Every time I’ve read the book – really, just about every time I’ve thought about it – I come to new realizations and appreciations. After much consideration and work at finding the emblems, I found it very difficult to condense my thoughts into a brief, united answer for HOW Yann Martel has created a literary piece of work. Therefore, I have multiple, separate thoughts organized by topic.
The first part of Life of Pi occurs in India, before the shipwreck that leaves the young boy stranded in the lifeboat. Martel’s handling of this section is masterful. In a very brief (though not rushed) amount of time, he introduces two themes that will prove eminently important: Religion, and Zookeeping/Animal Training. The theme of survival enters, and then becomes intertwined with the other two, after the shipwreck
STORYTELLING
How does it work? What makes it literary? What is ultimately most meaningful about Martel’s storytelling is that the book – the reader realizes at the end – was about storytelling the whole time. The title of this blog, A Dry, Yeastless Factuality, is derived from the book [also described on “Learning” page]. By the end of the book, which I will not spoil, it becomes evident that the Story (with a capital S, as Pi says).
Martel uses three different “encyclopedias of knowledge.” These “encyclopedias” function much like Calvino describes them in his “Multiplicity” memo. Religion, Zookeeping/Animal Training, and Survival, are all extensively a part of the book, and they are all addressed in an educational sense.
The magic of Martel’s storytelling becomes clear when the reader realizes that these three different encyclopedias of knowledge have becomes condensed into one profound theme: Trying to survive among animals while questioning God.
SYMBOLISM
Pi the mathematical expression (π) is an irrational number, conveniently shortened to 3.14. It also the name of the main character of the book. The character’s name – a reference to this concept – is itself an emblem of the adventure he undertakes, the story he tells about it, and the conclusions he draws form it. Religion is irrational, fiction is irrational, and even Pi’s love of God (not to be confused with Religion) is irrational.
Martel ends his book with exactly 100 chapters. His original paperback form was five pages too long to end at 314 – though I wouldn’t recommend taking any 5 pages out.
The image posted on this page – created by Tomislav Torjanac from the illustrated version of the book – is, I think, a great example of the emblematic nature of many of the novel’s scenes and themes. The image depicts three religious clerics (Catholic priest, Hindi pandit, and Muslim imam). In the book, Pi is attracted to all three religions for different reasons. Being young, he is surprised and overwhelmed by the reaction his practice of all three religions receives – even from his parents and these religious figures. The image is perfect for the imposing postures the men have, looking down on Pi. Martel uses Pi’s interactions with these men to represent the religions as a whole. with the obvious conclusion being that “they” can be pushy and intolerant, and that ultimately, spirituality is for each individual to define and find.
The image posted on this page – created by Tomislav Torjanac from the illustrated version of the book – is, I think, a great example of the emblematic nature of many of the novel’s scenes and themes. The image depicts three religious clerics (Catholic priest, Hindi pandit, and Muslim imam). In the book, Pi is attracted to all three religions for different reasons. Being young, he is surprised and overwhelmed by the reaction his practice of all three religions receives – even from his parents and these religious figures. The image is perfect for the imposing postures the men have, looking down on Pi. Martel uses Pi’s interactions with these men to represent the religions as a whole. with the obvious conclusion being that “they” can be pushy and intolerant, and that ultimately, spirituality is for each individual to define and find.
QUOTES
In this first quote, note the context of the bolded phrase, and the point at the very end. Pi sees life as a story and believes that (like fiction) it can be as interesting as you make it:
I can well imagine an atheist’s last words: “White, white! L-L-Love! My God!”—and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, “Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain,” and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story.
I know zoos are no longer in people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.