Stage 2 English Communications
Assessment Type 1: Text Analysis
Text response to show Yann Martel’s exploration of two ideas, Religious belief and spirituality through the use of literary techniques.
Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, awarded the Man Booker Prize in 2002, follows sixteen year old Pi Patel on a journey across the Pacific Ocean in the company of a Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker. The book is split into three parts, the central theme of this novel is religious belief and spirituality, and however it refrains from favouring one religion over another. Pi follows three religions, those being Islam, Hinduism and Christianity which link back to the central theme of the book. The idea of multiple religions is critical to the understanding …show more content…
The author Yann Martel uses symbolism to illustrate how religion can be a constant presence in our lives throughout the novel. The colour orange is used to represent hope throughout the novel through many different objects and scenarios and is also the colour of one of the religion Pi follows, the “nice Hindu colour”. Richard Parker, the orange Bengal tiger, is a key symbol used In the text to explore religion and is an example of symbolism. Furthermore, many objects on the lifeboat are orange, including the life boat tarpaulin, the whistle and the life jackets. In part one of the novel Pi’s daughter is introduced as a “little brown girl”, “holding an orange cat in her arms” which adds evidence that Richard Parker’s presence is constant throughout Pi’s life, a reminder of his ordeal at sea. Since orange is a reoccurring idea throughout the book constantly relating back to symbolising religion it can be considered a motif in the text. After the storm passes a clear sky is seen and this gives Pi hope to continue his journey across …show more content…
Mr Kumar, the baker, is a Muslim whereas the teacher with the same name is an atheist. Although they share the same name, they possess very different qualities and characteristics. Although the comparisons seem subtle, Yann Martel uses juxtaposition for various reasons. It is used to characterise the two contrasting characters, or to demonstrate a larger difference between the two Mr Kumars. The atheist Mr Kumar describes religion as “darkness”, which Pi at this point in the story believes “religion is light”. Martel uses the incident with the zebra to expose their differing beliefs. At The Pondicherry Zoo the first Mr Kumar, the atheist, explains the scientific classification of the zebra, praising nature for the evolution of a beautiful animal, whilst the second, religious Mr Kumar praises god for creating such a beautiful animal. Both Mr Kumar’s come to the same conclusion but this moment is fundamental as religion and science are relative and important to Pi’s understanding of animals. Pi sees the zebra from both perspectives and sees the truth in both, recognising the bigger picture – praising the beauty of such
Assessment Type 1: Text Analysis
Text response to show Yann Martel’s exploration of two ideas, Religious belief and spirituality through the use of literary techniques.
Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, awarded the Man Booker Prize in 2002, follows sixteen year old Pi Patel on a journey across the Pacific Ocean in the company of a Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker. The book is split into three parts, the central theme of this novel is religious belief and spirituality, and however it refrains from favouring one religion over another. Pi follows three religions, those being Islam, Hinduism and Christianity which link back to the central theme of the book. The idea of multiple religions is critical to the understanding …show more content…
The author Yann Martel uses symbolism to illustrate how religion can be a constant presence in our lives throughout the novel. The colour orange is used to represent hope throughout the novel through many different objects and scenarios and is also the colour of one of the religion Pi follows, the “nice Hindu colour”. Richard Parker, the orange Bengal tiger, is a key symbol used In the text to explore religion and is an example of symbolism. Furthermore, many objects on the lifeboat are orange, including the life boat tarpaulin, the whistle and the life jackets. In part one of the novel Pi’s daughter is introduced as a “little brown girl”, “holding an orange cat in her arms” which adds evidence that Richard Parker’s presence is constant throughout Pi’s life, a reminder of his ordeal at sea. Since orange is a reoccurring idea throughout the book constantly relating back to symbolising religion it can be considered a motif in the text. After the storm passes a clear sky is seen and this gives Pi hope to continue his journey across …show more content…
Mr Kumar, the baker, is a Muslim whereas the teacher with the same name is an atheist. Although they share the same name, they possess very different qualities and characteristics. Although the comparisons seem subtle, Yann Martel uses juxtaposition for various reasons. It is used to characterise the two contrasting characters, or to demonstrate a larger difference between the two Mr Kumars. The atheist Mr Kumar describes religion as “darkness”, which Pi at this point in the story believes “religion is light”. Martel uses the incident with the zebra to expose their differing beliefs. At The Pondicherry Zoo the first Mr Kumar, the atheist, explains the scientific classification of the zebra, praising nature for the evolution of a beautiful animal, whilst the second, religious Mr Kumar praises god for creating such a beautiful animal. Both Mr Kumar’s come to the same conclusion but this moment is fundamental as religion and science are relative and important to Pi’s understanding of animals. Pi sees the zebra from both perspectives and sees the truth in both, recognising the bigger picture – praising the beauty of such