Independent+Novel+Study

//Life of Pi//
//Section 1// //pg. 3-67 (chapters 1-19)//

__** Why did you select this novel? **__ I chose this novel mainly because I knew that my family owns a copy, so it would be easy to find. Also, my parents had read this book and they said that it was very good. Lastly, I have been interested in reading this novel for a while, and I thought this would be a good excuse to do it!

__** Who is telling the story? How does this person’s perspective effect the way the story is told? **__ The story is told mostly in the perspective of the protagonist, Pi Patel, but it occasionally switches to the author's perspective, as he describes his own impressions of Pi Patel, when he met him. It is interesting to read the story knowing that all the information was gained by the author through interviews with the main character, as explained in the intro to the book (it is a true story). It definitely made the most sense to write it in the first person, because that makes the themes of loneliness and isolation much more effective. It also makes it feel like he is talking directly to the reader, which is definitely a good thing in such an emotionally charged and personal story.

__** What information did you need to know before reading the novel? **__ By reading the back of the novel, you find out that most of the story takes place on a lifeboat, occupied by Pi Patel and a tiger, but the beginning of the book is only about Pi's early life, and his spirituality. I'm not sure whether the intro by the author would be considered part of the novel, but I think it was **definitely** important to read, as it explains a few things and gives you things to think about while you are reading.

// Section 2 // // pg. 67-141 (chapters 20-46) //

__**Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events?**__ The beginning of the novel, as I said before, is mostly about events in the protagonist's early life, so as there isn't a clear story line, it is a bit hard to follow. By the time he gets stranded on the boat, the story seems to settle into a rhythm, talking about the various things he had to do to survive. There seem to be short bursts of intense action, similar to the way the hyena in the story behaves. For example, there are the moments where the hyena will attack the zebra, but there are also times when it is just Pi's thoughts, trying to find a way to survive. The book has a feeling that the events are unembellished, like many true stories, which makes it a bit harder to follow. I think this is because, in fictional stories, the author can change the story however they want to, and make it flow naturally, and give it a good classical structure, but when the events actually happened, the author can't add things or take things out. It makes the story more lifelike, in that it is sometimes slow, but can take radical turns.

__**To what age group is the novel aimed? Support your answer with evidence.**__ I think this book is aimed at a very mature audience. It deals with very mature themes, like violence and spiritual struggles. I think that younger audiences would have trouble understanding a lot of the book. One observation that I made is that the cover of the book is very appealing to children, with so many bright colours and images of animals, but the content within is very disturbing at times.

__**How does the author get you to read on or hold your interest?**__ At the beginning of the book, in the author's introduction, we learn that "this story may make you believe in God". I think this was a **very** effective plot hook. I wanted to know what could happen in the book that could have that effect on someone.

//Section 3// //pg. 141-212 (chapters 47-63)//

__**What new things are added to the original problem as the novel progresses?**__ In the very beginning of the novel, there are few, if any, real problems. It is primarily just describing Pi's early life and his character. When he gets stranded on the boat with the animals, then he begins to face difficulties, although his life is still comparatively easy in relation to what is to come. When he realizes that there is a tiger on the boat you think that's the worst part of his situation, but he soon begins to run out of food and water. The vivid writing style helps to convey the horror and utter discomfort of his life.

__**Is there a message or main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown?**__ So far, I haven't found any message to the book. I think this is partially because it is based on true events, so the author has less "control" over the story. It even feels more like a documentation of events than a story. As for the main theme, I think it is perseverance in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Pi Patel no reason to hope that he will survive. The odds are so grim, at times you wonder how he can possibly make it past this obstacle, but he stubbornly presses on.

__**What plot twists or unexpected events happen as the novel goes on?**__ The first major twist was the sinking of the boat, leaving him stranded on a lifeboat with four wild animals. At first, you only know about three, the zebra, the hyena, and the orangutan. He eventually notices the tiger, sleeping under a tarp. The tiger ends up being the only animal left.

//Section 4// //pg. 213-284 (chapters 64-91)//

__**Why would you (or why wouldn't you) recommend this novel to a friend?**__ I would recommend this novel to a very mature, patient friend who is willing to invest a lot of energy in a novel. This book is very slow-moving and heavy. The content is dark, and at times quite disturbing. The novel certainly isn't "light reading." To fully enjoy the book, you have to think about it a lot. It is definitely a novel meant for adults, and for an adult attention span. I think many readers stop part way through the ponderous first section. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about this book. People assume that because it has a tiger in it, it will be full of action, and/or appropriate for children. It does have some gruesome action scenes part way through, but it can also very slow, on the verge of boring. The writing style is slightly contemporary and hard to follow. One of the problems with this genre of writing is that they use the excuse of being "artsy and literary" as an excuse for poor structure. This is less true with "Life of Pi", but at times it is hard to tell what the author is trying to say.

