout the book. Paris is not a sacred city but he may want to travel there because Mamaji visited Paris and Pi is named after a pool that exists there. The reason Oxford is on his list of cities to visit may be because he once had a dream of going to school there. Because the pain of losing the scholarship to another man is ‘unbearable’, Pi has difficulties letting go of his dream. He may not be able to go to school at Oxford but he still wants to experience being there.
Amy Johnston
Eng 4U1-03
Kaitlyn commented on Jenn Lee’s comment of the quote:
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
She said:
I do not agree I believe that what he is saying in this quote is that scientists have it much easier than religious studies students because scientists can base all their ideas on facts and if someone disagrees they make a new experiment to only prove the same thing. Religious studies students have it harder because as some people believe there is no god, While other believe there is. Thus they have nothing to base their original opinion on but their own minds and their beliefs and when others ask them to prove it they can't.
I agree with Kaitlyn. I think the author is trying to say that a scientist’s life is simpler than a religion student’s. In addition to the points she has raised, I think he is trying to point out that scientists don’t live by the strict morals to which religious students often live by. This makes their lives more laid back. Religion is something that likely preoccupies its students 24-7 if they are living the way G(g)od(s) would want them to, while a scientist really only feels the need to be preoccupied with science while studying or working. The rest of the time they are focused on simpler activities such as “beer drinking... sex, chess and baseball.” This quote also outlines Pi’s biases towards scientists but shows his acceptance for their nature. His feelings towards them seem slightly contradictory which may help develop a theme of contradiction in the book. If nothing else, it further develops Pi’s dynamic character.
“When you’ve suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling.” (page 6)
Yann Martel always talks about the pain and suffering that he goes through. Since this is true, I don’t really understand what he is suffering from. Perhaps it is obvious to some people, but for me I’m not so sure. When you have suffered a great deal in life it is hard to look at each new day with a smile. It’s sometimes hard to feel the need to want to wake up and experience new things everyday. Suffering is described as the bearing of pain, inconvenience, or loss; pain endured; distress, loss, or injury incurred; as, sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs. (www.webster-dictionary.net/definiti
on/suffering). Since it is described as a loss, I thought that perhaps Yann Martel’s loss was his failed books that he never ended up finishing. I also thought that since wanting to achieve something and failing is a way of suffering, his failed books would also fit in that definition. When he states, “each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling,” I agree with his statement. I do because when you are suffering from something, it is hard to do anything but live. However, when more things to suffer from are piled on top, things do become unbearable and trifling. You reach a point where you can no longer function; a point where dying would be much easier than living. I’m not sure if Yann Martel ever reached this point.
“I love him and I hope that his time at Oxford was a rich experience.” (page 7)
This quote is spoken by Yann Martel about the “pink boy,” who won the awards that Yann did not. When he says that he hopes that his time at Oxford was a rich experience it shows his character. It shows that he is understanding and accepting, he is sportsmanlike, unselfish and forgiving. It shows that he is understanding because although he didn’t win the award, he understands that someone else deserved it more and that is why they got it. It shows that he is accepting because he does not fight back or get angry with him, he just hopes the best for him. Since he is hoping for the best, and not a sore loser by complaining about it, he shows that he is sportsmanlike. He is unselfish because he doesn’t say anything about himself, or how he wanted the award. Yann is forgiving in the sense that he does not hold anything against him. This is important for his character development because it shows the reader the type of person he is. For some people it may be easier for them to read knowing this is the type of person that he is.
In response to Dan Knight’s Comment:
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I really like the way that Dan looked at this quote. After reading Dan’s interpretation of the quote a few times I was able to understand his view on it. When he stated that “their job becomes their lover and money becomes their mistress, inevitably they find themselves at loss, a great personal loss, such that can be described by suicide,” This is a very profound thing to say. I really felt like I had a much better understanding of what Yann was perhaps trying to say. I like the way Dan never mentioned himself once throughout his comment. It was like reading actual facts, and made it easier to believe.
Mercedes Hardy
4U1 02
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
My opinion on this quote is that Pi didn’t know any better not to use his fingers. Maybe assuming it was a Indian restaurant in Canada it would be like this in his home country where you could use fingers and be socially acceptable. The section in this quote “Fresh off the boat, are you?” connects to me with “.. he has not ideas how deeply those words wounded me.” This tells us that something that maybe was not meant to be harmful or hurtful to someone could be if we don’t think about it, I do not think that the waiter realized what he had said could be such a hurtful act. This also reminds me of the old saying “ sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt” The reason it reminds me of this because I think that words do have more power than a broken bones. Almost all broken bones do heal correctly with time and is usually forgotten on a daily basis but if someones words are used hurtfully and are powerful enough towards you I do believe that you will always remember it on daily basis regardless if you try not to think about it.
"Victims of cancer or car accidents, once they heard my story, they hobbled and wheeled over to see me . . . they moved me to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying" (8).
This quote does foreshadow the book in a way that Pi does tell two stories and it is your choice of what to believe. But staying away from the foreshadow aspect of the quote the reason that cancer and car accident victims come to hear a story is because it has a value of entertainment and suffering all at once. In the case of Pi the stories he does tell they could make a person cry because they believe it and they can’t relate to the suffering he went through even though they are “ victims of cancer or car accidents” . The people may be laughing however because they may not believe the story and just think it was all made up and laugh at the idea of the story. I know that Pi uses powerful and meaningful words to enhance they story and make somebody want to come listen too it. A story that is just left to the plain facts of what happened could become boring and uninteresting. If a story is exagerated a bit it is a more interesting story and people will want to hear it.
Tim Doermer
ENG 4U-02
Response to Diamond
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity--it's envy" (6).
I agree with what Diamond is saying but I believe this could be looked at a different way. She mentions death as a cold dark image. Death could be a cold dark image with a person with minimal suffering for some people death may actually not be an awful thing because depending on the religion you could have an after life or go to heaven etc… If you look at it that way and you are alive forever in heaven the Earth may just be a test to see if you are worthy or can handle what life throws at you in order to get to heaven. To some people life may have huge suffering like getting beat day after day or extreme poverty and no education so this quote to me could be looked at both ends of the spectrum and death would actually end this suffering.
Tim Doermer
ENG 4U-02
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quote immediately gave me the impression that at this moment, Pi had never felt more like an 'alien' than he did when the waiter spoke to him. It seems the Pi did not know better than to use the utensils provided, rather than his fingers -- and in doing such, picked him out of the crowd, putting a spot light on him. Being from another country, Pi might have assumed that since he had been eating in an Indian restaurant, that their eating etiquette was similar to that of his homes. And although making such an assumption shows a small flaw in his character, I also got the impression that Pi is strong. He was able to go into an environment and behave the way he thought he should. And yes, it wasn’t the correct way to behave, but I still respect him for making an effort to fit in and not look like an ‘outsider.’ I feel that Pi shouldn’t have felt guilty about eating with his fingers. The way the waiter approached Pi was rude and disrespectful. One should not be judged for the way they eat. If Pi felt more comfortable eating with his fingers, so be it. No one can tell us what is right and what is wrong. Those few words spoken to Pi made him feel ashamed to be doing what he was doing – if it was incorrect to eat with his fingers in an Indian restaurant, does it mean that it is incorrect to eat with his fingers in his own town? However, Pi openly accepted his mistake and made an effort to correct his ways in order to ‘fit in’ in his new environment. This shows courage and determination, to fit in with his new surroundings. When he says “My sambar lost its taste,” he is referring to a deer of southern Asia with antlers that have three tines. Having to eat his food in such a way he is unfamiliar with makes eating seem more like a chore than leisure. In my perspective, Pi is giving up a lot by moving to Canada.
“I love him and I hope that his time at Oxford was a rich experience.” (7)
This quote it spoken by Yann Martel about the "pink boy" who received the awards that Yann did not. When Yann speaks of how he hopes his time at Oxford was a rich experience, his character really shines. Despite any anger Yann might hoist towards the "pink boy", it is not shown. Instead, he is understanding and accepting. This made me feel like Yann is, infact, the bigger person. He shows he is an an unselfish and sportsmanlike person, as he understands that there was someone who deserved the award more than he did, and probably worked harder for it. Yann proves his sportsmanlike attitude by hoping for the best, and not making a big deal of his loss. He retains any such comments about his feelings on the matter, and instead just shows his respect towards the "pink boy." This also hints towards the idea that he is a bit more easy going and alot more patient. This aids in character development, and creates a personality that the reader might find more appealing and interesting. This knowledge of a characters' personality can help readers' make early conclusions about any event upcoming in the novel.
