Life of Pi
By Yann Martel
Is Martel trying to “bamboozle” us?
Does making sense of Life of Pi seem a bit like
making sense of this Escher print?
“The finite within the infinite, the infinite within the finite.”
Using Escher as way to think about Life of
Pi...
Focus in on each individual part.
What could each part mean of itself? What could it symbolise?
What are the similarities between parts? By associating commonalities
we start to get a sense of the overall intent of the print.
Most importantly, what are the points of difference?
What is interesting about these differences?
What do we notice when we stop trying to make sense of the print?
Life of Pi can be classified as:
• postcolonial novel, because
of its post-Independence
Indian setting as well as its
Canadian authorship
• a work of magical realism,
because fantastical
elements—such as animals
with human personalities or
an island with cannibalistic
trees—appear in an
otherwise realistic setting
• a bildungsroman, a comingof-age tale
• an adventure story
• It even flirts with nonfiction
genres
– the Author's Note claims that
the story of Pi is a true story
that the author heard while
backpacking through
Pondicherry
– and the novel, with its firstperson narrator, is structured
as a memoir
– at the end of the novel, look
for interview transcripts,
another genre of nonfiction
writing
A Castaway story
• Story of survival ‘against the odds’, usually nature, own psyche and
unexpected foes.
• Expects characters to be creative with their resources and own abilities to
cope in the new, unfamiliar environment.
•
• Stripped of the conventions which dictate behaviour and actions in
civilised society.
• Traditionally has a happy ending – being saved. LoP the Author tells us on
p.93: “This story has a happy ending.”
• Characters enlightened upon return to civilisation, their experiences
offering them a new understanding of the world and themselves.
Allegory
• A symbolic fictional narrative that conveys a
meaning not explicitly set forth in the narrative.
• Allegory ...may have meaning on two or more
levels that the reader can understand only
through an interpretive process.
• Literary allegories typically describe situations
and events or express abstract ideas in terms of
material objects, persons, and actions.
What do you think?
• Is it a hybrid of these and more?
• Does it matter that the novel is indefinable in
terms of genre?
• Does this affect or enhance the story?
• What might Martel be trying to achieve by
using this stylistic approach to his novel?
The Importance of Storytelling
A story within a story within a story
• The novel is framed by a
(fictional) note from the
author who describes how he
first came to hear the fantastic
tale of Piscine Molitor Patel.
• Within the framework of
Martel's narration is Pi's
fantastical first-person account
of life on the open sea, which
forms the bulk of the book.
• At the end of the novel, a
transcript taken from an
interrogation of Pi reveals the
possible “true” story within
that story.
Storytelling is also a
means of survival.
The Nature of Religious Belief
• Life of Pi begins with an old
man in Pondicherry who
tells the narrator, “I have a
story that will make you
believe in God.”
• Storytelling and religious
belief are two closely linked
ideas in the novel.
– each of Pi's three religions,
Hinduism, Christianity, and
Islam, come with its own set
of tales and fables, which are
used to spread the teachings
and illustrate the beliefs of
the faith.
• Stories and religious
beliefs are also linked in
Life of Pi because Pi
asserts that both
require faith on the part
of the listener or
devotee
Stories within Life of Pi
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Martel tells his own story about going to India to write a book.
Martel refers to the story he was trying to write set in Portugal in 1939.
Mr. Adirubasamy begins to tell the story of Pi Patel.
Mr. Martel tells the story of meeting Pi Patel and continues to narrate
this story as Pi Patel tells his story.
Pi Patel begins telling his story.
Pi Patel refers to the story of Christ in Gethsemane.
Pi Patel refers to the Ramayana.
Pi Patel refers to the Christian story of God’s sacrifice of his son.
Pi Patel refers to the story of Lord Krishna and the milkmaids.
Pi Patel refers to the story of baby Krishna accused of eating dirt.
Pi Patel refers to the story of Vishnu incarnated as Vamana the dwarf.
Pi Patel refers to the story of Rama’s struggle to get Sita.
Narrative Structure
The framework that provides the
order and way in which a story is
told.
Narrative Voice
• The novel is written in first person but, interestingly, has two
distinct narrators in print.
• Pi is one narrator, the Author is the other.
• Their voices are clearly distinguished by the fonts used – the
Author’s narration is distinguishable from Pi’s because it is italicised
– making the reader’s journey through the double narrative easier
to follow.
• The time and setting of the Author’s narration are also different to
Pi’s - set in Toronto after Pi’s rescue.
