Life of Pi
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What's the idea behind the island?
message 151:
by
Robg8888
(new)
Nov 28, 2012 05:51AM
I believe the message is to have faith in whatever God you believe in, and in the end, we are no bigger or important than all of the other animals living on Earth. The tiger being named Richard Parker is what tells me it represented a person.....as in, a person on the boat. The moments where Pi is acting animalistic in training RP, is to demonstrate that at our core, we are animals too, and will do what we need to survive. The island represented something that can be helpful in a small amount, but deadly if overused. Perhaps that is work, drugs, alcohol, etc. Richard Parker walking off into the jungle without looking back is because "why would Pi look back at himself?" He was crying because of what he was leaving behind on that trip. Richard Parker was leaving his mind at that moment. The interviewer at the end seemed to offer some things that would legitimize why we could then conclude the 2nd story was true, and that is the story about the monkey, his mother, reaching his boat after the ship went down. Monkeys cant swim AT ALL, and are deathly afraid of water, so that would be very hard to believe. The father tried teaching Pi "they are not like us" when talking about the tiger. In the end, Pi was like the tiger.
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Sarah wrote: "I found that I liked Life of Pi as a story and I feel like I understood some of the symbolism used, but I became angry at the end when we learn this adventure/horror might not be true. I felt lik..."Quite frustrating... I wouldn't wanna be you. The whole idea is elaborated son in the end you get smashed with the truth. I think the most interesting moment in the book, by far the center of it all was when he told the two investigators: "So you didn't like THIS story? Well, how about this other one!". It's a catch. Now, after reading it, I can't imagine a "life o Pi" without the end story.
How about this: I think the island is actually the glimpse in the very tale: In the light of day (in the first story Pi told the two investigators), the things were quite captivating, bright, populated with mindless creatures, etc, while in the dark of night (the bare truth, the second story), the things were actually cruel, dismantling the sweet reality one chooses to accept. So Pi inserts the island in order to warn us: beware, there is another truth, more hideous, crueler and a lot more meaningful.
ok so Im re reading (excuse my lack of punctuation) the book, and I came across something I hadnt noticed before! when the writer is at Pi's house looking at all his photos, he came across the one "mostly of schoolchildren" and Pi says "ah that's Richard Parker." ahhhh! did anyone else catch that?! I too wanted to believe the first "story" but after reading it again its obvious the second part is the real part :(( also i forget the chapter but Pi says every being has to have some form of "madness" to cope with realities or else no one would survive. so my mind is made up! cannot wait to watch the movie today!!
I saw the island as a temptation. He could have stayed there instead of going on with his journey. But instead he choose to continue on back to the real world. Interestingly the tiger, whether he's real or just a part of Pi's inner self, made this decision easily.
I think the true story is the second one. But as religion the first one is nicely to believe because is easier to survive that way. The island takes at night all the goods it gives at day... There's is a religious symbolism there but I also see that when you are facing a bad situation keeping you busy with things at day makes you go thought it but nights are terrible because you are alone with your thoughts. That's why fresh water turns to acid by night...
Pi and Richard Parker (His divine inner-strength) are dying. The island is death. Death is inviting and it appears to be good, but as Pi surrenders to the island, he becomes more aware of the consequences of staying there. It is permanent. He has a change of heart & sees that it is not as good as he hoped & he doesn't want death to swallow him. He chooses to continue to struggle in the journey (life) in hopes of something ultimately better... maybe a Christian might see it as spiritual rebirth. I think of it as a narrow escape from a physical death and a choice to continue his Earthly life, hardships and all. But I believe the touch with death (the island) is what strengthens him and his spirit (Richard Parker) to press forward.
Jane wrote: "Pi and Richard Parker (His divine inner-strength) are dying. The island is death. Death is inviting and it appears to be good, but as Pi surrenders to the island, he becomes more aware of the con..."Splendid!
I've read this book twice, and I liked the second reading the best. Here's my perception about the significance of the island. Pi and Richard Parker were nearly dead when they came upon the island. The island gave them water and sustenance to continue the journey and make it to Mexico. Going along with the theme of faith/belief, then I think the island was God providing a means for them to live until reaching land. A way of showing that, even when all seems lost, God will provide and carry us through. Just a thought.