__**Describe any new characters that are introduced? What is their purpose?**__ Near the end of the 4th section Pi, went blind. He gives up on life and resolves to die. While in this weakened state he has what we can assume are hallucinations, but it is unclear. He has an entire conversation about food with an unknown character, who might just be a voice in his mind. He eventually decides that the voice belongs to Richard Parker, the tiger. Then he decides that the voice belongs to someone in another lifeboat, a french sailor. They have a very cryptic conversation. The man in the boat is also blind. The man tries to kill Pi, but he is attacked by the tiger and eaten. Pi regains his vision and sees the horrible dismembered body. He later confesses that he used the man's flesh as bait for fish, and, in his desperation, even ate pieces that were meant to be used as bait. This part of the book is one of the most disturbing parts, because although there have been gruesome deaths in the book before, none of them have been human.

__**Is the language**____**in the novel difficult or easy? Give examples and explain.**__ The language in the section described above was very difficult to follow. It was cryptic, confusing, and made little sense. "Let's hear your story," he said, panting. "Once upon a time there was a banana and it grew. It grew until it was large, firm, yellow and fragrant. Then it fell to the ground and someone came upon it and ate it. He stopped rowing. "What a beautiful story!" "Thank you." "I have tears in my eyes." "I have another element," I said. "What is it?" "The banana fell to the ground and someone came upon it and ate it - and afterwards that person //felt better.//" "Takes the breath away!" he exclaimed. "Thank you." A pause. "But you don't have any bananas?" "No. An orangutan distracted me." "A what?" "It's a long story."

//Section 5// //pg. 284-354 (chapters 92-95)//

__**What plot twists or unexpected events happen as the novel goes on?**__ Pi lands on a plant island that eats people and is infested with meerkats. I would consider this a plot twist; there was no indication that anything like this would happen throughout the first four-fifths of the novel. Many people don't believe that this part of the book actually happened, but Pi swears it did. Had this been a work of fiction, I'm sure that this part of the novel wouldn't have happened. It felt separate from the rest of the book, and I think the story could have prospered without it.

__**Is the novel believable?**__ The novel was entirely believable, up until the carnivorous plant island with meerkats came up. It seemed unlikely, almost impossible, for a sixteen year old boy to be able to survive on a lifeboat by himself, save for a tiger. Although unlikely, it was possible, and the reader had no reason to disbelieve that everything the author was writing was the truth. When the island comes up, all logic demands that this part of the book was either made up or brought on by hunger induced hallucinations. It's impossible to know whether this part of the book was true or not. I think the author wants the reader to decide for themselves... or maybe just accept that it's a good story.

__**What is the climax of the novel?**__ I think the climax of the novel was when Pi realized that the island was carnivorous, by unwrapping the leaves from around the human tooth. Everything after this point in the story is resolving the conflicts; he finds land and he is no longer fighting to survive for the first time since the boat sank. Richard Parker escapes and is never seen again, and we assume he lives a somewhat normal life from this point on.

__My Reaction__ I think the theme of the novel was determination. Pi rarely wavered in his resolve to survive, unlike most would in his situation. The Novel portrayed what people are capable of when they are pushed to their limit. I think the book was written for mature people, who are fans of contemporary literature (a.k.a. artsy people). The novel was very well written, but the writing style seemed a little bit show-off-ish at times, making the book a bit harder to relate to. It seemed that the author wanted to showcase his literary talents, which didn't really add to the novel. The writing style was still impeccable, but I'm not sure that it suited the novel. Yes, the novel helped me. Now I know what to do if I'm ever stranded in a lifeboat. The novel also taught me about religion. The main character had some interesting view on religion. He said it's better to be atheist than agnostic. An atheist's last moments alive would be of great realization and epiphany, whereas an agnostic would remain factual and scientific until the end. The novel became very bizarre and unbelievable when he landed on an island that was actually a carnivorous plant that digested people (but only at night) and was also infested with meerkats and also converted saltwater into fresh water and was also edible. As far as recommending this book goes... I would say that it's a good book to try, but the writing wouldn't be appealing to everyone. I would also recommend reading it over a long period of time. I can't really elaborate on tat thought, it just seems appropriate for this book. I reading other books by this author wouldn't be my first choice. As I said, I am not a huge fan of his writing, but maybe in another book, it would be more to my tastes. media type="custom" key="12107337"
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