ADVENTURE NOVEL

BOOK: LIFE OF PI
AUTHOR: YANN MARTEL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
COUNTRY: CANADA
GENRE: FICTION
PUBLICATION: SEPTEMBER 2001
PUBLISH DATE: KNOPF CANADA


"Life of Pi" is a fantasy adventure novel written by Yann Martel. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pandicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengali tiger named Richard Parker.

CHARACTERS 
PISCINE MOLITOR "PI" PATEL
Piscine Molitor Patel, known as "Pi" to all of the people, is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. He was named after a swimming pool in Paris, despite the fact they neither his mother nor his father particularly liked swimming. The story is told as a narrative from the perspective of a middle-aged Pi, who is living in Canada. At the time of main events of the story, he is sixteen years old. He recounts the story of his life and his 27 day journey on a lifeboat when his ship sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean during a voyage to North America.


RICHARD PARKER 
Richard Parker is a Bengali tiger that is stranded on the lifeboat with Pi when the ship sinks. Richard Parker lives on the lifeboat with Pi and is kept alive with the food and water Pi delivers. Richard Parker develops a relationship with Pi that allows them to co exist their struggle.

In the novel, a hunter named Richard Parker is hired to kill a panther thought to have killed seven people within two months. Instead he immobilizes a female Bengali tiger with tranquilizer darts while her cub escapes to hide in a bush. Parker names the cub. Thirsty after its enthusiasm when drinking from a nearby river. The paperwork that accompanies the shipment of the two tigers to Pi's family's zoo in Pandicherry states that the cub's name is "Richard Parker" and the hunter's given name is "Thirsty" and his surname is " Nothing Given." Pi and his father find the story so amusing that they continue to call the tiger "Richard Parker."

PARTS OF THE STORY 
There are three parts of the story: The life of Pi before adventurous in a shipwreck; the life of Pi in the shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengali Tiger named Richard Parker; and after the 227 days survival in the shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengali Tiger named Richard Parker.

The interesting parts that I loved are the part one and second. There are beautiful moments in the part one and second. In the part one, it teaches people about humanity and religion. Moreover, it teaches the people that every religion is equal to everyone as the God is same and there is only one God.

There are beautiful lines related to God, Humanity and Religion:
"Darkness is the last thing that religion is. Religion is light."[Page 27]

"There are no grounds for going beyond a scientific explanation of reality and no sound reason for believing anything but our sense experience. A clear intellect, close attention to detail and a little scientific knowledge will expose religion as superstitious bosh. God does not exist." [Page 27] 

"Some people say God died during the Partition in 1947. He may have died in 1971 during the war. Or he may have died yesterday here in Pandicherry in an orphanage. That's what some people say, Pi. When I was your age, I lived in bed, racked with polio I asked myself everyday," Where is God? Where is God? Where is God? God never came. It wasn't God saved me-it was medicine. Reason is my prophet and it tells that as a watch stops, so we die. It's the end. If the watch doesn't work properly, it must be fixed here and now by us. One day, we will take hold of the means of production and there will be justice on Earth."


On the other hand, the second part, the story is about the adventurous shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengali Tiger named Richard Parker. He learns to survive there with a tiger in a 227 days. Due to starvation, both tiger and Pi becomes blind. In this condition, they learn to be strong and support each other.

CONCLUSION 
"Life of Pi" is the one of the best book. One reason is the simple language with simple story. Another reason is that the story is adventurous and teaches us how to survive in the ocean in the shipwreck and animals are our friend not enemy. Third reason is that the characters are beautifully portrayed that everyone will love with the characters. Due to these reason, Yann Martel won "The Man BOOKER PRIZE." So, I could recommend to read the book and I could rate the book 4.5 out of 5.


Comments

Popular Posts