Kim (message 31). I think that the ordeal caused Pi to lose all sense of the measure and passage of time. Was it really 24 hours later or did it just seem that way to the reader?
Brenda wrote: "Did anyone think Richard Parker was God? Even Pi can not know for certain if God exists. Then when he comes to the island and is about to die he chooses the "leap of faith" and he survives and Rich..."Brenda,
I did consider RP as God. Pi said it was his love & fear of the tiger that gave him a will to survive. But I think more accurately, RP was Pi's faith in God. In a way, Pi's instinct to survive could be God if you believe God's spirit lives within us. RP left him and so did his faith, and he mourned his loss.
I dont know if anyone noticed... the whole movie the protagonist talks about belief in vishnu, allah and christ... and when he thought he was about to die with richard parker he finds himself in a mangrove forest.. he finds just enough materials and clear water to survive.... later when he leaves the island and they show the island from a side view... the island depicted a sleeping form of Lord Vishnu himself... God helped the protagonist in the form of a forest where he could find some comfort temporarily before he heads back into the seas... later on towards the end he says that forest never existed or something....
Vineeth wrote: "I dont know if anyone noticed... the whole movie the protagonist talks about belief in vishnu, allah and christ... and when he thought he was about to die with richard parker he finds himself in a ..."Yeah, but the sleeping form of Lord Vishnu is the filmmaker's idea added, so not necessarily Martel's vision.
Dina wrote: "I heard Yann Martel talk about this book at a lecture for One Book AZ a few years ago. Someone asked him about the island...and he said that he put the island in the book because he wanted somethin..."Thank you! Thought I was in for a comment search marathon! :o)
The second story is the real one. Pi is fighting and struggling with Richard Parker - his evil/animal side.
Island - mother's headless body.
Meerkats - maggots.
Tooth - cook's tooth.
Richard Parker ate meerkats on the carnivorous island - well you can figure it out the rest.
To me, the book is a marvellous interpretation of religion. What do we all do, when we are faced with adversities ? We pray to the God/almighty/supernatural to bail us out, when all other doors are closed. Even though our rational mind knows that there is no such thing but having faith in something supernatural gives us the strength to transcend the adversities. And what do we do, once we are out of the woods. We come back to our rational normalcy. Just as the Tiger disappears, when Pi is able to reach the shores.
Isn't the story about religion? What is religion? What does it serve? What if the alternative story was in fact the truth: The unfathomable murder of your mother with intimations cannibalism-- all possilbe in the heart of darkness that emerge during severe crisis. How could he reconcile this? Perhaps an alternative story? Isn't this the essence of religion ( hinduism is loaded with animism) -- to give us hope to live another day and go forward, Amen.
I think the island represented guilt for what he had done. Guilt serves as a moral compass but also will eat you alive when you're trying to sleep at night. He chose to leave the guilt behind for what he had to do to survive. John Parker was his faith which is what kept him alive on the boat but as soon as he hit land, he lost that specific faith. At least that's how I interpret the movie.
His ability to cope with the reality of the situation, that was the only reason behind the Island. It was made more fantastical and illusionary so he could cope with the tragedy.
I think the island served as a reprieve, when Pi & Richard Parker neared death, and also offered a 'lotus-eaters' ending that would have been less satisfying than pushing to arrive at the continent. I agree it seemed removed from the rest of the book & might be discarded (except for its function for rest & survival). Interesting botannical musings for someone hallucinating near death. I've also wondered about whether Pi turned desparate cannibalistic people into animals for a more 'palatable' story.
Nothing to add at this point.
Logic says he would have been nowhere near civilization, so he likely stumbled on an unknown atoll in the south pacific and imagined it to be this giant floating Island of magic. It isn't a hard stretch to make that his faith was so shaken by this point, the only thing he could do is make it all up, and make-believe the Island for himself.
For me, I think the Island needs to be compared to the second story (this is a little gross of me)If you consider that the Frenchman at this point has just been eaten by Richard Parker, and then compare to the second story where he has just overcome the Chef and killed him, and resorted to cannibalism, then the island represents cannibalism.
