Symbols in Life of Pi

Another cover for the book.  Hello, Richard Parker!

Since Life of Pi is actually an allegory and the entire story can be read on multiple levels, every object, character, and event is basically symbolic. Thus, it starts seeming a ridiculous enterprise to try to label and explain every symbol. However, I do think it is still important to break the book down and talk about specific groups of symbols in order to decipher what human life event or phase the book is trying to explain.

Connecting...Life of Pi to other works

I think that one aspect of Life of Pi that connects to other texts stems from this quote, "I have heard nearly as much nonsense about zoos as I have about God and religion. Well-meaning but misinformed people think animals in the wild are "happy" because they are "free." (p. 15) This quote connects to other texts because we often confuse freedom with happiness. But I have found in my life that the times when I had the most freedom were not the times when I felt free at all, but the times where there were expectations and standards for choices or my behavior. Unfortunately, it is hard to pin down a specific time to illustrate this, there have been so many examples, but I think that there are a couple of general times in life that fit this profile: 1) after college graduation. Unless you are locked into a fellowship or graduate school, the wide world is open to you. This might explain why many college graduates search for awhile before finding their "true" callings in life. 2) after children leave the nest. Though I haven't experienced this, my parents have, and I feel I have lived vicariously through them. They have limitless options for how to spend their time, and it is interesting to see what they have chosen to do with it. I am a little bit jealous, too. 3) the first year in a new place. Yes, you might have a job or school, but the first year after moving often seems like you can do or be anything you want. 4)the first year in a relationship. Neither of you can do any wrong, and it is fun to explore and experience through your beloved's eyes. The hardest part of all of these is the making mistakes part. I think we actually make more mistakes when we feel most free.

Dynamic Characters- Susie Salmon vs. Lena ???

Susie, the girl who never grows up, makes for an interesting main character in Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, I was not sure about how I felt about reading a book from the point of view of a dead teenager. Even though I wonder if I agree that the dead can change as much as Susie does through the course of the book- I picture death as being a release from human yearning, desires, and struggles- I appreciate the idea that Susie is as self-aware in heaven as she was on earth. In other words, her change is from a dead soul who desperately wants to be a part of her family and earthly relationships to being content watching from a distance and enjoying her family's eventual reconciliation. So, since no one truly knows what happens to us after we die, Susie's character development is believable. It is an interesting idea that souls in the after-life go through stages of grief, just like souls left behind on earth do while missing the deceased. Lena, from Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, moves through the world as if she would make herself invisible, but she is slowly exercising her will in more positive ways than an eating disorder. She is starting to stand up to her mother, father, and for herself, which seems a healthy development, though I am still frustrated by this character more than Susie. I empathize with Susie, the dead girl,more than with Lena, the alive-but-trying-to-make-herself-invisible girl. But I see both characters as wanting to be somewhere, and someone, they are not.

Favorite Speak quote

"My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it just shot up through the ground this morning. This one is not perfectly symmetrical. The bark is rough. I try to make it look as if initials had been carved in it a long time ago. One of the lower branches is sick. If this tree really lives someplace, that branch better drop soon, so it doesn't kill the whole thing. Roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy. The new growth is the best part." page 196 I chose this quote from the book Speak because I think this final tree in Melinda's art project shows us how far she has come in many ways, not just art. If you think about it, Melinda's tree has both "dead" parts, but also "new growth," which is also a great way to describe Melinda herself. Though her memory of that terrible night will always stay with her, and her awful memories of her f reshman year, too, there is a lot of hope within her and things are starting to "bloom" for her, in a sense. I like that she also recognizes the roughness and texture of the tree, just like she is beginning to understand the way life has its ups and downs.

Themes...

How do you think about a theme? Why do you think understanding themes is important? Where else besides books do you see themes occurring? What is a theme from your reading that has been meaningful to you? I think themes are important because you can start to see them in everything, even your own life. There are certain periods of time that human beings survive where you look back and see specific themes and ideas that are "played out" by the events you experience. Also, our relationships can give us a window into various themes, simply because relationships are so integral to life and how we think about our world. It's the same with storytelling (and book writing)- authors look for ideas that are true for the world (universe) and then express those ideas through events and relationships. I think themes have been woven throughout history, anytime stories are told, because they are important ideas for the human condition. From watching movies like Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, and The Blind Side (two out of three of which were created from BOOKS) to reading stories like The Lovely Bones, Wintergirls, Speak, and Maus, some common themes appear. A few things that have hit home for me... Strong, loyal friendships are important to survival. I especially see this theme in the movie Sherlock Holmes and books like The Lovely Bones- where people who were deeply connected to each other were able to save and sacrifice for those they loved. Heroes are often flawed, but have some sort of resilience within them. I think this is an obvious theme of Avatar, as well as the Lord of the Rings, Speak, and Wintergirls. We see the idea of resilience in Jake Sully, Frodo, Melinda, and Lena. All of them have huge struggles that they overcome by demonstrating the resilience of their inner spirits. Sometimes vengeance is not the most important thing, healing is. I see this a little bit in Avatar and definitely in The Lovely Bones, and somewhat in Wintergirls as well. The main character, Lena, in Wintergirls, is trying to control her world through her anorexia, and part of that is because of her anger at her mother and desire to take revenge on her for being "perfect." Although her mother is controlling and bossy, Lena's need for vengeance is sometimes frustrating since she is ultimately hurting herself. In Avatar, when the humans try to wreak vengeance on the native people of Pandora, you see that it ultimately destroys their mission, as the Na'qi are more powerful than they imagined.

Connections to other works...

So, on Thursday night, I finally went to see the movie everyone's been talking about- Avatar. I thought it was an entertaining movie, and although I didn't go through "withdrawals" after leaving the world of Pandora, I was interested in the world and the life of the blue aliens. But, I also saw some similar themes and ideas to books that I have read recently. First of all, The Lovely Bones. I felt that the main character, Jake Sully, was very similar to the father character in The Lovely Bones. Both are dealing with a lot of grief, pain, and disappointment. Jake has to face life without the use of his legs and the death of his brother; Mr. Salmon (Jack) has to face life without his eldest daughter after she is murdered. I also see connections between how heroism is portrayed in this movie and how it is portrayed in other books and stories. One example of this is how Jake Sully comes to care about the and is willing to risk his life to help save them. Similarly, we find that Odysseus cares so much about saving his men that he risks his life against multiple challenges in order to try to save them. I think there are lots of heroic qualities that are similar between Avatar's leading characters (not just Jake, but also Trudy, Kate, and Norm) and characters from other works of fiction, such as the Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and anything having to do with Star Wars. Some of these common traits include commitment, kindness, sacrifice, and the ability to have deep relationships and care deeply about others. And, of course, as we see from Jake in Avatar, Peter in Chronicles, and Aragorn in LOTR, most heroes are also physically well-built.