User:Unisk/sandbox

Plot
The Life of Pi book is divided into three sections. One containing him as an adult, another about his adolescent journey across the Pacific, and one about him being rescued.

Pi, an adult, retells his story about his childhood. He was named Piscine Molitor Patel after a swimming pool in France his father’s friend, Mamaji, swam at. He shortens his name to “Pi” when he goes to secondary school, because he is tired of being teased with the nickname “Pissing Patel.” His father owns a zoo in Pondicherry, India; giving Pi an active lifestyle and some understanding of animal psychology.

Pi is born and raised a Hindu, but in his early teenage years, he exposes himself to the Christian and Islamic faiths. He simultaneously follows all three religions as he “just wants to love God” (Martel 69). He attempts to understand God through each religion and eventually sees the difference between each one.

In time, his family decides to sell their zoo because of a land dispute with the Republic of India, or the Indian government. They decide to sell animals to various zoos around the world before moving to Canada, a country with a language the family already knew. The Patel family boarded the Tsimtsum, a Japanese cargo ship, on their way to a new home.

Major Themes
The book itself has many many major themes including religion, animals, and faith; but the main theme of the book is described well by Bonnie Schiedel in her brief article stating,"Life of Pi is about many things: religion, zology, fear, but most of all, it's about sheer tenacity." The theme can be looked at in depth, or, it can be looked at simply based on opinion. There is no one theme to the story, the author left it for the reader to interpret.

Reception
This book has been praised by critics across the world, and in many different languages. Publisher's Weekly calls the book, "a story that will make you believe in God." On the other hand, Elizabeth Palmberg debates, "what the novel really compels is not the belief in God but sympathy for those who seek God."