Life of Pi Lecture Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards derived from the lecture notes on 'Life of Pi' covering characters, key survival concepts, symbols, and plot resolutions.

Piscine Molitor Patel

The full name of the main character Pi, who is curious, intelligent, observant, and deeply spiritual, practicing Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.

Richard Parker

A Bengal tiger that represents Pi’s survival instinct, fear, power, and inner strength; Pi learns to coexist with him and earns his trust.

Will to Live

Pi’s strongest weapon, characterized by choosing hope over despair every day and refusing to give up in the face of impossible odds.

Adaptability

The powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win, as seen when Pi learns to survive with minimal food, no shelter, and constant danger.

Resourcefulness

The use of intelligence and creativity to stay alive, such as building a shelter with the boat's tarpaulin and collecting rainwater.

Faith & Spirituality

Pi's belief in God which provides inner strength, mental stability, and emotional balance during his ordeal.

227 days

The duration of Pi Patel's survival at sea through unimaginable hardship.

Tsimtsum

The ship that sank during the storm while Pi's family was moving to Canada; it has a capacity for $30$ persons and $450$ CU FT.

Pondicherry

The location in India where Pi's childhood was spent and where his family owned a zoo.

Multiplicity

A central concept for Part 1 of the novel, exploring the search for deep belief through multiple religions including Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.

The Island of Algae

A strange carnivorous island filled with meerkats that represents temptation, illusion, and a test of survival.

Tomatlán

The specific location in Mexico where Pi washes ashore and is rescued by villagers.

Okamoto & Chiba

The duo from the Maritime Department of the Japanese Ministry of Transport who investigate the sinking of the Tsimtsum.

The First Story

A tale involving animals and survival that includes the carnivorous island, which the interviewers initially reject because 'bananas don't float'.

The Second Story

A horrible and believable tale where humans (a French cook, a Taiwanese sailor, and Pi's mother) replace the animals (the hyena, the zebra, and the orangutan).

French Cook

The human equivalent of the hyena in the second story, representing brutality.

Taiwanese Sailor

The human equivalent of the zebra in the second story, representing suffering.

Orange Juice

The name of the orangutan in the shipwreck story who represents Pi’s mother in the human version.

The Better Story

The animal story, which is preferred by both Okamoto and Chiba despite the dilemma of believability.

The Lifeboat

A key symbol representing a small space of survival and order in the middle of chaos.