Of George Polti’s thirty-six dramatic situations the second, Deliverance, seemed to fit best. It’s a bit like fitting a square peg in a round hole since Life of Pi is not necessarily meant to be read literally, but it is an effective choice that shines the spotlight on some crucial elements in the story. This explication must not be expected to support a thesis for the salvation of Pi by an act of God. It is to be read rather as a series of examples drawn from the novel itself that correlate in a meaningful way to the idea of ‘Deliverance’. It should be noted that the rigid outline of the Threat, the Victim, and Rescuer will not always be specifically identified. Conventionally speaking, these three archetypes are three separate entities. In Life of Pi, however, only the Threat remains constant in its position, which is of course the omnipresent danger of the ocean and the elements.
The concept of ‘Deliverance’ in Life of Pi is focussed completely on the main character Pi Patel when, being the sole survivor of a shipwreck, survives on his own for two hundred and seventy-seven days. In actual fact, not entirely alone- he does spend the entirety of the voyage in the company of a four hundred and fifty pound Bengal tiger. But this will be addressed later on. To start, this relatively brief analysis will look at Pi’s two most personal, internal struggles and how he is emancipated from them.
The first example pertains to how Pi, without even realizing it, has conditioned himself to be liberated from two extremes which, had he succumbed under the full weight of either one, would have yielded ineffective results at the very least. They are: dispassionate reason and blind fundamentalist faith. Because Pi dips a toe in each of them without plunging head-first into the deep end of either one, he is able to evaluate the purposes and benefits of believing in faith and trusting in reason. More importantly, he is able to call on both at their opportune moments. In reconciling his faith and his application of reason, he saves himself from trying to rationalize the absurd situation in which he finds himself (which would be a waste of time and precious energy) and also from the stagnant belief that salvation will come to him if he prays hard enough.
Instead, he keeps a balanced diet of both throughout the journey.
In between Pi’s renewal of faith and his employment of reason lies the second internal struggle: the despair in and fear of his surroundings which are at first traumatically desolate and are punctuated by the presence of a live tiger. Pi tells us that fear leads to rash decisions. “You dismiss your last allies: hope and trust. Fear, which is but an impression, has triumphed over you.” (Pi, pp.179)
Interestingly enough, in the very next chapter, which begins on page 179, Pi speaks plainly about the next suite of examples of deliverance, which actually involve a third party: Richard Parker the Bengal tiger.
“It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I daresay even wholeness.” (Pi, pp.179) In the following cases, it is Richard Parker who, strangely enough, plays the part of the ‘Rescuer’. He ultimately saves Pi from wallowing in futility, from losing his sense of humanity, and from simple loneliness. “[Richard Parker] pushed [Pi] on to go on living.” (Pi, pp.180)
Pi hitherto decides that if he wants Richard Parker to live, it is absolutely crucial to train him to recognize Pi as the alpha. “If he died, [Pi] would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger.” (Pi, pp.182) From now on when dealing with Richard Parker, Pi uses his experiential knowledge of animals in order to give direction and meaning to the long hours of the day which would otherwise drive him mad with cabin fever.
In taming the tiger, Pi is also able to retain a sturdy grasp on his humanity. He already has to descend to eating raw and sun-cured meat to survive, thereby obliterating years of practiced Hinduism and Buddhism. So it is no small measure of fortune that in the face of an animal Pi is able to keep a human identity from slipping away. Pi’s greatest benefit in withholding his human ‘self’ from the clutches of the elements is the retention of his sanity. Without purpose, his mind would deteriorate, he would lose his authority over Richard Parker, and would most likely die. To summarize, Pi, juxtaposed to Richard Parker, manages to salvage enough of his reasonable self so as to continue to live and love, and most all to continue to trust and have faith in his self.
Death is to rain as Rescuer is to umbrella. This is the epitome of ‘Deliverance’: to be somehow saved from any manner of deaths. But considering the pluviosity of Pi’s situation, does it not stand that there is something more than the characteristics of the Threat, Victim, and Rescuer that affects the water-resistance of the umbrella?
This is the final (if slightly inconclusive) component to this explication. So far, the elements of the Rescuer position have been directly associated with either Pi or Richard Parker and their actions and decisions. But in the case of Life of Pi, can it be assumed that only these two characters (Pi in particular) have subliminal control over the nature of their survival?
No, for the cookie-cutter model of ‘Deliverance’ does not in any way account for the nature of the universe. Consider the following:
Alex leads Taylor into the depths of a forest and leaves her there with only the knowledge that everything she needs to survive is in the forest. Taylor finds everything she could possibly need to live: water, food, and shelter. Yes, she had to use her own intuition and perhaps even some outside knowledge of the forest to accomplish this, but the fact remains that the only reason she is able to put her intuition to use is because everything was already there in the first place. The impartial nature of the forest just so happens to include those basic needs that Taylor, a female human being, needs to survive.
