https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u Brianna Barry en-us 2019-03-19 12:24:48 UTC 2024-06-19 06:44:41 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Balance.png brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/342873477 Yann Martel's novel The Life of Pi tells the extraordinary story of a man and his journey on the Pacific Ocean with only the company of 4 zoo animals, one being a Royal Bengal tiger. Martel's novel focuses around the aspects of Pi's extreme love and devotion to God and the lengths he takes to follow Him. This is where religion becomes the first major theme of the novel. While facing the rough ocean waters, Pi finds himself in a desperate situation of survival. Not only is he serving foreign waters, but also the dangerous animals aboard his lifeboat. This novel combines the themes of religion and survival into one heart wrenching story.  ]]> 2019-03-19 14:18:50 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/342873477 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/343048004 2019-03-19 19:10:36 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/343048004 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344309886  “But religion is more than rite and ritual. There is what the rite and ritual stand for (Martel 48).” 

Throughout Pi’s childhood he faced many struggles finding what religion he believes in. Pi spent a lot of time in the religion community, eventually practicing three religions: Hindu, Christianity, and Muslim. Leading up to this quote, Pi is speaking of how strong his Hindu faith is and the desire he feels from it. He mentions how he hungered for the offerings and flames in the sanctuary of the Hindus. He continues with this quote that symbolizes how he could be able to practice three religions. By saying, “There is what the rite and ritual stand for,” Pi reveals how he only cares about the feelings of peace and harmony that are derived from prayer. Pi is stating that the different rituals associated with every religion aren't important, it’s all about love for God and prayer towards Him.

]]> 2019-03-22 17:02:14 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344309886 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310013  “The feeling, a paradoxial mix of pulsing energy and profound peace, was intense and blissful. Whereas before the road, the sea, the trees, the air, the sun all spoke differently to me, now they spoke one language of unity. 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 (Martel 62).”

In this quote we see Pi describing the overwhelming feeling of pure blissfulness after being filled with religion. Pi shows how deep his connection to God was and how much he adored and cared for Him. Pi even went as far as to practice three completely different religions just to become closer to God. Every religion made him feel a deeper connection to God, and showed him a different way of professing his love to God. As Pi became more affiliated with the religions, he describes how his view of the world completely changed. He described the world as living in harmony and every element coming together. Pi was proving that religions can coexist and be better together than apart. 

]]> 2019-03-22 17:02:33 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310013 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310135 “I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life (Martel 161).” 

Pi has to learn how to fight against being crippled by fear. His journey for survival led him to many miseries and obstacles that made his experience so much harder. Pi faced many things to be afraid of-treacherous waters, sharks, and a deadly tiger, to name just a few. Pi was also suffering from his isolation and found life to  be meaningless. In this quote Pi reveals how his fear tore into his life and became deadly. He learned that fear will consume you until you feel like you can’t move on. This quote reflects Pi’s fight for life and how he defeated the odds to put his fear aside and survive. 

]]> 2019-03-22 17:02:50 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310135 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310411 “I was giving up. I would have given up- if a voice hadn’t made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, ‘It will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into a routine. The amazing will be seen everyday. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen’ (Martel 148).”

This quote reveals the powerful theme of survival in the novel. This scene also compares survival with faith. Throughout his journey in the Pacific Pi mentions several occasions where he felt like he could keeping surviving because of his faith. Pi’s faith life gave him hope in being rescued and became the anchor in keeping him alive. In the quote Pi says “Now I will turn miracle into a routine,” which shows how his prayer life became a part of his everyday life while on the lifeboat. Pi believed that he had only survived because of God, making him see the true power of religion. This quote accurately depicts Pi’s strong feelings for God and how he used God’s love as a way to sustain himself during the challenging times on the water. 

]]> 2019-03-22 17:03:32 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310411 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310520 “I’ll tell you, that’s one thing I hate about my nickname, the way that numbers run on forever. It’s important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go (Martel 285).”

Another major struggle Pi had to face was the overwhelming feeling of remorse for his family. Pi was never able to see his family during the sinking of the ship and was never able to tell them goodbye. He felt so much pain for their deaths and was so hurt that he couldn’t help them. This quote was revealed by Pi at the end of the novel, right after he found land in Mexico. The quote symbolizes how he had learned to try and replace his pain and move on. Pi also felt remorse for Richard Parker the tiger. This quote also symbolizes Pi’s final goodbye with the tiger who accompanied him on the lifeboat, and how Pi’s developing relationship with the tiger brought him agony when the tiger was gone. Pi knew he could not change the past and stated how important it was to “conclude things properly.” On Pi’s journey of survival, he became aware of how to let go and grow from his heartbreak.

]]> 2019-03-22 17:03:46 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310520 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310620  “I looked at him, full of fearfull wonder…. It was at that moment I realized this necessity. It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me. We were literally and figuratively, in the same boat. We would live-or we would die-together (Martel 164).”

Upon the many struggles Pi faced during his time on the waters of the Pacific one of his main concerns was his only companion, A Bengal Royal tiger. Not only did he have to learn how to maintain surviving off limited resources, but he also had to find a way to avoid being attacked by dangerous zoo animal. Earlier in the novel Pi’s father showed Pi how menacing this tiger is and the lesson to never touch a tiger. His father did this by making him watch a goat be put in the cage with the tiger. This lesson stuck with Pi, making his fear grow intensely once he became stuck in very close quarters with the same tiger. This tiger, who was known as Richard Parker, was one of Pi’s greatest fears who Pi had to learn how to survive with. This quote symbolizes one of the greatest messages about finding a way to defeat fear and overcome your challenges. 

]]> 2019-03-22 17:04:00 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310620 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310729 “‘Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God’ (Martel 69).” 

Pi’s growing passion for religion leads him to become highly involved in the religious community. This involvement lead to some controversy from others on his multiple practices. This quote portrays Pi’s feelings after being told he can only practice one religion. Pi doesn't see any difference in religion, all he wants to do is praise God. Being able to practice religion plays an important part in Pi’s life and has helped him through many obstacles, especially while in isolation on waters. Pi’s devotion to religion leads him to grow and trust in a universal God and stay true to his faith. 

]]> 2019-03-22 17:04:14 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/344310729 brianna_barry https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/345024026 2019-03-25 21:16:43 UTC https://padlet.com/brianna_barry/zphu0fdurm1u/wish/345024026