The shoots are like the blood vessels. Remember what he said about the turtles, to slit their necks is to give a drink of blood sweet enough to satiate thirst? These roots do that more effectively (the Chef's blood is sweeter). The teeth he finds are the bones after he has consumed the chef.
The whole island represents his attitude to not only eating another being, but another human. At first, it is sweet relief - he has enough to eat, he is at peace (I think the meerkats represent this) but then he discovers dead animals, and his morals come back to him. That's when the island turns poisonous, right? That's when he realises what he's actually done. He cannot stay on the island, because he cannot stay with the man he ate. He cannot stay cannibalistic, because he has faith in someone higher. Richard Parker is a lot more confident on this island, because he has ultimately won the battle (if you consider Richard Parker to be the Id of Pi's personality).
I think that's why the 'algae' burns through the rope at the end of the section, because he's finished with everything to do with it, he doesn't want to cling on to that any more.
As Sushma pointed out, the insights and opinions here are so thought provoking. It made me look at the story in several ways other than my original take, which was this:At the beginning of his ordeal Pi saves Richard Parker. He yells at Richard Parker to come aboard. At the last second he tries to fight him off but is unsuccessful, and so Pi's demon comes with him on this journey.
I think the island is more like a Last Temptation than a Garden of Eden. Yes, the Tree of Knowledge reference is pretty glaring, but as Pi is a believer in God more than in a religion I feel the island scene in its entirety represents the concept of the easier path. You can stay here, but only in the knowledge that this place is poisonous. You will be gluttinous, slothful, and the prideful "king of the meerkats" and you live knowing you've abandoned your beliefs, ideals, and choices - the things that made you who you are and brought you close to God.
There are common threads in religion in general, and one of them is that you must toil and suffer to reach the divine. You cannot choose the quick and easy path. Keeping faith and belief is difficult; this is clear across the board, from Catholicism to Judaism, Hinduism to Jedi-ism.
In the end, Pi rejects the temptation. He chooses to remain himself and continue across the desert, oops I mean ocean, even if it means his death. When he finally washes ashore he has excised his demon, and so it leaves.
It was difficult for me to accept that the tiger just ran off into the woods. I wanted to believe that Pi had friended his tiger, but this could not be so. Pi's father explained how dangerous tigers are. Even though our demons may be powerful, even beautiful, we have to try to push them away. Even though we may be used to our demons, even love them, we have to let them go to reach salvation.
Whether you love or hate this book isn't any author's goal to make you think? I think Martel did his job. And when an author writes a book about religion isn't the goal to make you reflect on your own beliefs? I think Martel did his job well, at least in my case.
I thought the island was a metaphor for civilized society . It provided safety, security and abundant sustenance but at a price-toxicity and spiritual death. Pi did not find God on the island, but at sea. His intimate, Gnostic revelation of the nature of God came about during a violent thunderstorm. Yes, God makes a sunny spring day, but he also makes hurricanes. Yes, God makes intelligent orangutans and meek zebras, but also vicious hyenas. Perhaps the message was to accept, without judgment, all that is in the universe as God's creation, or all that is in Vishnu's mouth.
I like all the different comments and interpretations in this thread that lasted from 2007 to now – wow!Life of Pi reminds me of God's Grace by Bernard Malamud which also features a flood, a boat and animals (apes). Both are retelling the Old Testament Genesis and Noah's Ark stories. Bernard Malamud's story is Jewish. Life of Pi mentions three main religions, as well as Buddhism (at least in the movie), to be relevant to people of all religions? Some people wonder if the island is the Garden of Eden. It dawned on me from the movie's beginning footage of the animals that the zoo represents the Garden of Eden which the family had to leave. This is the brilliant and plausible explanation for why there would be a boat with animals in the middle of the ocean.
Three survivors in the lifeboat were vegetarians and would logically have not kill one another as food to survive. The vegetarians represent each of the different faiths that binds/aids us in being civilized. What if "the meek" met with a hyena that has no such qualms? They are killed. And those who would never consider killing might still do so to protect/defend/avenge our loved ones.
