1
Uichanco
Chi-chi Uichanco
Mrs. Crawford
AP Lang; Block A
5March 2008
Shifting Reality: Ella Minnow Pea v. Life of Pi
In the convoluted language of today, the loosely-termed ‘reality’ seems to have adopted several different meanings: perceived reality, reality television, reality in the news, etc. While each of these cater through respective mediums, none is as pertinent as the effect through literature. Usually, an author will propose a certain conflict or setting, then later resolve or deepen the conflict as the work progresses; however, it is always within the author’s power to alter prose simultaneously to match a thickening and thinning plot. Mark Dunn’s Ella Minnow Pea and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi both exemplify the vehicular effects of language through vastly different plotlines. While Ella faces an increasingly restrictive society and Pi teeters between life and death, both novels evoke a shifting reality through the use of journalistic narration and the distortion of words.
Ella incorporates a narration through letters between the main characters, in effect demonstrating their evolution through a deteriorating society. Had Dunn used another narrative technique, such as third person, the overall tone of the novel would have been completely compromised. Through first person narration, an author is able to convey individual emotions and opinions, rather than synopsis from a detached observer. Glowinsky called the first person narrative technique a “form of appeal resorting to the socially fixed norms of expression,” which develops from a central culture (4). Thus, a reader can thoroughly understand a hypothetical premise through the author’s colloquialism. The novel is almost “a form of conversation,” as Dunn put it, in which the reader can witness changes in these emotions and opinions as the conflict deepens. Specifically, the Nollopian society of Ella endures mounting restrictions on language, which are accordingly fitted into the narration. As the letters progress, a doorbecomes a ‘portal’ (140), ‘yesters’ (149) replaces yesterday, and all written formalities are removed (‘dear,’ ‘sincerely,’ ‘love’) to match the government regulation. Moreover, the proceeding changes in letter content serve to signify a change in society: the loss of freedom in letters is parallel to the loss of freedom in society. Each letter is headed with a date and location, further contributing to the characters’ development through shifting opinions and tones as society worsens. Letters become increasingly shorter and shorter, even between friends, as the oppression of written and spoken language is transmitted through the characters’ narrations. Thus, letter-writing, which was previously a form of friendly communication, is severely compromised as the state of society worsens.
Similarly, Pi’s narration in a diary-like manner mirrors his personal progression through unfortunate events. As opposed to Dunn’s omniscient-type style, however, Martel’s novel reads solely through the eyes of Pi Patelin his personal passage of time. In a scientific study relating common literary devices to the principles of physics, narration was said to require “sensitivity to the temporal relations of events in their complexities” (Dykeman 3). In other words, narration is simply a thoughtful organization of time. Martel’s specific narration serves to create the illusion of a diary, although the chapters are not dated or labeled as such. Oftentimes,the chapters simulate Pi’s ongoing commentary as events unfold, giving the reader a chronological sense of time and forward motion even as he speaks in past tense. Especially as the story of his survivorship begins, the passages become more varied and distinctive; Pi’s ‘diary entries’ contain contrasting lengths and manners, reflecting significant changes in Pi’s state or attitude. Concurrently, the reader witnesses abrupt shifts in tone and content throughout the passages. An excerpt from the beginning of the book reveals a descriptive and somewhat expository style of writing as Pi expands upon his religious and academic roots in India and Canada. Later, the novel seamlessly evolves into a distinctive “Part Two,” a gripping account of Pi’s Pacific ordeal. The narration becomes more sequential, and the reader is more suitably immersed in Pi’s thoughts and emotions. Pi’s account of a particularly brutal storm at sea reveals: “I was dazed, thunderstruck—nearly in the true sense of the word. But not afraid. ‘Praise be to Allah!’ I muttered” (233), followed by a detailed description of his bodily deterioration and the emotional scars left upon him. In contrast, Part One consists of the reader’s introduction to zoos, Pondicherry, and Pi, and even a fascinating explanation on the nature of three-toed sloths. Part Two is comprised of literary abundance (dialogue, suspense, appeals to pathos,) whereas Part One provides insight to Pi’s unique position and viewpoint within his atmosphere. While both components of the novel contribute to the overall effect, the distinctive change in narration serves to highlight the change in Pi’s reality.