The concept of ‘Deliverance’ in Life of Pi is focussed completely on the main character Pi Patel when, being the sole survivor of a shipwreck, survives on his own for two hundred and seventy-seven days. In actual fact, not entirely alone- he does spend the entirety of the voyage in the company of a four hundred and fifty pound Bengal tiger. But this will be addressed later on. To start, this relatively brief analysis will look at Pi’s two most personal, internal struggles and how he is emancipated from them.
The first example pertains to how Pi, without even realizing it, has conditioned himself to be liberated from two extremes which, had he succumbed under the full weight of either one, would have yielded ineffective results at the very least. They are: dispassionate reason and blind fundamentalist faith. Because Pi dips a toe in each of them without plunging head-first into the deep end of either one, he is able to evaluate the purposes and benefits of believing in faith and trusting in reason. More importantly, he is able to call on both at their opportune moments. In reconciling his faith and his application of reason, he saves himself from trying to rationalize the absurd situation in which he finds himself (which would be a waste of time and precious energy) and also from the stagnant belief that salvation will come to him if he prays hard enough.
Instead, he keeps a balanced diet of both throughout the journey.
In between Pi’s renewal of faith and his employment of reason lies the second internal struggle: the despair in and fear of his surroundings which are at first traumatically desolate and are punctuated by the presence of a live tiger. Pi tells us that fear leads to rash decisions. “You dismiss your last allies: hope and trust. Fear, which is but an impression, has triumphed over you.” (Pi, pp.179)
Interestingly enough, in the very next chapter, which begins on page 179, Pi speaks plainly about the next suite of examples of deliverance, which actually involve a third party: Richard Parker the Bengal tiger.
“It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I daresay even wholeness.” (Pi, pp.179) In the following cases, it is Richard Parker who, strangely enough, plays the part of the ‘Rescuer’. He ultimately saves Pi from wallowing in futility, from losing his sense of humanity, and from simple loneliness. “[Richard Parker] pushed [Pi] on to go on living.” (Pi, pp.180)
Pi hitherto decides that if he wants Richard Parker to live, it is absolutely crucial to train him to recognize Pi as the alpha. “If he died, [Pi] would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger.” (Pi, pp.182) From now on when dealing with Richard Parker, Pi uses his experiential knowledge of animals in order to give direction and meaning to the long hours of the day which would otherwise drive him mad with cabin fever.
In taming the tiger, Pi is also able to retain a sturdy grasp on his humanity. He already has to descend to eating raw and sun-cured meat to survive, thereby obliterating years of practiced Hinduism and Buddhism. So it is no small measure of fortune that in the face of an animal Pi is able to keep a human identity from slipping away. Pi’s greatest benefit in withholding his human ‘self’ from the clutches of the elements is the retention of his sanity. Without purpose, his mind would deteriorate, he would lose his authority over Richard Parker, and would most likely die. To summarize, Pi, juxtaposed to Richard Parker, manages to salvage enough of his reasonable self so as to continue to live and love, and most all to continue to trust and have faith in his self.
Death is to rain as Rescuer is to umbrella. This is the epitome of ‘Deliverance’: to be somehow saved from any manner of deaths. But considering the pluviosity of Pi’s situation, does it not stand that there is something more than the characteristics of the Threat, Victim, and Rescuer that affects the water-resistance of the umbrella?
This is the final (if slightly inconclusive) component to this explication. So far, the elements of the Rescuer position have been directly associated with either Pi or Richard Parker and their actions and decisions. But in the case of Life of Pi, can it be assumed that only these two characters (Pi in particular) have subliminal control over the nature of their survival?
No, for the cookie-cutter model of ‘Deliverance’ does not in any way account for the nature of the universe. Consider the following:
Alex leads Taylor into the depths of a forest and leaves her there with only the knowledge that everything she needs to survive is in the forest. Taylor finds everything she could possibly need to live: water, food, and shelter. Yes, she had to use her own intuition and perhaps even some outside knowledge of the forest to accomplish this, but the fact remains that the only reason she is able to put her intuition to use is because everything was already there in the first place. The impartial nature of the forest just so happens to include those basic needs that Taylor, a female human being, needs to survive.
Referring back to Life of Pi, what if there were no Dorado fish or sea turtles where Pi’s lifeboat floated? What if salt water could not be desalinated? What if the algae island didn’t exist? What if he hadn't been riding a current that was eventually land-bound? The answer is that if any of these were true, neither Pi’s faith nor his reason would have been able to help him. Pi is able to survive through the symbiotic relationship with the sea and with Richard Parker that he nurtures throughout his voyage. The irony in Pi's Deliverence lies in the fact that it is the natural qualities of the Pacific Ocean's environment that mortally endanger him while providing him with the basic means to survive. So is it also with Richard Parker- the wild, feral animal that saved Pi's humanity.
1 comment:
You examine issues in a multi-faceted way--like turning an object around and around to look at it from every conceivable angle. This IS the essence of analysis and criticism. When I see such thinking, I know the writer is ready for university.
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