The cook is represented by the hyena as well as mentioned as the blind man and credited with teaching Pi survival skills. Pi may not have immediately killed the cook but co-existed for a while. The tiger represents Pi's animalistic side, and the order of ferocity with tiger out-ranking hyena. The tiger at times may represent the cook (eg. when Pi had the chance but could not kill it). Pi and the tiger's struggle for superiority with the whistle and boat-rocking teaches that aggression only begets further aggression, with no winners. Pi's floating oars and lifejacket is a way to create a buffer between them rather than fight back. Or it could be that the mighty and aggressive of the world take more than their share and others live in substandard conditions!
The island can represent God sending us manna, what when we need it, when we need it, but it's a temporary reprieve. From the movie, I saw that the island could represent our daily grind. All the meerkats doing the same things all together each and every day is so like a scene from any bustling city downtown and the tall trees are the buildings! If you can be thirsty with not a drop to drink while surrounded by seawater, you can also be lonely (feel soulless) though surrounded by other people (dehumanized as meerkats). And the teeth in the fruit? Well, as has been said to those moving to big cities such as New York, "you will be eaten alive!" Or the trees do not bear fruit in that all your busy efforts are still fruitless. I especially feel this knowing people that work 20hr days but neglect everything else, family, friends, other interests. To some, the island may feel like Eden or Heaven but it is not. You cannot live by bread alone – cannot merely satisfy physical hunger. There is still a final destination – is it Heaven reaching the Coast of Mexico and civilization again? Pi's sinful nature so quickly disappears, is all forgiven? Is Heaven represented by Pi's life Canada?
Little wrote: "Ok, so Martel beats us over the head with the interpretation for much of his symbolism, but what's the deal with the island? It seems so tangentally tacked onto the main story, and I can't place i..."I kind of thought that the island represented a type of despair. Not the awful despair of certain death, but the more subtle kind that comes with having all of your physical needs attended to, and only your physical needs attended to. Pi could have survived for a good, long time on the island, despite its nature. It was much safer and more comfortable than being out in the water, but it would have been a meaningless existence that would have eventually "eaten him alive." I found it analogous to the way a person's life can become empty, despite having food, water, shelter, and entertainment (training Richard Parker in Pi's case). That's just my take, though.
Paola wrote: "This is what I think. The island does jump into the story quite suddenly, but I think it is very symbolic. If much of the story symbolizes someone finding his/her way through the journey of life, t..."That's more or less what I thought of it, Paola.
I think most importantly, the island is meant to represent the power of imagination and belief.
When I first read this book, I was troubled by the appearance of the island. I had 'believed' in the plausibility of the animals in the lifeboat, and when the island came into the story, it was so completely far-fetched, that it caused me to question everything in the book that I had become so invested in.Having said that, and now knowing the ending, I feel the island represented guilt and regret. We have such a tendency to blame ourselves when things go wrong. And Pi couldn't save the other people on the boat. Most importantly, his mother. (And in an extention of that, his family on the ship. Why was he the one to survive?) How much more guilt could there be?
We eat ourselves up on the inside when we feel guilty. Pi's alter ego, Richard Parker, who also by the way is the stronger of the two personas in Pi's mind, knows to get off the island and refuses to let the guilt (and regret) eat him up. Pi wishes he could be that way (Richard Parker is always stronger in everything when you look back), but struggles with letting go of the pain. In the end, his survival instincts take over, and he chooses not to wallow in his guilt but to take the best path forward that will lead to his future.
This is very heady stuff. One of my favorite books ever.
Julie wrote: "Wow, I disagree with just about all of you. I've read this book twice. My husband read it before me and didn't like it because of the same reason a few of you mentioned. He felt betrayed at the end..."You believe in the 'real story' because it is real: the tiger, zebra, etc. were all a way for a boy to deal with the horror of the situation. None of us is prepared to be thrown into a situation so far from normal -- and given his upbringing, this was a natural way to cope.
I agree tho: you will tend to believe in god(s) if you beleive the 'first' story. But the entire point of the book was to bring you to the point where you realize it was just a boys way of dealing with trajedy. If you missed that, I think you missed the point.
