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Anthropomorphism
Chapter 31
Explanation and Analysis—Atheist and Religious:
To somewhat comedic effect, Life of Pi emphasizes the different language used by those who are religious and those who are atheists in the encounter in Chapter 31 between Pi and the two Mr. Kumars:
“The Rolls-Royce of equids,” said Mr. Kumar.
“What a wondrous creature,” said Mr. Kumar.
“This one’s a Grant’s zebra,” I said.
Mr. Kumar said, “Equus burchelli boehmi.”
Mr. Kumar said, “Allahu akbar.”
I said, “It’s very pretty.”
We looked on.
All of the characters in this exchange are examining the same zebra and feeling similar emotions about it. The ways in which they express their enjoyment of the creature, however, vary based on their beliefs. When the Muslim baker Mr. Kumar sees the zoo, he is overwhelmed by the beauty and wonder of God, praising Allah in Arabic. The atheist biology teacher is likewise appreciative, yet his wonder is attributed to science, as indicated by his invocation of the creature’s scientific name in Latin. Although speaking different languages at this moment, they are all conveying the same message of finding beauty in seeing and knowing the zebra.
Pi himself is at the center of this encounter, remarking similarly to the two without leaning on the side of spiritualism or secularism, showing how he is aligned with both viewpoints. Furthermore, the Grant’s zebra being the object of observation also foreshadows its later appearance on the boat in the animal version of Pi’s story. In the same way that his story conveys the same message whether the Chines sailor is a human man or a Grant’s zebra, the language of religion and atheism are also equivalent to Pi.
Related Themes:
Chapter 90
Explanation and Analysis—Indian and French Accents:
In Chapter 90, when Pi speaks with the blind man, who is likely a version of the French cook, he emphasizes the Frenchness of the man’s speech in contrast to Pi’s Indian accent:
“I don’t. It is you who has an accent.”
“No, I don’t. You pronounce the ‘ze’.”
“I pronounce ze ‘ze’, as it should be. You speak with warm marbles in your mouth. You have an Indian accent.”
“You speak as if your tongue were a saw and English words were made of wood. You have a French accent.”
This description depicts Indian accents as warm, while the French accent cuts, or perhaps butchers. As such, the book subtly aligns the French (and, thus, the French cook) with brutality, in contrast to Pi's naturally gentle disposition and aversion to harming other beings. This different characterization of the two accents and cultures is enhanced by their discussion of food:
“May I make a suggestion?”
“What?”
“Instead of coconut yam kootu, why not boiled beef tongue with a mustard sauce?”
“That sounds non-veg.”
“It is. And then tripe.”
“Tripe? You’ve eaten the poor animal’s tongue and now you want to eat its stomach?”
“Yes! I dream of tripes à la moe de Caen—warm—with sweetbread.”
“Sweetbread? That sounds better. What is sweetbread?” “Sweetbread is made from the pancreas of a calf.”
“The pancreas!”
“Braised and with a mushroom sauce, it’s simply delicious.”
The French foods the blind man describes emphasize a desire for meat, whether raw and bloody or cooked with delicate preparation. In contrast, the Indian foods Pi mentions are vegetarian and described with long, beautiful descriptions of the countless foods that would be paired with the feast. Pi deems the blind man's palate so animalistic that he even briefly believes he is speaking to Richard Parker (the tiger). This furthers the negative characterization of the French people in the novel and plays with the fact that Pondicherry (the place in India where Pi is from) was once a French colony. The depiction of the French as savage reverses stereotypes of colonialist ideology that portray colonized people as savages and the colonial power as civilized.
Related Themes:
