In chaper 90, Pi, a normally peace-loving vegetarian, has a hallucinatory conversation with a carnivorous sailor who tries to strangle him. What is the purpose of this chapter? Why do you come to this conclusion?
The purpose of this conversation wth the carnivorous sailor is a reflection of what Pi has become. I believe that Pi envisioned this conversation with the blind sailor so he could conversate with someone who has gone through the same struggle that he has. Their conversation revolves mostly around food because that is all that is on Pi's mind. I have come to this conclusion because Pi has not had human companionship in so long that he had to make one in order to give himself some hope.
Up until this point, Pi has stayed somewhat calm and collected and has not had any hallucinations. In this chapter, however, Pi has many hallucinations with one including a carnivorous sailor. The sailor tries to take his belongings, but Pi has none. Then the sailor tries to strangle him, but Richard Parker eats the sailor. I think that the purpose of this chapter is to reiterate his original statement that Man is the most dangerous animal. Pi has survived sharks, other fish, orangutans, hyenas, zebras, and Richard Parker. The only thing that might have killed Pi was the sailor. The reason why I come to this conclusion is because, in the beginning of the book, Pi is adamant about animals not being harmful, that humans are the real problem. This is shown through Richard Parker not attacking Pi at all. It is written clearly throughout the entire book, but he uses a hallucination in order to better make his point.
Personally, I feel as though this chapter is supposed to show how Pi has completely lost hope and is ready to die. It starts off with him becoming blind, which was not a very good situation. If he is blind he cannot fish, if he cannot fish he cannot eat, if he cannot eat he dies. His blindness shows that there is no left for the poor boy. Then, Richard Parker starts talking to him, another symbol that he is going crazy. Pi almost entirely lost his mind, until the other castaway comes. This man is the only human contact Pi has hadin months and he wants to befriend the man. It would be very nice to have another human on the boat to talk with and help with tasks, but this would soon end. The man steps off the tarpaulin and is eaten by the Richard Parker. "Before I could say the word alone, I was alone again," (Martel 255). This shows how Pi has given up all hope at ever getting back to civilization, and that he will nevermeet any humans again. The man showed most human traits, greed, avarice, and hunger, and once he was killed it was like humanity itself was killed too. --Spiderman
I would have to agree with 18maniacalmongooses because Pi has not had anyone to talk to beside Richard Parker for many days and he needs someone so he creates this person in his mind. I believe he makes him blind because Pi is also blind and may not want the man to seem superior to him. Also this may have helped him to cope with what he had just gone through in knowing that there is someone else out there who has struggled just as much as he has, just like 18maniacalmongooses stated!
I would have to agree with 18maniacalmongooses because Pi has not had anyone to talk to beside Richard Parker for many days and he needs someone so he creates this person in his mind. I believe he makes him blind because Pi is also blind and may not want the man to seem superior to him. Also this may have helped him to cope with what he had just gone through in knowing that there is someone else out there who has struggled just as much as he has, just like 18maniacalmongooses stated!
I think the purpose of the discussion with the carnivorous sailor is to show Pi’s confusion at sea. Even though Pi was a vegetarian when he was stranded out at sea he had to eat the fish, turtles, and other animals in order to survive. Pi was forced to give up his vegetarian ways. This carnivorous sailor represents how Pi really felt about eating the sea creatures. He felt that him killing animals was just as bad as the carnivorous sailor trying to kill him. At first Pi was uncomfortable killing any living creature even though he needed to eat, which shows that he remained true to his vegetarianism. The first time he caught a fish he had to wrap it in the blanket before he could kill it. However as time passed Pi became more animal-like in his pursuit for food. He noticed that he ate in a way that was similar to Richard Parker, making himself as much as a beast as the tiger. -Bubba
I believe that the purpose of this chapter is to show what Pi has become. Before, he found the "island", and took the meerkats for food. He has turned into a meat-eater, and I believe that Pi's thoughts have brought him to believe that he was actually this carnivorous sailor, no longer Pi.
