Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Questioning the Life of Pi

To say that i did not understand the Life of Pi is not exactly true. The book was gripping, the story was exciting, the movie was spectacular but the climax was shocking. Whoever heard of having a choice of picking your own version for the story?

I remember reading a particular kind of book when i was a kid, the kind of one which had a choice to make at each step of the way: if you think he opened the door to the right, go to page 32, if you think he opened the door on the left, go to page 45. I was never satisfied with those kinds of books... Made me feel that i was not getting the full picture. Made me feel i had missed out on something exciting. And also, there was the question of what if i felt that he did not open either of the door, what if he left through the window? Anyway, i was never impressed with those kinds of books.

It was not the ending that has to be decided in life of Pi. Pi is alive. He is saved. I just had to come to peace with whether Pi really spent 227 days with the tiger, Richard Parker, or did he survive the 227 days alone and covered up his sad story of murdering his mother's murderer by becoming the tiger Richard Parker himself?

Wont not believing that Pi spent 227 days with the tiger become an insult to the bestseller writer? He did most convincingly and painstakingly explain over the 100 pages how that ready did happen? I did read the whole book, believing that anything is possible in life, if we only put our heart and soul into it? And Richard Parker is a zoo-trained animal. But hold on, didnt his father also say and create a scene that tigers can never actually be tamed or trained? Is that a clue to the second version being the true one?

Should i believe the distraught face Irrfan Khan had when he told the human-version of his story? Is this the true one then? Men like the cook are very much alive and around us just like the devils in the Delhi case. They sadly show us that people are capable of doing anything and everything including that which would be considered inhuman or downright macabre. I can believe that Pi tranforms into Richard Parker too, much like Smeagol becomes Gollum or like Gange becoming Nagavalli under these extreme circumstances.

The book tossed me a real googly when it went for the other blind shipwrecked person with the French accent who admitted killing a man and a woman. I was as blind as Pi was in fixing this piece into the two possible jigsaw puzzles. If Pi is with the tiger, then, is this person the cook who killed Pi's mom and the Buddhist sailor? How does this guy fit in the human version, where the only French guy to whom we are introduced to is already dead?

And what is it about the carnivorous island in the Pacific? Why was this island so important? To show that God is still watching over you, even when it doesnt feel like it? Remember in the movie Signs, Mel Gibson says that there are two kinds of people- People who believe that the occurrences are pure luck, nothing more. And another group of people who believe that these occurrences are more than just luck, they are signs from an Almighty, watching over them. Why give Pi a choice again- to either enjoy the plenty of the island and die slowly at the hands of a faceless enemy or face the mighty Pacific and have a chance at life?

Where in the story does Pi make a person believe in God? The mere fact that he survived 227 days in the Pacific with the tiger within or without? The boundless expanse of the ocean and sky or the tremendous power of the lightning, the spurts of flying fish just falling into the mouth of Richard Parker at the moment of need or just the fact that he is on a lifeboat when countless perished?

And why do i have so many questions regarding the book even after finishing reading it and watching the movie in spectacular 3D? And do these questions arise only because there is a book has an open ending? Will i be thinking so hard, if it had a definitive end?







21 comments:

  1. Have neither read nor seen so I leave you to your questions :)

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  2. hmmm...I never thought so deeply about the movie to tell you frankly. I haven't read the book but I loved the movie with all its logical and illogical incidents... its the open ending which makes the difference. And yes you made my grey cell wake up ...so thinking now :)

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  3. neither read the book nor watched the movie...unable to comment ;(

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  4. I haven't read the book or seen the movie. I think after reading your post, I can understand it better or question it...

    BTW, what's the name of the book that you mentioned in the second paragraph?

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    1. It was a series of children's books by an American author Saru, I am still desperately trying to figure out the name of the series or the author. I will keep you posted when i get the eureka moment.

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  5. I saw the movie. It is a miracle that he survived, the fear of being killed by the tiger kept him alive. I can't say whether there is hand of God in this or not, but it is a fact that fear kept him alive. Quite possible.
    I couldn't understand the inclusion of the carnivorous island in the story or how the tiger behaved like a pet dog towards the end.
    It is a story with lot of creativity definitely not to arouse religious sentiments, it is just another element in the plot.

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  6. Great post. I too has some of these questions, especially about the belief in God. In the book, I think "God" was not included when Pi starts narrating the story. It was just used as a convenient thing for many viewers. Also, in the movie Pi, pin points who is tiger, orangutan, Zebra, whereas in the book it doesn't happen. It is more of a open ending in the book. Personally, I believe there might be chance that 2nd story happened, but i liked the tiger story which showcased Yann Martel's vivid imagination and Anglee's visual mastery.

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  7. I loved the book. I loved the ending. Open questions? Well, good literature never has all the answers, I dare say. ;-)

    I went to a book reading with the author, soon after the book was published, and he was not so well known yet. There were about 40 people in the audience, most of them of Indian descent, and the all loved the story. Martel signed my copy with "May your lifeboat overcome every storm" - I took that as a clue to which version to believe.

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    1. That is amazing Merisi! Well said about good literature :) Totally agree about it.

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  8. I think we can’t expect what exactly in the book on screen. Need to watch this movie and catch with the book which I lost touch after few pages of reading long back.

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. sorry just revised my comment. hope you don't mind :-)

    just loved the book and how Martel came up with this whole totally mind boggling story, even Pi's name or Richard Parker as a tiger's name, the religions he goes through, just everything. to leave you to decide is leaving everybody with so many interpretations and making you think. is that not what an author could wish for?

    i find the whole really well written, imaginable, incredible story.

    And true what's said about good literature. :-)

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  11. this was a good read...... for me... if, I try believing in God.... then i'll easily buy the Richard Parker story..... but I think I did miss the other side of the story....cause of the spectacle i saw on screen.... but now as you raise the question.. i too kind of doubt the end.......

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  12. I really loved the movie , it made me think about my life and fit the story. And this story is what all of us living more or less. But u too have a point here...
    http://www.coralsandcrimsons.com

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  13. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did read the book and it left me with a, "huh" feeling at the end. I just wasn't sure how I felt about it but I think I would have preferred it if there was a definitive answer at the end. That said, I can't wait to see the movie because it looks like it will be visually stunning!

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  14. I'll come back to this post when I'm I done with the book. It's waiting to be read. :)

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  15. I've stopped reading in recent days. (Not Good!). I'll watch it soon, till then no comments.

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  16. Oh... I have this book down as my next to read...should I just bypass it all together?

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  17. We had a three hour long discussion about the movie after we had all read and seen the movie...it is a good book if it has made us think so much...

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