Ashley Hendrickson
ENG4U1-02
My response:
Diamond Campbell-
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity--it's envy" (6).
I believe strongly in this quote. The main character "Pi" is not afraid of death, he mocks death. I do believe that death envy's life why would it not, death is such a dark cold image where as life is warm, full of love and joy and bright. There is no beauty in death like there is in life. I do not fear death but fear how it ends and many fear death but you can not spend your life fearing something otherwise it consumes you and death wins. We were all put on this earth for a reason whether that is because of a god or because of science but it is important to live each day, live, love, and laugh. Don't take for granted what you have now. Love your family and friends because you never know when it will be the last time you see them. I think this is a very strong and powerful quote that yet again in a few words has a very powerful meaning. I believe if we do our best to live to the fullest each day it makes death envy us more but also keeps it away just a little longer. It's not the years you put in life, it's the life you put in the years.
After reading Diamond’s response to this quote, I would say I have to agree completely with her. Life is such a boundless treasure. You can not put a limit on its opportunities, its happiness, and its memories. Life should be valued to the fullest and not regretted in ways. A death, on the other hand, is dark, frightening, and some people do fear it. And in this case, Pi mocks it. Whether this shows signs of security or confidence, I think he will live out a more level-headed, exciting life – unafraid to take risks or chances. This is a quality many people should envy, as it is hard to come across. There is a very fine line between life and death, and everyday we escape death in many different ways and forms, often too many to count. Life should be valued and always respected, as you only have one life to live, so you might as well live it to the fullest.
Ashley Hendrickson
ENG4U1-02
Kelsey Hartford
ENG 4U1 Section 2
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
In my thinking Pi is saying that he has kept up with his religious practices which is what you would think when you read the quote superficially. Reading it more in depth a second time through I when he said "what some people would consider my strange religious practices" when most think of something unknown to them it is most time strange and unusual. For instance from todays class someone commented "why would someone pray to a box".It may seem strange to you but it would not be srange to the person praying to the box, it is their religion it is what they believe.
"I don't believe in death" (7)
When Pi says this he is trying to deny the thing he fears the most, which is death. The thing that I don't undertsand is why should he fear death the most when he was at a time in his life when he over came death, in a round about way, survivng what he did. Yet he seems almost obsessed with death, from page 7 to 8 he personifies death and gives it emotions and even a face, momento mori. Most literature revovles around mortality.
Kelsey Hartford
ENG4U1
Section 2
My response to Jacquie's quote
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with excess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
She said:
In this quote Pi sets other scientists apart from himself, and brings scientists down to the level of the “average-Joe”. I would say that society in general thinks of scientists as brilliant people who are introverted, and constantly focused on their studies. Pi tells us that from his experience, they are not how we picture them to be, they are the “average-joe” and could be anybody. This kind of person that he describes does not take life seriously or think deeply about things. This tells us that Pi is more of an intellectual who does not partake in frivolous activities such as drinking beer and watching baseball. Because this quote shows that the general view of stereotyping scientists is wrong (at least according to Pi), it makes me wonder if any other stereotypes will be examined and proved wrong in the eyes of Pi. It also makes me wonder if he sets himself apart from other groups later in the book where he may have fit in based on stereotypes (eg. ethnic group, religious group ect.)
My opinion:
I agree with Jacquie. Pi is setting him self apart from the other scientists, even though he is one. Just by defining what they are he setting himself apart. Saying " ...never had problems with my fellow scientists..." he understands again setting himself apart. When Jacquie says that "this tells us that Pi is more of an intellectual who does not partake in frivolous activities" he is saying that he is committed to science and religion. Pi is putting all of the scientists into one big group, which was said in class, to be a regular North American. I have noticed that the descriptions tend to make you think of steorotypes, and alot of them tend to be male North American. For example "beef-eating pink boy with a neck like a tree trunk and a temperament of unbearable good cheer" (6)
Kyle Drouillard
ENG4U1-03
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
The figure of speech ‘you are what you eat’ comes into my mind upon reading this quotation, although to make more sense it would be rewritten as ‘you are what you study’. Scientists are highly regarded in their professional lives for good reason: they are essentially the discoverers, the ‘creators’ if you will, of the human realm. Everything we know about almost everything logical and factual comes from science, from the earliest forms of archaic alchemy to the newest technologies and discoveries made, which affect how we live and function. Although scientists are regarded as great thinkers, Pi makes an excellent point in his second sentence that his fellow scientists are no different than the animals they study. He outlines the nature of scientists as being primal, indicating that they are focused on four main things: sociality (friendly; beer-drinking, which is considered by many to be a social habit), survival (hard-working), relationship/procreation oriented (preoccupation with sex) and a need for fun (chess, baseball). He also takes note that scientists are atheistic, much like animals, although animals are atheistic because they are ignorant of the idea of a divine being or force.
This quotation is also in close connection with Pi’s occasional confusion between his two majors. In a religious aspect, humans are regarded as a higher form than animals, from Christianity, where Man was giving dominion over every living thing, to Hinduism, where humans are very high up in a Karmic sense. However, in a scientific aspect, Pi must know that humans are in fact in the Kingdom Animalia, and are no different than the animals he researches.
"I love him and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience" (7).
This quotation immediately sends me to a religious connotation. The portion of this phrase which makes me take a religious standpoint is the word ‘love’ specifically. Ordinarily, one would not say that they love someone they do not know, or have developed an emotional connection with, so the only reason that comes to mind for this wording is the Christian concept of ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’ (Matthew 22:39), or its Hindu counterpart ‘never do to others that would pain thyself’ (Panchatantra 3.104). Considering Pi’s ‘beef eating’ comment in contempt for the pink-faced boy, it makes sense that he would make a congratulatory comment with Hindu values in order to restore his Karmic state. Pi realizes that he would want the pink-faced boy to have the same feeling toward him in the event that Pi won the opportunity over him. Also, Pi does not know that significance Oxford has to the beef-eater, for just as Pi wishes to visit Oxford in his lifetime, it may also be his adversary’s dream.
I comment on Mercedes’ comment:
“When you’ve suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling.” (6)
Yann Martel always talks about the pain and suffering that he goes through. Since this is true, I don’t really understand what he is suffering from. Perhaps it is obvious to some people, but for me I’m not so sure. When you have suffered a great deal in life it is hard to look at each new day with a smile. It’s sometimes hard to feel the need to want to wake up and experience new things everyday. Suffering is described as the bearing of pain, inconvenience, or loss; pain endured; distress, loss, or injury incurred; as, sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs. (www.webster-dictionary.net/definiti
on/suffering). Since it is described as a loss, I thought that perhaps Yann Martel’s loss was his failed books that he never ended up finishing. I also thought that since wanting to achieve something and failing is a way of suffering, his failed books would also fit in that definition. When he states, “each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling,” I agree with his statement. I do because when you are suffering from something, it is hard to do anything but live. However, when more things to suffer from are piled on top, things do become unbearable and trifling. You reach a point where you can no longer function; a point where dying would be much easier than living. I’m not sure if Yann Martel ever reached this point.
I would first like to respectfully point out that the speaker is no longer Yann Martel, but the main character Pi. While I understand how the concept of suffering may be confusing in regards to Martel, I think that if approached from Pi’s point of view; missing his homeland, his physical suffering as depicted in the hospital setting and his academic losses, will make the concept of his suffering much clearer. I would also like to take note with Mercedes’ comment that “When you have suffered a great deal in life it is hard to look at each new day with a smile”. I disagree immensely. I believe that it would be much easier to look at each new day with a smile after great suffering; especially to the magnitude that I suspect Pi has suffered, evidently very close to death at one point. Does it not make sense that, if so close to losing your life, every day lived after that event is considered to be a blessing? I have seen from experience that those who have had close contact with death, or stricken with a fatal disease and survived, value and cherish each day with new found happiness. A happiness that is far greater than anything the rest of us have ever experienced.
Mrs. Fung ENG 4U1-04
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
Through this quote, Yann Martel describes something every person has felt before. It is quite easy to relate to such a situation as we have all been part of an embarassing moment. However, this situation to me seems different to something we may have been through. The character is obviously very embarassed, however I feel that he is also a bit confused. He is so used to the cultures in India of eating food with the hands, however he gets the impression that it is not the way to eat in Canada through the waiter's reaction. It is something new to the character to be doing something he had never done in his life. Just like us, we are not used to doing something or trying something new, although sometimes it can be a good experience. I also think that he felt hurt and wounded because although it is Canada, it was still an Indian restaurant that he was dining in. He felt that he would be accepted by expressing his culture to those that may have shared the same culture as him. However, he was stung through the waiter's words and instead was rejected as being an outsider or what other people may say a "fob". We can also realize through this quote how hard it was for the character described to throw away the culture that he had lived with for so long. It was, in other words, very painful to lose something that had been a part of him.