I agree with 18maniacalmongooses on the purpose of this chapter. Pi's lonliness can no longer be satisfied by talking to the elements or writing down his thoughts. By going blind Pi has lost touch with what was left of his hope to live. Even if their was land in sight he would never know. Even if his pen had not run out of ink he still could not read his writing. "The clarity of my insanity was astonishing"(Martel 242). Pi's blindness had taken away his ability to survive. Now blind Pi could not preoccupy himself with labor, he could not fish for food, and he could not monitor Ricahrd Parker. This chapter is showing us exactly what the quote states, that Pi has "lost it". -Trix
I agree with snorlax because Pi had stated previously that his hopes are all up and he is dieing. This particular chapter shows how one particular individual can give up on life and find someone else to replace it. For example, the blind man had entered into the story, which shows how he is almost being taken to his death. I also agree with 18maniacalmongooses on the fact that he needed someone to talk to. The reason being is because it is very difficult to go through a journey with only one person, which might had made him come upon the blind man.
Pi begins to hallucinate and has a conversation with a carnivorous sailor who attempts to strangle him. I think the purpose of this chapter is to show Pi's emotions towards himself. He is normally a peace-loving vegetarian, but due to his horrible conditions, he has to fish to survive. He has to kill the fish himself, which upsets his conscience. I think Pi has this carnivorous sailor hallucination because he is actually upset about what he has done to the fish. He says he never forgets the first fish he killed in his prayers. The hallucination shows how horrible he would have thought his actions were if he was not suffering. -Forest Gump
I agree with what spiderman said. The chapter almost seems as if it is there to show that Pi is not going to return and that he has no hope left. There are so many things that go wrong with Pi in this chapter, including his eyesight, food, and his overall health. It is obvious how much he is going downhill, and with all this happening, his chances of survival are diminishing. Later though, he finds the other person which gives him more hope. "I'm blind and we have no food and water, but we have each other. That is something" (Martel 250). This quote takes place minutes before the man is eaten by Richard Parker. He finaly find someone to share his pain and suffering with, someone to talk to and help him get back to land, and he is killed by Pi's only other live contact, Richard Parker. Nothing in this chapter is going the way Pi wants it to.
I completely agree with jennay that the purpose of this chapter is to explain the danger of man. In the beginning of the novel, Pi is taught at a young age that man is the most dangerous animal in the zoo. Pi escapes the threat of all the animals on the lifeboat and is able to survive with Richard Parker. Even more, he is also taught, "...Father believed there was another animal even more dangerous than us,...Animalus anthropomorphicus, the animal as seen through human eyes" (Martel 31). This carnivorous sailor is a large threat to Pi, yet his blindness shows that he is dominant and able to defeat him. Pi's hallucinatory conversation is what Pi needs to keep his hopes up if he wants to ever survive at sea and make it to land.
The whole reasoning behind the french cannibal and Pi's meeting is in itslef quite simple. Throughout his entire journey, Pi has been alone with a tiger, a companion but not one that talks. When this cannibal comes along, Pi talks until he's practically red in the face yearning for at least some one to talk to despite his hidden appetite for human. The end shows that communication fails Pi, and Richard Parker ultimately saves him from an even worser end than Pi could imagine.
The conversation between Pi and the blind sailor who tries to strangle him is a scene painted in irony. Pi, the vegetarian, had resorted to eating meat/animal flesh in order to survive. This man, this blind sailor, had been a carnivore (technically, humans are omnivores since we can eat both vegetables and meat) his entire life, but now in order to survive he must eat a new type of flesh. This sailor is the dark mirror image of Pi. This character is more willing to go to the extreme to survive, he is willing to murder and eat another person.
I agree with the Hulk and Jennay on this one. I believe most of the novel is allegorical and this chapter is nothing special. Pi most likely committed an act that he cannot bring himself to grips with. The conversation with the Frenchman is his way of doing so. His personal struggle has been made verbal and he is simply trying to figure out what happened. Being shipwrecked has caused Pi to question all parts of his faith, including how devout a vegetarian he is. Pi is finding that by bit by bit his old self is slipping away, and he does not want this to happen. In short, he is rationalizing his actions.
The purpose of this conversation is to not only literally show the hard conditions of which Pi is living under, but to also show how these conditions have changed him. This conversation shows Pi's lack of companionship as well as his new found carnivorous nature. For example, in chapter 66, we see how much Pi loves fishing and eating meat. He is no longer a vegetarian and as the novel continues he is described more and more as an animalistic butcher. I have come to these conclusions about the conversation because many things that are said in this hallucinatory conversation are either problems or things Pi is currently dealing with in this unfortunate situation.
