After reading the first 50 pages there has been a large focus of Pi’s interest in zoology. This has manifested in the courses he’s taken at university, the fact that he worked as a zookeeper as a child, but most importantly his own philosophical views of zoo animals. He views zoo animals just as free as if they were in the wild and that they are possibly even more advantaged. Pi compares the mentality of animals to the mentality of humans by asking, “Would you rather be put at the Ritz with free room service and unlimited access to a doctor or be homeless without a soul to care for you?” (23). This leads me to believe that Pi is also concerned with ethics and is thinking about what is right or wrong in life regarding humans and animals. The part when Mr. Kumar said he was an atheist and criticized religion calling it “darkness” made Pi feel uncomfortable as he viewed religion as “light”. At the same time he didn’t take what Mr. Kumar said for granted and even said that he ended up relating best to agnostics since they believe but have doubts. I think this reveals an important aspect of Pi’s character, showing that he’s overall pretty open-minded but he’s not a sightless believer, as he takes logical reasoning into consideration. Knowing that he’s going to be stuck on a boat with a tiger for a long period of time I think this attitude will be crucial.
So I started reading this book when I got home and something that the protagonist said grabbed my attention. "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity-it's envy." When I read this I was a little confused I understood his point of view yet I was confused of how death could envy life; when I continued reading was that I understood what he meant, life is so joyful and when someone is born there is joy and happiness yet when someone dies sadness takes over us. And I see why death might envy life since when death comes around no one want to welcome it but mostly everyone opens their arms to life. Because of this death feels "neglected" and that leads to the jealousy it feels for life. He gives life and death human feelings to try and get his point across to make it easier for the readers to understand things. To me, that was a great way of grabbing someone's attention and explaining things in a different way.
As I read the book yesterday, my sister asked me to read to her the back of the book; after reading the back of the book I realized that there might be a story between the lines of the book. In the back it says how Pi is stuck in the middle of the ocean with a big tiger in the lifeboat that he is in, in addition to the fact that he has to make the tiger more scared of him than how much scared he is of the tiger and to my sister and I, it seems that the tiger can symbolize a big decision that we might have to face in life and we are so lost in an ocean of thoughts and emotions that we can only hope that our "Tiger" is more afraid of us than how much we are afraid of it. When it comes to making big life changing decisions we sometimes get lost in "what if's..." and such that we end up afraid of actually making a decision, we might end up feeling like Pi -in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a big tiger for company that we fear a lot. The book is trying to let us know that we should face our fears, make the decisions on our own, to control our "Tiger" and let it know that we are the ones this "Tiger" should fear. Fearing this animal will make us vulnerable yet after we think about it a lot we can come to a good idea on how to defeat it and make the right decision.
Life of Pi isn't a book that I would usually read but there is something about this book that keeps me wanting to read more. In the book so far Pi has talked about how he grew up next to the zoo that his father owned and his passion for zoology. He also talks about how he went through something bad in his life that still affects him. In the book on page 7 he says " I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart" Pi still doesnt tell the reader who Richard Parker is but that Pi really misses him. Also in the book Pi talks about how people assume that animals need to be in the wild to be free but dont think about the consequenses. This got me thinking that I didnt think about this before but reading the book has made me realize that animals are better in zoos because they are protected from being preys to other animals and from starving and having to move from place to place to survive, without knowing when they will find food and if they will survive. At the zoo animals have no danger and have garanteed food and a place to call home. This book has me reading more trying to figure out what is that unspeakable thing that Pi still hasnt told the reader and who is this Richard peraon that has hurt Pi. So far I am enjoying this book.
In the book Pi has talked a little bit about how he was teased when he was younger he was teased by teachers and students by being called "pissing". He also talks about one of his teachers called Mr. Kumar who is atheist but also has a passion for the zoo. In the book on page 33 Pi talkes about how a rhino lived with goats and interacted with them with out problems. This shows that sometimes you dont have to be the same as everyone else to be able to fit in with them, you could be yourself and thats good enough. At the zoo one day Mr. Kumar and Pi have a conversation on page 34-35 and Kumar tells Pi that he doesnt believe in religion but in reason and facts. This suprised Pi and made me wonder what if religion is something made by people and science is really what created everything? I also believe that after reading what Pi said about Man being the biggest threat to animals in the zoo is true. Humans are the reasons that animals in the zoos are being harmed. Animals are suppose to be safe and protected, but why are they being harmed by the ones who they are trusting to protect them from harm? So far in the book Pis father told him and his brother not to go near the tigers cage. Based on what the father has told Pi and the cover of this book I think that the bad thing that happened to Pi has to do with the tiger. I am not sure yet of what it is but it has something to do with the tigers or a tiger. Also the lesson that the father taught Pi about the tiger killing and eating the goat and Pis fear of tigers could symbolize that Pi is going to have an encounter with a tiger that will be life threatning.
Based on Thursday lesson on social class lend. I decided to use these lens on what I've read so far. The main character of Life of Pi seems to be the one with all the power because of his educational experience one year in high school and four years in college and he double majored in religious studies and zoology. By reading the first 4 chapters I realized that someone without an education may envy his ability to get and do all that he has don't with his life. He had gotten sick and still never gave up and that's motivation to what you believe in. It also seems like he grew up around animals. And he carried on and had passion for animals. I honestly can't wait to get more into this book.
