Life of Pi: The Journey Into the Unknown

Details

Books

Sunday, 09 August 2009 05:55

By Jaron Stephen

Martel's Life of Pi became a veritable sensation when it was published, winning the prestigious Man Booker Prize and nominated for the Canada Reads competition in 2002.  This success is surprising given the book has one basic scene.

While on the surface Pi is a very simple novel, it is resplendent with vibrant themes and deeper imagery that propels it into another dimension and enthrals readers. It’s the simple story of a boy on a boat and his journey into maturation and realization to a loss of innocence.

The book is ripe with tension and suspense.  After the sinking of the Tsimtsum, a minimal number of survivors remain. For a few days, only Pi, Richard Parker (a tiger), Orange Juice (an orangutan), the Grant's zebra, and the hyena survive the dramatic crash.  The few survivors are in a battle of wits.  It is a contest of life and death and very quickly all are eliminated except for the tiger and the boy. 

This tension, coupled with the continual tension when Pi tries to survive, is compared to an end game in chess, “Life on a lifeboat isn't much of a life. It is like an end game in chess, a game with few pieces. The elements couldn't be more simple, nor the stakes higher.” In the last moves of the chess game, players no longer interested in pawns and other pieces as the game moves to capturing the king. In a life boat, little things do not matter anymore. Life is reduced to the bare minimum, survival; and Martel’s effective imagery keeps the reader in suspense.

Martel delves deeper with effective imagery and vibrant themes.  The Life of Pi is a rather simple book however, the author captivates his readers.  The images Martel uses are stark, yet simple. For example, the boat symbolizes the timeless struggle between life and death.  Pi’s constant struggle with life and death can be seen clearly when he stays on one end of the boat (life) and his new found friend, Richard Parker, stays at the other end (death).  Between these two poles is fear, love, and hope. Pi gives insight into his thoughts when he states, “Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud.”  

The novel has themes that resonate with its simple presentation, yet attracts readers because they are the chords that reverberate in all lives. Martel’s unique religious background adds to the flavour of the book. Yann Martel is a Canadian of East Indian descent.  He has been exposed to three religions: Islam, Hindu, and Muslim. It is this diverse religious background that is reflected in his novel. Unlike many who may prefer to package religions as separate but not related Pi’s respect for these religions come into play.

Martel also adds a twist to the Life of Pi, by placing Christianity into the long list of Pi‘s religions. Whilst Pi is stranded on the boat, he has a lot of time to reflect on his spiritual being; he focuses on his relationship with God, questioning why God would put him through such turmoil.

In the prologue, the question is asked, do you believe in God? Painstakingly, the narrator goes into a quick definition of the term God and where the ideas of God originate, “Does your story take place two thousand years ago in a remote corner of the Roman Empire? I asked.  No. Was he some sort of Muslim evangelist? Does it take place in seventh-century Arabia?”  Martel took a risk by writing a book that did not ignore religion or embrace one religion. Rather, his novel presents an eclectic way of looking at religion and at life that his readers and critics applaud.

Taking the Mickey Out of Spencer The Arena Laffs is coming back to life. Here is a video just for laughs taking the mickey out of PM Baldwin Spencer in the Wadadli Power plant Press C... read more

As we read Pi’s amazing story, we see him mature from a mild mannered young man, to a scared boy, to a competent survivor.  The acclaim for  Martel’s Life of Pi is understandable. Although this author does not seem to delve in the usual traits of popular fiction, he appeals effectively to readers who like suspense and enjoy a simple story with profound overtones. The story is for the young: it is about a young boy who survives with a tiger.  The story is for the old, and the mature at heart: it deals with profound themes, and has religious overtones that transcend the mundane.  Martel takes readers on an exciting journey into uncharted waters, into a place of self-realization, where few have gone before. Martel’s novel cannot be ignored; maybe, that is why it is so popular.

 

• < Prev
• Next >