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Summary Life of Pi, ISBN: 9780547416113 English Home Language
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Saturday, 07 December 2019Life of Pi Summaries
Author's note
An italicized section precededs Chapter 1. This section is written as if by Yann Martel
himself, but is actually part of the novel told by a fictional Canadian author. The author
says that he had published two earlier which were both ignored, and he went to Bombay,
India to clear his mind and try to write again. The author felt depressed, wondering what
to do with his life next. He travels to Pondicherry. In a local coffee shop, he meets an old
man names Francis Adirubasamy. Mr. Adiubasamy offers to tell the author a story "that
will make you believe in God." The author then eternal to Canada and found the
protagonist, Mr Patel. He begins visiting him regularly and taking notes.
After many months, the author agrees that is is "a story to make you believe in God." He
says that he has written the novel in the first person, as though Mr. Patel's voice.
With this Author's Note Martel immediately introduced the idea of using alternate stories
to describe the same reality, an idea that will apply to religion and Pi's accounts of
survival. The idea of storytelling itself is worked throughout the novel's complete
framework. Pondicherry's uniqueness in India makes it an ideal setting for Pi's blending
of religions and philosophies. From the start Martel encourages us to suspend our
disbelief and accept "the better story" over "dry, yeastless factuality"– ideas that will be
threaded throughout the book. Francis Adirubasamy introduces the important theme of
religion with his claim.
Part One: Toronto and Pondicherry
- Chapter 1
The novel's main text begins with the adult Pi speaking of the adult Pi speaking
of his life after the story's main event. His suffering left him "sad and gloomy", but
he continued his religious practices and zoological studies and slowly became
happy again. Pi found studying sloths to be comforting because of their slow,
calm lifestyles. Sloths are kept safe by being so slow and blending into the
background. Pi found his two majors to be related, as sloths would often remind
him of God. Pi describes his initial recovery in Mexico after the events of the
story. He was treated well at the hospital. He had anemia, dark urine,and his
legs retained fluids and swelled.
Pi's brief mention of Isaac Luria introduces an important religious idea. Luria was
a Kabbalist teacher whose theory of creation involved the concept of Tzimtzum,
which was basically that God contracted his infinite light in order to create the
universe,hiding himself so that his creation might become independent of him.
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This concept with be important later, as the ship the Tsimsum sinks giving Pi
"room" to create his own universe and independence. Martel frames Pi's ordeal
by describing him as both a child and an adult, not giving much detail about what
happened in between. Pi has a unique philosophical blending of zoology and
theology, science and religion. The author creates suspense by leaving
numerous questions unanswered. The themes introduced include the intricacies
and beauty of nature & nature as a reminder of God
- Chapter 2
The narrative switches to the author's point of view, and he describes the adult Pi
as a small, gray-haired, middle-aged man. He speaks quickly and expressively.
The reader is given no indication as to who this newly introduced character is.
These sections remind us of the book's "nonfiction" framework and also
introduces the adult Pi as we learnt the events of his youth.
- Chapter 3
Pi reflects on his name, which is Piscine Molitor Patel, and says that he was
named after a swimming pool. Pi came to share Mamaji's love for the water and
the meditative practice of swimming.
Martel immediately shows the connection between Francis Adirubasamy, the
story's initiator, and Pi himself. Pi's unusual name also foreshadows his
experiences with water – Piscine is the French word for "pool" and in English it
means "relating to fish or fishes." Swimming is an important theme for Piscine
and his childhood. Also important in this chapter is the introduction of Mamaji.
The theme of simplicity appears in Pi's description of swimming and the pleasure
of the rhythm of a good stroke.
Even at a young age, Pi seems to have a slow, patient soul that finds swimming
relaxing and peaceful. This looks forward to his religious devotion and
contemplative inner life.
- Chapter 4
Pi describes the wonders of the zoo and compares it to a zoo with especially
uncooperative guests. He defends zoos against people who feel that animals in
the wild are happier. He argues that in the wild, animals are at the merc of many
dangers, but in the zoo they have safety and security. Pi also argues against the
ideas of zoos as "prisons" – he says that animals prefer to have a set territory
and a rigid boundaries, so they will be happy if they accept the edges of their
cages as their territory. He says that both religion and zoos have fallen out of
favor.