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
Most people would believe that being slow would be harmful to an animal out in the wild. In today's society, people live life way too quickly. Unlike the sloth, people are constantly looking for the quickest possible way of doing something. Most people believe that in doing things faster they are more susceptible to being successful. However, we must all realize that a slow careful process is and will always be more prosperous than a rushed one. Other animals in the wild live to fight and feed off of other animals or plants. However, the sloth stays out of harms way by being so slow, it is unnoticed by eager predators looking for food. While other animals are quick to think and quick to being spotted by other more dangerous creatures. When we think of a sloth we may feel that they are unintelligent, lazy, and slow minded creatures but they are actually very unique. People unlike the sloth are quick to act and are therefore quicker in digging their own graves. Too many careless mistakes are the result of hurried actions and often we are more likely to cause ourselves more harm than someone else would cause us. Therefore, I believe that the whole point of this quote is that slothfulness will often be more beneficial to people rather than being quick to act.
Joshua Winters
ENG – 4U1
Period 2
Section 2
“The reason death sticks so close to life isn't biological necessity - - it's envy." (6)
Kaitlyn said;
We do not live to die. We live for a journey yes there will always be a death in the end of our journey but that is because death tries to get in our way several times over. When we even make the decision to get out of bed in the morning we are putting our lives on the line. We could be hit by a bus or miss a stair and go plummeting to our death down the stairs; Death follows life everywhere because it is envious of the joy and happiness in life and even that sometimes life takes on the cool, calm serenity that death can bring.
I disagree with Kaitlyn and her interpretation. I don't believe that death is something getting in the way; I believe it is simple part of life and we should embrace it with arms open. Of course I'm not saying go outside and shoot yourself, but for some people, sadly, that becomes necessary. Death is a natural part of society, that at some point where you like it or not, you eventually have to accept it. You could even say that sometimes we are always “risking absurdity and death”, as Yan Martel so eloquently put it, whether were in our bed or not. I believe that without death we could never really enjoy life, because without the knowledge that something is temporary and you have to enjoy it while you can, you begin taking it for granted and not really enjoy it; As a famous teacher once put it “if we don’t know the sorrow of the valley, how can we ever appreciate the joy of the mountains”.
Josh Winters
ENG –4U1
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity – it’s envy" (6).
In response to Andrew, another Greek myth that shows this is Hades kidnapping Persephone, the goddess of spring. Spring symbolizes life, and Hades is Lord of the Underworld, the place where dead people go. He kidnapped her because he was jealous of her beauty, and he knew that there was no conventional way to get her to go to Hades with him willingly. In the end, he resulted to trickery to get her to stay in the underworld for the winter months.
A soul in hell would probably prefer to be back on Earth, but for a soul in heaven? If it’s the greatest place ever, they would have no reason. Death is jealous of life because it needs life to exist, while life doesn’t need death to exist.
Sometimes I got my majors mixed up. A number of my fellow religious-studies students -- muddled agnostics who didn't know which way was up, who were in the thrall of reason, that fool's gold for the bright -- reminded me of the three-toed sloth; and the three-toed sloth, such a beautiful example of the miracle of life, reminded me of God.
According to Pi, the opposite of people of faith and atheist are agnostics, similar to the opposite of love and hate is indifference. They remind him of the sloth because of their confusion and difference to the rest of animals, who survive by being fast, and knowing what they want. In the book, it says the agnostics don’t know which way is up, and in many pictures of sloths, they are hanging upside down from trees. Reason isn’t all it’s made out to be, because it’s setting a limit for people. Thinking within the bounds of reason, and not making leaps of faith at times can limit open mindedness. When thinking of the sloth, one must be open minded, because something so slow and lazy with underdeveloped senses can survive is a “miracle”, and therefore not reasonable. That God “made” the sloth, and yet it is one of the seven deadly sins, proves how incomprehensible the world really is.
"It is a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos. Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry" (7).
Canada is cold. Most people live in the southern parts of Canada. This quote is a stereotype of Canadians. Wherever we go, we are held in pretty high esteem. Generally, we are known as “good people”. Pi seems to praise Canadians in general, but at the same time, he insults -It’s cold, the people have bad hair, and I’m only staying here because my old home has nothing for me anymore. It kinda relates back to " I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling", though I haven’t suffered a lot, compared to him. Even as he belittles Canada and its inhabitants, there’s a kind of jestful teasing. When the other boy got the award, Pi was sad, but at the same time, he was kind about it. So he’s kind about Canada, and accepts that we are pretty awesome, but have bad hair.
Chloé Barei (Eng 4U1-03)
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
Pi's talking about the mixed emotions he still harbors about being passed over for not only the Governor General's Award, but the Rhodes Scholarship, for another of his classmates. Though seemingly humble, Pi is a confident, competitive man, and even after all this time, his ego has still not healed. He goes on to say that having lived a life full of suffering, each new loss seems both devastating and unimportant. This statement may seem contradictory at first, but take this into consideration: with all the loss and pain Pi's had to endure, each new setback seems almost unbearable ("What else could/will go wrong?"). At the same time though, having lived through so much, Pi knows that things could be much worse, putting his troubles in perspective, rendering them almost pointless. He will always feel slighted, but he will continue on with life none the less.
"If Lakshmi, goddess of weath, one day favours me bountifully, Oxford is fifth on the list of cities I would like to visit before I pass on, after Mecca, Varanasi, Jerusalem and Paris" (7).
Pi Patel is a man of many faiths, his list of choice cities reflect his religious practices. A practicing Muslim, Hindu and Catholic, he lists all three of their Holy Lands, Mecca, Varanasi and Jerusalem respectively. Voicing his interest in visiting said cities is just another of the many ways the author relays that Pi is a very spiritual man. One might ask "but Paris is no religion's strong hold! Nor Oxford... why even mention them?" Though they might not have a religious connotation, they both hold special meaning to Pi. As the oldest surviving university in the English speak world, Oxford is basically the education Holy Land. Pi's love for knowledge and thirst for information would explain his interest in visiting such a place. Paris, on the other hand, has a personal relation. Pi was name Piscine Molitor Patel in honor of Mamaji's favorite swimming pool in Paris. Though his parents never went there personally, nor were they water-type people, they were entranced by Mamaji's loving descriptions of the pools crisp, clean waters. This emotional connection to his past, to his name, is probably the driving force behind his wanting to visit the city. Each city represents a different pilgrimage to a part of Patel's identity. Each city holds a part of his soul.
"Pi Patel is commenting on the Sloth which was the animal he studied for his zoology thesis. This sentence has a much wider application than just the lazy three toed sloth especially... The one promise human instinct can guarantee is that humans will forever be as indolent as possible. A human will forever do the easiest thing as long as it gets the same result. This is a habit that cannot be broken, and is found in humans to animals. Indolence is the first rule of nature."
With all due respect to Andrew, I do believe he posted this comment in hope of the possible debates and shock vallue it might generate. I respect his opinion, but I didn't find his argument very strong, and his wording seems a bit faulty in areas. I don't exactly understand why he mentioned habits at all, to be honest (though I'm sure he'll be more than happy to explain later). Nice try, Soup, but no cigar.
I swear if this doesn't post this time, I will kick something!
"I would have received the Governor General's Academic Medal, the University of Toronto's highest undergraduate award, of which no small number of illustriuos Canadians have been recipients, were it not for the beef-eating pink boy with a neck like a tree trunk and a temperment of unbearable good cheer" (6).
