Life of Pi

January 27, 2012

Escape

Author's Note: We are doing a poetry response for  Life of Pi and I chose to do mine on the "dream rag."  The dream rag is how Pi escapes reality.  I am working on structure so I made a rhyme scheme and a syllable scheme.  Please leave me feedback. 

Close my eyes, cut my breath,

fall asleep, into a special death.

Over my face, let it drape,

leading me into my own escape.

Let me sleep, show my dreams,

lay me down under the sun that beams.

In my sleep, time goes by,

proof shows when I wake, the rag is dry.

January 19, 2012

Author's Note: We did another prompt for book club.  The prompt was: Select any significant from the reading for today, and discuss its significance to the theme of the novel.  I was more prepared this time compared to the last prompt so I think this one will be much better.  Please leave me feedback. 

In reality our lives are seas.  On the other hand, we want to live them like a swimming pool.  In our swimming pool everything is predictable, safe, and clear.  Our swimming pool is conventional and unrealistic.  In Life of Pi, the boy, Pi, is set sail in the middle of the ocean on his own, along with a few animals.  When he is at sea it's a metaphor of life, the realistic, aimless, unknown life. 

Like the character in the book, we are faced with different obstacles and surprises that jump in front of us.  For example, when the Tsimtsum sank Pi had to find a way to survive for as long as he would be at sea.  He had to learn to fish and protect himself from the animals that were ready to kill him.  He had to protect himself from sun and rain and learn the ropes of survival.  Like Pi, we slowly realize that is real life and we need to learn how to deal with all the struggles. 

In the novel, significance was found in the quote, "There were many seas.  The sea roared like a tiger.  The sea whispered in your ear like a friend telling you secrets.  The sea clinked like small change in a pocket.  The sea thundered like avalanches.  The sea hissed like sandpaper working on wood.  The sea sounded like someone vomiting.  The sea was dead silent."  Each sea was a different part of our journey in life.  Some days our lives are rough and full of anger, like the roar of a tiger.  While other days of our lives we learn and are relaxed, like a friend telling a secret.  Life is unpredictable, our seas are sometimes calm and sometimes harsh, but we will never know when those times come.

When we were born, we began our journey at sea.  Since then, we have faced many obstacles, many surprises, and many lessons learned.  Eventually we learn from one obstacle and then go to the next that comes into our life.  With all that could happen, who knows where our sea will take us next. 

January 10, 2012

Author's Note: For book club we chose a prompt to respond to in Life of Pi. My prompt was: Discuss the significance of coming up with plans to deal with Richard Parker, and what this may be a metaphor of real life and how we deal with problems.  I didn't really get to finish this piece and it's definitely not my best piece.  

Our lives, like roads, have rocky paths, dead ends, hills, and then smooth highways.  On the road we need to keep on moving.  Sometimes we will stop for a little while thinking that we should forget it but we get that feeling that we can't stop forever.  We'll continue on the path and learn from those bumps in our way.  Without all of those problems and mistakes we would have never learned to solve them. 

In Life of Pi, Richard Parker is a great threat to Pi.  But why wouldn’t he be?  He's a large, murderous tiger that could kill in a second's time.  I couldn't imagine being all alone in the middle of the ocean with a tiger and a bunch of dead animals in front of me.  Pi just needed to figure out a way to get Richard Parker off the boat and hopefully dead. 

To solve our problems we go through a whole process of trial and error.  We might not notice it but we will make a list of options to try or choose from.  Pi made six plans to get rid of Richard Parker.  All of them he doubted.  For example, Plan Number Two: Kill Him with the Six Morphine Syringes.  He didn't think that would work because he didn't know if that was enough to kill the beast or get the morphine in the tiger's system.  Like all people, the character Pi retreated his plan before he ever tried.  We doubt ourselves because we don't know what will  happen when really we should just keep on going. 

Sometimes our way of dealing with problems aren't very intelligent or effective.  People should just take that chance to deal with whatever problem they have.  Then if it's a so-called fail, they learn from it.  From that you would get one step closer to solving the problem. 

December 19, 2011

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Darkness


Author's Note: We just started the second book of Life of Pi and he is now in the middle of the ocean just watching days go by.  I thought about that and to me it made a good idea for a poem.  This poem is in the tragedy mode.  I wrote this in an open format and in the point of perspective of Pi.  Please leave some feedback.

I sit here cold and lonely
in darkness.
With nothing before me but
death and blood --
a horrifying stench of blood.
I look away.

I sit here...
and wonder what might be
lurking beneath me.
Waves silent and still,
I'm waiting for them to start to churn
and see what will come out --
and take me.

So wait and wait...
In hope that I'll be found.
Staring out into nothing.
Not even a star in the sky --
Only clouds and darkness.


December 12, 2011

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

My Place to Pray

Author's Note: Our book club assignment was to finish the first book in Life of Pi and to do a poetry response.  I found a part in the book very interesting where he talked about his prayer rug.  I have been studying poetry by Robert Frost and his poems are very structured so I want to imitate his style of writing.  I'm including a rhyme scheme and also a scheme with the syllables in each stanza.  This was very difficult for me to write but please leave me some feedback.

