Life of Pi

In order to be clear from the beginning, I am referring to the novel by Yann Martel.  Though the movie does do a fair job of portraying the novel, hence the numerous awards and nominations it received, I will reserve this post for the exploration of the novel.  The reader may feel free to supplement this post with their knowledge of the movie.

I also want to make efforts to distinguish symbolism from allegory.  In an allegory, a very specific message is illustrated through one-to-one relationships between a symbol and idea.  In the type of symbolism I refer to, symbols supplement the reader's understanding of a concept, from which they can draw whatever inferences they wish.  What follows are some of my inferences.

The most prominent symbol throughout the book is the tiger.  The literary reader will first infer that the tiger illuminates Pi as a foil (a character whose contrast to another character emphasizes key concepts).  However, as the novel ends, the tiger is revealed to be a symbol for Pi.  We also see that Martel uses animals to symbolize the most raw qualities of many different people.

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This idea of animals symbolizing deeper qualities of humans is one I found fascinating.  My favorite chapter is the one where Pi describes how certain animals can be tamed (taught to live in very close proximity to humans) but not domesticated (forming a friendship with humans).  Martel illustrates this in the final moments of the novel when the Tiger leaves without looking back.

My favorite quote from the novel comes from the section where Pi describes animals that remain hidden, which I interpret to symbolize those raw qualities of ourselves we keep buried within ourselves.

“If you took the city of Tokyo and turned it upside down and shook it you would be amazed at the animals that fall out: badgers, wolves, boa constrictors, crocodiles, ostriches, baboons, capybaras, wild boars, leopards, manatees, ruminants, in untold numbers. There is no doubt in my mind that that feral giraffes and feral hippos have been living in Tokyo for generations without seeing a soul.” (Martel, 402)

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Of course, this is not the main point of the novel.  The main motif of this novel is storytelling.  Martel captures the attention of the reader with his ability to tell a story, but the story in itself is a symbol.  In order to help the reader see this I will start from the beginning of the book.

Martel spends a great deal of time (about half the novel) detailing Pi's life as a convert to three religions.  The literary reader will at once see that Martel intends to make religion a central theme of the novel.  This is confirmed by Pi assuring the fictional author that he has a story to make him believe in God.

At the end of the novel, Pi asks the audience which story they prefer and then states "and so it goes with God."  Martel is exploring the concept of religion as a story.  The point to ponder from this is the following: in the face of uncertainty (meaning if you don't know for sure what is true or not) doesn't it seem more fitting to choose the "story" of religion?  

In this context Pi's journey across the ocean signifies (as does almost every other journey in literary novels) his life.  The departing of the tiger is his death.  Life has many possible stories, why not choose the best one?

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One final symbol to explore, only because it has baffled so many others.  If you use symbolism as a means to supplement a concept, one of the best symbols of Life of Pi is the meerkat island.  I interpret the island to primarily symbolize (for I believe there are host of other concepts it symbolizes) wanton indulgence.  The novel paints a vivid picture of Richard Parker slaughtering meerkat after meerkat.

"He was moving through them, blazing a trail of murder and mayhem, devouring one meerkat after the other, blood dripping from his mouth... He killed beyond his need.  He killed meerkats that he did not eat."  (Martel, 298)

Pi could have chosen to remain on this island.  It was a lot more comfortable than going back on the life boat and trying to find land.  It would have allowed him to be reasonably free from Richard Parker.  However, although there does appear to be unlimited indulgence, Martel does an exceptional job of displaying how shallow that indulgence truly is.

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  There is food and water on the island, which are sufficient, but do not truly satisfy.  There are many parts of our society that encourage us to settle for the instant gratification pictured here.  Of course, Martel symbolizes the end result of this as a devouring acid that slowly wears its consumers away.

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I have much more I wish to explore, but I have written to much already.  I fear I have validated the Bard all to well: "Brevity is the soul of wit" (Hamlet, Act II Scene II)

Works Cited

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: a novel. New York: Harcourt, 2001. Print.

Shakespeare, William, and Harold Jenkins. Hamlet. London: Methuen, 1982. Print.

The Bowl

It would be impossible to have a complete blog dissecting symbolism in the humanities without including a selection from the short story genre.  I have chosen Janus by Ann Beattie to be that selection.  This is such a fitting short story since an understanding of symbolism increases the reader's interaction with the story.  The story can be found at this link: Janus (Beattie).  I encourage my reader to read the short story along with my analysis.

Allusions to Greek and Roman mythology fall behind only the Bible in abundance.  It seems no surprise then when this short story is named after the two-faced roman god.  In most modern uses, an allusion to him depicts deception and dual roles.

