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In what ways does time become distance for Pi?
Pi has become quite the hunter/fisherman. Even thought it is sometimes days between catches, he has become much better. What religious icons/allusions do you find here?
Pi has also become much more savage in his behavior. Just what separates man from animal?
27 comments:
I think that time becomes distance to Pi because they are both becoming obscure and foreign to him. Pi obviously doesn't have a watch with him, or a good calender system so time becomes obscure. Distance is also like time because there is not really any way to measure distance, and how far he has traveled, or lack there of from his little boat. Pi has become more savage in that he knows that he has to do certain things to life, like feeding himself and Richard, if he is "soft" and he wont kill a turtle or a fish then he will end up dying one way or another.
What separates man from animal is the fact that man has the ability to think about what he does. Whether he is sorry about it, happy, or just sad about it, to comprehend what he did then feel something about it is what separates them.
Job was once covered in boils, a test Satan set upon him to see if he would stay true to God. That’s what the sea is doing to Pi.
Time became distance for Pi. As in, the longer he was afloat, the farther he traveled. He had no real way to measure time or distance.
The only thing separating us humans from animals is literacy. We have the most advanced and complicated way to communicate. For animals, the farthest they advanced is body gestures and different forms of noise.
I noticed in these chapters how much Pi has evolved. It hardly seems like him!
I think what seperates man from animal isnt the strive or the physical characteristics but the train of thought. Our thought process is alike in some way but different in other. I feel as if they are more different because animals kill with the intent of getting killed themselves when man trys to reverse that in a way. To kill but not be killed; to live is the ultimate goal for man.
I think the thing that seperates man from animal is means of survival. When things are easily obtained, it is easier for a species to survive. Most needs are obtained therefore the survival instincs are non-excistent. When Man is put into a situation of great need, and the only other outcome is death, then man is most likely to become savage. The impulse to survive exsist's in all beings, man or animal, and this impulse is greatest in desperate times. I think this is why Pi has become more savage. He knows he much do everything in his power to save himself. He is more willing to do things that he never imagined he would do.
Pi is not a violent person. He was a vegetarian, loves animals, and in my opinion, wouldnt hurt a fly. He became a predator in his days in the raft, "a killer" as he said himself. The separation of man and animal, to me, only occurs in the mind. Animals kill and they don't think twice about it. Most humans feel at least slightly bad when they kill an animal. Pi was crying the first time he killed just a fish. I think at first Pi would question religion and his friendship with God by killing his creatures, but as time went on he realized it had to be done for him and Richard Parker to survive.
Pi being covered in boils resembles the story of Job from the bible. God alows Satan to test Jobs faith and Job endures many calamities inlcuding boils afflicting his body. Job is also mentioned in the Qur'an
Time is distant to Pi because he has no control over it. Pi no longer keeps track of time.
Other than intellectual superiority and obvious physical characteristics the only thing seperating man from animal is morality.
The story of Prophet Job is also in the Islamic faith. God allowed Satan to test Job’s devotion to God by taking away his family, wealth, and health. Even through all his children getting killed, all his money getting taken away, and suffering through a period of physical pain, Job still remained faithful and thanked God for the misfortune brought upon him. The lesson that comes from this story is to be patient with what God gives you even if it is terrible. It’s probably the same story that is in the Bible. In the same way, Pi had to stay patient while he was lost at sea. Even if Pi is hopeless, he still had to try to remain faithful and trust that God would help him through.
I think the thing that separates man from animal is the ability to think through actions. Where animals rely on instinct and are driven by the need to survive, humans rely on thought, consider consequences, and take into account their own personal morals and values and are driven by various reasons like emotion, success, or money. I think that is why Pi is becoming so savage. Pi is using instinct to get what he needs and the only thing he cares about at this point is survival. All the things that humans usually consider important do not matter in Pi’s situation because the only thing he should be concerned with is survival.
I think what separates man from animal is a person's will. People have evolved over hundreds of years and have learned to use their will power to be decent and polite and caring and, well, human. An animal, though, does not really use its will, they survive on instinct. If a person is left alone to survive on their own in a completely different way than they are used to, I'm sure they would become animalistic in their mind and behavior.
What separates man from animal is the ability of a man being able to think. Animals don't think or even act the way that man does. This is why man always has the upper hand over animals.
