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Pi grabs the net, a seemingly "casual gesture." Have you ever done something that seemed like no big deal when you did it but then it paid off for you with big dividends? Tell me about it.
The hyena's scream...was it a scream of pain? a scream of surprise? A scream of greeting?
I now have more information about hyenas than I ever wanted...but it was interesting information. Is the hyena sick? Why does it roll around in its own vomit?
Try to put yourself in Pi's position at this point of the novel: stranded on a boat with a zebra, a hyena, a tiger, and floating in shark-infested waters...what would you do?
Pi mentions the sound of flies. What are some of the connotations associated with flies?
What is it that Pi is leaving at the end of Chapter 44?
In Chapter 44 (page 118 of my version), find the paragraph that begins, "Darkness came. There was no moon." Do you see any religious aspects in this paragraph? If you do, explain...if not, read on.
11 comments:
I don't think that the hyena was injured or greeting something, so I think that it's scream was one of surprise. Maybe it was frustrated at the circumstance and upset, surprised to in the that predicament. I think that he was sick though, possibly with sea sickness, the motion of the boat, maybe the amount of sea water it had previously ingested could have made it sick. Rolling in the vomit could have been to cool himself down, or to claim a spot on the lifeboat.
I think that in his situation making a raft on the outside of the boat was/would be a very smart decision. It isn't safe to stay in the boat with all of the hungry animals and he would need a place to get away from them at.
The religious aspect that I found in that paragraph is that he doesn't mention God. He says that there is nothing, "abstract blackness," and I would think that despite the darkness, Pi would at least think of God, pray or something. Religion had formed his life so much up to this point and it makes me wonder if he is forgetting, or leaving behind his religion.
I think the Hyena’s scream is a scream of surprise and of pain. I think it screamed like that because it was surprised to see that there was no land in sight. All its life it had seen land but now out in the middle of the ocean, all it sees is water. Then realizing that it is so far from land it screams from the pain of not being on land. I think that he Hyena may have vomited from seasickness. In chapter 55 Orange Juice becomes seasick, so that shows that animals can become seasick too. One reason the Hyena may have rolled in its own vomit was because it was trying too cool down. It was out in the open with no shade so it could have got really hot.
If I was stuck in Pi’s situation I would probably try to find something to use as a weapon to kill the Hyena. Attacking the Hyena would probably be the best option, because if you kill it you don’t have to worry about it anymore. If you lose then you would just die and wouldn’t have to suffer on the boat. Some connotations of flies would be smelly rotten things or things that are dead.
I feel like the Hyena is in distress and has anxiety. An animal who is an extremely fast runner and lover of land, isn't going to like the water regardless of the circumstances or conditions. The scream (in my opinion) seemed to show how scared and nervous the ocean made the hyena.
When anmials pee on something they are marking it to show they "own" it. I think the vomit sisuation was a way for the hyena to mark that spot on the lifeboat as his since there clearly isn't a lot of room and animals like their space.
If I was stranded on a boat with a zebra, hyena and tiger in the middle of shark infested water I would probably do nothing and hope for the best. That sounds crazy but in reality what am I supposed to do? Pick a fight with one of them? Sounds slighty dangerous and life threatening personally. As much as I would want to make a move and do something about the sisuation since I'm a problem solver, there doesn't seem like I have much to work with accept faith and patience.
I believe the hyena was surprised at finding itself in a foreign place, but I do not think it threw up because it was sick. I think it threw up and laid in it to make itself feel better, to bring some form of familiarity to where it was. Pi explained that hyena's do disgusting things what with eating excrements and bathing in a mud bath made of its own urine. By throwing up and rolling in it, the hyena was simply trying to find something familiar in a very strange place. Maybe he was a little sick: homesick.
The hyena's scream was definately a scream of surprise. I mean any animal or even human would be shocked if you had been in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean and all of the sudden (the hyena probably was not looking at Orange Juice when she came aboard)a monkey climbs aboard. I'd say I'd be pretty surprised.
When hyena's mark their territory, they throw up really bad smelling puke. Why he rolled around in it could have just been to solidify his point or he may have been trying to cool off, although the vomit would have at least have been his body temperature.
