MindMap Gallery Life of Pi
A comprehensive mind map book summary/outline about "Life of Pi". Composed by three parts: Part One: Toronto and Pondicherry (Chapter 1-36) Part Two: The Pacific Ocean (Chapter 37-94) Part Three: The Interview and Report (Chapter 95-100)
Edited at 2022-01-27 17:06:11Life of Pi
Part One: Toronto and Pondicherry (Chapter 1-36)
He changes his name to Pi
the name Pi in math represents an irrational number, with contrastions and transformations. The name perhaps reinforce about Pi's life which would be irrational and conflicting.
"I got up from my desk and hurried to the blackboard. Before the teacher could say a word, I picked up a piece of chalk and said as I wrote:My name is Piscine Molitor Patel,known to all as—I double underlined the first two letters of my given name—Pi PatelFor good measure I addedπ= 3.14" - chapter 5 page 27-
Pi meets the biology teacher: Satish Kumar
analyze to him about opposed of thinking and worldviews
"It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks of faith. Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them—and then they leap."- chapter 7 page 31-
His father owns a zoo in India, offering him lessons about how dangerous wild animals.
“India had a brand new zoo, designed and run according to the most modern, biologically sound principles.” - chapter 4 page 22 -
This was indicated to the Pi family brand new zoo.
“A natural transition, you might think, from hotelkeeping to zookeeping.” - chapter 4 page 22 -
Pi was telling us that his family was from hotelkeeping to zookeeping, and go on about the differences between them, one is human and the other is animal.
“I have nothing but the fondest memories of growing up in a zoo.”- chapter 4 page 22 -
“Tigers are very dangerous,” Father shouted. “I want you to understand that you are never--under any circumstances—to touch a tiger, to pet a tiger, to put your hands through the bars of a cage, even to get close to a cage. Is that clear?"- chapter 8 page 34 -
Pi goes through a significant religious awakening: Hiduism, Catholicism and Islam
"They didn’t know that I was a practising Hindu, Christian and Muslim. Teenagers always hide a few things from their parents, isn’t that so?"- chapter 23 page 58 -
Two Mr.Kumar meets at the zoos, feeding the zebra
Define and acknowledge about religion and science - 2 seperate worldviews
Sub Topic
Exposition (Setting and Characters)
The exposition of the story starts when Pi starts to tell the backstory of his family business, zookeeping. Many details happened before the exposition, but those didn’t affect the plot that much. The introduction to other characters also appears within those chapters. From chapter 4-28, everything surrounding Pi religious beliefs, which some matter to the plot but not really in the narrative arc.
Decision is made to move to Canada.
“The mid-1970s were troubled times in India. I gathered that from the deep furrows that appeared on Father’s forehead when he read the papers”- chapter 29 page 68 -
Pi is telling us the impact of the news to Pi father, causing him stress and pressure on his shoulders.
“And by this token, not much of a money-making venture, for the Greater Good and the Greater Profit are not compatible aims, much to Father’s chagrin.” - chapter 29 page 68 -
telling us how not profitable it is to open a zoo at this kind of time.
“The truth was, we were not a rich family, certainly not by Canadian standards.” - chapter 29 page 68 -
suggests a fact that their family is going to move overseas to Canada, where they think that they are considered poor to Canadian standards.
“Long-term, bad politics is bad for business” - chapter 29 page 68 -
a support quote, suggesting the bad politics in India and how it affected Pi family zoo.
“The New India split to pieces and collapsed in Father’s mind.” - chapter 29 page 68 -
The idea of New India in Mr. Santosh's head collapsed, as he was so excited to build a New India after the new ground In Pondicherry.
“Canada meant absolutely nothing to us. It was like Timbuktu, by definition a place permanently far away.” - chapter 29 page 69 -
telling us how Pi and his brother Ravi are not ready to be in Canada, where he thinks the place is too far and foreign.
