English 10 Honors summer reading assignment: Read Life of Pi by Yann Martel and answer one of the following essay questions. The essay must be at least five paragraphs long and incorporate a minimum of two quotes per main body paragraph. This essay should demonstrate all of your knowledge on how to write a well thought out essay. It needs to follow MLA format (12 point font, double spaced etc.) You will be required to have a completed essay on the first day of school. Here is a list of essay options: 1. In Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, the author raises many questions about the boundary between truth and belief. Up until the reader encounters the island chapter in part 2 of the novel, most of what Pi has related is improbable but not wholly unbelievable. The algae island, however, is an impossibility in the physical world as we know it. Martel has said that the island helps prepare the reader for part 3. Now that you have finished the novel, what might this island symbolize and how does it fit in with the overall message of the novel? 2. In this particular work of literature, the study of zoology and spirituality is prominent. In a well‐organized essay, explain how Yann Martel uses zoology and/or religion to explain the journey and survival of Pi Patel. 3. . In the Life of Pi, Martel tells the reader early in the novel “This story has a happy ending” (end of Chapt.36 and part 1). In a well‐organized essay, defend or challenge the validity of this observation. Be sure to support your position using the novel. 4. . Life of Pi is a story that asks questions of life, beliefs, faith, and the importance of imaginative story telling. Consider the question that Pi presents to the Japanese officials at the end of the novel, “Which is the better story, the story with the animals or the story without the animals?” (317). In a well‐composed essay, defend your answer to this question noting Martel’s use of realism and fantasy as it relates to the major themes of the novel. Please do your best work. Enjoy your summer and we look forward to working with you next school year.