After more than seven months, Pi reaches land. Richard Parker disappears into the forest immediately. Why no goodbyes ("Well, wild animals do not have the capacity to say goodbye" is not the type of answer we are looking for)?
22 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I don't believe that Richard Parker and Pi developed a great relationship. Pi may have thought so, but I don't believe that Richard Parker liked Pi. I think he felt trapped by Pi, and he didn't want to be trained.
I do not think that Richard Parker’s exit without a goodbye was intentional. Earlier in the book when they arrive on the island at sea, Richard Parker goes off to explore the island and always returns at night to the boat. In the morning, he leaps off the boat to continue the same routine. Upon landing at Mexico, I think Richard Parker found it as another island for him to explore and just went on his way. Pi explains the exit as, “At the edge of the jungle, he stopped. I was certain he would turn my way. … He did nothing of the sort. He only looked fixedly into the jungle” (Martel 284). Simply, Richard Parker was going out to explore again and did not realize the effect his curiosity and lack of “proper farewell” had on his caretaker, Pi.
I agree with what Cap'n Crunch said in the fact that they did not develop a good relationship. Pi was always running scared of Richard Parker in fear that he may eat him. At one point Pi became so scared he made another boat and attached it to the orginal boat by string and lived on there for quite sometime. At one point during this Pi needed to return to the boat however decided not to because of his fear of Richard Parker. I believe that if Richard Parker had attempted some type of goodbye then the two would have had a proper goodbye, however because of Pi's fear there was no way he was going to appoarch Richard Parker and say goodbye to him after all that time of fearing him.
I agree with Cap'n Crunch. Although Pi was very fond of Richard Parker and he needed him to survive, Richard Parker may not have felt the same way. Afterall, he is a tiger which is an animal that likes to roam free and have nobody telling it what to do. When they finnaly arrived on land, Richard Parker just wanted to leave and be free as he was years ago, before he was in the zoo. Also, being an animal, he may have thought that Pi put him there, in the ocean and away from his home at the zoo. This could also create a worse relationship between Pi and Richard Parker.
I believe that Richard Parker gave no goodbyes because HE WAS A TIGER. He was a wild animal that felt no connection to Pi whatsoever, just that he was the alpha on the boat. I do agree with Cap'n Crunch that Richard Parker felt trapped though. That explains why he ran away as soon as they reach land. Being all cramped up on a boat for seven months is no place for a tiger, and he wanted to leave. I was not surprised at this action. Pi was not surprised either, "And now go where you must. You have known the confined freedom of a zoo most of your life; now you will know the free confinement of a jungle," (MArtel 286). Pi knows that Richard Parker wants to be free, so he lets him go.
Pi and Richard Parker’s journey had ended when they had reached the Mexican beach and from there they would be going on their separate ways in life. The only thing that disappointed Pi was that Richard Parker did not say his last goodbyes to him. The reason why there were no goodbyes from Richard Parker was because Pi had started to feel the good relationship with Richard Parker, but Richard Parker did not feel the same. The reason being is because Pi had trapped him in many things and made him do whatever he wished, which might had made Richard Parker not have the same relationship with Pi. Another reason why Richard Parker could have not said his last goodbyes to Pi is because he knew that if he had said his last goodbyes to Pi it would be difficult or both of them to let go.
There were no goodbyes between Richard Parker and Pi due to the simple fact that they didn't care for one another. To Pi, Richard Parker was an abusive landlord who he had to jump through hoopes for. Everyday he had to catch and present him with fish, give him water, and give him whatever other food he could in order to prevent the tiger from killing him. If Pi would have been stronger, he would have killed the tiger and ate him.
To Richard Parker, Pi was a source of food in two senses. In the first sense, Pi could fish and provide Richard Parker with all the turtle flesh and fresh water he wanted. No animal is stupid enough to kill another animal that is presenting it with food, so it allowed Pi to live. In the second sense, if the situation was desperate enough, Richard Parker could have eaten Pi and extended his life by another few days.
The two were not best friends forever, they were just two organisms traped in a boat trying to survive. As long as the other did not pose a threat or hold back the other, they would each allow the other to live.
I believe that Pi and Richard Parker have developed a relationship while on the lifeboat for seven months. Richard Parker had respect for Pi, and this was obvious because Richard Parker did not kill Pi during the seven months. Pi said, "I was truly alone, orphaned not only of my family, but now of Richard Parker, and nearly, I thought, of God."(Martel 285) This quote displays how Pi views Richard Parker as part of the family.