My response: This quotations shows that Pi Patel was a little bit jealous of the beef-eating pink boy with a neck line like a tree trunk for getting this award instead of himself. The Governor Generals’s Academic Medal is a very prestigious award to get and also very hard to get. Just the fact that it is the University of Toronto’s highest undergraduate award shows how smart Pi Patel is. The definition of illustrious is; notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions. Pi might be a little bit angry about this because he believed that he should have won the award because he had all of those qualities. My thought is that the ‘pink boy’s family was very wealthy and knew a lot of important people. It is very sad to think that but it’s true with a lot of situations. Some people say “It’s all about who you know”. I don’t want to agree with that quote but sometimes it is true.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
My response: Pi Patel is trying to say that scientists are just normal people. Just like many people scientists enjoy watching a good baseball game drinking an ice cold beer, playing a game of chess, or thinking about sex. And of course that is when they are not thinking about science. Many people think that scientists are crazy people who work 24/7 trying to invent new cures to cure diseases and such, but sometimes we forget that they are just like us. We need to think of everyone like that sometimes. You may think that Asians, Africans, Natives, and every other culture in the world are extremely weird and different. But the thing is, that is exactly what they are thinking about us. We can’t be judging people because of their job, hair, religion because they are just like us.
Gina Zuidema
ENG 4U1-02
In response to Tim Doermers response:
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. I wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up the knife and fork. I had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
My opinion on this quote is that Pi didn’t know any better not to use his fingers. Maybe assuming it was a Indian restaurant in Canada it would be like this in his home country where you could use fingers and be socially acceptable. The section in this quote “Fresh off the boat, are you?” connects to me with “.. he has not ideas how deeply those words wounded me.” This tells us that something that maybe was not meant to be harmful or hurtful to someone could be if we don’t think about it, I do not think that the waiter realized what he had said could be such a hurtful act. This also reminds me of the old saying “ sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt” The reason it reminds me of this because I think that words do have more power than a broken bones. Almost all broken bones do heal correctly with time and is usually forgotten on a daily basis but if someones words are used hurtfully and are powerful enough towards you I do believe that you will always remember it on daily basis regardless if you try not to think about it.
My response: I agree with Tim on the fact that Pi didn’t know any better than to use his fingers. Pi probably used his fingers back in his home country and that would be normal there. When the waiter says “Fresh off the boat, are you?” I think that Pi might be wounded by those words because he really was fresh off the boat at the time. Pi probably felt embarrassed “..., became dirty under his gaze”, since the waiter was probably thinking that he had no manners or etiquette. When Pi said that he had never used such instruments before I was a little bit surprised. Some people may think that not using utensils is less civilized but it is just another way of life. I also agree with Tim on the fact that words are very hurtful, there are so many people that commit suicide because of hurtful words. “My hands trembled” Usually your hands tremble when you are nervous or trying something new which Pi Patel was doing. Food tends to lose its taste when something upsetting happens.
Gina Zuidema
ENG 4U1-02
The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
Life is such a beautiful deep and sensationl experience it's no wonder Pi's analysis of how the ugly, obsqure disaster of death is jealous of life fits perfectly. Death , especially premature death, is not a biological failure, but the jealous rage of the fates stealing away another piece of existance that the mirical of life has presented us with. This quote does not have restrictions to defining death and life but also beauty and evil. The world is riddled with beaty that is continually destroyed by desire of humans to own a piece of that beauty for themsleves with greed and self-promotion. Pi is someone who feels a deep connectin with the world around him so I believe that he has a deep seated image of the destruction of beauty can be equivalent to the destruction of life. This means that this quote is not so much describing life and death, but dscribing the devestation wreaked upon beauty.
Sammy Tamman
ENG4U1-02
First quote I chose is;
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
I chose to analyze this quote because I find the persona that Yenn Martel gave to death amusing. Death is envious of life yet religious people (people whose religion has an after life or reincarnation ect.) tend to spend their life’s attempting to please their G(g)od(s) so their death will be a pleasant one. Humans also work so hard during their life that they tend to forget about actually living, and as they forget they might as well be dead, that is if they are not already wishing for their deaths. In my opinion life should be envious of death not death envious of life.
The second quote I chose to do is;
"It is a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compasionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos. Anyway, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry" (7).
I enjoyed this quote immensely because of the truth it holds. Canada’s winters are cold but there are places colder such as Antarctica. People in Canada do also have individuality which can become some very odd hair styles yet they are accepted and almost ignored because people in Canada see them so often so to a foreigner they may seem very odd. What makes me interested in this quote is that he combined a humorous moment with one tinged with sadness. He says he has nothing to go home to, so I assume that he placed with the saying about Canada because he wished to find the good or interesting points of Canada so leaving his home in Pondicherry wouldn’t seem as bad. Or maybe his is glad to be away from Pondicherry in some ways, and he could be comparing Canada’s coldness to India’s heat. Ether way he seems to like Canada because of the words intelligent and compassionate for the people of Canada thus he must like Canada.
Bailey Lane
ENG 4U1-03
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
My Response: Reading over this quote it seems to be very wise. The sloth seems to have figured out a way of living its life being completely content with it’s self. Although it is a slow moving creature I really think that they are doing themselves a favor not getting involved or even interested with the rest of the world. It is because they are so sleepy and carefree that they are able to remain in there own habitat and keep out of anything that may harm them. I believe that Martel is using this quote to relate to people. If humans weren’t as curious as they are we may have a much simpler life. There wouldn’t be such a thing as news because no one would be interested in learning about anything except themselves. There would be no conflict between people and no one would want power over others that could potentially lead to things like war that could harm others.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
My Response: Pi starts off by saying "I have nothing to say of my working life,”. I find this to be a bit strange. Almost every human on the planet has experienced what work is, whether it is only a once and a while thing or a day to day thing. Choosing what to call work is also very important. If you enjoy what it is that you do it won’t seem like work and therefore make each day go by much faster. This does not seem to be the case with Pi. He obviously doesn’t like what he does because he is not willing to share it with anyone.
Pi also refers to his tie as a noose. A tie, being a part of his uniform should be something you are proud to put on and go off to work in. Pi is making the tie seem like it is what is going to kill him. Saying that “it will hang a man” is telling me that maybe he works to much or that he has no life due to the hours he works.
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science"
I chose this quote, not because of how it shows what Piscine thinks of his piers, but because it truly shows more about his character. Although Pi is a very good person at heart, he often stereotypes certain groups of people in the book into black and white. This characteristic in my opinion is a personality flaw of Pi’s, for not all scientists are “friendly, atheistic, hard working, beer drinkers”; in fact many scientists are quite the opposite. For example many scientists are too caught up in their own work, and are therefore unsociable rather than friendly, many do believe in all facts science has proven however still have a sense of faith and go to church every Sunday and abstain from partaking in beverages of the Alcoholic nature. By lumping groups of people into categories, Yann Martel has shown us an important character trait that Piscine posses, “Stereotyping”. Maybe later in the book we will learn about Pi’s past, and Martel will reveal Piscine’s probably cause for being stereotypical. My prediction is that he obtained this quality as a child from his father, or a different fatherly figure. Another crucial inference that can be gained from this quote is that Pi finds it easier to get along with his piers from the science department, than those the religious studies group. Science is fact, Religion is faith, and this is where the issue probably comes into play. Since science is truth, arguments about science aren’t as likely as arguments dealing with religion. In a religious studies class, the students would come from all different sorts of religion. History has shown us on countless occasions that difference in opinion when dealing with religion, results in arguments, quarrels, and sometimes aggressive negotiations (VIOLENCE). In my opinion after reading the book thus far, Pi is a highly opinionated individual who would stand up for his religious beliefs if a “muddled agnostic” was attempting to tell him that his beliefs were incorrect. Although this may cause problems, it shows the readers Pi is a very spiritual person who has an outstanding sense of faith. It inspires me to see a character that can integrate both religion and sciences in post-secondary education, for he is being taught logic and philosophy, and can still maintain learning both without concentrating on how they can contradict one another.
"I chose the sloth because its demeanour -- calm, quiet and introspective --- did something to soothe my shattered self"
This quote was taken from the first page of the book, and with it Martel already attaches a sense of misery to Patel. We are just beginning to read, but we are already finding ourselves diving into Pi’s personal thoughts and emotions. It raises questions for the reader, for why is Pi “shattered”, and of all animals why would a troubled man choose the three toed sloth? I believe Martel used this quotation, to make the audience attempt to infer some of Pi’s character traits early on. I think that Pi can relate to the sloth’s nature and even wishes he could be more like it. Although the three toed sloth may seem boring to most, Patel recognizes that it has reached its own spiritual nirvana and can’t be bothered by the outside world. Although Patel is introspective like the sloth, I believe he is also envious of its calmness. Not much further in the book we realize that Pi can be easily offending, an example is in the restaurant when the waiter prosecuted Pi for eating with his fingers. This embarrassment instigated by the waiter began to swell in the mind of Patel, unlike the sloth that could care less; these words stung Patel and showed that he is very self-conscious. Pi respects the three toed sloth, and although it may not be on the top of the food chain he realizes that this animal obtains all the right tools for survival. Martel effectively uses alliteration in this passage to captivate his reader using his educated arsenal of literary devices. It is amazing the amount of relations that can be reflected upon between the three toed sloth, and Martel’s star character in the novel.
