At the end of the book, Pi presents the reader with two stories: a fantasy story that seems challenging to believe, and a gruesome story that is much easier to believe.
Believing the first story means that the reader believes in the unexplainable(the impossible) similar to religion. It seems extremely unlikely that someone would survive with a Bengal Tiger and a hyena on the same lifeboat, and find an floating island that only meerkats populate. Not only that, but the island literally turns acidic and eats whatever is on it. If the reader were to believe this story, he would put his faith in Pi much like many people have faith in religion. Examples include Jesus turning water into wine and giving a blind man vision again.
Believing in the second story means the reader is a person of reason and logic, never putting anything even morals, emotions etc. above that reason. Butchering multiple people up for bait is cruel, but eating the people and all the rations for oneself is selfish and outright barbarous. Believing the second story means the reader has no faith whatsoever. You can understand anything, no matter how gory, cruel, and sadistic something can be, as long as it's realistic. A heartless person to say the least.
Go back to the beginning of the book where adult Pi says “this story will make you believe in God.” Many people will believe the first story without question meaning they have a lot of faith. Some people however, will question the story the whole way through. After hearing the second story, and reading the line, “which is the better story?” Most of this smaller sample of people will tend to choose the first story meaning they prefer to have faith over something realistic but brutal. And this faith portion proves that they will believe in God.
Pi cries because he is relieved to see that the Japanese men, people who want facts and reason to why the ship sank and question Pi’s first story, find that the animal(religion) story is better. Pi now knows that even the most agonistic people(the Japanese interrogators) have faith in something. When one can't explain something with reason, one puts faith in that something as the Japanese men did with Pi’s better story. Thus, Pi cries of relief when he knows people still have faith after everything he has been through.
Pi has been surviving upon a lifeboat for 227 days. In danger, animals and humans alike enter a flight or fight mode. Cornered by vast expanses of sea, Pi is physically forced by his surroundings to fight. He survives by fighting in various ways: by fighting for dominance over Richard Parker, by fighting tirelessly to catch food, by fighting to obtain fresh water. Yet, mentally, Pi chooses flight. In order to survive, his mind represses the details and reality of his situation. The truth of his situation and the loss of his family holds too much grief for him to process at the moment. He must divert this energy to survival instead of focusing on his emotions.
Consequently, he creates Richard Parker and the animals. Here he can escape into milder feelings of fear, curiosity, awe, and even humor. These emotions are not always pleasant, but are alternatively rather approachable, something he can actively combat in his mind. Pi feels relief and even assurance from this ability to have control over his emotions. In his analysis of fear, he takes solace in the fact that he is acutely aware of his weaknesses, but is also aware that he must combat fear. Fear preoccupies his priorities, and serves as a distraction. Pi holds on to this comfort of fear. He has no trouble finding things to fear: Richard Parker, the hyena, the storm. When he is desensitized to these things, and no longer feels intense fear, Pi feels compelled to fill this void. He goes blind and hallucinates the idea of the Frenchman, a cannibalistic fellow survivor who is vicious and cruel. Once again, Pi feels fear, and is assured in the fact that he can combat the mental and physically present implications of the Frenchman. He defeats the Frenchman on the lifeboat, and gains renewed confidence and safety. Soon thereafter, he believes that he is hallucinating the island. He quickly realizes and concludes that the island is real, not part of his imagination. However, the timing of the appearance of the island, right after the Frenchman, indicates that it is actually an extension of Pi’s hallucination. Immediately, he is presented with a new situation that fills the void of his emotions with the familiarity of fear and curiosity.
When Pi converses with the Japanese men. He is cornered by the reality of his situation, much like how he was cornered by the vast ocean. He no longer has the choice between fight or flight. Telling the true story, makes him face his grief, the loss of his family, and the trauma of killing another person. When the Japanese men affirm that the story with animals is the better story, Pi is finally illuminated to the fact that he concocted this story to flee his mental grief. Now aware of this fact, he has no choice but to confront and fight the anguish that he had suppressed. He begins to cry, the first step in processing sorrow.
Hi Nikhita! I like how you touched upon how Pi used the story with animals as an immediate coping mechanism when his life was at stake. I agree that crying is a way to process a life-changing event as seen by Pi near the end of the book; the use of the Japanese men reaffirms the dark reality of Pi's survival.
