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Interesting notes on flight distances, just the same. I would like to know how -- specifically -- they reduce that distance for zoo life.
Which animals multiplied to excess?
"...the animals don't escape to somewhere but from something." Aren't humans the same? Isn't this one of the animal traits that humans have retained despite civilization?
How might you explain that Chapter 10 has some qualities of a fable?
11 comments:
Regarding the fact that the narrator measures flight distance in yards and not meters, I did a little research and discovered a possible explanation. As it is noted in the novel, Pondicherry was originally colonized by the French and has maintained some notable traces of that time period. Before 1795, the French used a system of measurements very similar to the Imperial System just about no one but the US uses today. During the French Revolutionary period, the metric system was introduced to the French, but was not received well by the public. The metric system was not reintroduced and later adopted until after 1837. In 1816, the French first set up colonies in India, which occurred while the rough version of the Imperial System was still in place. Despite the story taking place more than 100 years after this, it is plausible that these units of measurements could have still been used in the areas of India once controlled by the French.
Perhaps a lingering influence of a previous successor remains in Pondicherry?
He never tells of the animals that multiplied in excess- only that some did.
Humans are still animals; we still have instincts and intuition. However, we also possess a conscious, thinking brain that allows us to apply reason to our actions.
Chapter 10 is like a fable in that it has to do with anthropomorphizing animals, implying that they have conscious thoughts about escaping. I highly doubt animals think about the reasons why they are escaping; it is just instinct.
I believe that Sami’s explanation for the use of yards is probably the best.
Flight distances take time to reduce. In zoos, just as with any wild animal taken into captivity, the urge to flee decreases with routine and just the fact that the animal has to get used to its surroundings. Forcing anything onto an animal makes it harder for them to adapt, so letting an animal be alone in its new home (excepting fellow animals, outside viewers, and routine feeding) is the best way to reduce its flight reflex and distance.
Animals that were the most comfortable and content in their surroundings multiplied to excess.
Humans have retained the trait to escape from unpleasant things. We do so, or try to do so, on instinct like animals.
Chapter 10 had some qualities of a fable, including giving animals thoughts. They do not actually think about escaping, they just know they have to.
I agree that Sami's explanation about the yards is the most likely explanation. I also found the flight distances very interesting. I always thought that an animal felt threatened just by seeing you, even if it was from a distance. I think that by putting an animal in a zoo, it reduces the distance because the animals become more used to having humans in their lives. Also, I believe that animals are very smart, smart enough to realize that it's humans that feed them. I believe that they know not to bite the hand that feeds them. I found the information that Pi gave regarding the lions and the ring masters (the fact that the ring master goes into the ring first to establish dominance) very interesting. I never knew why the ring master could be in a ring with the lions without being hurt.
I think that humans are the same as the animals in that they escape from something, not to somewhere. Anything that could upset a human makes them want to leave, whether it's to leave an area, or a city, or even a country. We have a natural tendency to run away from the things that upset us.
I feel that zookeepers take into account how each animal would normally behave in their natural habitat and alter it slightly to keep the animals comfortable but still have the ability to control the animals. The animals that took comfort and felt the most relaxed and at home in their habitat multiplied to excess. I believe that this is one of the main things humans depend on. If you look at any situation where someone is fleeing they aren’t going somewhere simply to be going there they have a reason to go, something that made them want to go, something to escape from. Pi talks about the animals thinking about their environment and how they react to it, but in reality animals don’t think about their environment they find what makes them comfortable and repeat that behavior. The fact that the animals are thinking and reacting are attributes of many of the most famous fables.
I was actually quite confused why the narrator measured flight distances in yards rather than meters. After I read Sami's post I also believe that it is probably the best explanation.
In chapter 10, the author gives animals thoughts. I believe that an animal does not think about escaping and that it's just instinct.
Animals and humans have so many common instincts that I find it easy to see the similarities in the idea that we both run from obstacles in our lives. Its not uncommon for a person to just pick up and leave town for a personal reason. The same goes for a herd or family of animals that could be in danger of a predator.
We are unaware of the animals that are multiplied to excess other than the idea that the animals that are most confident and content with their surroundings are able.
Humans are the same. People think moving, for example, will get rid of their problems. We think we can run away from what bothers us when really we can't. In this sense animals are the exact same as us. We do share some instincts.
Chapter ten has fable qualities in the sense that we are giving human characteristics to animals and talking about their conciousness.
The reduction in flight distance in the zoo I think is mainly due to the fact that the animals are more comfortable in their artificial environment because of the ease of access to all their needs, they have become use to humans, and even if the humans intended to hurt them they believe the cage they are in protects them from harm from the outside mostly, with exception to the examples seen in chapter 8.
The animals who were most happy with their environment were the ones who multiplied to excess.
Humans are exactly the same as animals in the inherent trait of running away from something rather than running to something, when a child runs away from home it is usually because something awry in their environment,the home, that causes them to want to escape.
Chapter 10 is much like a fable because it describes the animals in a human sense portraying their natural instincts as deep thoughts.
I would agree that humans do not flee to somewhere, but from something. I hadn't heard that expression before, or really anything like it, but it immediately rang true. It reminds me a bit of the idiom "better the devil you know than the devil you don't". Stability is safe and comfortable. Unless you actively have something pushing you away, you will most likely stay where you are. It takes a very strong allure to pull someone from the known to the unknown.
Think about addicts who will keep using drugs until they hit rock bottom. There are obviously physical causes for addiction, but those are pretty much constant. As outsiders looking in, we think "That person is homeless, hasn't eaten in a week, has no job, and is still spending money on heroin? Wouldn't they rather be a productive, successful member of society?" Yet they will keep going until something forces them to stop.
The allure of the somewhere they could be isn't strong enough, they need the something to push them out.
The end.
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