Life of Pi: Part Two (The Pacific Ocean) ~ Chapters 43 – 47

1. Life of Pi: Part Two (The Pacific Ocean) ~ Chapters 43 – 47 HKASL ~ Literature in English

2. Summary • Pi’s imagination: • The alert has gone out about the sinking of the Tsimtsum • Help is on the way • The hyena whines, but the animals are otherwise quiet • Pi tries to make his spot on the tarpaulin safe • Throw the net over the middle • Almost no barrier between him and the animals

3. Summary • Strange behaviour of the hyena • Jumped up onto a bench • Looked into the water • Raced around the zebra over and over again • Vomited • Nestled into a small space just behind the zebra for a time • The zebra remains silent

4. Summary • Pi’s sense of horror as the daylight begins to fade • Night falls • Cloudy with no moon = complete darkness • A rescue ship won’t be able to spot him in the dark • The animals might attack him • Snarls coming from the hyena • Barks from the zebra • “Wet mouth sounds” • The animals do not come near him • Sounds from under the boat • Animals in the water battling for life

5. Summary • When the sun rises… • Pi’s thoughts • Rescue • Seeing his family again • An appalling sight in the lifeboat: • The hyena • Has bitten off the zebra’s broken leg • Ate it • The zebra: • Alive + silent • Grinding its teeth

6. Summary • Orange Juice… • Near the boat’s gunnel • Panting with seasickness • Laughed by Pi for its humanlike demeanor • Looked out at the water • Strange: remains unhurt by the hyena • Pi’s fantasies: • A zoo enclosure • Orangutans and hyenas live together peacefully and contentedly • A sea turtle bumps against the hull of the boat • Pi tells it to go find help • The turtle slips back down into the sea

7. Summary • The water around the boat: full of mako sharks and other fish • Orange Juice… • Sat up • Looked around at the open water • Looked for her two sons • Same as Pi: searching for his family • Pi: devastated

8. Summary • Hyena’s attacks… • Target: the zebra • Pulled off a large expanse of its hide • Sliding headfirst into its side • Eating it alive from the inside

9. Summary • Hyena’s attacks… (continued) • A fierce standoff… • Orange Juice: roars in protest Vs. The hyena: howls back • Some blood fallen over the side of the boat • Sharks begin to circle and bump the hull • Pi’s fears: they will break the boat, causing it to sink • Soon the standoff ends • The sharks swim away • Pi: Horrified and scared • Pi admits: his family has likely perished • As he sinks deeper into his grief, the hyena continues to eat • Result: The zebra finally dies later the next day

10. Summary • The hyena’s 2nd attack: • Target: Orange Juice • The orangutan puts up a fight • Thumping the hyena on the head • Pi impressed with her savagery • No match for the hyena • Decapitates her • Pi cries and goes to the edge of the tarpaulin, ready to throw himself to the hyena • Richard Parker’s head under the bench: went back to the bow and falls into a delirious sleep

11. Analysis • Pi’s true education in nature’s savagery begins • Understanding the vicious behavior of wild animals in close quarters • Somewhat naïve, Pi is stunned by much of what he sees—for example, when the hyena eats the zebra’s leg and when the gentle orangutan acts out violently to protect herself from the hyena.

12. Analysis • The brutality of the animals: • The radical changes in the qualities a human or animal exhibit if attacked or threatened • Orange Juice: • A maternal creature growing up at the Pondicherry Zoo • Strikes the hyena with a powerful blow • No such outward displays of aggression before • Assumed nature: sweet + even disposition + benevolent • The strike Orange Juice gives the hyena = a slap in the face to Pi: personality is something separate and distinct from instinct

13. Analysis • Another surprise to Pi: • Fact: life continues in the face of unimaginable pain • Example: • The zebra • Its slow death takes place over the course of days • To live in such physical misery is horrifying to Pi • Pi • Heroic endurance • Body unharmed, but with intense emotional and spiritual anguish • “My second night in the lifeboat was one of the worst of my life.” • Yet, in the face of great mental anguish, he endures.

14. Analysis • Alone and grief stricken without his family or any other human survivors • Pi: Solace and sadness in the presence of Orange Juice • Orange Juice seems to be having some very human reactions to her predicament: • Queasy and seasick • Holding herself up at the edge of the lifeboat like a nauseated person might • Looking out at the open water in a way as both hopeful (awaiting the appearance of her two sons) and hopeless (not really expected them to appear after all). • Though comforted by Orange Juice’s humanlike demeanor, Pi is also saddened by their common bond—their loss of family

15. The End