At the end of the book, Pi presents the reader with two stories: a fantasy story that seems challenging to believe, and a gruesome story that is much easier to believe.
ReplyDeleteBelieving the first story means that the reader believes in the unexplainable(the impossible) similar to religion. It seems extremely unlikely that someone would survive with a Bengal Tiger and a hyena on the same lifeboat, and find an floating island that only meerkats populate. Not only that, but the island literally turns acidic and eats whatever is on it. If the reader were to believe this story, he would put his faith in Pi much like many people have faith in religion. Examples include Jesus turning water into wine and giving a blind man vision again.
Believing in the second story means the reader is a person of reason and logic, never putting anything even morals, emotions etc. above that reason. Butchering multiple people up for bait is cruel, but eating the people and all the rations for oneself is selfish and outright barbarous. Believing the second story means the reader has no faith whatsoever. You can understand anything, no matter how gory, cruel, and sadistic something can be, as long as it's realistic. A heartless person to say the least.
Go back to the beginning of the book where adult Pi says “this story will make you believe in God.” Many people will believe the first story without question meaning they have a lot of faith. Some people however, will question the story the whole way through. After hearing the second story, and reading the line, “which is the better story?” Most of this smaller sample of people will tend to choose the first story meaning they prefer to have faith over something realistic but brutal. And this faith portion proves that they will believe in God.
Pi cries because he is relieved to see that the Japanese men, people who want facts and reason to why the ship sank and question Pi’s first story, find that the animal(religion) story is better. Pi now knows that even the most agonistic people(the Japanese interrogators) have faith in something. When one can't explain something with reason, one puts faith in that something as the Japanese men did with Pi’s better story. Thus, Pi cries of relief when he knows people still have faith after everything he has been through.
-Michael Reed
Pi has been surviving upon a lifeboat for 227 days. In danger, animals and humans alike enter a flight or fight mode. Cornered by vast expanses of sea, Pi is physically forced by his surroundings to fight. He survives by fighting in various ways: by fighting for dominance over Richard Parker, by fighting tirelessly to catch food, by fighting to obtain fresh water. Yet, mentally, Pi chooses flight. In order to survive, his mind represses the details and reality of his situation. The truth of his situation and the loss of his family holds too much grief for him to process at the moment. He must divert this energy to survival instead of focusing on his emotions.
ReplyDeleteConsequently, he creates Richard Parker and the animals. Here he can escape into milder feelings of fear, curiosity, awe, and even humor. These emotions are not always pleasant, but are alternatively rather approachable, something he can actively combat in his mind. Pi feels relief and even assurance from this ability to have control over his emotions. In his analysis of fear, he takes solace in the fact that he is acutely aware of his weaknesses, but is also aware that he must combat fear. Fear preoccupies his priorities, and serves as a distraction.
Pi holds on to this comfort of fear. He has no trouble finding things to fear: Richard Parker, the hyena, the storm. When he is desensitized to these things, and no longer feels intense fear, Pi feels compelled to fill this void. He goes blind and hallucinates the idea of the Frenchman, a cannibalistic fellow survivor who is vicious and cruel. Once again, Pi feels fear, and is assured in the fact that he can combat the mental and physically present implications of the Frenchman. He defeats the Frenchman on the lifeboat, and gains renewed confidence and safety.
Soon thereafter, he believes that he is hallucinating the island. He quickly realizes and concludes that the island is real, not part of his imagination. However, the timing of the appearance of the island, right after the Frenchman, indicates that it is actually an extension of Pi’s hallucination. Immediately, he is presented with a new situation that fills the void of his emotions with the familiarity of fear and curiosity.
When Pi converses with the Japanese men. He is cornered by the reality of his situation, much like how he was cornered by the vast ocean. He no longer has the choice between fight or flight. Telling the true story, makes him face his grief, the loss of his family, and the trauma of killing another person. When the Japanese men affirm that the story with animals is the better story, Pi is finally illuminated to the fact that he concocted this story to flee his mental grief. Now aware of this fact, he has no choice but to confront and fight the anguish that he had suppressed. He begins to cry, the first step in processing sorrow.
- Nikhita Sathiyan
Hi Nikhita! I like how you touched upon how Pi used the story with animals as an immediate coping mechanism when his life was at stake. I agree that crying is a way to process a life-changing event as seen by Pi near the end of the book; the use of the Japanese men reaffirms the dark reality of Pi's survival.
Delete