Sangam Reflective Journal - Copy
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Herzing University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
251
Subject
English
Date
Nov 24, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by DeaconVulturePerson888
Life of Pi
1.) Write down a
passage that reflects a major theme
of the novel. Explain how this quote illustrates the theme. Explain how this quote is important or significant for the book. What do you think of this message from the author? Do you agree or disagree with this message? Explain why. Does it make more of an impact on your understanding of the book? How does it make a personal impact on you?
“You may be astonished that in such a short period of time I could go from weeping over the
muffled killing of a flying fish to gleefully bludgeoning to death a Dorado. I could explain it
by arguing that profiting from a pitiful flying fish’s navigational mistake made me shy and
sorrowful, while the excitement of actively capturing a great Dorado made me sanguinary and
self-assured. But in point of fact the explanation lies elsewhere. It is simple and brutal: a
person can get used to anything, even to killing.”
This passage from the novel serves as an example of the concept of the desire to live. Pi was a vegetarian, but he had to make a choice when there was no sustainable food for him to eat aboard
the boat. To live, would Pi kill and eat a fish for the first time, or could he starve to death? He killed the fish and consumed it in an attempt to survive. Pi was left with no option but to attempt to live another day, even if it meant changing a major aspect of his existence. This lesson is powerful when read in the larger context of the novel. Pi chose to stand up and attempt to see through a situation when the odds were stacked against him, instead of giving up and dying at the
hands of the weather or animals. I found this message to be very powerful. It is possible to apply this lesson to everyday life. We always have a choice in what to do when things become hard. Either we may discover a way out of it, or we can face it head-on and do our best.
2.) How is the author using the plot to illustrate the theme? What events or conflicts are happening that highlight the author's message? Write about another book or movie that has a similar theme. Discuss the similarities and differences. Make sure to include at least one quote from the book.
When Pi finds himself trapped on a big lifeboat with wild creatures in the midst of a disaster, the story highlights the topic of the desire to live and overcome in an extreme situation. Having to decide what to do in a lifeboat while surrounded by many predators serves as a conflict to emphasise this issue. Pi had to decide whether to attempt and kill them, swim away and probably
perish in the water, or remain on the lifeboat and find a means to escape being devoured. Without any means of knowing what was to come next, Pi decided to remain aboard the boat, and he persevered through the most improbable of circumstances. "You've got the wrong fellow," I comment after taking a look at it. I lack faith in death, even if you may not. Proceed now! A film with comparable parallels is one that is based on real-life incidents. The film "127 Hours" tells the story of Aron Ralston, a solo rock climber who falls and gets his arm trapped between a boulder and the rock wall. Both tales centre on people who, after an accident, find themselves on their own and have to make a life-or-death decision. Aron Ralston had to make the momentous decision to amputate his own arm in order to flee the boulder and attempt to return to civilization, while Pi had to decide whether to remain on the boat and finally discover land.
3.) Choose a character who is starting to change or changed and explain how they changed and what purpose this serves in the novel. How do these changes reflect a theme in the novel? Do you think the changes the character is making are plausible or realistic (could/would actually
happen in real life)? Why/Why not? Make sure to include at least one quote from the book. How do you relate to the changes personally?
Pi altered as a result of his current situation. Pi, a lifelong vegetarian, has to figure out how to avoid starvation when stranded on a boat without any means of sustaining his diet over time. In an effort to survive, he decides to kill and consume a fish; this choice demonstrates Pi's desire to live by allowing him to alter a crucial aspect of his existence. Since Pi would have no other option but to slaughter an animal for sustenance in an attempt to survive, this transformation he goes through in the novel seems believable. “I had to be the first to survive.” The modification may be extended to my personal life, where I make little adjustments when things don't go as planned—though not to the same degree that Pi did when he broke his lifelong diet.
4.) Think about one of the character's actions or reactions to a situation in the book that struck you. Why did this character's actions impact you or make you think? How was this important to the plot? Do you think it was the appropriate course of action? Would you have done the same? Why/Why not? Make sure to include at least one quote from the book.
When confronted by the hyena that is stranded on the lifeboat, Orange Juice, the orangutan, who was previously a calm and placid animal, becomes angry. Despite not being a human, Orange Juice chooses to show compassion by intervening when the hyena kills the zebra, finally going up against it and battling to the end when the hyena kills Orange Juice as a result of the altercation. I had no idea that an animal that I consider to be a beast could be both so composed and empathetic in the face of misfortune. Pi's perspective on animals is broadened by Orange Juice's passing. Pi saw an orangutan, whom he had previously assumed to be purely human, expressing emotions in response to the death. Juice from oranges Pi finds it more difficult to move on from it since she saw the conflict directly. If there had been a human-on-human assault,
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
I would have attempted to intervene, but if these animals had begun fighting, there really wouldn't have been much I could have done.The tools I used to fight the hyena. It gave me a raised gaze. It had a crimson mouth. Adjacent to the lifeless zebra, orange juice was lying.