In response to Dan Knight’s comment on:
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I agree with your response to this quote, on how a job can take over a person’s life and cause more problems in the long run. Although I am a firm believer in working hard at a job (if only that would transfer over to school as well), this quote makes me reflect upon myself and realize that there are important things to concern myself with rather than making large sums of “cash money”. Friends, Family, and above all memories are the true markers to leading a happy life. What is the good in money, if one cannot live with themselves?
Erica Gilbeault-Ryan (ENG4U-03)
“I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
Pi has suffered a lot in his life. The first line of the story is “My suffering left me sad and gloomy”, hence his suffering is going to be a major theme in this book. We do not know exactly what caused his suffering yet, but we know that something has happened t make him believe there is nothing left for him in his hometown of Pondicherry. Also, Pi has an extraordinary life, being in university at 16, etc., and if we assume that extraordinary lives and people come from extraordinary suffering, then Pi Patel must have gone through something fairly bad. When he describes pain as unbearable and trifling I think he just meant that every time something else happens to you, you automatically think wow , my life is so terrible, this is happening on top of (great suffering in the past)” and the pain from something small can seem horrible. However just as fast as these feelings of sadness descend on us, if we have experience in the field of suffering we can come to terms with what has happened and get over it pretty quickly. Pi is showing us his own ability to cope, or survive the trials of life, and these abilities are probably what helped him survive his situation with the tiger we will soon learn of.
“I love him and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience" (7).
I think that this quote is meant to show how people can grow because of the suffering in their lives. Pi tells us that he would have won the awards had it not been for the pink-boy, and his tone tells us that he is jealous of him, and hurt by the loss. He also tells us that the extra pains in life such as these although seem unbearable, are trifling. The short distance between his statement of resent of jealousy and this quote show just how quickly you can get over something if you’ve gone through worse in your life. Not many people would be so quick to say that they love the person that “stole” away an award of that stature from them; this leads the reader to wonder what exactly happened in his life that was so bad to make this situation such a minor one. It is also one other thing that makes us admire Pi, not only does he excel academically, and be working on a double major in university at the age of 16, but he also is compassionate and can keep his emotions in check. This skill may come up later in the novel, and may be what helps him survive his ordeal to come.
In response to Kyle’s response to this quote:
I had not immediately considered the religion aspect when reading and writing my own analysis for this quote, but your point does make it more clear to me why he would use the word “love” instead of something more along the lines of “I am happy for him….”. Not often would someone in our society say they love someone they don’t know very well, let alone someone you feel has stolen something from you. I originally had just thought that the use of the word love was more of just an expression in the “Indian-English” dialect. I will have to keep religion in mind more when reading this text.
Eric Vande Velde
ENG 4U1-03
Quotation 1
“My suffering left me sad and gloomy” (3).
Pi Patel’s declaration, which informs the reader that the main character has suffered greatly, is a powerful way to begin the opening chapter. Although the specific details of his suffering point are unclear at this point, it captivates the reader: questioning the cause of Pi’s agony. It also develops an immediate connection with the reader in that they may be suffering as well. In addition, the reader learns of his hopelessness. One may also see this is as a very pessimistic view.
Quotation 2
“Its only real habit is indolence” (3).
Indolence is one’s inclination to laziness, which Patel is using to describe the sloth. Known as the world’s slowest mammal (National Geographic website), the sloth is so inactive that algae grows on its fury coat. They rarely depart the tree (only to change trees for food supply). It is evident that sloths, who even upon waking, remain motionless. They are indeed indolent. This quote can also be related to humans in that we perceive others (and sometimes ourselves) as lazy. We get up off of our couches once in a while to obtain food, much like the sloths.
Eric Vande Velde
ENG 4U1-03
Response to Kelsey Cunningham's Post
Kelsey said:
The author thinks that he should have won the prestigious Governor General’s Academic Medal if it weren’t for some boy. From his description the boy was fat with a thick neck like a tree trunk and he was Caucasian who ate beef something that the author did not do because it conflicted with his religion. The winner had a good cheer meaning he was happy so obviously he didn’t have many bad or tragic experiences in his life time that would have left him “sad and gloomy”. I think that the author believes he should have won and it makes him even angrier to think about the fact that he lost to this normal Canadian boy who is like everyone else only smarter. On the other point I believe the author is happy to at least of been considered and almost the recipient of this award. The author uses the world illustrious which means brilliant and outstanding to describe the applicants and recipients of the award. I think this would be an honor to even be considered.
RESPONSE:
I believe that the description of the boy who won the Governor General's award is irrelevant in relating them to his intellectual capabilities. I also disagree with her view that eating beef was against Pi's religion; perhaps he did not like beef, much like I do not like brussel sprouts. We do not have concrete proof that this was a "normal" boy, who was below the level of Pi. However, I do agree with the fact that it would indeed be an honour to be considered for such a prestigious award.
Danielle Poissant ENG4U1-03
Richard Parker has stayed with me. I’ve never really forgotten him. Dare I say I miss him? I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love. Such is the strangeness of the human heart. I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of good-bye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart. (pg.7)
Yann Martel selecting the name Richard Parker for an animal character was somewhat humorous, since it gives the impression of a human. Perhaps that was Martel’s intention; maybe Richard Parker symbolizes something humanistic. Martel named the character after an Edgar Allan Poe character from “The Narrator of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket”. The poem is about four shipwrecked men. To survive each man drew a straw to select which of the four would be sacrificed. A man by the name of Richard Parker was selected as the meal. Martel stated ‘Richard Parker stayed with me’ which made me believe Richard Parker represents Ggod(s). In addition, Richard Parker being killed for the other men to live in the poem by Edgar Allan Poe is similar to what Jesus did when he sacrificed his life for the rest of civilization to have an afterlife. Pi also says that he doesn’t understand why he abandoned him abruptly. Ggod(s) often may feel distant at times, which makes us feel like they have left, however they are hidden. They do this to see if we still faith in them even when things are going wrong in our life. It is clear that Pi has become very close to Richard Parker because he describes his farewell as `an axe that chops at my heart` which is very graphic and gives the impression that Pi was torn and crushed from his absence.
Cont'd Danielle Poissant ENG4U1-03
To me this quote also suggests that Richard Parker may represent Pi`s alter-ego because he misses him and still has nightmares about him. This causes me to believe when Richard Parker was visible, Pi`s alter-ego was present, but when Richard Parker left, Pi`s alter ego vanished. Aside from the `darkness` of nightmares he states they are `tinged with love`. This makes me predict that Richard Parker symbolizes Pi`s `shadow` even though this side of him may be dark, it also brings joy to Pi`s heart to see a different side to him. In addition a person’s `alter-ego` never goes away, it always stays with you.
"Sometimes I got my majors mixed up. A number of my fellow religious-studies students -- muddled agnostics who didn't know which way was up, who were in the thrall of reason, that fool's gold for the bright -- reminded me of the three-toed sloth; and the three-toed sloth, such a beautiful example of the miracle of life, reminded me of God" (5).
To me Martel is sending the message that he gets his two majors mixed up because people in his religion class remind him of animals. He refers to his classmates as `mixed up` because they `muddled agnostics`. This is confusing to me because normally you either believe in a Ggod(s), you don’t believe or you aren`t really sure. I think it is strange that people are boarding between ``not really sure`` and ``believing`` and they are in a religion class. Pi seems to believe that agnostics have become so puzzled that they entirely remove themselves from the equation, refusing to maintain their questioning in favour of quitting. Agnostics live by the notion that nothing can be verified, which Pi sees as a terrible life attitude, allowing for no religious development. Pi makes me assume that his classmates were dim-witted because `they didn`t know which way was up`. He believes his classmates are slaves and were looking for a cause to trick the eyes of the brilliant. This makes me think that his classmates were trying to make the professors or perhaps religious people believe they are something that they are not.
Martel compares his classmates to a three-toed sloth which are known for being slow moving, uninterested, and partial to staying in one place. This makes me wonder if Yann is signifying that his classmates are lazy and don`t seem interested in what they are learning, or if he`s trying to be humorous and say they are slow in the head. The agnostics are similar to sloths because they stay in their comfort zone, rejecting participation in any spiritual progression.
