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Definition of Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous examples of anthropomorphism include Winnie the Pooh, the Little Engine... read full definition
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous examples of anthropomorphism include Winnie... read full definition
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous... read full definition
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Leopard's Marital Spats:
Despite claiming not to engage in anthropomorphism, Pi frequently does. He often uses anthropomorphism to blend the boundaries between human and non-human animals by highlighting their equivalent potential to be dangerous. For example, in Chapter 11, he anthropomorphizes the reasons behind a female leopard's escape from the Zurich Zoo:
She was new to the zoo and seemed to get along with the male leopard. But various paw injuries hinted at matrimonial strife.
Of course, the leopards Pi is referring to are not really married. But the comparison of the female leopard’s escape to that of a wife escaping an abusive living situation highlights similarities between animal and human behavior. It also supports his claim that animals escaping zoos is not a problem of zoos as an institution but is simply the animal’s response to the everyday discomforts of life, regardless of the setting. Rather than humans being at fault for the escape due to an abuse of power over the animals, the lives of animals and humans are portrayed as equal through anthropomorphism. Furthermore, such a comparison of behavior also enlightens the novel's comparison of zoos to religion by showing how individual action may cause negative perceptions of both institutions.
Related Themes:
Chapter 33
Explanation and Analysis—Richard Parker:
Pi increasingly anthropomorphizes Richard Parker the tiger during their shared time on the lifeboat. As time goes on, Richard Parker seems to become more humanized, while Pi takes on a more animalistic nature. In fact, due to Richard Parker having a more human name than would be expected of a tiger, the reader might initially assume Richard Parker is a human:
On the same page there’s another group shot, mostly of schoolchildren.
He taps the photo. “That’s Richard Parker,” he says.
I’m amazed. I look closely, trying to extract personality from appearance.
On the lifeboat, Pi’s anthropomorphization of Richard Parker is often done cautiously through qualifying words or similes. He does so in Chapter 68 when describing how Richard Parker sleeps:
Another favourite position of his was sitting with his back to me, his rear half resting on the floor of the boat and his front half on the bench, his face buried into the stern, paws right next to his head, looking as if we were playing hide-and-seek and he were the one counting.
These qualifications demonstrate how Pi’s desire to see Richard Parker as a friendly companion to ease his loneliness conflicts with his sense of reason, which says that Richard Parker is a dangerous animal. This tendency to anthropomorphize Richard Parker also reflects how Pi often views the world beyond what can be deemed the straight facts when such a change in perspective provides greater meaning or comfort. If Pi had not anthropomorphized Richard Parker, he would have been in a more heightened state of anxiety during his time on the boat, as Richard Parker would be only a threat. However, by imbuing Richard Parker with human qualities, the tiger becomes a companion who helps Pi mentally cope and survive. This is why Pi is so shocked in Chapter 94 when Richard Parker leaves him immediately when they get on land:
I was certain he would turn my way. He would look at me. He would flatten his ears. He would growl. In some such way, he would conclude our relationship. He did nothing of the sort. He only looked fixedly into the jungle. Then Richard Parker, companion of my torment, awful, fierce thing that kept me alive, moved forward and disappeared forever from my life.
Pi fully convinced himself of the story he told himself where he and Richard Parker were companions. But once the context surrounding their relationship changes, Pi can no longer delude himself into thinking Richard Parker is human in any way.
Related Themes:
Chapter 45
Explanation and Analysis—Orange Juice:
Pi uses anthropomorphism to connect with and find comfort in non-human animals like Orange Juice the orangutan, whose maternal presence he finds comforting. In Chapter 45, when Orange Juice suffers a bout of seasickness, Pi finds the typically human affliction comedic:
The poor dear looked so humanly sick! It is a particularly funny thing to read human traits in animals, especially in apes and monkeys, where it is so easy. Simians are the clearest mirrors we have in the animal world. That is why they are so popular in zoos. I laughed again. I brought my hands to my chest, surprised at how I felt. Oh my. This laughter was like a volcano of happiness erupting in me. And Orange Juice had not only cheered me up; she had also taken on both our feelings of seasickness. I was feeling fine now.
Pi uses this moment as a way of comforting himself from the hyena’s attack on the zebra, which was brutal and wholly animalistic, leading him to instead seek the opposite and try to find some glimmer of humanity in the boat of animals. It is a moment of shared suffering between Pi and Orange Juice, who are both seasick and stressed, that bridges the gap between the human and non-human. Despite their differences in appearance, ability, and instinct—especially after the display of just how different animal behavior is from that of the pacifistic Pi—it's comical that the two characters share the same simple weakness.