“Father said, “We'll sail like Columbus!” “We sold the zoo, lock, stock and barrel. To a new country, a new life.”- chapter 34 page 76 -
Mr. Santosh seems happy about traveling by ship, and he is excited to go to Canada for a new beginning.
“We left Madras on June 21st, 1977, on the Panamanian-registered Japanese cargo ship Tsimtsum”- chapter 35 page 78 -
the whole family departed
Rising action
Chapter 29-37 tells us the preparation of the Pi family, going on a trip, a rising action of the story. During the bad political period of India, although it didn’t affect Pi but it worried Pi father zoo. Pi's father, knowing the zoo won’t be profitable in such a political climate, so he decided to move over sea, to Canada.
Part Two: The Pacific Ocean (Chapter 37-94)
A storm threatens the ship, Pi is thrown into a lifeboat. He tries to save Richard Parker
He realizes that he was used as a fodder for the drowning animals to attack
"The ship sank. It made a sound like a monstrous metallic burp. Things bubbled at the surface and then vanished. Everything was screaming: the sea, the wind, my heart."- chapter 37 page 81 -
Pi tried to stay calm, but he couldn’t. On the lifeboat watching the ship sink, Pi's heart screams, fears and devastated.
“I cried, “Richard Parker, is that you? It’s so hard to see. Oh, that this rain would stop! Richard Parker? Richard Parker? Yes, it is you!””- chapter 37 page 81 -
Pi suddenly sees the Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker, and helps him get on the lifeboat.
"On our fourth day out, midway to Midway, we sank. The ship vanished into a pinprick hole on my map. A mountain collapsed before my eyes and disappeared beneath my feet."- chapter 38 page 83 -
Pi retold us of what happened on the day the ship sank
On the lifeboat with Orange Juice, hyena, zebra and tiger
Great affection for Orange Juice, fear of and revulsion for the hyena, and vague pity for the dying zebra
“And what of my extended family—birds, beasts and reptiles? They too have drowned. Every Single thing I value in life has been destroyed. And I am allowed no explanation?”- chapter 37 page 81 -
Pi panicked, everything rushed into his head at once, horror of what was going on.
“I turned around, stepped over the zebra and threw myself overboard.”- chapter 37 page 82 -
Although seeing someone quite familiar like Richard Parker, Pi soon realizes that the tiger could eat him anytime, so he decides to jump overboard. In the quote we can also see there is an appearance of a zebra, unsure but quite understandable since the whole ship mainly contains animals from the zoo.
Hyena eats the zebra and Orange Juice. Richard Parker kills the hyena
- the truth about animals’ nature, instinct, and potential brutality- empathy, sympathy, terribleness and sadness develops
"The hyena, from behind the zebra, snapped at them and ate a number."- chapter 44 page 94 -“the hyena started to slide into its victim. It plunged head and shoulders into the zebra's guts, up to the knees of its front legs” - chapter 46 page 99 -
The hyena nearly killed the zebra, causing a survival war on the Pacific Ocean.
An adult female orang-utan cannot defeat an adult male spotted hyena. - chapter 47 page 102 -
the hyena and Orange Juice broke down in a horrific and dreadful fight. It ended with an orang-utan dead and losing its head
“The hyena died neither whining nor whimpering, and Richard Parker killed without a sound.”- chapter 53 page 115 -
Richard Parker killed the hyena without a single sound.
"Every hair on me was standing up, shivering with fear”- chapter 53 page 116 -
Pi prepared for his death, fear and anxiety built up in him.
