Yann Martel

Born in 1963 to Canadian parents while living in Spain

Writing career took off with Life of Pi

Won the Mann Booker prize awarded for best English-language novel written by a Commonwealth or Irish author

Translated into thirty languages

Screen rights purchased by Fox

Life of Pi can be classified as:

a work of magical

realism, because

fantastical elements—

such as animals with

human personalities or

an island with

cannibalistic trees—

appear in an otherwise

realistic setting

a bildungsroman, a

coming-of-age tale; To

Kill a Mockingbird is a

type of bildungsroman

an adventure story

It even flirts with nonfiction genres

the Author's Note claims that the story of Pi is a true story that the author heard while backpacking through Pondicherry

with its first-person narrator, is structured as a memoir

interview transcripts, another genre of nonfiction writing, appear at the end of the novel

Information about Pondicherry

India was a British colony for nearly

200 years.

However, Pondicherry was once

the capital of French India and so it

retains its French culture.

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

In 1975 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was found guilty of charges related to her 1971 election campaign.

Because of unrest in India, she kept ruling and declared a “state of emergency”—this time period known as the “Emergency” period. It lasted 18 months and ended in March 1977.

It was a controversial time period because she took away people’s rights and jailed her opponents—yet India was economically successful.

In Life of Pi, Pi’s father gets nervous about the possibility of Gandhi taking over his business—and so this causes him to make the decision to move to Canada.

Major Characters

Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi)

The protagonist of the story.

Piscine is the narrator for most of the

novel, and his account of his seven

months at sea forms the bulk of the

story.

He gets his unusual name from the

French word for pool

A student of zoology and religion, Pi is

quite interested and intrigued by the

habits and characteristics of animals

and people.

The Author of the Story

Narrator of the (fictitious) Author’s Note. He

inserts himself into the narrative at several points

throughout the text. (Watch for italic print.)

Though the author who pens the Author’s Note

never identifies himself by name, there are many

clues that indicate it is Life of Pi author Yann

Martel himself.

Thinly disguised: Martel lives in Canada, has

published two books, and was inspired to write

Pi’s life story during a trip to India.

Francis Adirubasamy

Elderly man who tells the author Pi’s storyduring a chance meeting at a Pondicherry coffee shop.

Adirubasamy taught Pi, as a child, to swimand gave him his unusual moniker.

He arranges for the author to meet Pi in person, to get a first-hand account of his strange and compelling tale.

Pi calls Adirubasamy Mamaji, an Indian term meaning respected uncle.

Pi’s Family

Ravi is Pi’s popular older brother, who prefers sports to schoolwork.

He teases Pi about his devotion to three different religions

Santosh Patel is Pi’s father, who runs the Pondicherry Zoo.

He worries continuously and teaches his sons to fear animals.

Raised a Hindu but not a religious man. He is puzzled by Pi’s interest in three religions.

Difficult conditions in India prompt Santosh to move the family to Canada.

More Family Members …

Gita Patel is Pi’s beloved mother and

protector.

She loves books and encourages Pi to read

widely.

Raised a Hindu with a Baptist education,

Gita does not subscribe to any religion and

questions Pi’s religious declarations.

Gita speaks her mind and lets Santosh

know when she disagrees with his

parenting ideas.

Satish Kumar

Pi’s atheist biology teacher at Petit

Seminaire, a secondary school in

Pondicherry.

Satish, a polio survivor, is an odd-looking

man with a triangular-shaped body.

His devotion to the power of scientific

inquiry and explanation inspires Pi to

study zoology in college.

Father Martin

Catholic priest who introduces Pi to

Christianity after Pi wanders into his

church.

Father Martin preaches a message of love.

Father Martin, the Muslim Mr. Kumar, and

the Hindu Pandit disagree about whose

religion Pi should practice.

Satish Kumar (yes, again!)

A plain-featured Muslim mystic with the

same name as Pi’s biology teacher.