Just as Ella is told through a unique narration, the semantics of the novel also stylistically represent Nollop’s descent. Dunn’s usage of portmanteau words illustrates the characters’ need to evolve in a changing environment. Withington described a portmanteau word as “a double exposure on the film of the mind, bring[ing] ideas behind each of the words simultaneously before the hearer” (2). Authors often use portmanteau words to combine two ideas within the same package; in Dunn’s case, his creation of words presents a clear parallel to the effects of society. Literally, the shifting language demonstrates the innovation and creativity required of Nollopian citizens to adapt, whereas structurally, their new, nonsensical vernacular matches an increasingly illogical society and societal rules. Initially, the replacement words demonstrate an impressive vocabulary; later the citizens resort to a somewhat primitive speak to match the regression of society, ironically rooted in a semblance of order and regulation. For example, a particular exchange between Tassie and her mother contains the words ‘nemesister,’ ‘pharisaic,’ ‘cephalo-strait,’ and ‘perpuity’ all in one letter (117). Her vocabulary would rarely be used in the common language, especially with the addition of portmanteau words to represent a single idea. They are often used by Nollopians in a clear, concise manner to relay the exact meaning of a message: ‘nemesister’ immediately translates to a female enemy, ‘cephalo-strait’ to a bodily chain or constraint. As the society evolves into a near impossible form of communication, however, the letters revert to a phonetically-deciphered language to relay sparse messages and ideas. A later passage reads: “I am alyph ant well. Please tont worry apowt me. Yor phrent, Tom” (173). The information comes across clearly, but the tone is emotionally detached and distant. As the society becomes increasingly oppressive, the style and language of the citizens’ letters evolve to equal the effects on their relationships and form of communication.
Similarly, Pi’s distortion of words expresses his immersion in and adaptation to a perceived atmosphere. While the previously mentioned narrative technique did contribute to the effect of Pi’s situation, the distinction between Parts One and Two also served to segue into an account of Pi’s apparent reality. Martel himself professed the premise of his novel as a “metaphor for the human condition. Humans aspire to really high things like religion, justice, [and] democracy. At the same time, we’re rooted in our human, animal condition.” Thus, Pi’s narration is revealed to have been a simple alteration of the facts to represent an innate primitiveness. Martel further described the novel as one blurring the line between fiction and fact, drawing from his definition of reality as “human interpretation” and religion as “an interpretation of reality.” Early in the novel, Pi is introduced in detail as a religious boy yearning for a close relationship with God. Therefore, it is his religious impulses that lead him to create such a story in parallel to the actual events, which involved his mother, a Taiwanese sailor, and the ship’s cook in place of the orangutan, zebra, and hyena. It is only during Pi’s conclusion that the reader is able to truly understand: during his conversation with the Japanese investigators, Pi relays the actual story and inquires as to the investigators’ preferred tale. Both confess to the animal story, to which Pi replies “Thank you. And so it goes with God” (317). The religious motives are made apparent, specifically the emphasis on corporeal senses that Martel mentions. The significance of Pi’s parallel interpretation is that it favors the animal, or instinctual, sense, rather than the rational. Arguing with the investigators, Pi points out that both stories result in the same deaths and emotional scars, and thus, the way the story is told should not matter. Ultimately, as an advocator of religion and piety, Pi favors the animal side of man. Martel’s argument is told eloquently and effectively through his portrayal, especially as Pi’s perceived reality speaks for the animal side as representative of the human condition.
While each novel makes a vastly different argument, they both demonstrate the connection between literary technique and identity. In both Ella and Pi, the journalistic narration and modified language contribute to the effects of a shifting reality. While other media or entertainment outlets may attempt to display varying perceptions of reality, none will ever be as profound as the rhetorical and cognitive effect of literature.
Works Cited
Dunn, Mark. “A Conversation With Mark Dunn.” Interview with Larry Weissman. Random House. Transcript. 20 Feb. 2008 <
- - -. Ella Minnow Pea. New York: Anchor Books, 2002.
Dykeman, Therese. “The Physics of Rhetoric.” College Composition and Communication 25.5 (Dec. 1974). JSTOR. 5 Mar. 2008 <
Glowinski, Michal, and Rochelle Stone. “On the First-Person Novel.” New Literary History 9.1 (Fall 1977). JSTOR. 5 Mar. 2008 <
Martel, Yann. “Conversation: Life of Pi.” Interview with Ray Suarez. PBS. Transcript. 20 Feb. 2008 <
- - -. Life of Pi. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. , 2001.
Withington, Robert. “Other ‘Portmanteau’ Words.” Modern Language Notes 4.3 (Mar. 1925): 188-9. JSTOR. 2008. 20 Feb. 2008 <