THE JOURNEYIndependent Study ProjectLife of Pi, Native Son, and The Road

Joanna Leger

2011

What is “THE JOURNEY”? “...follows a character or

characters through a series of episodic adventures as they travel” (Common Themes)

Could be emotionally, physically, or mentally tough or pleasing

Often ends positively or negatively (success or death) and character(s) gain/lose something

Huckleberry Finn, The Odyssey

(Google Images)

Yann Martel Father was a Canadian diplomat

so they lived all around the world which influenced his works

Studied philosophy and travelled to India as an adult visiting temples, zoos, and churches

7 published works but best known for Life of Pi which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002

Won 7 major awards for his works including Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction, Governor General’s Award for Fiction, and Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award

(Yann Martel)

(Google Images)

Life Of Pi Published in 2001 Fantasy/adventure/philosophical

novel Set in India, Pacific Ocean, Mexico

(227 days) in 1970’s Main Characters: -Piscine Molitor Patel (“Pi”) -Richard Parker (Royal Bengal

tiger) -Father Martin, the Pandit (Hindu),

Satish Kumar (Atheist/Muslim) -Ravi, Gita, and Santosh Patel -The Hyena (The Cook), Orange

Juice, The Zebra (The Sailor) -Tomohiro Okamoto, Atsuro Chiba 

(Google Images)

“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn’t biological necessity – it’s envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can.”

“…a realization that the founding principle of existence is what we call love, which works itself out sometimes not clearly, not cleanly, not immediately, nonetheless ineluctably.”

(Martel)

What Happens? The JOURNEY of Pi Patel’s life -Zoology -Religion -Love -Moves to Canada -Ship sinking

http://youtu.be/vqLcVMqYwtg#t=26s

-Survival on lifeboat (delusion, insanity, extreme, love)

-Lands on an island -Back out at sea -Rescue to Mexican shore -Interview with Japanese

(Google Images)

(Martel)

How does it relate to “THE JOURNEY”?

endures through physically and emotionally trying situations while traveling on the boat

ends positively and successfully defeats death

(Google Images)

Richard Wright Author of often racial-themed and

controversial novels due to his experiences with racism

Only received a grammar school education

Joined Communist Party because of Great Depression

Influenced by Harlem Renaissance writers

Most known for Uncle Tom’s Children (1938) (Book of the Month Club), Native Son (1940) Black Boy (1945), Lawd Today (1963)

Awards: Spingarn Medal, Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Story Magazine Award

Moved to Paris and was an expatriate

(Google Images)(Richard Wright (author))

Native Son Published in 1940 Social

protesting/urban novel Set in the 1930’s in

Chicago Main characters: -Bigger Thomas -Mary Dalton -Bessie Mears -Jan Erlone -Boris A. Max

(Google Images)(Wright)

What happens? Follows Bigger’s JOURNEY to find

identity -Feels oppressed and convicted

by white society all of his life anger and gang afiliation

-Employed by Mr. And Mrs. Dalton

-Kills Mary Dalton power and identity -Escapes with Bessie and then

kills her -Avoids police -Jail and trial Sees equality in whites and

blacks -Sentenced to death -Product of society?

(Google Images)(Wright)

How does it relate to “THE JOURNEY”?

Searching for his identity

Goes through a series of adventures (crimes, murders, escapes…)

Gets what he searched for but ends negatively

http://youtu.be/6wEobLttxEg?t=40s

(Google Images)

Cormac McCarthy Novelist and playwright Works usually explore the

southern gothic, western, and modernists themes

Best known for The Road, which won the Pulitzer Prize

No Country For Old Men, All the Pretty Horses, Blood Meridian

Won multiple awards for books (Believer Book Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, National Book Award…) along with Academy awards for movies

Compared to William Faulkner

(Google Images)(Cormac McCarthy)

The Road Published in 2006 Post-apocalyptic and

environmentalist novel Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in

2007 Major Characters -The Man -The Boy Inspired by his trip to El

Paso, Texas with his son Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club Metacritic- 90 out of 100 Created into a movie in 2009 Emotional, frightening,

father/son love story (Google Images)(McCarthy)

What happens? World has ended from an

unexplained catastrophe, leaving the world grim and gray

Follows the JOURNEY of a man and his son trying to find life and benevolent civilization

-Go south on empty highway to escape harsh winter and “bad guys

-Carry only backpacks and a shopping cart full of canned goods, blankets, tarps…

-Begin to see more people but they are the “bad guys” (kill a man, see cannibalistic nomadic tribes)

-Find a house with humans locked in a cellar waiting to be eaten by cannibals

-near death (starvation and sickness), but luckily find a underground cellar full of everything they could need and eventually leave

-Continue on encountering more cannibalistic tribes, abandoned houses (newborn baby)

-the man soon dies because the conditions have not improved and the boy is left alone

-Family approaches the boy and they ask him to join him and the journey continues….

(Google Images)

(McCarthy)

Father and Son Relationship What keeps them alive for so long -convinces that they are the “good

guys” and they “carry the fire” -man always puts boy first -man constantly pushes boy to

endure but when the man gets sick the tables turn

“What would you do if I died? If you died I would want to die too. So you could be with me? Yes. So I could be with you.” Conflicts mostly due to boy’s

misunderstanding -gets angry when he kills “bad

guys”, or when they don’t help people

-man is just trying to keep them safe(Google Images)

(McCarthy)

How does it relate to “THE JOURNEY”?

Set out to search for better conditions

Tolerate horrifying and life-threatening episodes daily

Ends with both utter sorrow and hope

http://youtu.be/hbLgszfXTAY

(Google Images)

THANK YOU

(Google Images)

Works Cited "Common Themes in Literature." Common Themes in Literature. Daniel Snyder, 30

Aug. 2006. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://www3.delta.edu/drsnyder/CommonThemesInLiterature.html>.

"Cormac McCarthy." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 11 May 2011. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_mccarthy>.

"Google Images." Google. Google. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en>.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. [Waterville, ME]: Wheeler Pub., 2003. Print. McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. Thorndike, Me.: Center Point Pub., 2007. Print. "Richard Wright (author)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 10 May

2011. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wright_(author)>. Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005.

Print. "Yann Martel." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 4 Apr. 2011. Web. 18

May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yann_Martel>. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. YouTube. Web. 18 May 2011.

<http://www.youtube.com/>.