Attitude toward self, narrator
“I am a person who believes in form, in the harmony of
order…we must give things a meaningful shape…that’s one
thing I hate about my nickname, the way that number runs
on forever. It’s important in life to conclude things properly”
(Martel 285).
Attitude toward life, existence
“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” (Martel 6).
Imagery to create Tone
“A foul and pungent smell, an earthy mix of rust and
excrement hung in the air. There was blood everywhere,
coagulating to a deep red crust. A single fly buzzed about,
sounding like an alarm bell of insanity” (Martel 127).
Diction, word choice to create tone
“The ship sank. It made a sound like a monstrous metallic
burp. Things bubbled at the surface and then vanished.
Everything was screaming: the sea, the wind, my heart.”
(Martel 97).
Theme
“I wept heartily over this poor little deceased soul. It was
the first sentient being I had ever killed. I was now a killer.
I was now as guilty as Cain…I had blood on my hands. It’s
a terrible burden to carry” (Martel 183).
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Pi’s obsession with “form” and “the harmony of order”
explains why religion appeals so strongly to him. He finds
great importance in concluding things “properly”. Pi is
essentially asking what kind of life would we be leading if,
when it was over, we simply died and remained dead to rot
for eternity? Pi hopes and believes that there is more. He
believes what he is told about afterlives and moral
judgment because he is afraid of his life ending in a
pointless and almost anticlimactic manner. Pi’s obsession
with closure can also be found in the founders of almost
any religion to have ever been preached throughout
history.
Pi respects the importance of work, however finds much
more value in the beauty of life itself. Pi believes that to
ignore the offerings of life and to focus too much on work is
detrimental to one’s health.
Martel paints a disturbing picture in his description of the
lifeboat following the slow painful death of the zebra. He
describes the air as smelling like “an earthy mix of rust and
excrement”, the boat as having “blood everywhere”, and his
only companion as “a single fly…sounding like an alarm bell
of insanity”. Through this shockingly filthy and revolting
portrayal of the lifeboat, Martel establishes a tone of
absolute disgust.
When describing the sinking of the Tsimtsum, Martel utilizes
a variety of strong and violent words to establish a tone of
disorder and fear. Martel describes the sound of the ship
sinking as a “monstrous metallic burp” simultaneously
noting its enormity and its violent, industrial nature. He also
says that “everything was screaming” suggesting disorder
and confusion.
Another theme found in Life of Pi is the loss of innocence.
Prior to his being stranded at sea, Pi is a god loving
vegetarian who would never even consider eating the flesh
of an animal. Once forced to end the life of another
creature in the interest of prolonging his own, Pi is
overcome by guilt. At this point, he has entered a phase of
existence that, until his problem of being stranded is
resolved, he is forced to endure, therefore making a
transition from an innocent vegetarian to a hunter with
“blood on my [Pi’s] hands”.
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