life of PI test
He believes that God doesn't need to be defended because he's God. he thinks that the the poor and those in need should be defended because they're the ones in trouble
*not on the test* Summarize Pi's criticism in chapter 25 of those who feel that they must defend God.
*opinionated* I agree with most of his arguments, and they are strong because he knows first hand how a zoo works and what the animals need. The weaknesses of his arguments are that he doesn't know about the conditions in which all zoo animals live, which might be worse than the zoo his dad owns.
Do you agree or disagree with his view on animals? What are the strengths of his arguments? What are their weaknesses?
*opinionated* No, because while Christianity is the way to Christ, other religions could say the same thing about their god.
Does Jesus's claim in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me," mean that exclusivism is correct?
*opinionated*
Does Pi's story help you to believe in God? If so, how so? If not, why not?
it does bias them to the second version of the story because of what they are looking for: a reasonable and believable story. all they wanted was for pi to give a realistic story to explain the sinking of the ship- that's all.
Does the information that Okamoto and Chiba seek bias them for or against one of Pi's versions of his story? How so?
Pi provided everything richard parker needed for survival (ex: pi got him water, food, etc.)
Earlier in the book, Pi says that if it weren't for Richard Parker, he wouldn't have survived. How is the opposite also true?
1 hour; anxiety
For how long did Pi sleep at most, even at night? Why did he have trouble sleeping?
From the drinking water cans in the locker
How did Pi first obtain water while on the lifeboat?
He shows him and his brother a tiger eating a goat alive
How did Pi's father teach him about the danger posed by tigers?
fought a shark (mako), and the shark bit his paw
How did Richard Parker injure himself?
They call him pissing
How do people make fun of the narrator's name?
he talks about faith as being a free act of love. he says that, but he also talks about how the boat is God's, the ocean is God's backyard... everything around him is in God's hand. he is choosing in that moment to commit to the Christian interpretation of who God is. he needs that comfort right now. so faith is a commitment and choice on how you see the world around you.
How does Pi explain that nature of faith in chapter 74?
he used real life discoveries that mr. okamoto & mr. chiba mentioned that sounded impossible had it not been proven (ex: bonsai tree). he almost mocked them.
How does Pi respond to their disbelief?
He understands God as an all-encompassing being who is manifested differently in every religion and who can be reached in many different ways. This is very different from what i've been taught because most of the Christians I've learned from have seen God as a ruler rather than a Father. *opinionated*
How does Pi understand God? In other words, who or what is God, according to Pi? Does this differ from how you, or how you have been taught to, understand God?
227 days
How long does Pi say he survived at sea?
tiger, hyena, zebra, orangutan
Identify the four animals that were trapped along with Pi on the lifeboat
*opinionated* Examples: fish liver, attempts to eat feces
In chapter 77, Pi mentions several unappetizing things that he comes to eat. Which of those things is the most disgusting to you?
the essence of the story is survival despite impossible surroundings, gaining new perspectives (pi was transformed), and fighting the worser inner parts of himself.
In the Author's Note, the author wonders whether fiction is "the selective transforming of reality, the twisting of it to bring out its essence." If this is so, what is the essence of Pi's story?
the cook, a sailor, pi, and pi's mother
In the second version of Pi's story, who survived the sinking of the ship and ended up on the lifeboat?
It's mainly a problem for Pi's teachers because they all believe that one can only practice one religion
Is the problem with Pi's practicing three religions a problem for him or for his teachers? In other words, is it a practical problem or a theoretical problem?
*opinionated* I've been taught that atheism does require faith, so this is the same as what I've been taught
Is this different from what you might think or have been taught to think about atheists?
two different ways of looking at life: theological interpretation of the world & a total scientific one. chapter 21- someone have a mystical experience of God, chapter 22- seeing the light is just neuron activity to them. the two ways of looking at the world represent the two ways you can interpret his story. those two chapters are the key to interpreting what is going on with the two versions of pi's stories.