Richard Parker left Pi immediately upon reaching land. Pi was the alpha-male and made Richard Parker's life on the boat hard at times. Pi thought that Richard Parker really like him, but that was not the case. Because of Pi, Richard Parker would become extremely sea sick, he got bitten by a shark, and he was confined to certain areas of the boat. It also refutes Pi's original argument that animals are comfortable with being confined to a cage in the zoo. The boat was like a cage to Richard Parker and once the door was opened, he bolted. Richard Parker was just looking for a means of escape. He wasn't trying to hurt Pi, he was trying to better is own life.
I think this is case of humans once gain anthropomorphizing animals. Only humans say goodbye. Nature works in cycles, and not linearly as some humans see. Pi was seeking closure with Richard Parker, but why would he expect that? It's a wild animal, not a pet. It is natural for Richard Parker to want to explore, for it is in his nature. We want a nice Disney ending, but this will not be the case here. This story is a sad one, and a happy ending would ruin the mood.
There are no goodbyes between Pi and Richard Parker because Richard Parker is in fact a Bengal tiger. Pi had to remain in close proximity with Richard Parker for a long time but that does not mean they became close. Pi always respected Richard Parker’s territory; he never got extremely close to Richard Parker and when he did he was scared. There was always a small amount of fear in Pi because Richard Parker was in fact an animal. He should not have expected a goodbye in any form.
After Pi reaches land in Mexico, Richard Parker does indeed disappear into the forest without a thought or even a glance towards Pi. This is so because Richard Parker has been confined in the small space of the lifeboat for these seven months and simply has the initial reaction of running into what he has missed all this time the second they reach land. I believe that it is more of the reason that Richard Parker was not thinking rather than that he did not want to "say goodbye".
I think that in surviving any wreck and being stranded your first want is normalcy. For people they want to see family and friends for animals it's the same; they want to see something familiar. Goodbyes are never first to come to mind. When people are resuced from wrecks their last thought isn't i'm not seeing this person I was just stranded with ever again. Goodbyes are also never easy and so maybe Parker did say goodbye in his own way, by not showing things were going to change he left the boat just like with the other island and never looked back. Or maybe he thought it was like the island and he did come back for the night, but because there was no boat the tiger thought Pi had left him there and went out into the waters in search of him ( just like Pi had feared in leaving parker at the first island). Maybe that's also why niether Pi or anyone else ever found Richard Parker. -TRIX
I have two theories on why there were no goodbyes after arriving to Mexico. Similar to Trix and Charmander's ideas of Richard Parker returning to the boat as he did on the previous islands also came to mind after reading the passage. Richard may have been in a frenzy to leave the boat and did not have a notion of goodbye simply because he planned to return shortly. Another thought was that Martel included this passage of "no goodbyes" to make a point about Pi's personality. Pi mentions earlier in the story, that he dislikes his nickname Pi because it is associated with the never-ending mathematical number. He makes a point to Martel to have exactly 100 chapters in his novel so there is a conclusion and closure. Without a goodbye from Richard Parker, Pi is severely distressed because he is given no closure. I believe it was intentionally written by the author to give the reader more insight to Pi character.
I agree with the hulk, and believe that had Pi remained at the boat, RP would have certainly came back, if only for the first night, since in RP's mind, Pi was still the Alpha male, and thus deserved to be treated as such. -misbehavin
Pi says that animals tend to fear humans. While he is on the boat with Richard Parker, he decides he will tame the tiger, to help keep himself safe from the animal. Once the lifeboat reaches land, I both castaways are ecstatic and relieved. I think Richard Parker wants to go into the jungle right away because he is afraid of Pi; he is afraid of being tamed now on land by his alpha-male. This may also be a reason Richard Parker did not say goodbye because in his eyes, Pi is the alpha-male. I believe Pi thought he and Richard Parker had a better relationship on the lifeboat than they truly did. -Forest Gump
I completely agree with Jennay about why Richard Parker left Pi as soon as they got to Mexico. Pi did convince himself that he and Richard Parker had a good relationship. However, this is not the case; Richard Parker was forced to respect Pi becuase of the alpha-male in Pi. Animals are smart enough to know what is expected of them. Furthermore, the boat was a confinement for Richard Parker just like a cage would be. Therefore, once Richard Parker had the chance to be free and under his own rule, he took the chance. Yes, Pi is hurt by a lack of goodbyes from Richard Parker, but this was not intentional of him.
