PART TWO

LIFE OF PI

21 June 1977

Left Madras

Tsimtsum

Exploration of the ship (Ravi)

Care of the animals (Pi)

Pi hears loud bang

Explores

Thrown off the ship

Survives on lifeboat

PHASE ONE: Early Journey to Midway to Midway

The importance of the name Tsimtsum

The word “tsimtsum” (or tzimtzum) • idea from the Jewish Kabbalah teachings of Isaac Luria, a rabbi and

mystic who is mentioned elsewhere in Life of Pi. • The concept of tzimtzum says that God withdrew or contracted his

infinite light in order to create the universe. This purposeful concealment left “empty space” for the cosmos and free will.

• The ship’s sinking can then be compared to God withdrawing, leaving Pi alone to become an independent person with a strong faith. Pi is exiled from his loved ones and also experiences a religious abandonment, as God allows him to undergo such suffering, but tzimtzum implies that such experiences are necessary to grow in faith and independence.

PHASE ONE: AT SEA

Richard Parker’s swimming to the

lifeboat

Companions

Zebra, hyena, Richard Parker

Living on the oar to avoid Richard Parker

Dangers: Richard Parker/ Prowling

sharks

The arrival of the orang-utan (Orange

Juice)

Bananas + spiders, net

Hyena’s dominance

Eats Zebra alive

Kills Orange Juice

NOTE: IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THE PARALLEL INTERPRETATION OF THESE EVENTS!

PHASE TWO: SURVIVING WITH RICHARD PARKER

Richard Parker’s name

(note other allusions)

Thirst- how to find water

Finding the survival kit and rations

Realisation:

Cannot fight Richard Parker, live with him, tame him

The building of the raft

(oars and life jackets)

The taming of Richard Parker:

Whistle and rocking the boat

Shield

Feeding Richard Parker –sharing the food

NOTE: IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THE PARALLEL INTERPRETATION OF THESE EVENTS!

PHASE THREE: OTHER INCIDENTS

The stormDream sleep -hallucinations

Mother’s birthday

The ship/ failed flare

Dolphins and whales

The message in the bottle

Blindness

Meeting the other castaway

The magical meat eating

island

THE ALGAE ISLAND• The island acts as a religious symbol for Pi’s spiritual journey. In one sense it

represents an easy, shallow kind of faith – it seems stable at first and promises worldly

delights of food and comfort, but it has a treacherous underbelly.

• In another sense the island is a kind of “Garden of Eden,” a place where Pi loses his

innocence (whatever he had left after experiencing so much horror). The island seems

like an Edenic paradise at first, where the meerkats are tame and peaceful, but upon

discovering the “Forbidden Fruit” of the teeth-tree, Pi gains knowledge of the evil the

island is capable of. He leaves the place of his own accord, both rejecting an easy,

treacherous faith and refusing to live in a spoiled paradise.

• The island also reinforces the cannibalism theme

Survival tools

Oars / lifejackets, rations/ survival guide

Sea – cow

(water still)

Net/

gaff

Whistle

Turtle shells

The dream cloth, diary

Belief in God

THEMES

Survival, resilience, Man against Nature

Belief, faith in GodThe scientific

wonderCannibalism

Storytelling Ritual Hunger and thirstThe creation of a

world view, construct of reality

Anthropomorphism

Survival techniques

Belief in God/ reference to spiritual

dimension

Keeping busy

DiaryTraining Richard Parker

Constructs alternative reality

At Sea, survival instinct

• Shock , acting from impulse to stay alive

Fear/

Grief

• Surviving alone

• Hyena and Richard Parker

• Death of Orangutan, his family

Desperation,

Acknowledgement of death

Creativity

• How to survive?

• How to reconcile the terrible things he is doing

Dependency on God, spiritual acceptance

• Basis of his existence

EMOTIONAL VACILLATIONS

FORESHADOWING IN THE NOVEL

The animal background

The love of science

Religion/ love of God

Pi’s character, personality traits

Spiritual

• Embracing all three beliefs

• Reliance of God in desperate situations

• Construct through which he sees the world

Intelligent

Resourceful

Curious

• Resourceful : ability to adapt to changing circumstances, use what is at hand

• Fishing

• Able to create a construct of mind to survive

• Changing his name

Resilient / Headstrong

• Bounces back when he is filled with despondency

• Changing his name

Courageous

• Faces all circumstances fully

• Prepared to tackle Richard Parker

Optimistic

• Bounces back after each setback

• Believes he will be rescued/ survive

• Looks for solutions

• Reconciles what he is doing so he can live with himself

Sensitive

• Vegetarian• Religious inclinations• Care of animals

SYMBOLS IN THE NOVEL

Symbols

Pi

3.14 Colours

Orange – hope, survival

/ Green Islam

TsimtsumThe animals

Algae Island