Look back to Chapters 21-22. The author has said that these two chapters are at the core of the novel. Why do you think he said this?
The hyena killed the zebra, the hyena killed the orangutan, the tiger killed the hyena
Name one animal on the lifeboat that is a killer as well as the animal that it killed (there are multiple possible answers)
1st paragraph in chapter 74, talks about a storm during the night while pi was on the lifeboat
Pick one passage from these chapters in which the writing (diction, imagery, details, sentence structure, punctuation, figures of speech, allusions, etc.) is especially vivid or interesting. List the chapter, page number, and what the passage is about.
Once he saw virgin mary in the woods and another time he felt as if he was in heaven when he was standing by the sea
Summarize Pi's experiences of the presence of God in chapter 20.
Brahman is the impersonal god of hinduism and is the basis of the universe. It is in everything, including the force within humans, which is why we long to unite with God
Summarize Pi's explanation of Hinduism in chapter 16.
misconceptions: animals would be happier in the wild and that they are trapped in the zoo when in reality they are just provided for and understood in a zoo
Summarize the narrator's arguments (plural) about zoo animals.
People have mistaken assumptions about both animals and God
The narrator likens the "nonsense" he's heard about religion to the "nonsense" he's heard about zoos. What do you think he might mean by drawing such a parallel?
Canada
To where does Pi's family decide to move?
A really big tank boat
What almost ran over Pi and Richard Parker?
"no respecting God would get himself killed" He says that God became too human, brought himself too low, and was too selfish. He didn't understand how Christ could die for our sins, there weren't enough miracles, and Christianity is "rushed"
What are some of the ways that Pi criticizes, or at least questions, the Christian story in chapter 17?
He made a raft out of oars and lifejackets, tied it the the lifeboat, and drifted along at a safe distance
What creative solution did Pi come up with in order to protect himself from the other animals on the lifeboat?
Flying fish
What creature "attacked" (i.e., swarmed) Pi while he was adrift at sea?
meerkats
What creature does Pi discover on the island?
He talks about his recovery from something that left him very weak and dehydrated
What details or clues are there at the end of this chapter that the narrator has suffered?
a shield out of turtles' shells
What did Pi make to protect himself from Richard Parker?
he said that animals as seen through the eyes of humans; the way humans misunderstand animals (pi's dad is really talking about beliefs)
What did Pi's father say was the most dangerous animal in the zoo?
*opinionated* atheists definitely have a faith and worldview; it's just the opposite of ours. he can relate to the fact that they both have a worldview but not someone who is agnostic, without any faith.
What do you think Pi means when he says, "I felt a kinship with him [Mr. Kumar]. It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks of faith. Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them-and then they leap."
*opinionated* people see animals as how people think, behave, and feel; based on those faulty assumptions, they make mistakes when interacting with the animals. treating the animal like it is a person, it's a mistake, but a similar mistake in terms of zoology, is understanding God as a person
What do you think Pi means when he says, "The obsession with putting ourselves at the centre of everything is the bane not only of theologians but also of zoologists"?
He wouldn't like it because it defends God rather than defending those who are in need
What do you think Pi would think about Christian apologetics?
*opinionated* I understand that Pi wants to love God, but I think he is going about it in the wrong way.
What do you think about Pi's response to his religious teachers? More precisely, which of the following responses to the existence of multiple religions do you believe makes the most sense to you?Exclusivism: one religion is true; the rest are false. Inclusivism, Relativism, Pluralism, Perennialism, Atheism, Agnosticism
*opinionated*
What do you think about his explanation of faith? Is it similar to or different from your own understanding of faith or else what you've been taught about it?
*opinionated* He is saying that we should value art, emotion, and imagination even over reality. If we give up those things in favor of the hard facts, we don't live fully and we can't believe in anything.
