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?