Time becomes distant to Pi because he has no need for it. He has no appointments to make and he doesn't need to be anywhere at some certain time. They days just start to run together, and he can no longer keep track. I would think that keeping track of the days would drive me insane. Knowing how long I have been stranded in the middle of an ocean with a huge tiger is enough to drive anyone off the wall.
Pi being covered in boils resembles Job. He is being tested in his faith by Satan to see if he would stay true to God. Pi is also being tested in a way to see if he will make it through these hard times or if he will just give up.
Man and animal are one in the same. They both have intentions of survival.
Pi has no way to keep track of time. He doesn’t want to think about how many days, weeks, months he is stranded at sea. Thinking about how much closer he is getting to land is a much more pleasant thought.
Pi is coming less and less civilized as time goes on. He rips and tears at his food as soon as he can get his hands on it, no matter what it was. He would eat anything he could. He would kill anything as long as it had something edible to give. All he thought about were his basic needs- just like an animal does. He just focused solely on surviving
Time becomes distance from Pi, because he is not focusing on the future, or even tomorrow. He is focusing on how he is going to survive that very second. Pi talks about how he notices that he is beginning to eat like an animal and that saddens him. I think the only thing that separates us from animals, is civilization. If you are completely taken away from all people, you wouldn't have manners. I think the reason that Pi was so sad by the fact that he was eating like an animal, is because he realized just how long he had been stranded.
The story of Job comes to mind when I hear boils. He was tested by Satan through the most awful ways. His entire family killed, everything he ever owned was gone, being unrecognizable from boils and disease and maggots eating his rotting flesh. I don't know about you but I would choose Pi's situation any day over Jobs. But like Amalie said, the whole basis of the story is Job remained faithful to God and was rewarded. If we remain faithful to God we will be rewarded. Pi is trying to remain faithful in my opinion but is only having a bit of a rough patch.
The difference between animals and humans is easy. Humans were created for God and animals were created for humans. There is a clear hierarchy in the chain of life. While animals and humans posses similar attributes like certain instincts and the need for food and water we as humans also posses one key thing that animals do not. A soul. This soul is what gives us the ability to determine right and wrong and think about what we do and over ride our instincts. This soul allows us to have emotion. I hate to break it to you all, as much as I love my own pets, they don't love you back. They were not made for love. Good old Fido sticks around because you give him food, water, shelter, and attention. The necessities of life.
There is a story in the Bible in which 2 men are described. One man is poor and considered the lowest of the low. His body is covered head to toe in boils and he begs for food. The other man is rich and has a palace and is considered this great ruler. The man with boils dies and his body is thrown into a dump. The rich man is given this huge funeral and everyone thinks he is going to heaven without a doubt, and the man with boils is expected to go to hell. Come to find out it is just the opposite. The man with boils is rewarded for remaining a good person through all his trials. The rich man is selfish and thinks of himself as number one and goes to hell.
A little different outlook on time becoming distance is the fact that Pi has no idea where or how far away he is from anything. So time is the only system of measure he has.
I feel that God provides just enough for everyone. He will protect you and provide. Pi started off not very good, but as time goes on he gets better. Yes there are days between catches, but theres always something that looks out for him and makes sure he has enough to survive.
I think a humans sense of reason seperates man from animal. Humans can seperate right from wrong and animals only act on survival.
I think time becomes distance for Pi because he goes so long without any means telling time it becomes almost foreign. There is little need for time when you are stranded on a boat in the ocean.
Man and animal are very similar when you really think about it, we are still animals after all. The only thing I think that really separates us from them is our ability to reason and our intelligence. Animals live on instinct because that is what keeps them alive. They are much more impulsive because they have to be. If a lion didn't act impulse it could mean starvation. Humans in today's day and age don't have much use for instinct since most of us are not fighting for survival.
The story in the bible that it reminds me of is anything that had to do with Leprosy or any beggar that had many open sores.
Time most likely becomes distance when he's in so much pain from the sores. All he wants is to be pain free and to be able to rest without aches. Time is probably just excruciating agony, slow and unforgiving.
It seems that lately not much has seperated man from animal except for the fact that he can speak and over think situations.
