Art in the Life of Pi

With the majority of the story taking place in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, clearly, art was a little difficult to come by.

However, there was a time when we were getting a little bit from the author's point of view as he interviewed Pi Patel that described Pi's house as a 'temple'. For example, "In the entrance hall hangs a framed picture of Ganesha, he of the elephant head. He sits facing out--rosy-colored, pot-bellied, crowned and smiling--three hands hlding various objects, the fourth held palm out in blessing and in greeting." (Martel, 45).

Ganesha, if you remember, was one of the most well-known and worshiped deities in Hinduism and his image permeates throughout India.

In addition, "In the living room, on a table next to the sofa, there is a small framed picture of the Virgin Mary ... Next to it is a framed photo of the black-robed Kaabva, holiest sanctum of Islam. ... On the television set is a brass statue of Shiva as Nataraja," (45).

And the shrine continues on, through his kitchen, dining room and office where he had a Christ on the Cross hanging on the wall, a prayer rug rolled up in the corner, with a book covered by a cloth with the word 'Allah' on it resting on a book stand next to it and a Bible on his bedside table.

It is through all these religious pieces of art and literature that Pi Patel is very openly and clearly able to show his fidelity to all three of his religions. The physical presence of the varying religious artwork gives him a very concrete representation of each religion so a single one does not drown out the other two.

Writing the Life of Pi

Yann Martel put in about a two years researching zoology and religion for his novel, Life of Pi. His inspiration for the book came to him while he was in--prepare to be amazed--India. While in India, after the inspiration for Life of Pi permeated throughout him, he spent six months visiting zoos, mosques, churches and temples. He carefully took in his surroundings, all the while taking extensive notes which would later become his best-selling novel.

After those initial six months, Yann Martel returned to his home in Canada (which is where Pi and his family were headed when their ship sank). While in Canada he read texts about Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, as well as books on zoology and animal psychology. He also did more 'research' reading many castaway and other disastrous stories.

Martel also went through a bit of trial and error before he decided to make the animal stuck on the lifeboat with Pi a tiger. Before that, he'd considered an elephant and then a rhinoceros before the seemingly obvious choice of a tiger came to him.

There was also some plagiarism controversy that arose when some people took note of the similarities between Life of Pi and Moacyr Scliar's book, Max and the Cats. Scliar's novel was about a Jewish family living in Berlin, their business isn't fairing well, so they decide to move to Brazil. The ship sinks, and one of the survivors finds himself on a lifeboat with a black panther. While Martel admits that the inspiration for the premise of his story was no doubt sparked by Scilar's book, he maintains that he only ever read a critic's review about the book and though he attempted to get his hands on it never found the book itself to be able to read it. He also states it was about four or five years before the inspiration for Life of Pi hit him. The plagiarism controversy died after Scliar decided not to press charges.

sources: http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html

Snow vs. Life of Pi Double Bubble

Poetry in Life of Pi

In Life of Pi, Yann Martel does not directly address poetry, but poetry can be connected to the novel through Pi's expansive interest in faith and religion. As a young Hindu boy, Pi also became very interested and involved in Catholicism and Islam. When Pi describes his love for religion and faith he becomes very poetic. This is shown when he describes that he is a "Hindu because of sculpted cones of red kumkum powder... clanging bells to announce one's arrival to God... because of foreheads carrying, variously signified, the same word--faith (47)." The entire passage is said very descriptive and poetic way. Pi's faith inspires him to see the world around him in a new light, causing him to think and act in a poetic way, without realizing it.

Science, Religion and Philosophy

Life of Pi is a scientific and religous book. Martel blends these two seemingly incompatible ideas into one theme.

Science- In the book, science is an omnicient force but is always restricted to the background of the plot. Scientific information is and important part of the story and is always careful to be represented logically and accurately, but the writing style noticably shifts to a more monotonous, text book-sounding recollection of the way things work, normally in stark contrast to many of the other writing styles.

Religion
-Throughout the book many connections can be drawn between religion and story telling. It seems at times that Pi sees story telling as religious practice in itself. This is, in part, due to Pi's belief that story telling is infinitely superious to "dry, yeastless factuality". It is suggested many times that story telling, and belief in powers greater than ourselves, add a certain emotion that inspires and sticks with the reader longer than logical reasoning ever could.

-Survival is another theme that is fully developed throughout the novel. It is in regards to survival that some of Martel's most powerful messages about faith are delivered. On the life boat, the reader's attention is solely focused on events that take place on the boat through Pi's eyes. This gives the reader a chance to examine Pi's gradually increasing faith and will to survive when facing enormous hardship. The book also acknowledges the heroism and the cowardice associated with facing life and death situations.

Musical/Poetic Connection

The poetic language used in Life of Pi by Yann Martel creates a lot of connections to music.

Connotation- The types of animals selected to be on the life boat are chosen for the tones and attitudes commonly associated with those animals, and help to better shape the reader's image of the characters without extensive description. Connotations establish a lot of character development without a lot of words.

Metaphor- Martel most effectively uses metaphor to bring complicated or abstract ideas down to a more relatable level. At the end, when Pi suggests he may have actually been on the raft with people, the reporters decide they like the story with the animals and a powerful message about metaphors is established.

Shift in Attitude- If this book had a theme song it would take many different forms. The part of the story at the zoo would be a light hearted and content song, the sinking of the ship would be cataclysmic death metal and the lifeboat would be a long tired jam, briefly influenced by the events and emotions that are described in the book. Richard Parker, would go nicely with some funky beat or subdued smooth jazz (because he's a tiger)

Other Themes

• Friendship is revealed through Richard Parker and Pi's relationship
• Survival is shown in Pi's struggle
• Perseverance is portrayed through his ability to overcome the circumstances