Yann Martel’s novel "Life of Pi" is greatly based upon George Polti’s model of creating a dramatic situation out of misfortune. Martel “weaves stories of Indian culture, perceptions of religion and evil, and a survival tale worthy of Robinson Crusoe into a sturdy, thoughtful mix told largely through the eyes of" ("the deep blue sea") of the main character. What’s more, Pi Patel, the protagonist of the story, has fallen prey to countless misfortunes as he travels through the story. In fact the entire novel has been based upon these misfortunes as he lives and survives atop a life boat with a Bengal tiger. Furthermore, the character’s survival is even symbolized by the colour orange as it represented by "The whistle, buoy, and tiger" ("Themes, Motifs & Symbols") and his "painful struggle vividly illustrates the sheer strength of his life force" ("Themes, Motifs & Symbols"). Through the novels content, conflict, and message Martel is able to utilise misfortune successfully as a dramatic situation.
To begin with, as is suggested by Polti’s prototype of forcing adversity upon a character, Pi’s story is filled with examples of his hardships. For example, not only has Pi been shipwrecked, lost his entire family due to drowning and is alone on a lifeboat with a tiger, he also has little to no food or water. Moreover, out castaway must deal with being “perpetually at the centre of a circle” (Martel 239), never truly going anywhere or achieving anything as he floats over the Pacific Ocean. In addition to this he has been so close to being rescued he could taste it; an oil tanker floated right beside Pi, so he "fired off a rocket flare, but aimed it poorly. Instead of surging over the bulwarks and exploding in the captain’s face, it ricocheted off the ship’s side and went straight into the Pacific" (Martel 261). Sadly though, the ship passed by Pi’s lifeboat without noticing him and it soon became a "speck on the horizon" (Martel 261). To conclude, the numerous calamities that have been brought upon Pi have in effect not only created drama, but also seem to have built, or at least illustrated, Pi’s extreme strength and maturity.
In addition to the protagonists falling prey to such misfortunes, the conflict of man versus self has not only acted as a plot enhancer, but has also created a sense of depth within the story. This is due to the fact that in order for Pi to survive the ocean he must first survive his own doubt, his thoughts and his mind: “I had lost all fear of death, and I resolved to die” (Martel 268). By far this is the greatest conflict anyone can ever face, giving up seems to be human nature. Luckily for Pi though, he never did. When he was confronted with defeat he simply turned to the heavens, and lived on. Pi seemed to have eternal life, and perhaps that is all that is meant by religion; when faced with adversity one must simply look to God for inspiration and He will provide. Whether or not there is a God seems to be irrelevant to Pi though, because all that he needed was hope, and that is what he received. Although this conflict is not clearly defined under Polti’s thirty-six situations, it is in fact what defines these circumstances as dramatic. The fact that Pi has fallen to hardships is not enough to create a meaningful story; one must add an aspect of profundity, an aspect of significance. Granted, in this case Martel implies a deeper meaning to the story that not only creates drama but also adds a certain mystique that makes the novel memorable and intellectually stimulating.
Apart from creating drama in Martel’s story, Pi’s misfortune also serves the purpose of teaching him, and the reader, an important lesson. Undoubtedly, it is very important in life "to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go" (Martel 316-317), you must believe in yourself and you must have hope. Accordingly, without hope humans have and are nothing; that is what sets them apart from the animals; only when one can accept reality can one move on. Pi has learned this through his journey, and his misfortunes. At this level, Pi’s name is quite befitting because as he puts it "that’s the one thing I hate about my nickname, the way that number runs on forever" (Martel 316). In particular, life is finite and thus a person must learn to allow their problems to be finite. Above all, when hit by a misfortune one must learn to bounce back, and to move on.
All things considered, Martel’s “Life of Pi” successfully exploits one of Polti’s thirty six dramatic situations to create an interesting, and quite enthralling novel. Through content and conflict misfortune is created, and learned from. Indeed, Pi’s story both thrills and teaches. Likewise, it creates and it dictates its genre of literature.
Good choice re: dramatic situation. I think the challenge is to determine what Pi learns from his misfortune. What does he gain in the surviving of this ordeal? This will come clear as you start to work with the text.
ReplyDeleteGood Job Carl. Try to answer the question "How does Pi Patel overcome and deal with misfortune in the novel?
ReplyDeleteThis is very fine, Carl. I was totally engaged in the explication of the central theme. You used text very well to support your claims. The writing is mature and thoughtful; everything is carefully thought out. Well done!
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