The purpose of this chapter was to show the reader a depiction of what Pi had believed himself to become - the other carnivorous being that he meets. I believe that this chapter shows that Pi realizes what he has become, but cannot come to terms with it and thus creates a hallucination to deal with it. I came to this conclusion because Pi was a devout vegetarian before, and had been reduced to such a savagery that it was hard for him to cope with. -misbehavin
I am in alliance with Mighty Boo Jones, The Hulk and Jennay. This hallucination is included to simply show that Pi has a conscious about becoming a meat eater to survive. His vegetarian mind disapproves of his carnivorous body. It should also be noted that this shows how truly dangerous Man is. Able to degrade oneself to dinosaur status, Man can commit gory and inhuman acts of violence to satisfy their own needs. It is reasonable to suggest the sailor's attack on Pi would be the only thing other than starvation or dehydration that would kill Pi. We know that none of the other animals harm Pi including Richard Parker, which proves as Jennay stated the theme of Man as the most dangerous animal.
I have to agree with 18maniacalmongoose's comment; Pi's conversation with the sailor is a reflection of what he has become. As the reader, I linked the sailor and Pi's traits with one another: they were both stranded,blind, malnutritioned, starving and suffering. Furthermore, Pi has eaten whatever he can get his hands on, including meat. Before Pi's desertion, he was a vegetarian. But, now he has eaten everything, including meat in order to survive. In addition, their conversation is all about food and what would satisfy them. At the end of the chapter, after Richard Parker kills the sailor, Pi says "Something in me died then that has never come back to life (Martel, 255)." This shows that the sailor is a part of Pi(carnivore) on his journey that has never come back ever since his journey ended. This is Pi's meat-eating aspect.
The chapter with the Frenchman, I believe, is in the book to introduce the terrible nature of man before we are shown the possibility of the 'second story'. The chapter also proves to support Pi's second story and would make the reader question even more which story is the true story.
20 comments:
The purpose of this conversation wth the carnivorous sailor is a reflection of what Pi has become. I believe that Pi envisioned this conversation with the blind sailor so he could conversate with someone who has gone through the same struggle that he has. Their conversation revolves mostly around food because that is all that is on Pi's mind. I have come to this conclusion because Pi has not had human companionship in so long that he had to make one in order to give himself some hope.
Up until this point, Pi has stayed somewhat calm and collected and has not had any hallucinations. In this chapter, however, Pi has many hallucinations with one including a carnivorous sailor. The sailor tries to take his belongings, but Pi has none. Then the sailor tries to strangle him, but Richard Parker eats the sailor. I think that the purpose of this chapter is to reiterate his original statement that Man is the most dangerous animal. Pi has survived sharks, other fish, orangutans, hyenas, zebras, and Richard Parker. The only thing that might have killed Pi was the sailor. The reason why I come to this conclusion is because, in the beginning of the book, Pi is adamant about animals not being harmful, that humans are the real problem. This is shown through Richard Parker not attacking Pi at all. It is written clearly throughout the entire book, but he uses a hallucination in order to better make his point.
Personally, I feel as though this chapter is supposed to show how Pi has completely lost hope and is ready to die. It starts off with him becoming blind, which was not a very good situation. If he is blind he cannot fish, if he cannot fish he cannot eat, if he cannot eat he dies. His blindness shows that there is no left for the poor boy. Then, Richard Parker starts talking to him, another symbol that he is going crazy. Pi almost entirely lost his mind, until the other castaway comes. This man is the only human contact Pi has hadin months and he wants to befriend the man. It would be very nice to have another human on the boat to talk with and help with tasks, but this would soon end. The man steps off the tarpaulin and is eaten by the Richard Parker. "Before I could say the word alone, I was alone again," (Martel 255). This shows how Pi has given up all hope at ever getting back to civilization, and that he will nevermeet any humans again. The man showed most human traits, greed, avarice, and hunger, and once he was killed it was like humanity itself was killed too.
--Spiderman
I would have to agree with 18maniacalmongooses because Pi has not had anyone to talk to beside Richard Parker for many days and he needs someone so he creates this person in his mind. I believe he makes him blind because Pi is also blind and may not want the man to seem superior to him. Also this may have helped him to cope with what he had just gone through in knowing that there is someone else out there who has struggled just as much as he has, just like 18maniacalmongooses stated!
I would have to agree with 18maniacalmongooses because Pi has not had anyone to talk to beside Richard Parker for many days and he needs someone so he creates this person in his mind. I believe he makes him blind because Pi is also blind and may not want the man to seem superior to him. Also this may have helped him to cope with what he had just gone through in knowing that there is someone else out there who has struggled just as much as he has, just like 18maniacalmongooses stated!
-cheerio!
I think the purpose of the discussion with the carnivorous sailor is to show Pi’s confusion at sea. Even though Pi was a vegetarian when he was stranded out at sea he had to eat the fish, turtles, and other animals in order to survive. Pi was forced to give up his vegetarian ways. This carnivorous sailor represents how Pi really felt about eating the sea creatures. He felt that him killing animals was just as bad as the carnivorous sailor trying to kill him.
At first Pi was uncomfortable killing any living creature even though he needed to eat, which shows that he remained true to his vegetarianism. The first time he caught a fish he had to wrap it in the blanket before he could kill it. However as time passed Pi became more animal-like in his pursuit for food. He noticed that he ate in a way that was similar to Richard Parker, making himself as much as a beast as the tiger.
-Bubba
I believe that the purpose of this chapter is to show what Pi has become. Before, he found the "island", and took the meerkats for food. He has turned into a meat-eater, and I believe that Pi's thoughts have brought him to believe that he was actually this carnivorous sailor, no longer Pi.
-Cap'n Crunch
I agree with 18maniacalmongooses on the purpose of this chapter. Pi's lonliness can no longer be satisfied by talking to the elements or writing down his thoughts. By going blind Pi has lost touch with what was left of his hope to live. Even if their was land in sight he would never know. Even if his pen had not run out of ink he still could not read his writing. "The clarity of my insanity was astonishing"(Martel 242). Pi's blindness had taken away his ability to survive. Now blind Pi could not preoccupy himself with labor, he could not fish for food, and he could not monitor Ricahrd Parker. This chapter is showing us exactly what the quote states, that Pi has "lost it".
-Trix
I agree with snorlax because Pi had stated previously that his hopes are all up and he is dieing. This particular chapter shows how one particular individual can give up on life and find someone else to replace it. For example, the blind man had entered into the story, which shows how he is almost being taken to his death. I also agree with 18maniacalmongooses on the fact that he needed someone to talk to. The reason being is because it is very difficult to go through a journey with only one person, which might had made him come upon the blind man.
-Ddolly
Pi begins to hallucinate and has a conversation with a carnivorous sailor who attempts to strangle him. I think the purpose of this chapter is to show Pi's emotions towards himself. He is normally a peace-loving vegetarian, but due to his horrible conditions, he has to fish to survive. He has to kill the fish himself, which upsets his conscience. I think Pi has this carnivorous sailor hallucination because he is actually upset about what he has done to the fish. He says he never forgets the first fish he killed in his prayers. The hallucination shows how horrible he would have thought his actions were if he was not suffering.
-Forest Gump
I agree with what spiderman said. The chapter almost seems as if it is there to show that Pi is not going to return and that he has no hope left. There are so many things that go wrong with Pi in this chapter, including his eyesight, food, and his overall health. It is obvious how much he is going downhill, and with all this happening, his chances of survival are diminishing. Later though, he finds the other person which gives him more hope. "I'm blind and we have no food and water, but we have each other. That is something" (Martel 250). This quote takes place minutes before the man is eaten by Richard Parker. He finaly find someone to share his pain and suffering with, someone to talk to and help him get back to land, and he is killed by Pi's only other live contact, Richard Parker. Nothing in this chapter is going the way Pi wants it to.