Personally, if I was Pi, I would try and make a plan to trap and kill the dangerous animals. It would not exactly be the smartest thing to do in any normal circumstance, but there is little choice as to what my other options could be. I'm a good swimmer, but even I couldn't tread water for hundreds or thousands of miles. So that would mean that for the most part, I would have to stay on the boat. The raft Pi made is a good idea, but then I'd be throwing yet another dangerous animal into the picture- sharks. The only logical conclusion that I can draw is to kill the animals before they kill you.
To me, flies are always related with either death or rotting food.
I think the hyena was screaming and running around because it was scared. It was a sign of distress. He started "yipping" and running around just after he peered out the boat and saw the never-ending sea. Hyenas aren't accustomed to being surrounded by an ocean. I think the scream was exhibiting the hyena's confusion, distress, and fear. The hyena may have thrown up due to his immense feelings of shock, or he may hlove been feeling sea sick, like Orange Juice and Richard Parker. He may have rolled around around in his vomit as a cooling mechanism. Maybe the narrator was trying to depict the hyena as a crazy, psychotic creature.
If I was in Pi's position, I would stay in my area on the boat, on top of the tarpaulin away from the other animals. I would stay in my area until one of the animals made their move toward me. If they tried to attack me I would jump overboard. I don't think any of them would jump in after me.
I find it odd that there are flies in the middle of the ocean. I think the narrator is using the flies as a symbol for death.
Many people are afraid of darkness, and some see it as a symbol for death. The author may have added that there was no moon to create the darkest possible setting. Also, the moon could be viewed as a symbol for hope in this scenerio. The moon is pretty reliable; it's always there at night. On this night, however, the moon didn't come out. Pi was alone in complete, utter darkness, without hope.
I think that the hyena screamed for other members of its clan, or most likely out of anxiety and fear. Being that it was caught in a strange circumstance and environment. The anxiety, coupled with the rocking boat probably caused the hyena to vomit. I think it rolled to cool off, or just instinctively rolled, since hyenas naturally roll in strange things (including vomit).
If I was in Pi's situation I would try to make or find something to defend myself with. I wouldn't go after the animals unless I was sure I could kill, them since they are much more powerful than me. Being wounded by one would most likely mean death by some horrible disease. No thanks. If I did manage to kill the animals I would probably use them as a food source, fish bait, or both. Other than that the only thing I can imagine doing is being patient, praying, and hoping to God for the best.
I associate the sounds and presence of flies with death, decay, and dirty surroundings.
I think distress and anxiety are the sources of the hyena's scream. I'd scream too if I was stuck on a lifeboat in such unfamiliar territory. I think the hyena was seasick and rolled in its vomit maybe to make itself undesirable or repulsive to Richard Parker, he is a bit higher on the food chain after all, and I think the hyena was surely privy to that.
If I was in Pi's situation, I would probably be doing the same things as him- trying to stay alive and keep up hope.
The hyenas scream could have meant alot of things. It could have been feeling scared, vulnerable, maybe even flat out bored. If I was Pi, the only thought I would have would be to get as far away as possible from it while it circled the zebra and keep calm.
As for, "Darkness came. There was no moon" I do see a religious aspect. Pi was feeling scared and lonely. He probably felt like God wasn't there. God is the moon that night, Pi felt God never came to his rescue when he needed it most: through the darkness (his vulnerability).
All the free money and women I got after performing my 360 degree triple axle back flip on a motorcycle (which was on fire) over a shark and eel infested tank was seriously no big deal. Just an average weekend were someone just happened to notice how awesome I was and rewarded me with a few little trinkets. Such as a key to the City along with Mrs September, July, and August. I dig Summer months.
I could care less about the Hyena rolling around in vomit. What we should be worried about is why do Dogs freaking EAT their vomit? That is the questions that haunts me Mr. Earl.
In Pi's position? Isn't that an obvious answer? Well, just like any sane person, I would spend the remaining stay of my voyage (which I would have no reason to think would be ending shortly) painstakingly training and exercising the animals to produce the ultimate and most entertaining Circus that, by the nature of cause and effect would bring me great fame and fortune if I was to ever wash up near civilization again. You all would do the same, right? or is that just me?
Some of the connotations associated with fly's? For me, I usually see it as "You're really annoying, get the hell away" but that always progresses into "I will personally see to it that you and your brethren suffer the agonizing intensity of 1000 suns before disintegrating into oblivion."
The end.
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