Life of Pi is a coming of age story the literary term for this type of story is a Bildungsroman - a novel
about the moral and psychological growth of the main character. As you read this story, I want you to
consider how Pi matures. His character development, the purpose of the tiger in his life, and how his life
adheres to the paradigm of the heroes’ journey.
The hero’s journey for Males is circular
the format is Land-Sea-Land; whereas,
when he begins the initial journey he is weak ,and he gains strength over the sea experiences a death and
rebirth then gathers a relic as proof of his journey and returns to land.
1. Ordinary World: This step refers to the hero's normal life at the start of the story, before
the adventure begins.
2. Call to Adventure: The hero is faced with something that makes him begin his
adventure. This might be a problem or a challenge he needs to overcome.
3. Refusal of the Call: The hero attempts to refuse the adventure because he is afraid.
4. Meeting with the Mentor: The hero encounters someone who can give him advice and
ready him for the journey ahead.
5. Crossing the First Threshold: The hero leaves his ordinary world for the first time and
crosses the threshold into adventure.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies: The hero learns the rules of his new world. During this time, he
endures tests of strength of will, meets friends, and comes face to face with foes.
7. Approach: Setbacks occur, sometimes causing the hero to try a new approach or adopt
new ideas.
8. Ordeal: The hero experiences a major hurdle or obstacle, such as a life or death crisis.
9. Reward: After surviving death, the hero earns his reward or accomplishes his goal.
10. The Road Back: The hero begins his journey back to his ordinary life.
11. Resurrection Hero - The hero faces a final test where everything is at stake and he must
use everything he has learned.
12. Return with Elixir: The hero brings his knowledge or the "elixir" back to the ordinary
world, where he applies it to help all who remain there. Additionally, symbolic meaning is added to the story with the inclusion of archetypes (see the
attachment on archetypes for more information). It will be helpful to note these encounters as
they occur in the literature as they add further meaning to the message of the author.
Activity:
In a reader response journal (9.5 x 5” composition book) please note interesting words, character
development, literary analysis that exhibits interesting use of literary devices and the effect that
this use has on the development of the plot and archetypal symbolism as used throughout the
story.
Included in your reader response should be the answers to the analysis of the text that follows on
the subsequent pages of this document.
As part of your project, please develop a 3D visual that best represents the
Life of Pi in some symbolic manner with a short 100-200 word rationale as to
your characterization.
Questions can be directed to either m.kendrick@cms.k12.nc.us or
chandace.heath@cms.k12.nc.us
Directions: In the literature section of your notebook, define the words in the word bank. Then for
each literature term, fine an example in your novel. Quote the example on this sheet. Include the page
number (follow the format as exemplified below). Then explain how that term is related to the plot of
the book up to the point where you found it.
allegory
alliteration
allusion
imagery
motif
personification
theme
voice
archetype
foreshadowing
pathetic fallacy
symbolism
MLA Citation of the novel:
1.
Term: ________________________
A. Quote and page #:
B. Explanation as to how this term relates to the plot of the story so far:
Analysis
Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative,
are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has
moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of
abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy.
Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.
How are the zoo and religion allegories?________________________________________
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How is this an example of anthropomorphism? ___________________
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Analyze: Identify the literary devices and note the effect of the literary device on the meaning of
the text.
“The paperwork was colossal. Litres of water used up in the wetting of stamps. Dear Mr. So
and so written hundreds of times. Offers made. Sighs heard. Doubts expressed. Haggling gone
through. Decisions sent higher up for approval. Prices agreed upon. Deals clinched. Dotted
lines signed. Congratulations given. Certificates of origin sought. Certificates of health sought.
Export permits sought. Import permits sought. Quarantine regulations clarified. Transportation
organized. A fortune spent on telephone calls. It’s a joke in the zoo business, a weary joke, that
the paperwork involved in trading a shrew weighs more than an elephant, that the paperwork
involved in trading an elephant weighs more than a whale, and that you must never try to trade a
whale, never.
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Apply
My heart began to beat like a merry drum and blood started flowing through my veins like cars from a
wedding party honking their way through town.___________________
The hyenna died neither whining nor whimpering, and Richard Parker killed without a sound. The
flame-coloured carnivore emerged from beneath the tarpaulin and made for the hyena. The hyena was
leaning against the stern bench, behind the zebra’s carcass, transfixed. It did not put up a fight. Instead
it shrank to the floor, lifting a forepaw in a futile gesture of defense.___________________
Then I pulled until I thought my arms would come apart and my head would explode.
________________________
Four flippers, boom and break, licked little lies on the edge of her tongue _____________
Cook books simmered and sighed silently in the night _____________________
The comparison of the zoo to lessons that Pi learned in life throughout most of the book
_______________________
Spiritual worry was alien to him; it was financial worry that rocked his being. _____________________
And so, when she first heard of Hare Krishnas, she didn’t hear right. She heard “Hairless Christians”, and
that is what they were to her for many years. __________________
While other mice dropped in the terrarium disappeared within two days, this little brown Methusaleh
built itself a nest, stored the grains we gave it in various hideaways and scampered about in plain sight
of the snakes.__________________________
The italicized portions of Life of Pi are considered _________________________
The way the author writes in short terse sentences when he list items in the text.
_____________________
An author’s word choice ____________________________
metaphor
simile
allusion
voice
conceit
hyperbole
consonance
alliteration
pathetic fallacy
style
pun
diction
Comprehension
What is Pi’s full name?______________________________
Considering how much Pi likes to swim, what astrological symbol does Pi represent?____________
How does this name support him being a
hero?________________________________________________________________
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__________________
What two European countries colonized India?______________ and _______________What is the
specific city name in which the story is set?___________________________
What geometrical shape is Pi’s uncle?_____________________ How did his uncle become this
shape?__________________
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_______________
The first sentence in the text is “My suffering left me sad and gloomy”. What philosophical precept does
this describe?_____________________________
When Mr Kumar and Pi are discussing religion, he references religious thought as having light, what
philosophical thought does Mr Kumars belief represent? _____________________________
How is pathetic fallacy represented in the very important lesson he learns about
tigers?_______________________________________________________________________________
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What is the significance of the use of the following simile: “My life is like a memento mori painting from
European art: there is always a grinning skull at my side to remind me of the folly of human
ambition”.____________________________________________________________________________
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Beyond a means of income for his father, what is the significance of zoos to the
author?________________________________
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__________________
In addition to being a simile, the reference to a memento mori painting is also a _____________ (literary
device)
What style is used to indicate that the author is speaking?________________________
What did Ravi mean when he told Pi that he was “the next
goat”?____________________________What literary device is used when Pi is described as the “next
goat”?______________________
Identify the literary devices and the effect their use in the following quote: “Hes a sweet man. Every
time I visit he prepares a South Indian vegetarian feast. I told him I like spicy food. I don’t know why I
said such a stupid thing. It’s a complete lie. I add dollop of yogurt after dollop of yogurt. Nothing
doing. Each time it’s the same: my taste buds shrivel up and die, my skin goes beet red, my eyes well up
with tears, my head feels like a house on fire, and my digestive tract starts to twist and groan in agony
like a boa constrictor that has swallowed a lawn mower.”
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