I completely agree with jennay that the purpose of this chapter is to explain the danger of man. In the beginning of the novel, Pi is taught at a young age that man is the most dangerous animal in the zoo. Pi escapes the threat of all the animals on the lifeboat and is able to survive with Richard Parker. Even more, he is also taught, "...Father believed there was another animal even more dangerous than us,...Animalus anthropomorphicus, the animal as seen through human eyes" (Martel 31). This carnivorous sailor is a large threat to Pi, yet his blindness shows that he is dominant and able to defeat him. Pi's hallucinatory conversation is what Pi needs to keep his hopes up if he wants to ever survive at sea and make it to land.
The whole reasoning behind the french cannibal and Pi's meeting is in itslef quite simple. Throughout his entire journey, Pi has been alone with a tiger, a companion but not one that talks. When this cannibal comes along, Pi talks until he's practically red in the face yearning for at least some one to talk to despite his hidden appetite for human. The end shows that communication fails Pi, and Richard Parker ultimately saves him from an even worser end than Pi could imagine.
The conversation between Pi and the blind sailor who tries to strangle him is a scene painted in irony. Pi, the vegetarian, had resorted to eating meat/animal flesh in order to survive. This man, this blind sailor, had been a carnivore (technically, humans are omnivores since we can eat both vegetables and meat) his entire life, but now in order to survive he must eat a new type of flesh. This sailor is the dark mirror image of Pi. This character is more willing to go to the extreme to survive, he is willing to murder and eat another person.
I agree with the Hulk and Jennay on this one. I believe most of the novel is allegorical and this chapter is nothing special. Pi most likely committed an act that he cannot bring himself to grips with. The conversation with the Frenchman is his way of doing so. His personal struggle has been made verbal and he is simply trying to figure out what happened. Being shipwrecked has caused Pi to question all parts of his faith, including how devout a vegetarian he is. Pi is finding that by bit by bit his old self is slipping away, and he does not want this to happen. In short, he is rationalizing his actions.
The purpose of this conversation is to not only literally show the hard conditions of which Pi is living under, but to also show how these conditions have changed him. This conversation shows Pi's lack of companionship as well as his new found carnivorous nature. For example, in chapter 66, we see how much Pi loves fishing and eating meat. He is no longer a vegetarian and as the novel continues he is described more and more as an animalistic butcher. I have come to these conclusions about the conversation because many things that are said in this hallucinatory conversation are either problems or things Pi is currently dealing with in this unfortunate situation.
The purpose of this chapter was to show the reader a depiction of what Pi had believed himself to become - the other carnivorous being that he meets. I believe that this chapter shows that Pi realizes what he has become, but cannot come to terms with it and thus creates a hallucination to deal with it. I came to this conclusion because Pi was a devout vegetarian before, and had been reduced to such a savagery that it was hard for him to cope with.
-misbehavin
I am in alliance with Mighty Boo Jones, The Hulk and Jennay. This hallucination is included to simply show that Pi has a conscious about becoming a meat eater to survive. His vegetarian mind disapproves of his carnivorous body. It should also be noted that this shows how truly dangerous Man is. Able to degrade oneself to dinosaur status, Man can commit gory and inhuman acts of violence to satisfy their own needs. It is reasonable to suggest the sailor's attack on Pi would be the only thing other than starvation or dehydration that would kill Pi. We know that none of the other animals harm Pi including Richard Parker, which proves as Jennay stated the theme of Man as the most dangerous animal.
I have to agree with 18maniacalmongoose's comment; Pi's conversation with the sailor is a reflection of what he has become. As the reader, I linked the sailor and Pi's traits with one another: they were both stranded,blind, malnutritioned, starving and suffering. Furthermore, Pi has eaten whatever he can get his hands on, including meat. Before Pi's desertion, he was a vegetarian. But, now he has eaten everything, including meat in order to survive. In addition, their conversation is all about food and what would satisfy them. At the end of the chapter, after Richard Parker kills the sailor, Pi says "Something in me died then that has never come back to life (Martel, 255)." This shows that the sailor is a part of Pi(carnivore) on his journey that has never come back ever since his journey ended. This is Pi's meat-eating aspect.
-Dat Weasel
The chapter with the Frenchman, I believe, is in the book to introduce the terrible nature of man before we are shown the possibility of the 'second story'. The chapter also proves to support Pi's second story and would make the reader question even more which story is the true story.
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