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With this image priming us, we begin to read the introduction to this short story.  Beattie assaults her readers with descriptions of a bowl-- we are never told of what material.  It soon becomes obvious to the perceptive reader that this bowl is meant to symbolize the protagonist: Andrea.

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Once we see the bowl as Andrea we can see characteristics of both that parallel each other (such as their compatibility with the mutt Mondo) and the characteristics of the bowl that are meant to illuminate Andrea.

We see that Andrea is not a standout of any means, but she is attractive in a subtle way.  We also see that her husband does not pay as much attention to Andrea as he would have earlier.  However, as it becomes more and more apparent that this bowl represents some specific aspect of her identity we are left questioning an important element: where did the bowl come from?

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We then see that this bowl is a big secret in her life.  Whatever this defining element of her identity is, she cannot bring herself to share it with her husband, although she desires to at various times.  The bowl becomes bigger and bigger in her life, taking the place of all the symbolic "other items on the table" which she no longer cares about.

Finally, we see what the bowl symbolizes as its origins are revealed to us.  The bowl was bought by her lover, who later ran away after Andrea wouldn't leave her marriage.  The author leaves us with one last image of the bowl (and therefore Andrea) which is easily simplified down to one word: empty.

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Works Cited

Beattie, Ann. "Janus." Park City: new and selected stories. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. 32-38. Print.

The Red Wheelbarrow

William Carlos Williams is one of only two American poets who is commonly recognized outside of the United States.  One of his most famous poems is titled "The Red Wheelbarrow."  The majority of analyses focus on the imagery of this poem and fail to capture the symbolism.  The poem is copied below.


The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

The dissection of this poem must begin with the wheelbarrow, as it is in the title and the center of the poem (and also because each stanza looks like a wheelbarrow).  I propose that the wheelbarrow symbolizes work and labor.  Williams is saying that so much depends upon hard work and labor!  More specifically, the wheelbarrow represents the working class.

Not only does much depend upon the wheelbarrow, but the wheelbarrow is glazed with rainwater.  It is not hard to imagine this glaze of rainwater as a glaze of sweat on the back of the working man.  So what's the deal with the white chickens?  They stand beside the wheelbarrow, and nothing depends upon them in this situation.  It is also easy to imagine them strutting about as chickens do.  These "white" chickens are "white" collar workers.

If the chickens are white collar workers, the wheelbarrow represents blue collar workers.  We are assured this because the rain is the wheelbarrow's blue collar.  The introduction of this blue collar concept strikes another realization; the poem contains references to red, white, and blue.  This allusion to America's colors confirms that William Carlos Williams is saying America depends upon the working class.

The message of the poem should be taking shape, but we are missing one element.  Every color stands not only for America but also for their own specific message.  What does red stand for them?  Red ties the message of this poem together by symbolizing Williams' political party: communist.  Through a simple metaphor and incredibly short poem, Williams is able to convey his political view that the working class is under-appreciated and white collar workers are over-appreciated.

How shallow an analysis that just talks about this poem's imagery.

Perspicacity by Rene Magritte

     This is a relatively famous painting by the artist Rene Magritte. It is titled Perspicacity ("René Magritte, Perspicacity").  

     Perspicacity is defined as keenness of mental perception and understanding ("Perspicacity"). This is a fitting start to this blog series because it both demonstrates the depth of thinking I am trying to promote, and also offers a dire warning to the dangers of such interpretation.
    
     I first encountered this painting in eleventh grade, when our English teacher asked us to describe what this painting modeled about the public school system.  We all quickly found the "right" answer.  We stated that this painting shows how a student's potential is already imagined by the great instructor, and how the instructor paints us into our future image.  We were quickly disillusioned.
     
     Our teacher placed a ruler over the painting and drew a line from his eyes to just above the egg.  The painter was looking to where he thought the bird would be.  Then our teacher asked to name all the types of things that came out of eggs.  Our list included turtles, ostriches, sharks, and dinosaurs.  But this painter is painting a very plain bird.  She then proposed that this painting did indeed resemble the public school system: the instructors focus on expectations, not their students, and the image they pursue is no more than the plainest possible result.
     
     I wish to use this painting to symbolize deep thinking.  As we search for symbolism and depth in the humanities, there is a tendency to find "the right answer."  We think we have the shrewdness to pull out the obvious implications.  Deep thinking, however, is quite the opposite.  It is a self journey into platforms for discovery.  The authors intentions, the common interpretation, and this blog are great kindling, but the end goal is that you, the audience, will cease to be the audience.  For a true edification through the humanities you must not look above the egg and see a pigeon, but look at the egg and see a masterpiece.

Works Cited

"Perspicacity." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perspicacity>.

"René Magritte, Perspicacity." Olga's Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.abcgallery.com/M/magritte/magritte35.html>.