The reasoning behind RP's not so heartfelt goodbye was simple, like it or not Pi had to move on. RP represents the beast within Pi, and after finally reaching some form of realization it seemed obvious that Pi didn't need a goodbye from RP. Of course, the reader wants some closure, and coming to this realization isn't exactly an instantaneous response.
I do believe that Richard Parker's hasty exit was intentional. If Pi's second story is to be believed, then Richard Parker was just a part of Pi's mind. This part of him allowed him to survive at sea with an almost animal-like ferocity while still being able to view his actions and tell himself "That's not me, that's Richard Parker". To say that Pi 'trained' Richard Parker would be the same as saying that Pi was able to maintain some form of control over his more 'feral' instincts.
Maybe rp thought it was like the floating island from before and would return at night, however, he did stare into the mexican jungle and perhaps knew his sea days were over. he didnt say goodbye because maybe he only saw his freedom. something he yeared for for so long. he didnt think of pi cuz he only saw what he wanted. a new begining. I think rp did feel some comfort and closness to pi when he told rp they were dying and allowed him to pet him. i think some trust was established at that point. so a relationship of sorts did exist and it was heartwarming. Though when reaching mexico rp only saw his freedom ahead of him.
I feel sad and that it's a shame that Richard Parker didn't so much as turn to look at Pi for a last goodbye. However I feel this ending was intentionally made this way to mirror how Pi never said goodbye to his lover and never had the chance to say goodbye to his family. Could this be a reflection in the behavior of Pi from Richard Parker?
I believe RP accepted Pi's friendship eventually because he let Pi into his personal space. RP let Pi stroke his head while lying on his lap. It was the moment when both of them think they were ready to face death but then later miraculously found the 1st island.
Hence, could it be that RP was bad at goodbyes too and instead leaps through the leaves and into the jungle, headstrong and secretly wishing Pi well in his heart (haha! how I'd like to believe so!)
22 comments:
I don't believe that Richard Parker and Pi developed a great relationship. Pi may have thought so, but I don't believe that Richard Parker liked Pi. I think he felt trapped by Pi, and he didn't want to be trained.
-Cap'n Crunch
I do not think that Richard Parker’s exit without a goodbye was intentional. Earlier in the book when they arrive on the island at sea, Richard Parker goes off to explore the island and always returns at night to the boat. In the morning, he leaps off the boat to continue the same routine. Upon landing at Mexico, I think Richard Parker found it as another island for him to explore and just went on his way. Pi explains the exit as, “At the edge of the jungle, he stopped. I was certain he would turn my way. … He did nothing of the sort. He only looked fixedly into the jungle” (Martel 284). Simply, Richard Parker was going out to explore again and did not realize the effect his curiosity and lack of “proper farewell” had on his caretaker, Pi.
--The HULK
I agree with what Cap'n Crunch said in the fact that they did not develop a good relationship. Pi was always running scared of Richard Parker in fear that he may eat him. At one point Pi became so scared he made another boat and attached it to the orginal boat by string and lived on there for quite sometime. At one point during this Pi needed to return to the boat however decided not to because of his fear of Richard Parker. I believe that if Richard Parker had attempted some type of goodbye then the two would have had a proper goodbye, however because of Pi's fear there was no way he was going to appoarch Richard Parker and say goodbye to him after all that time of fearing him.
-cheerio!
I agree with Cap'n Crunch. Although Pi was very fond of Richard Parker and he needed him to survive, Richard Parker may not have felt the same way. Afterall, he is a tiger which is an animal that likes to roam free and have nobody telling it what to do. When they finnaly arrived on land, Richard Parker just wanted to leave and be free as he was years ago, before he was in the zoo. Also, being an animal, he may have thought that Pi put him there, in the ocean and away from his home at the zoo. This could also create a worse relationship between Pi and Richard Parker.