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The image of Piscine as a child reveling in the wonder of the animals
underscores the themes of simplicity and beauty of nature. Without his extensive
knowledge of wild animal behaviour Pi never could have survived as he does.
Considering the amount of the chapter devoted to Pi's discussion of captivity
versus freedom foreshadows that this subject will become a more pervasive
theme in the book. He introduces the important idea of boundaries and animals
territories. Animals, like humans, generally like comfort and ritual, so a good zoo
provides a sense of order that they have no desire to escape from. In the wild,
however, animals (and soon Pi) have to struggle constantly to maintain order in
the midst of danger.
- Chapter 5
Pi trained the teaches and classmates of his new school to call him "Pi".
Pi shows once again how similar humans are to animals, as he basically trains
his teachers and classmates to accept his new name. Rote repetition and
confidence are the most important elements of this "training." Pi's nickname
refers to the number π, representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its
diameter. The number is irrational and unending, an interesting contrast to Pi's
love of harmony and order.
- Chapter 6
The author interrupts once again to say that the adult The author interrupts again
to say that the adult Pi is an excellent cook, and he makes very spicy vegetarian
food. The author has noted that Pi’s kitchen is very well-stocked with spare
canned goods, as if preparing for a disaster.
The author gives more hints of Pi's ordeal. Clearly Pi suffered great deprivation,
as he now seems prepared for any calamity and has a special appreciation for
food.
- Chapter 7
Pi describes his biology teacher, Mr. Satish Kumar. He was an atheist and an
active Communist. Pi, at first shocked by his atheism, forms a deep bond with Mr.
Kumar. Pi respects atheists for choosing a certain worldview, but he dislikes
agnostics, as they must live in a constant state of doubt or indifference.
The Satish Kumars of Pi's life provides symmetry in their influence. Pi's
digression on atheists and agnostics is very important – clearly he accepts that
the existence of God is inherently unknowable, and so it takes faith to either
affirm or deny it. When the truth is unknowable, we can only choose which story
we find more beautiful. Pi prefers a worldview with God in it, but he respects
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those who do not. What he does not respect are those who refuse to choose,
who linger in doubt, Pi respects those who choose a story.
- Chapter 8
Pi relates the saying that "the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man." He also
says more dangerous than humans themselves is thei tendency to
anthropomorphize animals, giving them human feeling and motives. One day Pi's
father decided to show Pi and his older brother Ravi about the dangers of wild
wild animals. The boys were traumatized by this sight, but their father continued
by listing other ways even seemingly docile animals could hur or kill them. Pi
remembered this lesson forever and always recognized the "otherness" of wild
animals.
Martel starts to show the animality in humans and the humanity in animals., as
they will soon come together with Pi on the lifeboat. The human trait to ascribe
human traits to animals refers back to Pi's claim that zoos and religion have both
"fallen out of favor" – people assume that animals desire freedom, just as
humans think religion constrides liberty.
- Chapter 9
Pi describes the idea of "flight distance" which is how far away a human can be
before an animal runs away. An important part of zookeeping is reducing the
flight distances of animals so that they are comfortable with humans nearby.
Pi expands on the ideas of territory and boundaries. The training of animals is a
slow rearrangement of their territory, and in zoos the animals must accept
humans living on adjacent territories to their own.
- Chapter 10
Pi admits that there are still some animals who escape from zoos. He says that
this is usually the result of bad care or the animal experiencing sudden stress,
especially if it feels that something is invading its territory.
Pi's lament of bad zookeeping prefigured his lament of bad religious practitioners
– bad zookeepers, like narrow-minded, hateful religious people, give zoology and
religion bad names, makin people think that both zoos and religion restrict
freedom.
- Chapter 11
Pi describes the case of a black leopard. He wonders that such a huge predator
could live secretly for so long, and uses this to prove that animals are always just
trying to fit into whatever environment they find themselves in.
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