The Life of Pi (Chapters 7

1
The Life of Pi(Chapters 7 20)

• Summary and Analysis

2
Chapter Summary Pis Teacher

• Pis Pondicherry narrative
• His favorite teacher, Mr. Satish Kumar (an
  atheist communist with whom Pi feels a deep
  kinship)
• Atheists simply people of a different faith,
  with strong beliefs
• It is agnostics, full of doubt and uncertainty
  and devoid of faith, whom Pi cannot stomach.

3
Chapter Summary The Pondicherry Zoo

• Pis father having fed a live goat to a caged
  tiger in front of Pi and his brother, Ravi
• Purpose show them about the danger posed by wild
  animals.
• Irony, the most dangerous animal of all is man
  (according to a sign in the zoo)
• Flight distance the minimum distance at which
  an animal will tolerate a potential predator or
  enemy

4
Chapter Summary The Pondicherry Zoo

• Keys to the smooth running of a zoo
• Getting animals used to the presence of humans
• Creating a good enclosure
• Providing food and water
• Knowing each animal well.
• Taken care of in this way, zoo animals rarely if
  ever run back to the wild. On the exceptional
  occasions when they do, it is usually because
  someone or something has invaded their territory
  and frightened them away

5
Chapter Summary The Pondicherry Zoo

• Territoriality Animals are fiercely defensive of
  their particular area
• They also respect the territory of other
  creatures, (Thats why lion tamers enter the cage
  first, establishing their dominance before the
  lions are brought in)
• Why do socially inferior animalsomega
  animalstend to be the most obedient, loyal, and
  faithful to their masters?
• They have the most to gain from a good
  relationship with an alpha creature.

6
Chapter Summary Religion Diversity

• Religion diversity of Pi
• Hindu, Christian, and Islamic paintings, statues,
  devotional articles, photographs, clothes, and
  books in Pis house
• He keeps the Bible on his nightstand
• Born into Hinduism (becoming involved in its
  rites and rituals as an infant constant hunger
  for Prasad, a Hindu offering to God, and the way
  his hands automatically move into prayer
  position)

7
Chapter Summary Religion Diversity

• Hindu philosophy of life, which Pi embraces
  That which sustains the universe beyond thought
  and language, and that which is at the core of us
  and struggles for expression, is the same thing.

8
Chapter Summary Religion Diversity

• Coming across a church when Pi was 14
• Father Martin told him the story of Christ on the
  cross, which Pi found very strange.
• When asked to hear another story, Father Martin
  responded that Christianity has only one story
  (Crux love)
• Pi decided to become a Christian
• Father Martin told him he already was

9
Chapter Summary Religion Diversity

• Pi became a Muslim at 15
• Pi met a Muslim baker and mystic, a second Mr.
  Satish Kumar
• Pi watched him praying and returned later to ask
  the baker about his religion
• Baker Islam is about the Beloved
• Pi began to pray with Mr. Kumar and to visit a
  local mosque.

10
Analysis Pis Religious Faith

• A section about religious rites and rituals
• Many examples of pious routine from Christian
  church-going to Muslim prayer and chanting
• Objects that lend comfort to the faithful on a
  daily basis
• Paintings of religious figures (Christ on the
  cross or of Lord Ganesha)
• Devotional articles (Sticks of incense and a
  copper spoon)

11
Analysis Pis Religious Faith

• Central message religion is a method humans have
  developed of making their lives more pleasurable,
  more meaningful, and more understandable.
• There is more to faith than ritual
• Without something bigger and more significant, a
  religious custom is a hollow act
• Miracles of Jesus Christ minor magic, on the
  order of card tricks
• Muslim prayer hot-weather yoga for the
  Bedouins.

12
Analysis Pis Religious Faith

• Gained a true understanding of and appreciation
  for the heart and soul of each religious faith
• Once he embraces the essence of each religion, he
  embraces their rituals with enthusiasm as well.

13
Analysis Intersection of zoology and religion

• Pi studies both subjects at college
• Chapters on zoology are interspersed throughout
  Part One with chapters on religion and philosophy
• Multiple references to the ways in which zoos are
  like religion both are in peoples bad graces
  these days, because of prevailing notions about
  freedom.
• People sometimes resist what they perceive as
  constraints on their liberty.

14
Analysis Intersection of zoology and religion

• Religion (with its many dictates and rules)
  Intrusions on personal freedoms.
• Pis defense on religion the very definition of
  freedom
• What life would be like without religion
• Life inside the walls, as it were, is cozy and
  comfortable, and people prefer not to leave life
  outside is bleak by comparison.

15
Analysis Ferocity of Tigers and Territoriality
of Animals

• Pis father allows a tiger to attack a goat in
  front of his two sons
• Never get too close to the tiger cage
• Message Wild animals, even if theyve been
  domesticated and trained, are still wild animals
  at heart.
• Their intrinsic nature is deep-seated and always
  ready to boil up to the surface

16
Analysis The tiger-and-goat chapter

• The dramatic violence of the killing
• Leads naturally to Pis declaration on his
  religious belief
• Christianity great violence
• Islam even greater violence

17
Analysis The tiger-and-goat chapter

• Connection the feral acts of wild creatures VS
  the sadistic brutality that humans have inflicted
  upon other humans for centuries, often because of
  religious conflicts
• Puzzle certain religious tenets that seem to go
  against the foundation of love
• E.g. Gods decree that Christ be punished for
  mans sins