Yann refers to Sloth`s as a beautiful example of the miracle of life because historically sloths disappeared immediately after the arrival of humans to South and North America, until geologically recent times they reappeared. It is considered a miracle that something that was once extinct can become living again in the future. Yann probably is reminded of God when he thinks of the miracle of the sloths because possibly a miracle takes place throughout the story the Life of Pi. I predicted this because Pi is supposed to tell Yann a story that will make him believe in God. I believe that God performs miracles all the time, so I also am reminded of God when I think of the miracle of the sloths. If God wanted the sloth species living on the earth, then ultimately he will make it occur.
Con't Danielle Poissant ENG4U1-03
My response to Scott Charbonneau’s blog on:
"I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science"
I agree with Scott that Pi is being very judgmental in his description of scientists, and perhaps this is a flaw of his. He stereotypes Scientists to acting in these ways, which is only his perspective. Personally, I don’t think that most scientists would go out and drink beer because I assume they would be knowledgeable of the calories in beer, and would likely drink water. However, that is stereotypical of me to think this.
I believe that Yann probably feels more comfortable with the science majors at school than the religion majors because he describes his religion classmates as brainless. Pi appears to be a very smart person and probably can’t stand being around people who aren’t at his level of intelligence, because stereotypically science majors are intelligent.
Jamie Miller
ENG4U1-02
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to live" (3).
This to me seems like a complete paradox all on its own. Religion is based strictly on faith and one book it seems while academic study is usually based on facts and science. Academic studies and religion have been fighting each other for centuries so it's very interesting that Pi says this to us. I think what he's trying to say here is that a little bit of faith can go a long way in the sense of being happy and maybe not always feeling so alone. The academic studies is just saying that education is important and so it interpreting things to better understand yourself as a person. He says it brought him back to life as if he was dead before. I think he is saying that he lost himself some where in his life and with the help of these two things he found himself once more.
"How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ." (3).
What he is saying here I think is quite straight forward and simple. He's saying to slow down and stop rushing through life. People always seem to be stressing and sweating over the most little things. Everyone looks at the small facts and no one looks at the big picture which means they are missing the whole point of life! If people were to slow down much like the sloth does then maybe they could figure things out without hurting themselves over it. Slow down and you will see the bigger pictures. It's like reading a poem once and never looking at it again. You would miss every metaphor, simile, all of the imagery and probably the entire point and message of the piece.
Geoff Millward interpretion:
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think this quote may have some reference to people who spend too much time working, and not enough time with their families. It is very typical, especially in bigger cities, where men specifically spend too much time "at the office", which then leads to a path where a separation is almost inevitable. This being said, families are thought to be the most endearing possession to ourselves, and to be a main cause to a divorce can be earth shattering because it is as though everything you have essentially worked for in your life is gone because of a mistake, which can lead to depression and loneliness which can both lead you to suicide.
My response:
I would have to agree with Geoff on this one. People spend way too much time on stupid material things such as money and cars and who has the best and biggest house. People need to stop doing what they hate just for what people say is the "better way of living". Who says that you have to be a doctor in order to be successful. In my view if your happy then you are successful. My aunt went to university and has a lot of education under her belt but she chooses to live day by day with not to much money and playing music because it's what she loves to do and it's what makes her happy. If you hate what your doing you will eventually hate yourself.
Jamie Miller
ENG 4U1-02
Christine Lao 4U-02
---- "My life is like a memento.... remind me of the folly of human ambition." (p6)
"Memento" is memorable, special, exquisite and meaningful. The author said his life like that. I doubt it, wasn't he? But something I'm pretty sure, it was, we never, never can affirm evaluate whose life whether splendid or badness if the person who the background is not too wickedness. Because we’re not them, we don't know what their real life is entirely. Mostly we just know a part of them to through the books, histories or media, different ways can see different angles. Anyway I am so surprised and glad that he describes his life is like that. How many people dare say my life is like a "memento". Afterward he also reminds himself: human of ambition were folly by the grinning and scary of skull. Is that real? How to people get that? Are they killed that person? Why? There has a lot can't explain of questions and secrets certainly. It is like people kill people. What is that a world! When you’ve killed a person, will you get life better? Will you get their lifespan add on your life? Will you get everything whatever that you want? Will you… People were just like that unreasonable and no sense. The author's correct, used that evil but stimulate deep thought of "memento" to remind and consider himself.
---- "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant.... My sambar lost its taste." (p8)
That paragraph was so funny since I am a foreigner. I really understand what the author's feeling. We had a big and difficult to decompose of hindrance in our culture. Some people would like to change their life habit, some don't, and it just depends on what is your mind. Also the old people they won’t, it never happened to them, they just will accept the old and eternal things. My first several times, went to foreign restaurant to diner. It feels uncomfortable often, and always thinks they were looked at on me all around the people. Maybe I know why, people were envious, they would think, who you are? Have you bring enough money to pay? You're so rude like that dressing. There just for dignitary, not you, don't come here again. People were extremely care status of height. Whoever you are, only you were a distinguished person, that they must flatter, so if someone think who's a failure. Don't give up yet. The world need you, because it has gave you a lots happiness, the world let you birth, let you live, everything appear as possible as you can touch. Remember those things weren't you should own it. Just please help yourself, Christine!
---- My response to Sydney "The first time I went to an Indian restaurant.... My sambar lost its taste."
It is true, it is an embarrassment. When we travel to culturally different places, then we will do the same mistake or the embarrassing stuff. And the author didn’t realize there was Canada, wasn’t his country, different places stand different normality. And I agree with Sydney the author described the scene really well, we can thoughtful what situation and his emotion was. And that section let me laugh a while, because I was put myself in it, it was so mush awkward, alert don’t happen on me
"My suffering left me sad and gloomy" (3).
Well that just seems redundant. Not many people would say they were happy that they suffered. Of course when we suffer, we learn. It is not something that we want to learn, but or more or less forced to learn if we want to move on. People at first when forced to learn start to rationalize and deny the inevitable truth that is being brought upon them. Through denial this causes even more suffering until eventually the message finally makes its way into our head. This uses foreshadowing as we already know that Pi is going to survive, but in the process suffers a great amount of pain and loss. But that also is a redundant remark. Survival is not seen to be an easy process, and to survive we have to endure the troubling problems we are being forced to face with.
"I never had problems wigh my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, ard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex,chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science" (6).
I would first like to point out Mrs. Fung, that you filled this quote with many a spelling mishaps. This quote is showing the contradictions that fill Pi’s life. Not to point the finger but many Christians, scientists, and people in general deny a person solely based on their religious affiliation. As the reader does not yet know of Pi’s religious affiliation but know that he is religious, some readers might assume he is Christian. For Pi to be religious but associate with atheistic people might take away from his belief. But for Pi to see people deeper then that is where his true character lies. The message I believe that Pi is trying to get across is that if we were to strip away our religious beliefs, we are all a “hard-working, beer drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball”.
My response to "How does it survive, you might ask.
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm's way . . ."
Being inconspicuous is the key to survival when in a tight situation with many enemies and more attractive defenders. It is also a good way for us to survive day to day life when you don't want to be the person who "Constantly risks absurdity and death", but wishes to be the spectator and enjoy the show. I think that the reason Pi has a fascination with the Three-toed sloth is that he is seeing himself in it. He went through a severe experience where he played the incospicuous one and survived against all odds. He then has lived his life after that, accelling at what he did in university but not because he rushed in head first and hoped for the best but because he played it cool and remained inconspicuous. Now he is living in a pleasant house with his family and is not pushing to become some famous person but is simply on the sidelines living a smooth, careful life that does not endanger his or his families existance.
When I read this I saw the contradiction in Pi’s statement based on his current setting. What I though Sam was saying is that to survive we have to be fit in to our settings. Toronto, Pi’s new home, is not at all a slow city. People on Yonge Street, or in Dundas Square are constantly running around trying to get to wherever they are going, as quickly as possible. This is the exact opposite of the sloth. It only moves when it has to. Maybe Pi is infatuated with the sloth as it is the opposite of how he is forced to live.
