Isa
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Post by Isa on Mar 12, 2007 10:56:40 GMT -5
True - I just started reading the 2nd part and the zebra was in the life boat!
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Lu
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Post by Lu on Mar 13, 2007 9:44:18 GMT -5
Personally, I enjoyed more the first 15 chapters than the second 15s. I was completely convinced of being at chapter 30 instead of 36...I've just finished reading chapter 42...wow, I'm reading so fast! ;D then I realized!
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Michelle
First novel published
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Post by Michelle on Mar 13, 2007 20:58:11 GMT -5
Well, I finally caught up and am ready to discuss. I enjoyed this section of the book. You guys have basically said everything that I thought was important. I, too, liked the meeting of the 3 religious leaders - although I thought that it was a little oversimplified. The religious leaders that I know are a little more open-minded (but I'm from a very liberal town, so that may be the reason).
Parts of this section broke my heart. Mostly when we are speaking to present day Pi, like when Pi is saying he can't remember what his mom looks like. Although, I thought it was good to see him have a happy family in the last chapter.
I was also confused by the aethiesm, agnosticism views. I may be wrong, but I thought that agnostics believe in god or a spiritual being but choose not to follow a specific religion, while aethiests completely deny god's existence. According to those descriptions, I would have reversed the deathbed actions that Pi describes in Chapter 22. Am I just confused?
Sorry I don't have any more insightful comments, it's been a long few days...
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Mar 13, 2007 21:19:37 GMT -5
I was also confused by the aethiesm, agnosticism views. I may be wrong, but I thought that agnostics believe in god or a spiritual being but choose not to follow a specific religion, while aethiests completely deny god's existence. According to those descriptions, I would have reversed the deathbed actions that Pi describes in Chapter 22. Am I just confused? If you are, then I'm confused too! Because I agree with you that the atheists that I know would most likely be the ones sticking to rational answers even on their deathbed, while for agnostic people it wouldn't be such a stretch to suddenly start believing as most do not adamantly deny God's existence. But like Dom pointed out before, maybe Pi has an easier time understanding people who have faith in God's non-existence (i.e. atheists) because he has such a strong faith in his existence. It's the complete lack of faith one way or another that seems to bother him...
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Michelle
First novel published
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Post by Michelle on Mar 14, 2007 8:14:44 GMT -5
Yeah, I guess Pi and I just have different views of agnostics. I don't think they have a lack of faith, just a lack of religion. Like someone said before, I would think Pi would understand this because he doesn't follow just one religion either.
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Mar 14, 2007 10:37:44 GMT -5
Yes, lack of religion is a better way of saying it
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Post by Dominique on Mar 19, 2007 5:50:31 GMT -5
Okay I'm going to start section 3.
Let me just say that, not knowing much about the book before I started reading it I totally didn't expect the ship to sink like that. Martel does such a good job of recreating the terror of being out at sea stuck with wild animals and the violence of the zebra and orange juice's deaths. I got a bit confused at some points when he started describing the life boat and stuff I couldn't really picture it well. It was really funny too, because I've been busy I had to put the book down for awhile and I had totally forgotten who Richard Parker was when he was swimming towards the life boat. I assumed he was the guy who taught Pi to swim, not a dangerous animal!
It was really sad how his family died but I think he created the confusion and lose ends of their deaths realistically, like how there were no goodbyes or anything like that.
I can see now how all his talk about strange animals surviving together was relevant on another level, how they were all stuck on the boat together and everything and how the various animals being together affected the relationships between potential prey and potential predators.
I'm really starting to enjoy this book.
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Lu
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Post by Lu on Mar 19, 2007 16:01:18 GMT -5
I haven't finish to read 3rd part yet, I'm late. It was the same for me, Dom. I remember the author had already mentioned Richard Parker but I've totally forgotten who was, I didn't go back to check because I was really caught by Pi's rescue of Richard Parker, I can't stop reading. When Pi realized that he didn't want Richard Parker aboard, I first thought:"that's really cruel, you can't leave him drown!"...then the author add that it was a tiger and I completely change my mind! It was funny! Probably that helped to make me feel the confusion of the sink more than the terror, a feeling caused also by the fact that Pi couldn't find anyone who speaks his language and he first enjoyed the storm. I'd expect Pi to think that his parents maybe would have survived, if he had wake them up. Now I'm reading the part of the hyena, I was confused with life boat's description which took me so long to read...sometimes I went back to re-read something, that's why I'm late!
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Post by Dominique on Mar 19, 2007 18:30:37 GMT -5
lol I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that! I thought it was cruel when he was just going to let Richard Parker drown as well.
The life boat is also confusing because I think when you think lifeboat you thing dingy little thing not a boat big enough to hold a zebra, hyena, ape and Richard Parker as well as a human.
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Lu
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Post by Lu on Mar 20, 2007 4:08:50 GMT -5
The life boat is also confusing because I think when you think lifeboat you thing dingy little thing not a boat big enough to hold a zebra, hyena, ape and Richard Parker as well as a human. That's true. I had thought it was a little life boat and when he started describing I wasn't sure if he was talking about the boat, which was sinking, or the life boat.
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Bina
First novel published
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Post by Bina on Mar 20, 2007 4:56:24 GMT -5
Yeah, the Richard Parker thing threw me off, too. Once I realized he was the tiger I went back and suddenly things made more sense. I´m slow on the uptake I was so glad when Richard Parker survived and completely forgot that that meant Pi would have to share the boat with him. Scary! And I usually like Hyenas because they are so awkward and they seem to have been short changed compared to the other animals but the book really shows how they are not fluffy and stuffed.
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Michelle
First novel published
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Post by Michelle on Mar 20, 2007 7:21:02 GMT -5
I actually remembered that Richard Parker was a tiger and I thought Pi was insane for encouraging him to come to the lifeboat - but understandable because he was going through a lot at the moment.
I also had a hard time picturing the lifeboat. The way that he described it didn't make sense to me especially when he was desbribing holding on that first night. I tried to reread it, but I've given up and I have my own picture of it now.
I'm enjoying this book a lot. I thought that once he got on the boat it would start to be really boring. But at least for now, there is still a lot going on. The way he described the animals was great. I especailly liked Orange Juice floating on the bananas - although I was very mad at Pi for not listening to me and grabbing the bananas.
I don't have the book with me right now, so I can't really think of anything else to say, but I'll look when I get home, because I'm sure there is more...
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Lu
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Post by Lu on Mar 23, 2007 4:15:26 GMT -5
I've almost finished reading the 3rd part. I like Pi's description of animals, expecially when he show Orange Juice's human traits..very impressive. I was sad for the zebra, the description of her suffering was really detailed and made me fell an aversion to hyenas...I've always thought they were stupid animals (in the Disney's Lion King weren't very clever!). But the saddest was reading what Pi said about losing his own family, he used nice words to explain what he felt.
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Post by Dominique on Mar 24, 2007 18:09:28 GMT -5
I finished the book yesterday and I really enjoyed it. I agree Martel's unique descriptions of things really made it special.
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Isa
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Post by Isa on Mar 26, 2007 10:54:22 GMT -5
I also had completely forgotten that Richard Parker was a tiger! That part was really funny, and I think it takes quite a bit of talent to add a bit of comic relief to the sinking of a ship, and the horror that's about to ensue in the lifeboat - which more or less becomes a life and death boat.
I thought it was really interesting to see how this microcosm of a zoo played out and how, even when faced with the possibility of an eminent death, all the animals and even Pi took on the role they were supposed to take, as they became guided by their survival instinct. You get a feeling that Pi will refer to how the animals reacted to analyze people's behavior later on in life...
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