Catherine wrote: "I just finished the novel and am very happy to stumble upon this discussion. I, too, like the "animal" version of Pi's story which, as many of you pointed out, is the point--the Japanese shipping r..."I don't understand why so many don't see that the story with the animals is allegory: a way for a young man to deal with severe trajedy.
Scottw wrote: "After reading this I don't buy the argument that this is a book about belief in God at the centre. I do think its a book about the nature of belief in general. The concept of the two stories of Pi ..."Very perceptive... I agree with this interpretation. Insightful.
Rick wrote: "Catherine wrote: "I just finished the novel and am very happy to stumble upon this discussion. I, too, like the "animal" version of Pi's story which, as many of you pointed out, is the point--the J..."In light of the first and last parts of the story, it seems to me that Martel meant to call into question the strict delineation between stories that are real and stories that are unreal, as well as the importance of doing so. The two Japanese men at the end of the book concluded along with Piscine that neither story had anything to do with the fact of the sinking of the Tsimtsum, and in the absence of the necessity of declaring truth or falsehood it comes down to a matter of personal preference, or perhaps "faith," loosely speaking. It seemed to me that Martel, speaking through Piscine as the narrator, rebuked us in advance for the tendency all of us would have to insist- at least momentarily- on considering the cannibalism story as the "real" one with his talk of agnostics near the very beginning of the story.
It was added because the author chose to compel readers to take a leap of faith, describing a fantasy island.
I think the island was much more literal than many observe. It was a floating trash island in the Pacific. Entirely "of Man" it was life giving "in the light" but toxic and life threatening when out of sight. It was carnivorous in the sense that mankind is consuming itself with the very environment it creates/modifies.
Pi comes across the island when he is at his lowest,both physically and mentally.You the reader are invited to suspend your disbelief for a while,Pi becomes stronger and is refreshed,while we wonder if such an island could ever exist.Yet at night,the island becomes sinister and dangerous,causing Pi to eventually flee,i think the island in a way describes religion,to those who have faith its a place of comfort and peace,to those who don't it's seen as dangerous and deadly.I prefer to believe the story where the animals are with Pi,not because i am religious myself,but because that story has more detail,more explanations of the events which lead to Pi's survival,and while a boy in a boat with a tiger,hyena,zebra and orang-utan seems far fetched,does not also a weak and ill small boy managing to kill a full grown,vicious man seem equally unbelievable?
Pi describes hearing a noise on the ship and going to investigate,his parents and brother are still fast asleep,Pi describes how there is water welling up in the stairwell he just came up from,how does his mother come to escape that to then be with Pi in the second story? We choose to believe the second story as its simple and quick,and we have no problems believing how evil humans can be to one another.
Pi even explains how Richard Parker the tiger came by his name.And yet,most people choose the second story,even though important details are missing,such as where the small animal bones in the boat came from?
Either way,i love this book,and just like religion is open to many interpretations and its left to you the reader to decide which story is the more believable but also the more comforting.
Paola wrote: "This is what I think. The island does jump into the story quite suddenly, but I think it is very symbolic. If much of the story symbolizes someone finding his/her way through the journey of life, t..."I would agree with you. To add to that argument, settling for something less does eat you up, rob you of your essence.In the long term.
Sarah wrote: "I found that I liked Life of Pi as a story and I feel like I understood some of the symbolism used, but I became angry at the end when we learn this adventure/horror might not be true. I felt lik..."I understand this reaction, but I think we must keep in mind the ending. "Which is the better story,
? the one with animals. So it is with God. Life is a better story if God exists. But we will never know for sure, till we die. Same with the story of Pi, I don't think we can know for sure which version really happened.
Little wrote: "Ok, so Martel beats us over the head with the interpretation for much of his symbolism, but what's the deal with the island? It seems so tangentally tacked onto the main story, and I can't place i..."Likewise, Little. it baffled me. Felt like a loose end of story line that he couldn't fit into the main body of the story, but as the rest of the novel is so well conceived, I'm not satisfied with that as an explanation.
Like I say, it baffled me
Paola wrote: "This is what I think. The island does jump into the story quite suddenly, but I think it is very symbolic. If much of the story symbolizes someone finding his/her way through the journey of life, t..."That's a very good reading of it, Paola.
