Life of Pi is a very structured narrative, with the story told over exactly 100 chapters. Pi explains this ordered framework by saying:
‘I am a person who believes in form, in the harmony of order. Where we can, we must give things a meaningful shape.’
How do you read this comment in terms of Pi’s religious beliefs? And what about in terms of the novel’s overall story (or stories)?
Do you think Pi’s desire for order and structure is significant in light of the fact that his nickname is the irrational number Π?
Andrew Mylwaganam
said:posted 18 August 09
Pi’ s views on religion is something very simple and rather practical but men have grown so weary of each other that we neglect the basic tenets of religion. Pi has decribed the idea so well that it puts the religious bigots among us to shame.
Pi seeks order and harmony in whatever he sees around him and whenever he sees one he attributes it to God. To me though it is something beyond religion and its much bigger and beautiful than that and the search for it continues as i write.
To me again 3.14… Is not a irrational number it is infact an amazing discovery of the uniformity of the geometrical aspects of this universe hence it perfectly fits Pi desire for order.
Korky
said:posted 19 August 09
“Life of Pi is a very structured narrative”
I’d have to disagree, as I think this is one of the most unstructured books I’ve read. It’s rambling and uncaptivating due to it’s lack of ‘tightness’.
Maria do Céu Costa
said:posted 19 August 09
“…we must give things a meaningful shape”, Pi said. Well, I can relate this with some thoughts expressed by the Author, Yann Martel, on being interviewed by an American high school English class. He said: “We’re subjects, not objects. It’s better to delve deeper in the real until you find mystery.” Precisely, Pi, being helped by his faith, goes beyond what is just factual. Throughout the novel there are many examples that convey it.
I’d like to pick the way Pi referred to his “prayer carpet” he loved. Wherever it might be opened Pi felt a particular affection for the piece of land underneath. It helped him recall that land is “God’s creation and equally sacred everywhere.”
Korky
said:posted 23 August 09
Still feeling irritated about this one as now I’ve finished the book I thought that the author often stuck chapter breaks in willy-nilly so it didn’t matter a jot how many chapters there actually were.
Helen
said:posted 6 October 09
I came across this reference in a Robertson Davies article from 1959 – Yann Martel’s favourite music, perhaps?!
“Nordheimer, in 1875, brought out a stirring march for the pianoforte, called “This Canada of Ours,” which crashes along proudly for exactly 100 bars. Mathematically, as well as musically, it is a foursquare piece of work.”
“Gems of Yesteryear”, Toronto Daily Star, 7 November 1959, in The Enthusiasms of Robertson Davies (ed. Judith Skelton Grant).