The Bible story that a body covered in boils resembles is the story of Job. In this story, God challenges Satan's power. Job was a loyal servant of the Lord, and he was about as close to perfect as one could get. In Job 1:8, the Lord asks Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." At this remark, Satan is disgusted and replies with this in Job 1:10, "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land." Satan then challenges God to strike everything Job has, and he assures God that Job will turn away and curse the face of the Lord. God agrees, and after a series of unfortunate events occur in Job's life, his reaction is incredible. Job worships. He falls to his knees and trembles at the feet of the Lord, because he is fearful but in love with God. Satan finds this reaction to be distasteful, so he strikes his flesh with painful sores from head to toe.
For some reason when I think about time becoming distance for Pi, I create the idea that neither exist. As Pi does not keep track of time, I feel as if distance might as well be the same. Surrounded by a vast sea, it must be nearly impossible to feel as if you have moved at all or made any possible progress. I believe all concept of time, direction and distance have been lost by an endless surrounding of dark sea water. For Pi, it must feel like his life is on repeat. Doing the same thing, and seeing the same thing day in and day out. With little progress, it is hard to keep track of anything.
The only things that set man apart from animal are thought and invention. Humans are always thinking. It's how we progress. Animals don't need to move forward because they're fine with just the basic necessities life has to offer: food, water, shelter, and family. People now consider other things necessary such as cars, air conditioning, and daily showers, when we really don't need them to survive. Pi had those things snatched from him and had to almost live like an animal. Animals are driven by the need to survive, and nothing more. That was all Pi did. He didn't seem to care so much for comfort anymore, he just wanted to get done what needed to be done. He still did think and invent ways to make those things easier, though, which is what set him apart from Richard Parker.
What separates man and animal is the ability to know when enough is enough. When you can't distinguish when a vicious act has gone to far then you no longer have the conscience of a man. There are no boundaries with animals. They run on instinct and man knows the difference between what is necessary and what is futile.
Great distances, especially on monotonous landscapes, are hard to judge. Pi can no longer tell how far he has traveled, nor how long he has been travelling. Time and distance both begin to blend together in the endless seascape.
I think, when it comes down to it, men really are animals. We are ruled by the same base instincts: hunger, thirst, fear, the desire for children. Most of the difference, in my opinion, is in our heads.
We like to fancy ourselves some superior creature, high on our hill, but remove the social constructs and consequences and we are no more civilized than tigers or apes. Riots, mob justice, and countries with no real government all show how uncivilized we really are.
Time becomes a distance for Pi because his head can no longer comprehend the amount of time. This comprehension would drive him mad with amount of nothingness and doubt it would hold. He conveniently converts time into distance which allows him to think of it more as a journey someplace instead of a long wait. He doesn't look to far into the future, because he knows that it will hold doubt and uncertainy. Instead, he thinks of the past and how to survive what is to come.
What separates us from animals is the way we think. Humans base most of their actions on emotions, whereas animals do things instinctively. We tend to do things that we know are irrational, simply because it fills our emotional needs. We are the only creatures who cry for reasons other than physical pain. Pi becomes animal-like when he is stranded because he has to do everything based on instinct. He can't feel bad for killing animals and eating them, because if he didn't kill them he would starve to death. When it comes down to life or death, Pi has to rely on his first impulse in order to survive.
The body covered in boils happens to Job, which was actually written after Genesis (so, chronologically, it should be the second book of the Bible). I did not catch that the first time, nice observation.
Time becomes distance because there is no way to gauge distance without a point of reference. The Pacific is uniform, so it does not present a point of reference. Time is the only thing that Pi can use as a measurement of distance. If he assumes that he is moving in a direction, then he can think of time as progress in that direction.
Ultimately, I believe it is society that separates man from animal. If a child grows up alone in the wild, he or she would have to be trained to act like a human. Society takes us and transforms us into humans
I think time has become distance for Pi because as more time passes the farther his mind is from all that he knew.
What separates man from animal is the capacity to think of more than simply survival. Pi appears to be more savage because it has come to the point where all he thinks of is survival.
Time becomes distance for Pi because the longer he is stranded at sea, the more distance he covers. The only way he has of keeping time is between sun and moon, the more the sun rises and falls, the farther he has traveled.
Not many things separate man from animal. Take chimps for example, they operate in the same ways as humans do. Even Richard Parker saw Pi as an alpha male, whether he saw him as a human or animal.
The End
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