Could morbid nature of the fruit then symbolise the inner dissatisfaction that would result from such a compromise.
deleted user wrote: "Maybe I'm crazy and read too much in, but I felt a whole "Tree of Knowledge" twist to the island (being a Christian that's the story I'm familiar with, but I'm sure there are similar ones in the ot..."It's a pity this person (deleted user?) bowed out here!I'd been down that line of interpretation too.. maybe there is a forbidden fruit analogy to being suggested. Pity!
Marielle wrote: "I think the island was meant to emphasize the absurdity of the story.It's clear that the book is making the analogy between Pi's excessive religiosity and an atheist's understanding of the world,..."
Good call, Marielle!
leap of faith on not to stay in the island because it would kill himself to do it. which mean maybe not to kill himself in real life because of his fear of death.
leap of faith on not to stay in the island because it would kill himself to do it. which mean maybe not to kill himself in real life because of his fear of death.
I loved the Movie, - so much that I read the book. With me it is usually the other way around. I found it hard to understand the alternate story Pi made up at the end. Why would anyone create a second story with such horrific details to be easier or better than the story with the animals. It is so much easier to believe that humans are animals that kill one another with little to no hesitation than it is to believe that in an island with magical properties? Maybe it is sad, but I'd rather believe in magic than in the horror within humanity.
Patrice wrote: "Is this book an example of magical realism?"I would say 'Yes'.
Babs wrote: "I loved the Movie, - so much that I read the book. With me it is usually the other way around. I found it hard to understand the alternate story Pi made up at the end. Why would anyone create a s..."Well people do kill each other, and then for reasons other than food or survival. People generally believe within their own frame of reference. To believe outside of your frame of reference is transcendence, which people generally aren't comfortable with. Maybe the end frame is there to contrast fundamental materialistic view of life against the spiritual (mythical poetic romantic) view
Based on a theory from a friend, I believe the island meant "giving up and meeting his mother again".At his worse time, Pi encounters the floating woman shaped island, plagued with meerkats, like his mother's body, being consumed by worms (hence the bones all over the island).
Pi walked amongst the meerkats and got to a fresh water well, at the center of it. He swam in it and felt completely joyful, for the first time since the shipwreck. For me, this well symbolized his mother's womb. He felt like coming back to it.
Pi's mother was dead (which is bad) but she was also resting in the afterlife (which is good). That is why the island, as the idea of death, was good and bad at the same time. Provided comfort and fear.
But Pi decided not to die. He decided to leave the "island" which was the idea of giving up and dying to meet his mother again. It was not his time. It was the time to meet Richard Parker again and fighting for survival.
I think the director (I only saw the movie) try to use two stories with flaws to tell a real story. Most of the 2nd story should be true with the missing connection. The connection is the island. The island should be the dead body (or image) of his mother. The meerkats should represent the maggot(There is a fly in the scene of zebra). The acid of the island should represent Gastric acid. The bone and teeth should represent the remaining of the body. So the island represents that Pi survive because his mother. This is one of important part of the story, beside the people-animal analogy and wildness and rationality will never be talk each other (the scene tiger walk into the forest after they on shore).
Enjoying the comments here, everyone. I read the book a few years ago then shared it among my family. I thought the movie was well done, though we have to remember that Ang Lee's message may well be very different than Yann Martell's. For me, The Life of Pi is about spirituality, not religion. Pi's encounters with multiple religions teach him many stories, just as his own stories about the same event differ. All of the stories can be true simultaneously; it doesn't really matter which story you believe and which you do not, since the end result is the same. The ship sank, Pi made it through a harrowing experience alive, and he was forever changed because of it.
I take the same meaning to apply to the religious material, and here is where i think Martell is at his best. There are many different stories, many actors, and some players appear in more than one story. All point to the same conclusion, though, and that is that we are all part of something greater than ourselves. The tiger is the mother is Krishna is Jesus...in the end we're all the same and all part of a greater existence.
(I don't necessarily believe this on a personal level, but I do believe that this is what Martell's trying to illustrate. A very Hindu notion, that.)
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