Furthermore, considering that Orange Juice directly represents Pi’s mother in the human version of the story, the anthropomorphization of Orange Juice allows Pi to retain the comfort his mother’s presence without having to fully grapple with her death when retelling the story.
Related Themes:
Chapter 68
Explanation and Analysis—Richard Parker:
Pi increasingly anthropomorphizes Richard Parker the tiger during their shared time on the lifeboat. As time goes on, Richard Parker seems to become more humanized, while Pi takes on a more animalistic nature. In fact, due to Richard Parker having a more human name than would be expected of a tiger, the reader might initially assume Richard Parker is a human:
On the same page there’s another group shot, mostly of schoolchildren.
He taps the photo. “That’s Richard Parker,” he says.
I’m amazed. I look closely, trying to extract personality from appearance.
On the lifeboat, Pi’s anthropomorphization of Richard Parker is often done cautiously through qualifying words or similes. He does so in Chapter 68 when describing how Richard Parker sleeps:
Another favourite position of his was sitting with his back to me, his rear half resting on the floor of the boat and his front half on the bench, his face buried into the stern, paws right next to his head, looking as if we were playing hide-and-seek and he were the one counting.
These qualifications demonstrate how Pi’s desire to see Richard Parker as a friendly companion to ease his loneliness conflicts with his sense of reason, which says that Richard Parker is a dangerous animal. This tendency to anthropomorphize Richard Parker also reflects how Pi often views the world beyond what can be deemed the straight facts when such a change in perspective provides greater meaning or comfort. If Pi had not anthropomorphized Richard Parker, he would have been in a more heightened state of anxiety during his time on the boat, as Richard Parker would be only a threat. However, by imbuing Richard Parker with human qualities, the tiger becomes a companion who helps Pi mentally cope and survive. This is why Pi is so shocked in Chapter 94 when Richard Parker leaves him immediately when they get on land:
I was certain he would turn my way. He would look at me. He would flatten his ears. He would growl. In some such way, he would conclude our relationship. He did nothing of the sort. He only looked fixedly into the jungle. Then Richard Parker, companion of my torment, awful, fierce thing that kept me alive, moved forward and disappeared forever from my life.
Pi fully convinced himself of the story he told himself where he and Richard Parker were companions. But once the context surrounding their relationship changes, Pi can no longer delude himself into thinking Richard Parker is human in any way.
Related Themes:
Chapter 94
Explanation and Analysis—Richard Parker:
Pi increasingly anthropomorphizes Richard Parker the tiger during their shared time on the lifeboat. As time goes on, Richard Parker seems to become more humanized, while Pi takes on a more animalistic nature. In fact, due to Richard Parker having a more human name than would be expected of a tiger, the reader might initially assume Richard Parker is a human:
On the same page there’s another group shot, mostly of schoolchildren.
He taps the photo. “That’s Richard Parker,” he says.
I’m amazed. I look closely, trying to extract personality from appearance.
On the lifeboat, Pi’s anthropomorphization of Richard Parker is often done cautiously through qualifying words or similes. He does so in Chapter 68 when describing how Richard Parker sleeps:
Another favourite position of his was sitting with his back to me, his rear half resting on the floor of the boat and his front half on the bench, his face buried into the stern, paws right next to his head, looking as if we were playing hide-and-seek and he were the one counting.
These qualifications demonstrate how Pi’s desire to see Richard Parker as a friendly companion to ease his loneliness conflicts with his sense of reason, which says that Richard Parker is a dangerous animal. This tendency to anthropomorphize Richard Parker also reflects how Pi often views the world beyond what can be deemed the straight facts when such a change in perspective provides greater meaning or comfort. If Pi had not anthropomorphized Richard Parker, he would have been in a more heightened state of anxiety during his time on the boat, as Richard Parker would be only a threat. However, by imbuing Richard Parker with human qualities, the tiger becomes a companion who helps Pi mentally cope and survive. This is why Pi is so shocked in Chapter 94 when Richard Parker leaves him immediately when they get on land:
I was certain he would turn my way. He would look at me. He would flatten his ears. He would growl. In some such way, he would conclude our relationship. He did nothing of the sort. He only looked fixedly into the jungle. Then Richard Parker, companion of my torment, awful, fierce thing that kept me alive, moved forward and disappeared forever from my life.
Pi fully convinced himself of the story he told himself where he and Richard Parker were companions. But once the context surrounding their relationship changes, Pi can no longer delude himself into thinking Richard Parker is human in any way.
Related Themes:
