Life of Pi: Chapter 36

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So...the narrator is a writer...and it would seem he's a reporter of some sort...so how could he have not known about Pi's family, dog, and cat? Does this speak to his lack of attention to detail or to Pi's lack of forthrightness? Does this diminish the reliability of the narrator in any way?

Why wouldn't Pi's story have a happy ending? What would make it unhappy?

Life of Pi: Chapters 34-35

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Why do governments make it so difficult to ship animals from one zoo to another? Why does it have to involve so much paperwork?

Why do you think people used to dress up so nicely to travel? Some still do today, though not so much. How do you dress when you are going on a flight or maybe even taking a cruise ship somewhere? What is acceptable these days?

Life of Pi: Chapter 33

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Why is it that there are no photographs to speak of to document Pi's childhood?

Pi seems sad that he can't remember what his mother looks like. It's clear that she has passed away. What about his father? Is he still alive? Or is he dead, too, and Pi can remember what he looks like...or maybe he just doesn't care that he can't remember his father...

Still unclear who Richard Parker is...

Life of Pi: Chapters 31-32

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"In all this there are messages indeed for a people who use their reason." (p. 82)  What are your thoughts on this quote?

What might be significant about the meeting of the two Mr. Kumars? Is there some symbolic meaning you can attach to this meeting? Or the fact that it took place by the zebras?

How might Chapter 32 be symbolic, considering the fact that Pi's family is on the verge of moving to Canada?

Life of Pi: Chapter 30

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So...it IS the older Pi in the italicized sections....Why is the narrator of these sections so surprised by the fact that Pi is married? And I'm still waiting to find out exactly who the narrator is...

Life of Pi: Chapter 29

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What were some of the national issues in India in the 1970s? Do a search and share what you find.

Great sentence: "The camel at the zoo was unfazed, but that straw broke Father's back."

Have you ever been uprooted by your family and forced to move away? What was the most difficult part for you?

Life of Pi: Chapters 26-28

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Why do Pi's parents find him so exasperating in Chapter 26?

Who is Sri Ramakrishna (pictured above)? Is this an apt comparison for Pi?

Use a search engine and answer this question for me: What were some of the biggest issues that the Indian people had with Mrs. Gandhi?

Is there any merit to Pi's parents' side of the issue at hand?

Why do you think that -- when all was said and done -- Pi's parents supported his religious potpourri?

Life of Pi: Chapters 23-25

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His father's religion is business, his mother's religion had been cancelled out, and his brother only worshiped sports. What moved Pi to three religious belief systems at one time?

Why can't Pi practice all three religions? Since our country is primarily Christian in its religious beliefs, from a Christian point of view, why would this be impossible?

How is it that Gandhi (pictured above) -- who is dead -- is able to settle this argument...kind of?

Assuming that all things in a book serve a purpose, why would Pi's story need to include an account of his brother's mockery? What does this add to the story?

What kind of behavior is Pi describing in Chapter 25? Does this behavior exist in American churches today?

Why would religious people want to keep Pi out of their church? No matter what religion we're talking about, isn't one of the basic tenets to love everyone?

Life of Pi: Chapters 21-22

Still not sure who this narrator is, but now I'm certain he is referring to an older version of Pi, as he refers to phrases Pi uses in Chapter 22.

Take a look at the block quotes he uses from his own writing. Do you think these ideas encapsulate religion? If so, which religion?

Explain the difference between an agnostic and an atheist.

In the back of my book, there is a reading group guide filled with questions. One of the questions reads, "Chapters 21 and 22 are very short, yet the author has said that they are at the core of the novel. Can you see how?" Well, can you?

Life of Pi: Chapters 18-20

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What are Bedouins? What are asanas? What is an imam? If you don't know, you're not doing your job...look them up.

What do you think Pi found appealing about the Muslim baker and his practicing of his faith?

Pi says that when he brought his forehead to the ground in prayer, "it felt like a deeply religious contact." Explain how you think that could be possible.

Mr. Kumar (the Muslim, not the scientist) is a hafiz. What is that and why is it impressive?

Have you ever been somewhere that made you feel as though it was heaven? Share that experience and describe your surroundings at that time to the best of your ability. What made it feel like heaven?

What do you think "a vision beyond a vision" is? Have you ever experienced this phenomenon?

Life of Pi: Chapter 17

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These are the hills of Munnar...just thought you should see where this chapter took place.

How much does religion shape our lives...from the earliest personal beginnings of our religious experiences to the institutions religion shapes, such as governments...how much does religion influence us on a daily basis?

How might someone from outside the Christian religion come to understand that Christianity has "few gods and great violence. But good schools"?

An interesting outsider's view of the crucifixion story -- great analogy used to describe the wonderful absurdity of God's sacrifice of Jesus when filtered through the human mind.

Quite an engaging conversion story...but not actually a conversion...more of a religious addition. Do you think it possible to be Hindu and Christian simultaneously? How does Pi pull this off?

Life of Pi: Chapters 15-16

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Above is the image of Ganesha -- he of the animal head -- the most popular image of the Hindu deities.

Interesting that the narrator (still don't know who that is in these sections) describes the house of his host as a "temple" and the host's kitchen as a "shrine." What do you make of all the religious icons to be found here?

Ganesha is the lord overcomer of obstacles, the god of good luck, the god of wisdom, and the patron of learning. Sounds like a good god to have on your side...but why does he travel on a rat? What is significant about that?

