Life of Pi by Yann Martel “A story to make you believe in the soul- sustaining power of fiction”. - Los Angles Times Book Review - Los Angles Times Book Review

Introduction ~ Author  Yann Martel –Born June 25, 1963 in Salamanca, Spain –Canadian  Travelled in Iran, Turkey and India  Studying philosophy at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario,  Started writing at age 27  To write Life of Pi… –Six months spent in India visiting mosques, temples, churches and zoos –An entire year reading religious texts and castaway stories –Actual writing: two more years

“I have a story that will make you believe in God.”

Introduction ~ The Book  First published by Knopf Canada in September 2001  Won: –Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 –Boeke Prize, a South African book prize, in 2003  A film adaptation in 2011

Story Overview  The protagonist Piscine ("Pi") Molitor Patel  An Indian boy from Pondicherry  Exploring the issues of religion and spirituality from an early age  His survival story: 227 days shipwrecked with a tiger in the Pacific Ocean

“If we citizens do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams.”

Characters  Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi)  Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) –The protagonist of the story –The narrator for most of the novel –His account of his seven months at sea –His unusual name from the French word for pool –A pool in Paris in which a close family friend, Francis Adirubasamy, loved to swim –A student of zoology and religion –Deeply intrigued by the habits and characteristics of animals and people

Characters  Richard Parker  Richard Parker –The Royal Bengal tiger sharing a lifeboat with Pi –His captor, Richard Parker, named him Thirsty –A shipping clerk reversed their names –From the Pondicherry Zoo –Weighing 450 pounds and about nine feet long –Kills the hyena on the lifeboat and the blind cannibal –Acts as an omega, or submissive, animal respecting Pi’s dominance

Characters  The Author  The Author –The narrator of the (fictitious) Author’s Note –Inserting himself into the narrative at several points throughout the text –Never identified by name –Yann Martel  He lives in Canada  Published two books  Inspired to write Pi’s life story during a trip to India

“But religion is more than rite and ritual. There is what the rite and ritual stand for.”

Characters  Francis Adirubasamy  Francis Adirubasamy –The elderly man –Telling the author Pi’s story during a meeting in a Pondicherry coffee shop –Taught Pi to swim –Bestowed upon him his unusual moniker –Arranges for the author to meet Pi –Pi calls him Mamaji (Indian: respected uncle)

Characters  Ravi  Ravi –Pi’s older brother –Teases his younger brother mercilessly over his devotion to three religions  Santosh Patel  Santosh Patel –Pi’s father –Runs the Pondicherry Zoo –A worrier by nature –Teaching his sons not only to care for and control wild animals, but to fear them –Decided to move his family to Canada  Gita Patel  Gita Patel –Pi’s beloved mother and protector –A book lover –Encouraging Pi to read widely –Speaking her mind –Taking the place of Orange Juice on the lifeboat (in Pi’s another version of his story to his rescuers)

“Tree took account of road, which was aware of air, which was mindful of sea, which shared things with sun. Every element lived in harmonious relation with its neighbour, and all was kith and kin.”

Characters  Satish Kumar –Pi’s biology teacher at a secondary school in Pondicherry –A polio survivor –Odd-looking man, with a body shaped like a triangle –Devotion to the power of scientific inquiry and explanation –Inspiring Pi to study zoology in college  Father Martin  Father Martin –The Catholic priest –Introducing Pi to Christianity –Preaching a message of love –Disagrees about whose religion Pi should practice

Characters  Satish Kumar  Satish Kumar –A plain-featured Muslim mystic –With the same name as Pi’s biology teacher –Working in a bakery –A strong effect on Pi’s academic plans  His faith leads Pi to study religion at college  The Hindu Pandit  The Hindu Pandit –One of three important religious figures –Outraged when Pi begins practicing other religions –Quieted by Pi’s declaration that he just wants to love God

“I felt like a small circle coinciding with the center of a larger one.”

Characters  The Hyena  The Hyena –Ugly and intensely violent –Controlling the lifeboat before Richard Parker emerges  The Zebra  The Zebra –A beautiful male Grant’s zebra –His leg broken jumping into the lifeboat –Tormented by the hyena and eaten alive  Orange Juice  Orange Juice –Maternal orangutan –Floating to the lifeboat on a raft of bananas –Suffering from almost humanlike bouts of loneliness and seasickness –Fighting back valiantly when attacked by the hyena –Killed and decapitated

Characters  The Blind Frenchman  The Blind Frenchman –A fellow castaway –Meeting Pi by chance in the middle of the ocean –Driven by hunger and desperation –Trying to kill and cannibalize Pi –Richard Parker kills him first  Meena Patel  Meena Patel –Pi’s wife  Nikhil Patel (Nick)  Nikhil Patel (Nick) –Pi’s son  Usha Patel  Usha Patel –Pi’s young daughter –Shy but very close to her father

“The presence of God is the finest of rewards.”

Characters  Tomohiro Okamoto  Tomohiro Okamoto –An official from the Maritime Department of the Japanese Ministry of Transport –Investigating the sinking of the Japanese Tsimtsum –Interviews Pi for three hours –Highly skeptical of Pi’s first account of the shipwreck  Atsuro Chiba  Atsuro Chiba –Okamoto’s assistant –More naïve and trusting of the two Japanese officials –His inexperience at conducting interviews –Agrees with Pi that the version of his ordeal with animals is the better than the one with people

“Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to see you Richard Parker!”

Characters  The Cook  The Cook –The human counterpart to the hyena in Pi’s second story –Rude and violent and hoards food on the lifeboat –Kills the sailor and Pi’s mother –Pi stabs him and he dies  The Sailor  The Sailor –The human counterpart to the zebra in Pi’s second story –Young, beautiful, and exotic –Speaks only Chinese –Very sad and lonely in the lifeboat –His leg broken and infected after jumping off the ship –His leg cut off by the cook –Dies slowly

Organization of the Book  Three parts: –First section: an adult Pi Patel’s rumination over his childhood –Second section: a blend of a detailed and realistic survival memoir and a fantastic allegory in a medieval style –Last section:  The report to the Japanese government  A choice to actually choose the story version the readers prefer 

“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.”