Mr. Kumar works in a bakery.

Like the “other” Mr. Kumar, this man has a

strong effect on Pi’s academic plans; his

faith leads Pi to study religion at college.

Themes

The Will to Live overcomes all

obstacles

Storytelling allows an outlet for

processing traumatic events

Religious belief is a deeply

personal journey

The Will to Live overcomes all

obstacles Life of Pi is a story about

struggling to survive through

seemingly insurmountable odds

As Martel makes clear in his

novel, living creatures will often

do extraordinary, unexpected,

and sometimes heroic things to

survive.

However, people will also do

shameful and barbaric acts if

pressed.

Storytelling allows an outlet for

processing traumatic events The Importance of Storytelling

The novel is framed by a (fictional) note from the author who describes how he first came to hear the fantastic tale of Piscine Patel.

Within the framework of Martel's narration is Pi's fantastical first-person account of life on the open sea, which forms the bulk of the book.

At the end of the novel, a transcript taken from an interrogation of Pi reveals the possible “true” story within that story.

Religious belief is a deeply personal

journey Life of Pi begins with an

old man in Pondicherry who tells the narrator, “I have a story that will make you believe in God.”

Storytelling and religious belief are two closely linked ideas in the novel.

Each of Pi's three religions, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, come with its own set of tales and fables, which are used to spread the teachings and illustrate the beliefs of the faith.

Stories and religious beliefs are also linked in Life of Pi because Pi asserts that both require faith on the part of the listener or devotee

Motifs

Territorial dominance

studies the strictness of boundaries, borders, and demarcations.

How and why are

borders enforced

and maintained?

Hunger and thirst

The characters are continually fixated on food and water.

What can hunger and thirst mean symbolically?

Ritual

characters achieve comfort through the practice of rituals

How do rituals provide us with comfort and reassurance.

Symbols

Pi’s name: What does

his name mean in

French? How does

this translation affect

your understanding?

The color orange

The lifeboat

The algae island

Animals

Point of View

Yann Martel wrote Life of Pi in a first person perspective.

Pi Patel tells his own story: life through his

childhood, including 227 intriguing days spent

on a life raft.

As a traditional first person narrative, the information that the narrator knows -- the reader also knows. This is altered a little in Life of Pibecause the story is recounted after the event so wisdom and hindsight are also a part of the novel.

Narrative Structure

Frame story: The fake Author’s Note frames the

rest of the story.

After the Author’s Note, Life of Pi is written in

three sections

the first is Pi’s childhood synopsis

the second is the 227-day journey across the

ocean to North America

the third is his experience with the reporters

These formal elements help to define the different

aspects of Pi’s character development — and

other things we will discuss.

Purpose of Narrative Structure

Martel uses the form of the novel to

delineate different parts to different areas

of the / Pi’s developmental process

In this way, the themes are gradually

introduced to the reader.

The reader can endure the same journey

that Pi encountered.

The form of the novel is key to

understanding the novel.

Part One

The first section describes Pi as

a little boy in both physical terms

and developmental terms.

In this section, Martel describes

a young boy amazed with the

world and all that is in it.

Part Two

The next section of the novel

is dedicated to the main

mode of character

development. This aspect of

the novel describes the origin

of Pi’s transformation.

Part Three

The last section of the novel

represents Pi’s ultimate

maturation, in which he is able

to articulate life’s importance

It is in this section that the theme

of the novel is communicated to

the reader.

Class Activity: Survival

Due tomorrow or at end of classWhat does it mean to you to survive during times of

need? Think about what TRUE survival might look

like and draw out your idea on the supplied paper.

Create a brief, 1-3 sentence caption, for your survival

drawing

Parameters:

• TRUE survival (life and death)

• Drawing meaningful (abstract, symbolic, vague are

okay; DO NOT JUST SCRIBBLE something

meaningless and try to sell it as thoughtful)

• Drawing fills sheet except where caption written

• Yes, it is a grade