Part One
Chapter 1
What do you make of the zoology-theology double major? Are these two majors complementary? Explain.
At first, it appears paradoxical that one person would be drawn to study a “hard science,” like zoology, and also a more abstract, metaphysical course of study, like theology. This is the first introduction to the many paradoxes and binary opposites presented in LOP. A good portion of the novel appears dedicated to the quest to reconcile roles of science (reason) and religion (faith) to humanity.
Chapter 2
What is the purpose of chapter two? Why do you think the author interrupts the story with this chapter?
Ch. 2 is told in the author’s voice. This achieves 2 things: 1) it sets up a narrative frame story in which Pi is telling the author his story over a series of visits; and 2) it provides a physical description of Pi.
Chapter 3
Discuss the significance of the water imagery introduced in chapter three. Why is Pi named after the Piscine Molitor? (We will revisit these notions upon completion of the novel.)
There is much talk of water, swimming, and swimming pools in chapter three. Mamaji compares the lesser pools of Paris with the Piscine Molitor, for which Pi is eventually named. There is irony in the fact that Pi took to swimming as a child and was later forced to exist on the sea as a castaway. There is irony that Mamaji took Piscine to the ocean and said, “This is my gift to you” when Pi later felt trapped ad tortured on the ocean (in the end, perhaps that ordeal was a gift of a kind, after all). There is symbolism in the fact that Pi is named after a pool renowned for its purity and cleanliness, a pool, “the gods, would have delighted to swim in.” Pi is not so much named after a pool as after an ideal.
Chapter 4
a) Pi states that the common belief that animals in zoos are unhappy is “nonsense” (16). What reasons does he give to prove the contrary?
While most people assume being free for an animal means unfettered and un-caged, Pi asserts that zoo animals with quality enclosures are actually more free because they are not bound by the constant search for food and fear of predators. The essence of the debate is, “free from what?”