This is one of my favorite endings to a book that I have ever read. I’m not sure why I love it so much beyond the fact that the concept of the “better story” intrigues me. I had to pause and think about the two endings and the way the stories intertwined. If I were thinking of just the concept of the better story I would go for Pi’s story that includes Richard Parker. However I have to take into account the other ending as well, the Japanese businessmen took for granted at first look that it was true. I loved Pi’s remark that just because it was outside of their realm of experience does not mean that because it is improbable it is impossible. Everything in Pi’s life up to that point had prepared him to be capable of dealing with just such an event. Yet to survive for 7 months in a lifeboat with a tiger, one must question the factuality of the story.
While I was considering whether or not the story was true I thought of The Things They Carried, how Tim O’Brien talked of story truth and of happening truth and I realized that in the end it doesn’t matter to me whether or not Richard Parker was living on the lifeboat. I, like the Japanese businessmen in the end decided that I would believe the better story. ‘Mr. Piscine Molitor Patel showed astounding courage and endurance in the face of extraordinary difficulties. Very few men can claim to have survived so long at sea, and none in the company of an adult Bengal tiger.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
It's only a cookie
Does this book have a happy ending? From the beginning I was skeptical about that line. Is it just happy because he survives or is there more meaning behind what Yann Martel believes to be a happy ending? This book has a happy ending depending on whether you prefer the "dry, yeastless factuality" or the "better story".
When I finished this book, I just held it there in my hand and couldn't believe what I had just read. You start the book on this up-climb of happy thoughts and continuous learning. As you read the "meat" of the story you get drawn into Pi as the character and how he evolves on this lifeboat with Richard Parker (and all the former passengers). The ending literally shocked me! I should have seen something like this coming, but you get so involved in the "better story".
The story with the humans, I believe, is the true story, the dry, yeastless factuality. That is what happened, in all its sickening ways. For me I prefer to have the “better story”, although finding out the truth was inspirational to me and needed to be told. I wouldn’t take that part out of the book.
I was able to go back through and really analyze the deeper feelings of Pi as Richard Parker. The concept of Pi actually being the tiger shows deep meaning to Pi’s worries and concerns that we thought he was just showing to Richard Parker. In order to survive he knew he needed to apply the attributes of a Royal Bengal Tiger (an animal he viewed as dominant).
Trying to understand the “dry, yeastless factuality” or the “better story” concept, I took a look at my own life. I don’t believe I have suffered an event you can call “tragic” but the death of a loved one always causes sorrow. The “dry, yeastless factuality” would be the facts of how they died, why they died, when…so forth. You need the facts to understand the situation, but when people talk of ones they have lost, they always give the “better story”—happy events; times they shared together, characteristics of that person.
Pi remembered the tragic event by replacing humans with animals. By doing this, you are able to learn from what happened without depressing, repulsive facts. I felt sadness for Pi as I’m reading the body of the story but also was able to “navigate” on to the happy ending. I felt like I was on the boat, pulling for Pi, Richard Parker, and myself to get to land. If the book was written strictly on the dry, yeastless factuality or didn’t have that hope of a happy ending, you might have just given up—jumped overboard.
When I finished this book, I just held it there in my hand and couldn't believe what I had just read. You start the book on this up-climb of happy thoughts and continuous learning. As you read the "meat" of the story you get drawn into Pi as the character and how he evolves on this lifeboat with Richard Parker (and all the former passengers). The ending literally shocked me! I should have seen something like this coming, but you get so involved in the "better story".
The story with the humans, I believe, is the true story, the dry, yeastless factuality. That is what happened, in all its sickening ways. For me I prefer to have the “better story”, although finding out the truth was inspirational to me and needed to be told. I wouldn’t take that part out of the book.
I was able to go back through and really analyze the deeper feelings of Pi as Richard Parker. The concept of Pi actually being the tiger shows deep meaning to Pi’s worries and concerns that we thought he was just showing to Richard Parker. In order to survive he knew he needed to apply the attributes of a Royal Bengal Tiger (an animal he viewed as dominant).
Trying to understand the “dry, yeastless factuality” or the “better story” concept, I took a look at my own life. I don’t believe I have suffered an event you can call “tragic” but the death of a loved one always causes sorrow. The “dry, yeastless factuality” would be the facts of how they died, why they died, when…so forth. You need the facts to understand the situation, but when people talk of ones they have lost, they always give the “better story”—happy events; times they shared together, characteristics of that person.
Pi remembered the tragic event by replacing humans with animals. By doing this, you are able to learn from what happened without depressing, repulsive facts. I felt sadness for Pi as I’m reading the body of the story but also was able to “navigate” on to the happy ending. I felt like I was on the boat, pulling for Pi, Richard Parker, and myself to get to land. If the book was written strictly on the dry, yeastless factuality or didn’t have that hope of a happy ending, you might have just given up—jumped overboard.