After reading the first 50 pages there has been a large focus of Pi’s interest in zoology. This has manifested in the courses he’s taken at university, the fact that he worked as a zookeeper as a child, but most importantly his own philosophical views of zoo animals. He views zoo animals just as free as if they were in the wild and that they are possibly even more advantaged.
ReplyDeletePi compares the mentality of animals to the mentality of humans by asking, “Would you rather be put at the Ritz with free room service and unlimited access to a doctor or be homeless without a soul to care for you?” (23). This leads me to believe that Pi is also concerned with ethics and is thinking about what is right or wrong in life regarding humans and animals. The part when Mr. Kumar said he was an atheist and criticized religion calling it “darkness” made Pi feel uncomfortable as he viewed religion as “light”. At the same time he didn’t take what Mr. Kumar said for granted and even said that he ended up relating best to agnostics since they believe but have doubts. I think this reveals an important aspect of Pi’s character, showing that he’s overall pretty open-minded but he’s not a sightless believer, as he takes logical reasoning into consideration. Knowing that he’s going to be stuck on a boat with a tiger for a long period of time I think this attitude will be crucial.
Great book!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think this book will be about?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSo I started reading this book when I got home and something that the protagonist said grabbed my attention. "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity-it's envy." When I read this I was a little confused I understood his point of view yet I was confused of how death could envy life; when I continued reading was that I understood what he meant, life is so joyful and when someone is born there is joy and happiness yet when someone dies sadness takes over us. And I see why death might envy life since when death comes around no one want to welcome it but mostly everyone opens their arms to life. Because of this death feels "neglected" and that leads to the jealousy it feels for life. He gives life and death human feelings to try and get his point across to make it easier for the readers to understand things. To me, that was a great way of grabbing someone's attention and explaining things in a different way.
ReplyDeleteAs I read the book yesterday, my sister asked me to read to her the back of the book; after reading the back of the book I realized that there might be a story between the lines of the book. In the back it says how Pi is stuck in the middle of the ocean with a big tiger in the lifeboat that he is in, in addition to the fact that he has to make the tiger more scared of him than how much scared he is of the tiger and to my sister and I, it seems that the tiger can symbolize a big decision that we might have to face in life and we are so lost in an ocean of thoughts and emotions that we can only hope that our "Tiger" is more afraid of us than how much we are afraid of it. When it comes to making big life changing decisions we sometimes get lost in "what if's..." and such that we end up afraid of actually making a decision, we might end up feeling like Pi -in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a big tiger for company that we fear a lot. The book is trying to let us know that we should face our fears, make the decisions on our own, to control our "Tiger" and let it know that we are the ones this "Tiger" should fear. Fearing this animal will make us vulnerable yet after we think about it a lot we can come to a good idea on how to defeat it and make the right decision.
ReplyDeleteLife of Pi isn't a book that I would usually read but there is something
ReplyDeleteabout this book that keeps me wanting to read more. In the book so far Pi has talked about how he grew up next to the zoo that his father owned and his passion for zoology. He also talks about how he went through something bad in his life that still affects him. In the book on page 7 he says " I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart" Pi still doesnt tell the reader who Richard Parker is but that Pi really misses him. Also in the book Pi talks about how people assume that animals need to be in the wild to be free but dont think about the consequenses. This got me thinking that I didnt think about this before but reading the book has made me realize that animals are better in zoos because they are protected from being preys to other animals and from starving and having to move from place to place to survive, without knowing when they will find food and if they will survive. At the zoo animals have no danger and have garanteed food and a place to call home. This book has me reading more trying to figure out what is that unspeakable thing that Pi still hasnt told the reader and who is this Richard peraon that has hurt Pi. So far I am enjoying this book.
In the book Pi has talked a little bit about how he was teased when he was younger he was teased by teachers and students by being called "pissing". He also talks about one of his teachers called Mr. Kumar who is atheist but also has a passion for the zoo. In the book on page 33 Pi talkes about how a rhino lived with goats and interacted with them with out problems. This shows that sometimes you dont have to be the same as everyone else to be able to fit in with them, you could be yourself and thats good enough. At the zoo one day Mr. Kumar and Pi have a conversation on page 34-35 and Kumar tells Pi that he doesnt believe in religion but in reason and facts. This suprised Pi and made me wonder what if religion is something made by people and science is really what created everything? I also believe that after reading what Pi said about Man being the biggest threat to animals in the zoo is true. Humans are the reasons that animals in the zoos are being harmed. Animals are suppose to be safe and protected, but why are they being harmed by the ones who they are trusting to protect them from harm? So far in the book Pis father told him and his brother not to go near the tigers cage. Based on what the father has told Pi and the cover of this book I think that the bad thing that happened to Pi has to do with the tiger. I am not sure yet of what it is but it has something to do with the tigers or a tiger. Also the lesson that the father taught Pi about the tiger killing and eating the goat and Pis fear of tigers could symbolize that Pi is going to have an encounter with a tiger that will be life threatning.
ReplyDeleteBased on Thursday lesson on social class lend. I decided to use these lens on what I've read so far. The main character of Life of Pi seems to be the one with all the power because of his educational experience one year in high school and four years in college and he double majored in religious studies and zoology. By reading the first 4 chapters I realized that someone without an education may envy his ability to get and do all that he has don't with his life. He had gotten sick and still never gave up and that's motivation to what you believe in. It also seems like he grew up around animals. And he carried on and had passion for animals. I honestly can't wait to get more into this book.
ReplyDelete