Part 1: Unity and Difference (Chapter 23)
A couple of years have passed since Pi’s last relation of events in his life and he’s been practicing his religions in triplicate for a couple of years, now 16. While at the beach, all three of the religious leaders Pi studies with appear and meet his family. He knows his choice of religious multiplicity will not be accepted and when the priest says Pi is a good Christian, the others react confusedly. They argue for a bit, declaring Pi as their own until they agree that it is okay for him to be so religious and a seeker of God. However, they end up deciding that he cannot be of all three religions and must choose one. His reply, “I just want to love God” quiets them all and they walk away. The family walks on with some ice cream and the matter is left alone.
- Why is there a need for ‘competition’ among religion?
- How do each of religious men see the others? Why is it that these men are focusing on the differences between their faiths while Pi is focused on the similarities?
- Pi says “Bapu Gandhi said ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God.” Why are the religious men so bothered by Pi’s practice of all three faiths simultaneously?
Part 2: Different Perspectives, Same Vision (Chapter 31)
As Pi awaits Mr. Kumar (the Sufi) in his father’s zoo, he worries because he cannot recognize him, rubbing his eyes as an excuse for not seeing him arrive. When he does arrive, they take a walk and discuss the different animals and how they interact, especially the Zebras. The other Mr. Kumar arrives and Pi lets them both feed the Zebras with a carrot. They all marvel at the beauty of the experience. The two Kumars, representing science and religion interact the same with nature in this scene.
- What is the significance of this chapter and what does it say about the views of science and religion?
- If science explains what we know and religion explains what we do not (yet) know, might they be part of the same continuum of knowledge and understanding?
Part 3: The Better Story (Chapter 22)
Pi thinks on how an atheist might experience death, upon that final revelation. He once again brings up his unhappiness with agnosticism and how an agnostic in death might cling to “dry, yeastless factuality” and miss the “better story” as mentioned by the author in Chapter 21. He does not appreciate their lack of imagination and faith.
- Chapter 22 holds a key statement in the novel – if we lack imagination (faith), we miss the better story. To what extent is this true?
Essay Practice
Your assessment task for Life of Pi will be a text response essay. Your should attempt to get as much practice as possible. Now that you have finished the first part of Life of Pi, you have enough information to complete a practice essay on the topic:
‘Those who lack faith miss the better story.’
Discuss in relation to part 1 of Life of Pi.
Consider the following:
- How can faith enrich an individual’s life, their relationships and their understanding of the universe? Consider what each of Pi’s three religions (Hinduism, Christianity and Islam) provide him with and what attracted him to each religion (Chapters 16-20)
- To what extent can faith (and fundamentalism) be limiting? Consider how Pi focuses on the similarities between faiths, while others focus on the differences (Chapter 23).
- How do different forms of belief and understanding, whether religious or scientific, enrich a person’s understanding of the world? Consider the examples of the two Kumars and their appreciation of the zebra (Chapter 22) and Pi’s views on atheism (Chapter 7).
- To what extent does religious belief offer a sense of ‘freedom’? Consider Pi’s analogy with animals kept in zoos (Chapter 4).
- How does a lack of belief or an unwillingness to commit to a way of understanding the world limit a person’s ability to appreciate wonder and beauty? Consider Pi’s views on agnosticism (Chapters 7 and 22).
Remember to PLAN your response, and fulfill the required STRUCTURE:
- An INTRODUCTION which provides the required CONTEXT for the topic contains a clear CONTENTION.
- A minimum of 3 BODY PARAGRAPHS, each of which:
- Includes an ARGUMENT that is identified in the TOPIC SENTENCE
- Contains at least TWO QUOTES, each of which are fluently EMBEDDED and are then EXPLAINED and linked back to your argument
- Concludes with a LINKING SENTENCE that links these ideas and evidence together with your paragraph’s ARGUMENT.
- A CONCLUSION that restates your ARGUMENT and brings together the ideas explored in your essay.
Practice Essay Due: Monday 11 August