Pi and the Journey
Many times in this life of mine I have heard that the journey is the thing. Even though there seems to be a lot of evidence to support that your beginning and your end is just as important as your journey. Reading the Life of Pi I can see how all the above is important, but I can't help but agree that the journey of Pi was the thing. The journey I made was with Pi and animals not humans; so that is how I will continue to read it. So there is the question why did Pi tell the story of the animals as people and Ricard Parker as himself ? I have several theories. One of them is that I'm a big fan of obituaries, maybe I'm somewhat morbid but I like seeing what seems to be important factors in a person's life. I also like to see how loved ones try to capsulize their dearly departed in just a few sentences, for many its too hard so they go with a generalized article and stick to the "facts" knowing that its for the public,but sometimes you'll find one that is unique. In my minds eye that is what Pi was trying to do, he was trying capsulate the animals in a unique way because they had meant so much to him. They were the ones that had been with him on his life's journey, and because of that they were just as human as his mother, a cook, a sailor, or himself. Also I think when something is so close to you, so personal, something you can't explain in words you create an alternate idea, even if its worst than than the real story, because then it has some distance, so if there is criticism it won't hurt as much. I think the men from the Japanese transport have our point of view that it doesn't matter which story is true because either way it was a horrific tale. It had just as much blood, grief, and hope whether it was with humans or animals.
Happily Ever After
There are some things that most would agree constitute a "happy ending" to Pi's adventure - he lived, the tiger lived, they learned to co-exist in a small space, and he went on to have a family, hopefully without any more extreme experiences. Although what Pi experienced tested all of his values, strengths, faith and understanding of life in general and probably left scars, he grew in ways that he would not have if he had lived a happy life without the intensity of this adventure. Any situation that throws us into the depths of hell help us find our strenghts and weaknesses. What would be do in the throws of starvation - eat another human being? Eat raw animals? Eat Richard Parker's feces. How much are we afraid of death. Is our faith in something beyond life on earth enough to allow us to not fear death and to let circumstances move us onto whatever lies ahead. OR, is our fear so great that we would do ANYTHING to stay alive. It is in these moments that we truly define our internal self. If we remain the same person that we are under better circumstances, we gain a confidence and self respect that will carry us through any of life's challenges with greater ease. It is through my divorces and the pain and agony of these painful exeriences that I have come to be at peace with life as it comes and have the strength to understand that any challenge that comes my way has a solution and a happy ending if I chose to stand tall.
I was very sad at the end because I too felt a sadness that Richard Parker left without any sign of attachment to the person who had kept him alive all this time. Life is like this though. When I said goodbye for the last time to my husband, he was not wanting to let go, but I knew that this was it and our paths would probably not cross again. I was Richard Parker who just wanted to move onto my future and not look back because it was painful and finished.
There was also such much intensity to the 227 days and then to have it just end left me a little frustrated because I wanted the happy ending with a little bit about what happened to Pi in his induction back into the real world. After thinking about the story, however, I realized that probably this was the only place to end the book. Pi's happy ever story was a whole other story that would not have fit. Ending the story this way also left you hanging some to ponder everything you had just read.
I was very sad at the end because I too felt a sadness that Richard Parker left without any sign of attachment to the person who had kept him alive all this time. Life is like this though. When I said goodbye for the last time to my husband, he was not wanting to let go, but I knew that this was it and our paths would probably not cross again. I was Richard Parker who just wanted to move onto my future and not look back because it was painful and finished.
There was also such much intensity to the 227 days and then to have it just end left me a little frustrated because I wanted the happy ending with a little bit about what happened to Pi in his induction back into the real world. After thinking about the story, however, I realized that probably this was the only place to end the book. Pi's happy ever story was a whole other story that would not have fit. Ending the story this way also left you hanging some to ponder everything you had just read.
Pi as Richard Parker
I honestly hadn't considered what it would mean for Pi if the story with animals was actually a lie and the boat was shared by people all along. Pi as Richard Parker is a much more demoralizing story than Pi surviving with Richard Parker. It entails Pi becoming the worst version of himself, a sort of literary double that lacks humanity and decency. Pi as R.P. makes his story even more uncanny than it already is.
Assuming that there never was a tiger on that life boat, Pi went through an amazing ordeal of losing himself in his circumstances and surviving in a very animalistic way. This actually meshes perfectly with my concept of what actual survival would entail. Survival would be ugly, damaging, completely out of a person's typical realm of possibility, and something never to be forgotten but life-shaping. If this is true of his experience, Pi made an incredible journey, both literally and emotionally, and lived to tell the tale. In this view, the story does have a happy ending and Pi has been blessed for his faith in God and all His religions.
Assuming that there never was a tiger on that life boat, Pi went through an amazing ordeal of losing himself in his circumstances and surviving in a very animalistic way. This actually meshes perfectly with my concept of what actual survival would entail. Survival would be ugly, damaging, completely out of a person's typical realm of possibility, and something never to be forgotten but life-shaping. If this is true of his experience, Pi made an incredible journey, both literally and emotionally, and lived to tell the tale. In this view, the story does have a happy ending and Pi has been blessed for his faith in God and all His religions.