Climax
Pi feelings are full of fears, horrified by what he has seen, dreadful scenes he have to get through, all built up in Pi body, causing him anxiety
Pi fights and does anything to survive by catching fish and turtles, using any tools he finds, planning to use the stock in the lifeboat as well as taking care of Richard Parker
In order to survive, he changes his lifelong vegetarianism, masters varied method in hunting and becomes a proficient and skilled hunter
“I pulled out the survival manual.”- chapter 58 -
“I discovered what a solar still is. A solar still is a device to produce freshwater from salt water.”- chapter 59 -
“I bent down, picked up the fish, and threw it towards him. This was the way to tame him!” Using the fish, Pi realized he could tame him, a way to make Richard Parker listen to Pi.- chapter 61 -
I looked at them doubtfully. They had been out two days now” but an exciting turn of events, “I unhooked the pouch and, following the instructions,... I tasted the water. I tasted it again. It was salt-free.”- chapter 62 -
Decides to keep Richard Parker alive after the thoughful consideration, contructs his own raft and writes diary
Pi chooses Richard Parker as his companion instead of fear.
“I kept myself busy. That was one key to my survival. On a lifeboat, even on a raft, there’s always something that needs doing” - chapter 63 -
Pi said as he listed things to do on the lifeboat, the list kept him busy, ways to distract him from bad thoughts, and ways he could survive.
Pi learns to maintain his territory and dipciplines Richard Parker
“I spent hours trying to decipher the lines in the survival manual on navigation.”- chapter 65 -
as Pi finding a way to survive.
A terrible storm destroys the raft
Hoping to be rescued, but, it was helpless as the ship does not notice him
- incredible love for the Richard Parker- express the pain and regret in the situation
Richard Parker and Pi are temporarily blind.
Pi losts hope and starts to whisper goodbye to Richard Parker.
“Richard Parker, is something wrong? Have you gone blind?”- chapter 90 -
making Pi lose trust in surviving on his own, thinking it’s the ending to it all.
“Goodbye, Richard Parker. I'm sorry for having failed you. I did my best.”
He suffers through heat and hunger, barely clinging to life. He feels that he has failed as a zookeeper, as he can no longer care for Richard Parker
Pi meets the Frechman who tends to kill Pi but Richard Parker kills him first.
“You have a French accent.” He was surprised. “I woke up with a gasp. Someone was there”. Their conversation went on for a while, telling each other stories, the castaway tried to trade with him for cigarettes in exchange for boots. It was fine until the castaway threatened to kill Pi, ““You're damn right your heart is with me!” he said. “And your liver and your flesh!”” but as soon as he touches the floor boat, Richard Parker kills him. “This was the terrible cost of Richard Parker. He gave me a life, my own, but at the expense of taking one. He ripped the flesh off the man’s frame and cracked his bones”
Pi arrives to an island full of meerkats and algae.
“The trees remain. In fact, they grew to be a forest. They were part of a low-lying island. I pushed myself up”- chapter 92 -
Pi and Richard Parker lands in Mexico. Richard Parker leaves him
“When we reached land, Mexico to be exact, I was so weak I barely had the strength to be happy about it.”“The glance gave me one of my last images of Richard Parker, for at that precise moment he jumped over me” “He only looked fixedly into the jungle. Then Richard Parker, companion of my torment, awful, fierce thing that kept me alive, moved forward and disappeared forever from my life.” - chapter 94 -
Pi was so tired he couldn’t enjoy the happiness, and he tried to use his strength to get off the boat. Richard Parker, who has the strength to keep continue, walks away from Pi.
Falling action
Part Three
The interview
Chapter 95Transcript of a conversation between Pi and two officials from the Maritime Department of the Japanese Ministry ofTransport. These officials, whose names wereMr. TomohiroOkamotoandMr. Atsuro Chiba, were in California on unrelated business when they were called to Mexico and instructed to interview the lone survivor of theTsimtsum, to find out more about why the ship sank.
Chapter 98Okamoto and Chiba tell Pi that his story is interesting, but they express their disbelief to each other in Japanese.
Chapter 99This chapter was a very long chapter of the conversation that was recorded, Pi here told the people what happened, and the ship and Pi start to tell them the other version that might seems more believable, it was a humanfied version, it was very long explanation but it didn’t really matter since Pi was there so that he could tell how the ship sinked.
The report
Chapter 100Okamoto says that the simtsumpossibly sank because of an engine problem, but he admits that the cause of the shipwreck is unknowable.
Resolution