"Then the elderly man said, "I have a story that will make you believe in God." (P ix)
Personally, as a borderline atheist, I would call this a tall order. The use of the words "make you believe" suggests evidence or proof of the existence of whichever god to which Francis Adirubisamy was referring, beyond immaculate conception or miracle healing or something of the like. This type of concrete statement based on an implied concrete foundation would be the holy grail (pardon the pun) of any person with faith who sought to validate their faith. I know that I would be deeply skeptical should a stranger make such a bold statement to me. In order to understand the nature of Yann Martel as an author, I studied the way he responded to this situation and his thoughts about the story as it was retold to him by Mr. Adirubisamy. When Yann says "please tell me your story," it speaks to his understanding of the purpose of storytelling. The story Mr. Adirubisamy is telling is not his story, though Yann realizes all the same that there is some personal reason that compelled Mr. Adirubisamy to share the story with him. He also tells Mr. Adirubisamy absolutely that he will listen carefully, which suggests either honesty, interest, or a combination of the two. I believe it is the combination of the two, since he also takes it upon himself to seek out the main character and pursue the details of the story. I think, though, perhaps Yann was not seeking out the main character for superficial gossip, but in for the sake of greater truth.
Sammy said:
The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- it's envy" (6).
Life is such a beautiful deep and sensationl experience it's no wonder Pi's analysis of how the ugly, obsqure disaster of death is jealous of life fits perfectly. Death , especially premature death, is not a biological failure, but the jealous rage of the fates stealing away another piece of existance that the mirical of life has presented us with. This quote does not have restrictions to defining death and life but also beauty and evil. The world is riddled with beaty that is continually destroyed by desire of humans to own a piece of that beauty for themsleves with greed and self-promotion. Pi is someone who feels a deep connectin with the world around him so I believe that he has a deep seated image of the destruction of beauty can be equivalent to the destruction of life. This means that this quote is not so much describing life and death, but dscribing the devestation wreaked upon beauty.
I agree with this interpretation, and would like to offer some support from page 7.
"Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud." (P.7)
This quote would support the connection to human greed and artifice, as mentioned by Sammy, since greed is not a healthy love, but a possessive, perverted love for wealth. Death is jealous of the wealth of life, for death is cold and hard, and life is vibrant and lush. The part about leaping over oblivion lightly designates life as far more powerful and beyond the possessive clutches of death. That it loses only a thing or two of no importance suggests that Yann is aware of the vastness of the term "life" and he implies that life can certainly afford its losses and is capable of regenerating itself (within reason).
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
Pi understands and respects work, but finds that some people overlook the beauty of life. Some people get too caught up in making money. They wear the suits, the ties, and the confidence. They become so caught up in the business world that they become distant from reality. They forget about what matters the most in life, family, love, friends, health, etc. Many people notice change in others who focus mainly on their jobs. Their personality begins to change, and also their lifestyles due to stress and work overload. The quotation “only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he’s not careful” could mean that the tie represents the workforce; a tie is tight around the neck, the workforce if tight around your neck when you are presented with deadlines. When it says that that it will hang a man nonetheless this could mean that when you get caught up in the working life you lose touch with reality, people become depressed and lonely and this could cause a man to “nonetheless hang himself”.
"Victims of cancer or car accidents, once they heard my story, they hobbled and wheeled over to see me . . . they moved me to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying" (8).
This quotation shows the mass amount of suffering Pi Patel must have been faced with. Cancer is a disease which causes the human body to undergo a great deal of suffering, which could last for a long period of time. Being in a car accident can leave you crippled, mentally challenged, or with any other injuries that can cause you suffering. An example would be a hockey player becoming paralyzed in the legs. This quotation shows that those who have been put through the above scenarios found Pi Patel’s story to be extraordinary. When they moved him to uncontrollable fits of laughing and crying he could have been realizing that he was not the only one who has been through the pain and suffering that life throws at you.
Response to Geoff Millward
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think this quote may have some reference to people who spend too much time working, and not enough time with their families. It is very typical, especially in bigger cities, where men specifically spend too much time "at the office", which then leads to a path where a separation is almost inevitable. This being said, families are thought to be the most endearing possession to ourselves, and to be a main cause to a divorce can be earth shattering because it is as though everything you have essentially worked for in your life is gone because of a mistake, which can lead to depression and loneliness which can both lead you to suicide.
I totally agree with his interpretation of the quote but he mentioned that "men specifically" spend to much time at the office, I think he should have used the word people instead of men. Women just as much as men get caught up in the working world. Women sometimes hire Nanny's to watch their children and neglect their kids just as much as men do.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act. I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I picked up theknife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quote makes me feel relatable to Pi’s character as a minority stuck in a new city with a new culture. It is hard to drop your normal habits and traditions just because the majority of people don’t approve or are confused from it. Being called a FOB (fresh off the boat) is very offensive and hurtful. Not only does it make you feel like you don’t belong, it makes you feel as though you are disgusting to these people if they must point out that you are an immigrant. Especially not being able to eat the way you are used to, it would make you lose your appetite and will make you reconsider your eating etiquette. It is obvious that Pi just wants to fit in with the new country, seeing as how he “guiltily” wiped his fingers on his napkin instead of habitually licking them. He may be feeling guilty about wiping because he knows that he does not want to nor does he want to change his etiquette just for some random stranger, but he knows that he needs to learn how Canada works culturally before he can learn to accept both his own and Canada’s at the same time. It is also ironic how he is eating at a Indian restaurant in Canada yet he is not allowed to dine like them. Indian’s are known to use their hands and fingers and use little dining instruments.
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
Pi understands the responsibilities and privileges of a “tied” job. It takes a lot of time and work to be good at what you do, and even when people prevail at their responsibilities at work, that does not mean that he enjoys it. A high paying job does not make a person feel any better at work, especially if he is overworked and cares too much about the objectives at work instead of caring about the job itself. Pi is stating that there unless a worker is careful, a job can feel like jail if he not careful. Work is the tie and the tighter and tighter you wrap the tie, the closer you are to having a half decent noose. Making sure you enjoy your “tie” will help you loosen it at the same time in my opinion.
Blaire Stewart said...
"The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. " A good natured smile is forever on its lips," reported Tirler (1966)" (5).
My response: To me this quote could be a relation to how society is or how it should be. If we take the sloth as a person and place them in society we would think of a person that is completely satisfied with their life because it states that they live in harmony and peace. The sloth is also being compared to a human with the personification "A good natured smile is forever on its lips." We all know that animals and sloths can't smile but it is a human characteristic. However, if we picture a society that shares the same characteristics of a sloth doesn't it equal a perfect society? The downfall is that our society is imperfect, and many people are unhappy. Maybe the life of a sloth is what we should be striving for, and maybe we are supposed to be living a simple and care free life like the sloth in order to be happy. Many of us look passed the sloth because it is an unimportant but maybe we should be paying more attention because it could be the thing we are supposed to follow.
(My Response)
I agree with Blaire on this quote because I feel that society is in chaos within them also. If sloths are able to live in perfect harmony despite their “disadvantages” at life, why aren’t intellectual and emotional humans not able to the do the same yet? The personification of the sloth was cleverly used. Not only does it raise a good point the state of human’s society and behavior, it is also ironic because the sloth is considers a sin, and is looked down upon.
- Alex Choi
ENG4U1-02
Kimberly McDiarmid
ENG4U-03
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
When reading this quotation, the audience is guided to the knowledge that Pi has with gone suffering in his lifetime at some point. Although it is not cleary stated at this point in the story why Pi has suffered, it is important to see the symbol of suffering to further character development later in the plot.
When one reads the opening sentance of the novel, "My suffring left me sad and gloomy" (3), it becomes apparent that suffering is going to be a large portion of the story. We know this because there is repition several times, mentioning suffering within a short number of pages, practically telling the reader one of the main themes.
I think that Yann Martel made the theme of suffering and obvious subject so that the reader will be prepared for possible tragic events in the future advances in plot. We also see that Pi is a sensitive being, because his sense of pain heightens every time he experiences suffering.
" I love him, and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience. " (7)
I chose this quotation because it shows the reader two things about the character Pi. One is that Pi is a compassionate being, and even though his academic achievments did not match those of the pink boy who ate beef, he could still be forgiving and communicate with his competator in a positive manor. The second is that Pi, even though angered and deeply affected by the loss of awards, is able to deal with situations in a calm, and submissive attitude. This may be because of his "strange religious practices", or maybe even the tragic events that happend to him in the past (I say the events of the past because when one has experienced such awful events, the individual may be subjected to desensitising thoughts that cause them pain). As the statement is made, we see Yann Martel portreying Pi as a calm, and forgiving character. This leads the reader to once again believe that the story is truthful, because the character is made to be entirly genuin.