I believe that Richard Parker gave no goodbyes because HE WAS A TIGER. He was a wild animal that felt no connection to Pi whatsoever, just that he was the alpha on the boat. I do agree with Cap'n Crunch that Richard Parker felt trapped though. That explains why he ran away as soon as they reach land. Being all cramped up on a boat for seven months is no place for a tiger, and he wanted to leave. I was not surprised at this action. Pi was not surprised either, "And now go where you must. You have known the confined freedom of a zoo most of your life; now you will know the free confinement of a jungle," (MArtel 286). Pi knows that Richard Parker wants to be free, so he lets him go.
Pi and Richard Parker’s journey had ended when they had reached the Mexican beach and from there they would be going on their separate ways in life. The only thing that disappointed Pi was that Richard Parker did not say his last goodbyes to him. The reason why there were no goodbyes from Richard Parker was because Pi had started to feel the good relationship with Richard Parker, but Richard Parker did not feel the same. The reason being is because Pi had trapped him in many things and made him do whatever he wished, which might had made Richard Parker not have the same relationship with Pi. Another reason why Richard Parker could have not said his last goodbyes to Pi is because he knew that if he had said his last goodbyes to Pi it would be difficult or both of them to let go.
-Ddolly
There were no goodbyes between Richard Parker and Pi due to the simple fact that they didn't care for one another. To Pi, Richard Parker was an abusive landlord who he had to jump through hoopes for. Everyday he had to catch and present him with fish, give him water, and give him whatever other food he could in order to prevent the tiger from killing him. If Pi would have been stronger, he would have killed the tiger and ate him.
To Richard Parker, Pi was a source of food in two senses. In the first sense, Pi could fish and provide Richard Parker with all the turtle flesh and fresh water he wanted. No animal is stupid enough to kill another animal that is presenting it with food, so it allowed Pi to live. In the second sense, if the situation was desperate enough, Richard Parker could have eaten Pi and extended his life by another few days.
The two were not best friends forever, they were just two organisms traped in a boat trying to survive. As long as the other did not pose a threat or hold back the other, they would each allow the other to live.
I believe that Pi and Richard Parker have developed a relationship while on the lifeboat for seven months. Richard Parker had respect for Pi, and this was obvious because Richard Parker did not kill Pi during the seven months. Pi said, "I was truly alone, orphaned not only of my family, but now of Richard Parker, and nearly, I thought, of God."(Martel 285) This quote displays how Pi views Richard Parker as part of the family.
Richard Parker left Pi immediately upon reaching land. Pi was the alpha-male and made Richard Parker's life on the boat hard at times. Pi thought that Richard Parker really like him, but that was not the case. Because of Pi, Richard Parker would become extremely sea sick, he got bitten by a shark, and he was confined to certain areas of the boat. It also refutes Pi's original argument that animals are comfortable with being confined to a cage in the zoo. The boat was like a cage to Richard Parker and once the door was opened, he bolted. Richard Parker was just looking for a means of escape. He wasn't trying to hurt Pi, he was trying to better is own life.
I think this is case of humans once gain anthropomorphizing animals. Only humans say goodbye. Nature works in cycles, and not linearly as some humans see. Pi was seeking closure with Richard Parker, but why would he expect that? It's a wild animal, not a pet. It is natural for Richard Parker to want to explore, for it is in his nature. We want a nice Disney ending, but this will not be the case here. This story is a sad one, and a happy ending would ruin the mood.
There are no goodbyes between Pi and Richard Parker because Richard Parker is in fact a Bengal tiger. Pi had to remain in close proximity with Richard Parker for a long time but that does not mean they became close. Pi always respected Richard Parker’s territory; he never got extremely close to Richard Parker and when he did he was scared. There was always a small amount of fear in Pi because Richard Parker was in fact an animal. He should not have expected a goodbye in any form.
After Pi reaches land in Mexico, Richard Parker does indeed disappear into the forest without a thought or even a glance towards Pi. This is so because Richard Parker has been confined in the small space of the lifeboat for these seven months and simply has the initial reaction of running into what he has missed all this time the second they reach land. I believe that it is more of the reason that Richard Parker was not thinking rather than that he did not want to "say goodbye".
