Life of Pi Notes and Background Information
Yann Martel Born in 1963 to Canadian parents while living in Spain Writing career took off with Life of Pi Won the Mann Booker prize awarded for best English-language novel written by a Commonwealth or Irish author Translated into thirty languages Screen rights purchased by Fox
Setting
Information about Pondicherry India was a British colony for nearly 200 years. However, Pondicherry was once the capital of French India and so it retains its French culture.
Places in Pondicherry Place de la Republic Pondicherry Seafront Aurobindo Ashram
Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) The protagonist of the story. He gets his unusual name from the French word for pool—and, more specifically, from a pool in Paris in which a close family friend, Francis Adirubasamy, loved to swim. A student of zoology and religion, Pi is quite interested and intrigued by the habits and characteristics of animals and people.
The Author of the Story The author, who is not Pi, tells the story as if he is Pi. He inserts himself into the narrative at several points throughout the text. (Watch for italic print.) First person (peripheral) and first person (central narrator) Most believe this author to be Martel himself but this is a common move when authors don’t want to be brought in the story in anyway.
Francis Adirubasamy Elderly man who tells the author Pi’s story during a chance meeting at a Pondicherry coffee shop. He taught Pi, as a child, to swim and gave him his unusual name. He arranges for the author to meet Pi in person, to get a first-hand account of his strange and compelling tale. Pi calls Adirubasamy Mamaji, an Indian term meaning respected uncle.
Pi’s Family Santosh Patel Gita Patel Ravi popular older brother, who prefers sports to schoolwork. He teases Pi about his devotion to three different religions. Santosh Patel Pi’s father, who runs the Pondicherry Zoo. He worries continuously and teaches his sons to fear animals. Why does he want to move the zoo in the first place? Gita Patel Pi’s beloved mother and protector. She loves books and encourages Pi to read widely.
Influential Chracters Satish Kumar (#1) Pi’s atheist biology teacher at Petit Seminaire, a secondary school in Pondicherry. Inspires Pi to study zoology in college. Father Martin Inspires Christianity pursuit Satish Kumar (#2) Inspires Islam pursuit and the study of religion in college Hindu Pandit Inspires Hindu pursuit
Concepts The Will to Live The Importance of Storytelling and Religious Belief
The Will to Live Life of Pi is a story about struggling to survive through seemingly insurmountable odds As Martel makes clear in his novel, living creatures will often do extraordinary, unexpected, and sometimes crazy things to survive heroic things shameful and barbaric things
The Importance of Storytelling and Religious belief PiFrancisAuthorPi Stories and religious beliefs are linked in Life of Pi because Pi asserts that both require faith on the part of the listener or devotee “I have a story that will make you believe in God.” Every religion is made up of stories, fables and tales that require faith in order to believe.
Narrative Structure 100 chapters (some many pages, some a few words) After the Author’s Note, Life of Pi is written in three sections Part 1: Ch. 1-36 Gives childhood synopsis and tells story of how author came to meet Pi Part 2: Ch. 37-94 the 227-day journey across the ocean to North America Part 3: Ch. 95-100 his experience with the reporters once on land These formal elements help to define the different aspects of Pi’s character development https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cU_FD8pdwo