The Richard Parker in ALL Stories
The acidic-people-eating island is, to me, the inhumanity of changing into an animal. Loosing all since of human and going full animal like the cook from the second story. (I just wanted to put in my two cents on that.)
The two stories of Pi's 227 days at sea are so similar.One has all the details with an easier way to comprehend it by seeing the facts though the animals lives, and the other is cold hard facts. The hard truth is never pretty, and will never have the adventurous feeling or heart put into it because its more of a list of facts. Its heartless and humans want adventure and grandeur; we are generally disgusted by the true details.
The whole time reading the story it was hard to believe because Pi was so young and lived for so long 'by himself'. BUT after hearing the cold hard 'truth' its more believable." So it goes with God." If we are always looking for the hard fact, we will generally not like what we find. I think that's why the prophets of old taught in parables and stories. Generally people like to hear the truth with out all the gory detail. Also the everyday storytellers don't generally like telling the gory details, because they will turn there audience off.
I agree with the Japanese men, the story with all the animals is a much better story, because its not as realistic. Richard Parker is the animal with in Pi, and they worked together to stay alive. When Pi didn't need his animal instincts to survive, Richard left Pi's mind and his 'human' instincts, that he held so dear, engulfed him again. I think there a little bit of Richard Parker still in Pi, dormant. I think Pi misses that part of himself sometimes. i ask the question to myself upon finishing the book; Is there a bit of Richard Parker in me? I don't know if I want to know the answer to that thought....
The two stories of Pi's 227 days at sea are so similar.One has all the details with an easier way to comprehend it by seeing the facts though the animals lives, and the other is cold hard facts. The hard truth is never pretty, and will never have the adventurous feeling or heart put into it because its more of a list of facts. Its heartless and humans want adventure and grandeur; we are generally disgusted by the true details.
The whole time reading the story it was hard to believe because Pi was so young and lived for so long 'by himself'. BUT after hearing the cold hard 'truth' its more believable." So it goes with God." If we are always looking for the hard fact, we will generally not like what we find. I think that's why the prophets of old taught in parables and stories. Generally people like to hear the truth with out all the gory detail. Also the everyday storytellers don't generally like telling the gory details, because they will turn there audience off.
I agree with the Japanese men, the story with all the animals is a much better story, because its not as realistic. Richard Parker is the animal with in Pi, and they worked together to stay alive. When Pi didn't need his animal instincts to survive, Richard left Pi's mind and his 'human' instincts, that he held so dear, engulfed him again. I think there a little bit of Richard Parker still in Pi, dormant. I think Pi misses that part of himself sometimes. i ask the question to myself upon finishing the book; Is there a bit of Richard Parker in me? I don't know if I want to know the answer to that thought....
Arc of Pi
I believe that Pi has changed in some ways from the person he was at the start of the story, to becoming a different person at the end. Pi undergoes his own hero's journey, just as we talked about in class. Not only is it a story technique, it also reflects life. Any time a person makes some sort of significant "journey" that person is usually changed in some way when it is over. Given what Pi went through, how could he not be changed?
At the end of the story when Pi was talking with the two Japanese men, he acted more adult like, in that he displayed wisdom beyond what you would expect from a teenager. Often at the completion of the hero's journey the hero usually returns with more wisdom, which can be a boon, or gift to his fellow men. Pi attempts to share his wisdom with the two Japanese men, but they are men of the "dry, yeastless factuality."
One way that Pi is still the same by the end of the book, is that he still retains his kindness to other people. Essentially Pi is still the same core person that he started out as. I would say that his core is built around Love. He did have to do some hard and grusome things to survive on the ocean, but he also mentions during the story that he still prayed for the first fish that he killed. After his ordeal it is Love that keeps him praying for the animals that he killed on his journey. I think Love is the one trait that Pi had at the start of the story and still retained later in his life.
For me, using the hero's journey model is a good lens in which to see the arc of development of Pi throughout the story.
At the end of the story when Pi was talking with the two Japanese men, he acted more adult like, in that he displayed wisdom beyond what you would expect from a teenager. Often at the completion of the hero's journey the hero usually returns with more wisdom, which can be a boon, or gift to his fellow men. Pi attempts to share his wisdom with the two Japanese men, but they are men of the "dry, yeastless factuality."
One way that Pi is still the same by the end of the book, is that he still retains his kindness to other people. Essentially Pi is still the same core person that he started out as. I would say that his core is built around Love. He did have to do some hard and grusome things to survive on the ocean, but he also mentions during the story that he still prayed for the first fish that he killed. After his ordeal it is Love that keeps him praying for the animals that he killed on his journey. I think Love is the one trait that Pi had at the start of the story and still retained later in his life.
For me, using the hero's journey model is a good lens in which to see the arc of development of Pi throughout the story.
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