Pi then realizes, “*he+ preferred to set off and perish in search of my own kind than to live a lonely half-life of physical comfort and spiritual death on the murderous island” (Martel,). At night however, the ecosystem of the island feeds on itself. At day the meerkats eat without having to kill and show no fear not even towards Richard Parker. There is a heaven and hell type scenario with the passing of each day and entering of each night. Pi discovers the black fruit” on the twisted branches of the tree of “knowledge of Good and Evil” and his illusion of a perfect island is destroyed. The island can be compared to the Garden of Eden. The island itself provided Pi with food, water and shelter.
The algae island was an island Pi encountered when he was on his journey going across the Pacific Ocean. This infinite potential that Piscine has developed by adapting the name of Pi is just like the mathematical symbol of pi which is infinite and never ending. They did not give him an opportunity to become anything else.īut when his nickname was inserted his opportunity do things was expanded infinitely, because he had no emotional burden. Before the nickname was being used all his former classmates new him as only as Dhami 2 “Pissing Patel”. The Greek letter symbolizes the roof the nickname has placed over Pi emotionally. This nickname allowed him to find the protection from the bullying he would have got if he had used his actual name.
When Pi transferred to a new school he took the first available opportunity to use his nick name, with “that Greek letter that looked like a shack … *Pi+ found refuge” (Martel,). Many of Pi’s classmates made fun of his full name and called him names such as “Pissing Patel”. Not only is the mathematical pi symbolic towards Pi, but it also provided him protection from school. Pi is sixteen when he is shipwrecked, and pi is also the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
Piscine’s nickname is Pi and it has a symbolic relationship with the mathematical pi. The mathematical pi is undefined, infinite and unable to be understood, just like Piscine Patel. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, symbolism such as pi’s name, the colour orange and the algae island, are used throughout the novel to provide Pi with protection to help him either survive or overcome his emotional pain. Most of the names of animals, objects and even humans in this novel have a symbolic meaning. Symbolism is often used to represent an object to something else, either by association or by resemblance. The main literary device used in Life of Pi is symbolism. Yu ENG3U MaSymbolism in Life of Pi In Life of Pi there are many literary devices used to present the different themes in the novel.
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