• But who else tells the story?
• The forms the narration takes also vary in each section.
• Section one has both narrators communicating with the
audience.
• Pi’s ‘voice’ is that of a storyteller, with the luxury of fully
expressing ideas and action, and developing characters,
from within the narrative.
• The Author’s voice, on the other hand, is that of the
observer who stands apart from the story. He is reflective,
commenting on his observations of Pi and his life in
Toronto.
• Section three is presented as a transcript and report, both
usually non-fiction forms of writing. Martel blends these
non-fiction forms so they can function as a narrative
‘truths’ within the novel.
Structure
• youtube/ Enotes/ LoP summary (watch on
Friday when I’m away)
• Four sections: Parts one, two and three, plus
the Author’s narrative
• Two possible stories
Structure
It is important to understand:
• how these parts function, both independently
and as a whole;
• why you think Martel has included them – what is
their purpose?
• THEN, to develop your own ‘theories’ about what
they mean to the overall story.
Section 1- Toronto and Pondicherry
pp.3-93
• Establishes Pi as a character.
• What do we know about him? Write a list of
the first 15 things that come to mind.
• What defining human qualities do you think
he possesses at this point?
• Introduces faith as a life philosophy for Pi.
• “That which sustains the universe beyond
thought and language, and that which is at
the core of us and struggles for expression.”
p.49
• “Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I
just want to love God...”p. 69
• Establishes the tensions and similarities
between religion and science, and the
religions of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.
• Foreshadows the ominous events to come through the
interspersion of Author’s narrative.
• Helps us understand the magnitude of section 2 to Pi’s
life because we are familiar with what he has lost.
• Enables Martel to embody Pi with skills and knowledge
which will help him to survive in section 2.
• Sets up the events which lead to the castaway storyline
in section 2.
• Is a story of itself – the story of Pi’s childhood.
Section 2 – The Pacific Ocean pp.97286
• Abrupt opening – “The ship sank.” p.97- leading directly to the
castaway storyline; the quest to survive. “To be a castaway is to be
perpetually at the centre of a circle.” p. 215
• Laden with sensual imagery and symbolism. “Everything was
screaming: the sea, the wind, my heart.” p.97
• Confined setting on the lifeboat leads to focus on minutiae and,
thus, richer description
of the details and significance of
individual entities and experiences.
• “It was a cockroach... It deployed its
wings, rose in the air with a minute clattering, hovered...and then
veered overboard to its death. Now we were two.” p.170
• Allows audience to come to know Pi when he
is forced by circumstances to question what
he believes, and what he had believed he was
capable of. “I am who I am.”
• Offers the sea journey, which parallels the life
journey we must all experience, which is
fraught with difficulty.
• “Always the bitter emotion of hope raised and
dashed.” p.199.
Section 3 – Benito Juarez Infirmary,
Tomatlan, Mexico
• This section is mostly dialogue between Mr. Okamoto,
Mr. Chiba and Pi. How is dialogue different to prose in
the impact it has on the audience?
• There is a great deal of humour about the bungling of
their trip from the US to Mexico. Does their journey in
any way parallel Pi’s journey?
• This is the section where we learn the other version of
the story we read in section 2.
“So you want another story?”
• In a typical narrative structure, after all of the conflict points are
resolved we expect the final chapters to deliver the denouement –
the final resolution or clarification of the plot.
• Instead, we get another story, one which confounds and
compromises our understanding of what we have previously read.
• Here Martel is proving his point about the power of storytelling:
that he, as the author, made you believe his original story about Pi’s
journey at sea even though the second story suggests it unlikely to
be true.
The other story
• What is the purpose of this story?
• How does it change our understanding of what
we have read in sections 1 & 2?
• How does it relate to the idea of the “better
story”?
The message about storytelling
• “I know what you want. You want a story that
won’t surprise you. That will confirm what you
already know. That won’t make you see higher
or further or differently. You want a flat story.
An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless
factuality.”
• Has Martel changed your mind about what a
story should be?
“Doesn’t that make life a story?”
• The ending of the novel is a place you can go to in
order to inform your conclusion.
• Chapter 100 is predominantly in the form of a
report, a piece of writing which should be pure “dry,
yeastless factuality” but it ends with an aside, a
personal reflection on the part of Mr. Okamoto.
• Read the final paragraph. As the final words of the
novel, what message do you think they convey?
• Which Story in the novel do you believe in? Is
there a RIGHT answer??