My place to pray

and speak to the Lord.

My place to stay

on this vast world earth.

My place far away

from the outside life.

I have faith and devotion

towards my dear God,

So I pray.

My life is a great ocean

and I need Him,

So I pray.

I pray to thank for all creations

and all that is sacred.

I sit and look at the carnations --

gifts and beauty from God.

Thankful for people in the nations --

all created by one.

Here I sit, day after day
and speak to the Lord.
Here is my place to pray.

December 5, 2011

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Author's Note: As we keep on reading through Life of Pi, we also have book responses.  On page 44, I found and interesting quote that made me think.  It stood out because, especially in middle school, it's a big thing.  I was able to relate it to things in my life and things that I've learned about from the past.  In this response I'm working on including voice and opinion, and syntactic devices.  I am also working on including examples from outside of the story -- like things that I've learned or observed.  Please leave me some feedback on my piece. 

You think you know where you belong.  You hang out with the people in your "clique" where you all dress the same, act the same, and talk to the same people.  You don't usually take a chance step out of place -- especially since we're in middle school when cliques seem to be most common.  In Life of Pi he remarked, "Social rank is central to how it leads its life.  Rank determines whom it can associate with and how; where and when it can eat; where it can rest; where it can drink; and so on."  The quote explains how social rank works.  To me it's a disappointing way of dividing everyone by what they wear or what their hobbies are. 

From ancient, to medieval, to present times there has been all sorts of social ranks such as the Caste system or school popularity.  We split up ourselves by the most royal, most wealthy, or most popular.  It's not right to have social standings.  Sometimes people just can't help it.  People are born and they have their own differences that make them special from everyone else.  In Life of Pi he observed that it was interesting how the lion was the most adaptable to a circus trainer's tricks even though it is near the bottom of its social standing in comparison to the omega animal.  That represented a person, no matter what rank, could have friendship with those out of their rank.

Social rank is wrong.  We should be able to step out and be with anyone no matter what their popularity is, because later in life most popular won't matter.  As people, we belong together -- united in one.  

 

December 1, 2011

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Author's Note: We were assigned another writing response to Life of Pi and I found a quote from the book that stood out to me.  It made me think about previous conversations we had in book club about the book.  Continuing from some of my writing goals of last year, I am trying to reduce be-verbs in my piece by 30%.  I am also working on including syntactic devices and connections to things I've learned in literature. 

We stay in what we know.  There is the outside, the things that differ, and the unknown, but then there is our so-called reality.  Our lives, like seas, have no sense of direction, no sense of prediction,  and no sense of complete normalcy.  We will never know for sure what will change or what comes next. 

In Life of Pi he expressed, "In the literature can be found legions of examples of animals that could escape but did not, or did and returned."  He symbolized the swimming pool -- a conventional approach to life.  The animals' actions symbolized a swimming pool because they never left or they came back to their original place.  They prefer the swimming pool, it's predictable, safe, and bordered.  It's what they know, it's all they know, it's what they have experienced all of their lives. 

We want to live in the life that we know, the conventional life, but we really live in a life of twists, turns, and aimlessness.  Our life is a sea, our fantasy is a swimming pool.  We try to keep our lives conventional but it's nearly impossible because there will still be things in our lives unknown. 

November 29, 2011

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Author's Note:  We started a new book in book club the other day.  Our assignment was to write a response to the parts that we read which were the author's note, and chapters one through three.  In the first couple of chapters he was talking in a grown-up man's perspective about him as a child and how we got his name, Piscine "Pi"Molitor Patel.  I liked the idea of writing about how I got my name like he talked about his.  I wanted to try to incorporate a couple syntactic devices.  This piece was also working on voice and a connection to my life.  Please leave me feedback.

Names are simple things -- they give a title to whatever or whoever.  However, it's what is behind the name that makes it special.  Pi, originally named Piscine Molitor Patel, received his unique name from a swimming pool in France.  A swimming pool in France?...It sounds peculiar but they wouldn't name him after anything or any pool.  His name wasn't his parents' idea, but a close family friend, Mamaji, thought that the name would be special and very meaningful.  Mamaji used to be a competitive swimmer and his favorite pool to swim at was the Piscine Molitor.  He was also the one person who gave Pi a love for swimming.  Piscine Molitor had to be the perfect name for the Patels' second son, and yes it was.

All names must have some special meaning behind them.  My mom and dad have told me so many times how I got my name, Mai Duong Vo.  They always mention first that they wanted a very unique name in the family because in Vietnamese culture only one of each name is allowed within each family, immediate and extended.  I was also born in springtime so they thought a beautiful name for me would be Mai.  In Vietnam, each spring, the Mai flower will blossom either pink or yellow.  It's also Vietnam's national flower.  They said it was the perfect name for their first, springtime child.  Occasionally I think my name is so simple and confusing to others, but at the same time it's very special and describes me.  

A name is not only a title, it's a description, it's a symbol, it's what makes a person extraordinary.  There's more to a name that the letters that make it up.  Think of what your name means.  What is the explanation behind it?  Sometime, somewhere, somebody chose the ideal name for you and that's a part of what makes it special.