Although the house if filled with Hindu religious icons, these icons are juxtaposed with Christian icons. Why do you think this man has both so significantly displayed in his home?

As for the italicized sections, I have a theory at this point...the narrator of these sections is visiting an older version of Pi. Just a guess, and I can't tell you how I came to think this, but I can sense it...

Explain the message in the story about the dancing girls more clearly and with more detail than the narrator. In other words, what was the point of the story?

"...Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims." What is the narrator suggesting here? [Warning: I am not asking for your religious opinions or a religious debate here...hold onto those thoughts...what I am asking for is a straightforward interpretation of the statement quoted above.]

Assume that it is possible for you to change religious beliefs...such as going from believing Christian teachings to believing Hindu teachings. For the sake of argument, just assume that's possible for you. Making the assumption that it is possible, what would it take for you to make that change? How long would it take to make a core value switch like that in your life?

Life of Pi: Chapters 13-14

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Guess someone didn't get the memo about establishing dominance...

Of the many times I've fallen into a lion's pit and been torn to pieces, I never once thought about why the lion did it...

Interesting insight into lion training here...the narrator tends to lean on anthropomorphism a lot in this section. Does that take away from his role as an expert in this case?

Again, a kind of symbolic parable about humans as much as it is a section on animal behavior...what does your crazy English teacher mean by this?

Life of Pi: Chapters 11-12

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What is the narrator's underlying message in his story about the black leopard?

I don't understand the end of Chapter 11...what is the narrator talking about? How did we go from Tokyo to Mexico? Baffled...

Chapter 12 is italicized again...who is narrating these sections? Who is the old man that is cooking for his visitor? And who is Richard Parker? The mystery continues...

Life of Pi: Chapters 9-10

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Small note...but interesting to ponder...the narrator measures flight distances in yards, not meters...

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?

Life of Pi: Chapters 7-8

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After all of the religious allusions, it is interesting that one of his most memorable teachers is Mr. Kumar, an avowed atheist. Also interesting is Mr. Kumar's view that the animals at the zoo proved the scientific order of things...this is not the wonder and awe that zoos usually produce in their visitors. He also refers to it as his temple. Why?

Perhaps most interesting is that the narrator views atheism as a religion of a different sort. How can this be true? What does he mean when he says, "Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them -- and then they leap"?

What is wrong with people? Why would you want to hurt zoo animals?

Thoughts on the goat scene?

With the exception of the guinea pigs, the narrator's father simply tells of the dangers the other animals are capable of...why start with the excessively violent scene with the tiger? Why would he do this to his sons? Why not just tell them like he did with the other animals?

Life of Pi: Chapters 5-6

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I wonder why, when discussing name changes that go beyond just name changes, the narrator refers only to Biblical names/lives that were changed...and then, when comparing his persecution (Pissing) and his resulting desire to leave St. Joseph's, he compares himself to Muhammad in Mecca...

Again, I am not sure about the reason for the italics in Chapter 6...or who might be narrating it...or who the subject of the chapter is...but I will come back to this chapter once I have a stronger idea of these things. I am assuming it will be made clear.

Life of Pi: Chapters 3-4

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I will never swim in a European pool...I will never swim in a European pool...I will never swim in a European pool...

Why name a child after a pool? Unless he was conceived there or his parents experienced some amazing event there, I don't see why they would name him that.

Search Engine Fun for the Day: Find Pondicherry on a map of India.

I have gone back to the place where I grew up -- a farm with 40 acres of woods with a pond, a creek, and a deer-infested marsh. When I go there now, it amazes me how small 40 acres is. Ever experienced this phenomenon?

I like the comparison between the hotel business and the zoo business. Made me chuckle. Anyone with me?

How cool would it be to grow up in a zoo? That would be awesome. Anyone grow up somewhere cool like that?

Starting on page 16 (at least of my version), the narrator begins to pontificate on the idea of freedom. Do you agree with his assessment of the animals' freedom? Is there something missing in his argument that animals are better off in a zoo? Can you poke holes in his argument, or have you been thoroughly convinced by his logical explanation?

He mentions that religion has its own issues with freedom. What does he seem to be suggesting by this?

Life of Pi: Chapters 1-2

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Author John Irving, writer of A Prayer for Owen Meany, has an interesting take on first sentences of novels. In his introduction to the aforementioned novel, Irving writes that "the primary function of a first sentence is to make you keep reading." Does the first sentence of this novel accomplish that? If so, what is it about the sentence that makes you want to keep reading?

What is the cosmogony theory of Isaac Lutia? With the advent of the internet, finding out about these allusions is extremely easy, so don't let them pass you by when you have time to look them up. They could lead you down paths you never thought would have existed. So who is this guy and what is so important about his theory?

What is the connection between religion and zoology? Why choose this double major?

indolence...definition?

What is the purpose of the three-toed sloth? The narrator sure spends a lot of time on it...

In speaking of the sloth, the narrator states that he felt like he "was in the presence of an upside-down yogi deep in meditation or a hermit deep in prayer." Others say sloths smile. Why does the narrator not want to project human traits on the animal but chooses to project spiritual traits on it?

What is a "memento mori painting"? How is it significant?

Who is Richard Parker?

Why is the waiter's comment concerning the narrator ("fresh off the boat" so disturbing to the narrator?

Why is Chapter 2 written in italics? To whom is it referring?