RICHARD PARKER!!! Sorry guys, my
girlfriend saw this movie a few weeks ago and yelled “Richard
Parker!” every time I mentioned that I was reading Life of Pi.
This book was about a boy, sixteen
year old Pi Patel, and his amazing adventure surviving on the ocean
for 227 days. Not only is this book a tale of adventure and danger on
the high seas, but it also has deeply introspective themes. These
themes make the reader seriously inspect his or her own ideas about
these themes. The two most prominent themes are Pi's feelings about
animals and his feelings about religion. Pi is a vegetarian and the
son of a zookeeper. He respects animals, enjoys them and cares for
them. One of the most poignant thoughts that Pi expresses throughout
the novel is that animals in zoos are not captives. Animals roam free
in the wild because they need to gather food, water and remain safe.
If animals are fed, watered, and safe, why wouldn't they be content
to stay in one spot? Humans aren't captive because they live in
houses, where they can obtain food, water, and safety. I found Pi's
thoughts very convincing. I had never thought of zoos that way. Of
course, the theory is only a theory, and only correct if the zoos
take proper care of the animals. However, I could stand behind this
theory until proven otherwise.
The other theme of Pi's that I found
even more poignant than the first is his views on religion. I won't
go into too much detail here, but I found his thoughts incredibly
open-minded and comforting. Pi is a boy who practices, not only his
native Hindu, but also Christianity and Islam. He quotes Gandhi at
one point, saying “All religions are true”. I found Pi's view on
religion unique and uplifting in a way.
Pi's take on life is also uplifting.
Stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker,
still Pi strives to live and survive. He knows the odds are against
him but he wants life nonetheless. Sometimes he succumbs to fear,
which “kills,” as he puts it, but often he works to live. He
abandons any practices that bar his survival, even his vegetarianism,
eating whatever he could to stay alive. His attitude gives the book
such an uplifting feel that the reader is actively invested in making
sure that Pi stays alive too.
The book is beautifully written. Some
of the descriptions were confusing. However, this was because they
were so detailed that it became hard to visualize the object without
having seen a photo of it. The only other confusing points of the
novel were to do with the formatting. There are certain chapters,
marked by italics, that are the author's, Yann Martel's, opinions
about Pi and his home while Pi is retelling his story. These chapters
could be confusing until the reader catches on to what they are. The
chapters were numerous and oddly cut apart. Some chapters were 20
pages while others were only one paragraph. The reader later learns
that Pi wanted his story told in 100 chapters, but it was still
confusing in trying to determine why a chapter stopped where it did.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book.
Not only full of adventure, the novel also gives the reader something
to think about. This is the type of novel that can spur deep
theological and social discussions in any setting. An amazing read,
and one I would recommend wholeheartedly.
5/5 Stars
