Lesson 7: Life of Pi, Part Two-The Pacific Ocean (continued)

Taming the tiger (Image: kyleariegle.empowernetwork.com)

Lesson 7: Life of Pi, Part Two-The Pacific Ocean (continued):

Once Pi finds himself alone on the boat with Richard Parker, he must find a way to survive while fending off the tiger's advances. While Richard Parker is sleeping under the tarp that partially covers the lifeboat, Pi finds a locker of emergency supplies and begins to take account of food and other supplies from the locker. 

To create some distance between him and the tiger, he creates his own makeshift liferaft and ties it to the lifeboat. When he is floating on the open ocean in his tiny liferaft, he hears Richard Parker make a noise, which Pi recognizes as a signal of the tiger's non-aggressive intentions. (Remember, Pi was raised at Pondicherry Zoo and was the son of a zookeeper, so he is very familiar with animal behavior.) He decides that he will train the tiger. He does this by using a whistle and rocking the boat. As he rocks the boat, making Richard Parker nauseous, he also blows the whistle loudly. He knows that he must prove his dominance over Richard Parker, and his training works. He and Richard Parker are able to co-exist on the lifeboat together: Richard Parker stays underneath the tarp, and Pi lives either on top of the tarp or in the part of the lifeboat not covered by the tarp. Pi also marks his territory on the boat as an animal would, by spraying urine across the boundary line separating his section of the boat from Richard Parker's section. 

Taming the tiger (Image: svabhinava.org)

Pi also realizes that the supplies on the boat are not enough to guarantee his survival, and they certainly won't feed Richard Parker. To survive, he learns how to fish to feed himself and the tiger. Since Pi is a vegetarian, this is difficult for him; he must break the necks of the fish or chop off their heads with a hatchet in order to survive. 

As Pi and the tiger try to survive on the lifeboat with no rescue in sight, Pi becomes more like the tiger. Over time he loses his natural inhibitions: he drinks turtle's blood for nourishment and liquid, he urinates on the boat to mark his territory, and he no longer feels any guilt for killing and eating fish. 

Lesson 7: Guiding Questions

As you read this second third of Part Two-The Pacific Ocean, I would like you to keep the following guiding questions in mind:

1. One of the themes we discussed in our readings of "The Tyger" and "The Lamb" (Lesson 2) and also "The Lady, or the Tiger?" (Lesson 3) was regarding human nature. 
2. In Lesson 2, the poems "The Tyger" and "The Lamb" discuss how very different these two creatures are, yet both have the same creator. Remember that Blake's title for his book of poems was Songs of Innocence and Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. 
3. In Lesson 3, the short story "The Lady, or the Tiger?" also discusses what the story calls ". . . a study of the human heart which leads us through devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our way." The reader learns that the princess loves the young man, but also that she is extremely jealous of him. At the end of the story, the reader is left hanging: does the princess point out to her lover the door leading to the lady, a lady of the court whom the princess suspects is trying to steal her lover? Or, does the princess point out to her lover the door leading to the tiger and his certain destruction? 
4. All three of these readings suggest that there are hidden depths of passion and even evil in the human heart, and also that no human is capable of fully understanding why these exist. In Blake's poem, the lamb is a creature of great innocence and purity, and yet the same creator who made the lamb also made the tiger, who is both terrible and fearful? 
5. What do we learn about human nature through these readings? What separates humans from animals?
6. What do we learn about Pi's human nature through this second third of Part Two-The Pacific Ocean?

Lesson 7: Readings and Instructions

Today you will read the second third of Part Two-The Pacific Ocean, Chapters 56-80. As you read, pay special attention to the changes Pi experiences as he spends more time on the lifeboat with Richard Parker. In addition to the guiding questions noted above, ask yourself these two additional questions:

1. How does Pi become more like Richard Parker as they share the lifeboat?
2. How does Richard Parker become or seem more human as the creature shares the lifeboat with Pi? Cite evidence from the text that supports your observations.

You should record your observations in your reading journal, which you will submit at the end of this week. 

Lesson 7: Assignment-Forum Post Four

Now that you have read Chapters 56-80, I want you to consider this lesson's guiding questions as you write your fourth forum post.

You will place your fourth forum post below. These are the rules for your forum post: 

1. Post an original question designed to provoke discussion with your classmates.
2. Comment on at least one of your classmates' original posts about the poems.
3. Always give evidence from the text when you ask questions or when you respond to a classmate.

I will be grading the quality and depth of both your questions and responses with the same grading rubric that was posted in Lesson 2. (10 points for original post; 10 points for follow-up response)

Lesson 7: Begin Forum Discussion Over Life of Pi, Part Two-The Pacific Ocean Here