What do you think the author means by the following, spoken at the end of his author's note just after the author expresses his gratitude for the Canada Council for the Arts: "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."
his words are just an interpretation of what happened at sea- the same way it is with everything when talking about a story. he can't recall or pay attention to absolutely everything, so what he says isn't always going to be the whole truth because he may not know it completely. his words are just an interpretation of what happened and what HE infers about it.
What does Pi mean when he says, "Isn't telling about something-using words, English or Japanese-already something of an invention? Isn't just looking upon this world already something of an invention"?
the japanese guys just want the facts about what happened, not a story. pi ends up talking to them and saying that there is no way to talk about the world without adding your own invention to the story. you have your own interpretations.
What does Pi mean when he says, "The world isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn't that make life a story?"
with God, there's no hiding the truth or opinions. if the first version is the better story, it goes with God and can't be undone. it relates to the first version of the story because the first version is also the more religious one. also, he can finally let go of it and everything that happened because he talked to people about it and let it be with God.
What does Pi mean when he says, just after asking Okamoto and Chiba, which of his two stories they prefer, "Thank you. And so it goes with God"?
he's talking about agnostics (not knowing if God exists); it irritates him because at least atheists have a faith that there is no God. he doesn't get how you can live in this world without it making sense to you or without a worldview.
What does he mean when he says, "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation"? What do you think about this comparison?
He says the story will make the man believe in God.
What does the Indian man whom the author meets claim about his extraordinary story?
type of art that reminds people that their lives are temporary & not forever so don't take advantage of the time you have- refers to his whole life as a "memento mori" (remember death) because he almost died
What does the author mean when he calls his life a memento mori painting from European art? What does "memento mori" mean? Why is the memento mori genre important or meaningful?
"we want a story without animals that will explain the sinking of the tsimtsum"- they want a believable story as to why the ship sank without animals or any other crazy faith stuff.
What information do Okamoto and Chiba really want from Pi?
the belief that there is no higher power at all; still a worldview, just a worldview that believes in nothing; lack of belief in a God, gods, or religion
What is "atheism"?
a rag he soaks in sea water and then puts on his face when he sleeps (gives him weird dreams and helps him pass the time)
What is Pi's "dream rag"?
"reason is excellent for getting food, clothing, and shelter. nothing beats reason for keeping the tigers away. be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater." - if you are excessively reasonable, you lose the sense to have faith, believe in, or discover things that could be considered impossible.
What is Pi's criticism of being "excessively reasonable"?
His mother argues that there is only "nation in the sky" and that he can have only "one passport," meaning he can only practice one religion (Pi says that you can have multiple religions just like you can have multiple passports)
What is Pi's passport analogy in chapter 26?
He quotes Ghandi and says that he just wants to love God
What is Pi's response to his Hindu, Christian, and Muslim teachers' arguments that he can't practice all three religions at once?
He says that religion is darkness
What is Pi's teacher's opinion of religion?
Religion in India whose followers wear turbans and commonly have the last name Singh
What is a Sikh?
He is surprised by the way prayer interrupts the islam days and is of utmost importance, as well as the islamic brotherhood and love
What is appealing to Pi about Islam in chapters 18 and 19?
The love of Jesus, his humanity, and his sacrifice
What is it about Christianity that appealed to or attracted Pi?
He grabs his feces
What is one (disgusting) way that Pi asserts his dominance over Richard Parker?
It turns acidic at night & there are teeth stuck in random spots
What is strange about the island that Pi discovers?
Humans; yes, because he describes how many of the visitors unintentionally harm the animals by feeding them harmful objects
What is the most dangerous animal in the zoo, according to Pi? Why? Is there any truth to this statement?
The point of chapter 21 is to show how talking and listening to pi impacts yann martel and opens his mind (also demonstrates how faith is important.) the point of chapter 22 is to show how an emotion-filled and religion-filled life is better than a life of reason
What is the point of chapter 21? What is the point of chapter 22?
the purpose: to explain how pi's interviewers got there and their long journey included because: to help explain the tiredness from their long journey that they experienced & to better understand their characters and why they are like the way they are
What is the purpose of chapter 95? In other words, why do you think the author included it in the story?
That they are trapped
What misconception about the life of zoo animals does the narrator correct?
A prayer rug and to be baptized
What two things does Pi tell his father he would like?
it was for a book that he could read to cure his boredom
What was Pi's greatest wish, other than salvation, while he was at sea?
zookeeper
What was his father's job?
An olympic swimming pool
What was the narrator named after?
Zoology and religious studies
What were the narrator's majors in college?
Mexico
Where in the world (which country) did Pi land when he finally reached actual land?
The tiger, the orangutan
Which animal got sea sick? (There are multiple answers)
the zebra
Which animal on the lifeboat had a broken leg?
turtle blood
Which animal's blood did Pi drink?
cook- hyena, pi- richard parker, sailor- zebra, pi's mom- orangutan
Which animal, from Pi's original story, do each of the human survivors in his second story represent?
a whale
Which large sea animal did Pi see close up?
*opinionated* obviously the second story is plausible because its humans doing what they would most likely do in that situation, but the first is also plausible because they were holding animals on the ship. pi was smart and knew how to handle them because he grew up in a zoo. it made sense that he would know how to handle the animals.
Which of Pi's stories do you find the most plausible? Why?
*opinionated*
Which of Pi's stories do you like the best? Why?
Muslim, Hindu, Christianity
Which three religions does Pi practice?
mr. okamoto is with the maritime department in the japanese ministry of transport, and mr. chiba is his junior colleague. their job is to find out more about the sinking of the ship.
Who are Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba (what is their job)?
Agnostics irritate Pi because they don't have faith in anything
Who irritates Pi? Why?
A female orangutan from the Pondicherry Zoo
Who or what is Orange Juice?
The father of kabbalism. Kabbalism is mysticism in relation to Judaism.
Who was Isaac Luria? And what is Kabbalism?
Muhammed was the founder of Islam. He compares himself to Muhammed because he felt persecuted as well.
Who was Muhammed? How does Pi liken himself to Muhammed?
Mr. Kumar
Who was Pi's favorite teacher?
Richard Parker
Whom did Pi save when the ship sank?
He credits Richard Parker (he provided Pi with company, something for him to do, and a will to live)
Whom does Pi credit for his survival while on the lifeboat?
Because he was drawn to the human Jesus and the love that is shown throughout the Christian story
Why did Pi become a Christian?
He wanted to explore and connect with the God of islam
Why did Pi become a Muslim?
He said it was because its calm demeanor did something to soothe his shattered self. He compares sloths to upside-down yogies deep in meditation or hermits deep in prayer
Why did he write a thesis about the sloth? What kind of people does he compare sloths to?
to be inspired to write
Why did the author, Yann Martel, go to India?
It's a very miraculous story & it's quite obvious that a survival story like that could only happen by the grace of God, & the story just doesn't really (scientifically) make sense unless you have faith in God
Why do you think that the Indian man mentioned in the Author's Note at the very beginning of the story told the author that Pi's story ..."will make you believe in God"?
basically showed how hard life on the lifeboat was and how awful things were while he was out on the sea
Why do you think that the author wrote chapter 77? (chapter that talks about all the horrible things he had to eat)
To him the universe makes sense through hindu eyes, and he was born into it
Why does Pi practice Hinduism?
Because he had polio and prayers didn't cure him, medicine did
Why does Pi's teacher have a negative view of religion?
they find it highly unbelievable, unrealistic, and scientifically impossible.
Why don't Okamoto and Chiba believe Pi's story?
The french man tries to eat pi & then richard parker ends up eating the french man
Why is Pi's encounter with this person strange?
Pi
With what name does the narrator rechristen himself?
They name themselves after greek letters
With what name does the narrator rechristen himself?
A blind french man
With whom does Pi have a conversation in chapter 90?