To respond to Alex's quotation:
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I agree with Alex's annalysis. Pi goes through his responsibilities as a man in the work world, and while he does not enjoy this task, he understands the priviledge of a job that does well to serve a purpose. Pi goes on to explain that if we are indeed not careful enough to handle our stress properly, our work tie becomes our nuse. To add to Alex's analysis, I think that Yann Martel has given Pi characteristics of stress that are relatable to the reader. In my opinion, Yann Martel did this so that the reader would feel personally connected and have trust with the character. Once again, trust and truth become present in the story line.
“ I love him and hope his time at Oxford was a rich experience" (7).
This quote is written by the author, Yann Martel after he explains a “beef-eating pink boy” received the Governor General's Academic Medal instead of him. This award is the University of Toronto's highest undergraduate award and Yann wanted this award more than anything. I think that Yann felt that he deserved the award but his hard work and suffering that he had been through did not pay off. Yann was able to disregard his loss and show unselfish concern for the man who had been given what he had desired. This quote reflects the type of person that the author is which is accepting and unselfish. This comment helps with the author’s character development which is appealing to readers who are interested in learning background information about the author so that they have previous knowledge before reading his work.
"I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices" (3).
From this quote it is clear that religion is a major theme in this novel. Religion can be a very sensitive topic because some people have very strong beliefs and not everyone is tolerant of differing views. Pi mentions that some may find his religious practices “strange”. Pi always had a hard time choosing one religion. Pi had three religions, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. This was strange to others because most people study one practice. I think that the author feels that some find his religious practices strange because some people are judgmental and not accepting of other religious views. Pi realizes that his religious practices may seem strange to others but he is openly honest about his own personal religious practices anyways because it is something that is important to him.
Response to Jackie
I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he is not careful" (7)
I agree with Jackie Wanamaker’s comments on this quote. I think that what you do for a living does not have to define who you are as a person. I think that it is important that people work to live not live to work. I agree that it is important to enjoy your life and the things that are most important to you rather than getting caught up in your job and becoming obsessed with “success”.
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to life" (3).
This quote is the second phrase of the novel, following, “My suffering left me sad and gloomy.” As this quote says “brought me back to life,” it is as though his suffering has killed him, and his academic studies and religious practices bring him back to life, giving us the image of rebirth. On the cover of the novel we see water, a symbol of rebirth, and also a symbol of baptism, relating to the religious themes of this novel. This quote also relates to the theme of life and death, as Martel later discusses how death is envious of life, and that is why death sticks so closely to life. Also, Martel uses the word “slowly,” relating to the slow demeanour of the sloth. The sloth survives precisely by being slow, and Martel uses the word “slowly” in this phrase to put emphasis on survival being a slow process. This quote also relates to the poem, “After Great Pain a Formal Feeling Comes,” by Emily Dickinson. This poem ends with the speaker “letting go” of the pain. Although Pi still feels some sense of being “sad and gloomy,” he finally lets go of the pain through his religious practice, and continues to be successful in his academic studies.
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
This quote further shows the great deal of suffering Pi has endured. As if Pi has not already gone through enough pain, he must now deal with being very close to receiving the Governor General’s Academic Medal, the University of Toronto’s highest undergraduate award, and being slighted by a “beef-eating pink boy.” The use of “unbearable and trifling” is just one of the many contradictions in Life of Pi, relating to the theme of upside-downedness, causing the reader to see the same thing in multiple ways. The additional pain can be unbearable, as he is already a shattered person, and adding any more pain causes him to almost completely break down. Yet at the same time, this additional pain can be insignificant (or he tells himself it is insignificant) compared to the great amount of suffering he has already endured. Martel also uses alliteration with “s” at the start of the quote, showing just one of the many literary devices Martel uses in this novel.
-Christi Steele
ENG4U-03
Amy said...
"The first time I turned a tap on . . . " (8).
By outlining his seemingly unreasonable reaction to something as simple as turning on a tap it shows the reader how distressed Pi was after his suffering. I am not yet sure what his suffering consisted of but his shock may have came from the fact that he had been surrounded by water for so long and seeing more of it overwhelmed him. This passage relates to the repeating symbol of water throughout the book. The element of water also relates to the theme of rebirth because of baptism. At the start of the chapter Pi talks about being brought back to life. In this passage the water in the tap is new and unusual compared to what Pi may have been used and it symbolizes a new start. He describes the tap as noisy, wasteful and superabundant. Pi was probably thirsty throughout his journey and seeing a great deal of water gush out and go down the drain, wasted, may have put him into shock as well. Pi was put into such a shock that he fainted. Pi’s reaction would not have been so extreme before his suffering. Yann Martel was probably intending for this passage to show the reader just how much Pi had endured by illustrating his traumatisation. He also foreshadows the severity of events that are to come in the story.
My Response:
I agree with Amy’s comment, as Pi’s highly dramatic reaction to the simple action of turning on a tap clearly shows how distraught he has become. As turning on a tap is a very common action in everyday life, Pi’s reaction shows that he has been isolated and alienated from society. As Amy said, Pi would not react this way before having suffered the way he did, showing that Pi is seeing the water in a different way, as noisy, wasteful, and superabundant, relating to the theme of upside-downedness. I also like how Amy has related the water to rebirth. This quote discusses the events after the worst part of Pi’s suffering, which would be the time where Pi would have a chance for a new beginning.
-Christi Steele
ENG4U-03
"I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful" (7).
I think Pi is trying to say that people should enjoy the jobs that they choose. He understands that people need to enjoy themselves even if it is at the workplace. If a person is stressed out at a job that they hate, each day will make them feel worse and worse about their work and eventually they may even have a panic attack or something similar. Pi is comparing this situation to a tie and a noose. The tie represents the job and the noose represents stress. When a person becomes stressed, the noose tightens more and more and if a person is not careful with dealing with the stress, they will be hanged. I think the hanging part represents a panic attack, a mental breakdown, or even suicide.
" I still smart a little at the slight. When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling" (6).
I think we all can agree what Pi is trying to say here. If someone has suffered a great deal in life, each pain will be much more trifling for that person compared to someone who has lived an easier life. This can apply to both physical and emotional pain. When someone is physically injured and they are hurt again, the pain will be more intence to that person compared to healthy people. I think this relates even better to emotional pain. If something drastic happens early in a person's life, they may become emotionally scarred. Something such as the loss of a whole family can do this to a person. These people can be offended easier than people who haven't been scarred. But is isn't just emotionally scarred people who can be suceptable to this. All of us can be affected. Think of it this way: if you have been having a rough day and somebody cracks a joke about you, that joke will most likely anger you. On the other hand, if you've had a great day and you hear the same joke you will probably just laugh it off and not even give it any thought for the rest of the day. Its all about your mood and how it affects how you perceive things. I think Pi wants us to know that he is like this because it shows what kind of character he is going to be, and it may help in the understanding of the novel.
"The first time I went to an Indian restaurant in Canada I used my fingers. The waiter
looked at me critically and said, "Fresh off the boat, are you?" I blanched. My
fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead
of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act.
I didn't dare lick them. i wiped them guiltily on my napkin. he had not ideas how
deeply those words wounded me. They were like nails being driven into my flesh. I
picked up the knife and fork. i had hardly ever used such instruments. My hands
trembled. My sambar lost its taste." (9)
This quotation creates a theme of distressing nature. Pi feels like he is caught in
the act and is embarrassed to be centered out in a country he is new to. Pi feels the
waiters eyes looking at him in disgust and the flavourful food suddenly looses its
flavour because Pi is more focused on other's watching him and criticizing what he
does, and now he is not focused on the Sambar he is eating. Pi feels alienated in this
"new" country and describes this in a painful way; as "like nails being driven into my
flesh".
"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity -- its envy"
Yann Martel is saying that death isn’t so close because it has to happen but because it
wants to be everything that life is. life is considered a "miracle" and death is
considered as the end to that miracle, nothing to look forward to. Everyone has a life
and everyone has a death but no one lives for death they live their life. death is
envious and wishes is could be everything that life is it wishes that everyone would
look forward to death. Death is so envious that it can take life away in a second, one
hiccup in your life can bring death forward and that’s the end of your life.
This is my response to what Darcy Derbecker said about this quote
"Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to
life" (3).
I agree that he used academic study and the practice of religion to pull him out the
slump he was in because of his past experiences. I think that he also used the study
of zoology to help him cope with what happened to him as a kid with his father being
so brutally honest to such a young child. He studied zoology to better understand the
things that scare him, so he can respect what animals are capable of. The practice of
religion helped him also because he has something to turn to and he can rely on faith,
with god on his side he feels safer. the same safety coming from a better
understanding of dangerous animals.
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