I think that in surviving any wreck and being stranded your first want is normalcy. For people they want to see family and friends for animals it's the same; they want to see something familiar. Goodbyes are never first to come to mind. When people are resuced from wrecks their last thought isn't i'm not seeing this person I was just stranded with ever again. Goodbyes are also never easy and so maybe Parker did say goodbye in his own way, by not showing things were going to change he left the boat just like with the other island and never looked back. Or maybe he thought it was like the island and he did come back for the night, but because there was no boat the tiger thought Pi had left him there and went out into the waters in search of him ( just like Pi had feared in leaving parker at the first island). Maybe that's also why niether Pi or anyone else ever found Richard Parker.
-TRIX
I have two theories on why there were no goodbyes after arriving to Mexico. Similar to Trix and Charmander's ideas of Richard Parker returning to the boat as he did on the previous islands also came to mind after reading the passage. Richard may have been in a frenzy to leave the boat and did not have a notion of goodbye simply because he planned to return shortly. Another thought was that Martel included this passage of "no goodbyes" to make a point about Pi's personality. Pi mentions earlier in the story, that he dislikes his nickname Pi because it is associated with the never-ending mathematical number. He makes a point to Martel to have exactly 100 chapters in his novel so there is a conclusion and closure. Without a goodbye from Richard Parker, Pi is severely distressed because he is given no closure. I believe it was intentionally written by the author to give the reader more insight to Pi character.
I agree with the hulk, and believe that had Pi remained at the boat, RP would have certainly came back, if only for the first night, since in RP's mind, Pi was still the Alpha male, and thus deserved to be treated as such.
-misbehavin
Pi says that animals tend to fear humans. While he is on the boat with Richard Parker, he decides he will tame the tiger, to help keep himself safe from the animal. Once the lifeboat reaches land, I both castaways are ecstatic and relieved. I think Richard Parker wants to go into the jungle right away because he is afraid of Pi; he is afraid of being tamed now on land by his alpha-male. This may also be a reason Richard Parker did not say goodbye because in his eyes, Pi is the alpha-male. I believe Pi thought he and Richard Parker had a better relationship on the lifeboat than they truly did.
-Forest Gump
I completely agree with Jennay about why Richard Parker left Pi as soon as they got to Mexico. Pi did convince himself that he and Richard Parker had a good relationship. However, this is not the case; Richard Parker was forced to respect Pi becuase of the alpha-male in Pi. Animals are smart enough to know what is expected of them. Furthermore, the boat was a confinement for Richard Parker just like a cage would be. Therefore, once Richard Parker had the chance to be free and under his own rule, he took the chance. Yes, Pi is hurt by a lack of goodbyes from Richard Parker, but this was not intentional of him.
The reasoning behind RP's not so heartfelt goodbye was simple, like it or not Pi had to move on. RP represents the beast within Pi, and after finally reaching some form of realization it seemed obvious that Pi didn't need a goodbye from RP. Of course, the reader wants some closure, and coming to this realization isn't exactly an instantaneous response.
I do believe that Richard Parker's hasty exit was intentional. If Pi's second story is to be believed, then Richard Parker was just a part of Pi's mind. This part of him allowed him to survive at sea with an almost animal-like ferocity while still being able to view his actions and tell himself "That's not me, that's Richard Parker". To say that Pi 'trained' Richard Parker would be the same as saying that Pi was able to maintain some form of control over his more 'feral' instincts.
Maybe rp thought it was like the floating island from before and would return at night, however, he did stare into the mexican jungle and perhaps knew his sea days were over. he didnt say goodbye because maybe he only saw his freedom. something he yeared for for so long. he didnt think of pi cuz he only saw what he wanted. a new begining. I think rp did feel some comfort and closness to pi when he told rp they were dying and allowed him to pet him. i think some trust was established at that point. so a relationship of sorts did exist and it was heartwarming. Though when reaching mexico rp only saw his freedom ahead of him.
I feel sad and that it's a shame that Richard Parker didn't so much as turn to look at Pi for a last goodbye. However I feel this ending was intentionally made this way to mirror how Pi never said goodbye to his lover and never had the chance to say goodbye to his family. Could this be a reflection in the behavior of Pi from Richard Parker?
I believe RP accepted Pi's friendship eventually because he let Pi into his personal space. RP let Pi stroke his head while lying on his lap. It was the moment when both of them think they were ready to face death but then later miraculously found the 1st island.
Hence, could it be that RP was bad at goodbyes too and instead leaps through the leaves and into the jungle, headstrong and secretly wishing Pi well in his heart (haha! how I'd like to believe so!)
- Charlotte, JMHO :)
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