Blog #5

“Life of Pi” by Yann Martel
This week I read pages 100-150. Pi’s family decided to leave India because of turmoil in the country. They boarded a cargo ship with many of the animals from Pi’s father’s zoo. One night, Pi woke up in the middle of the night to find that the ship was sinking. He escaped on a lifeboat, but he couldn’t find any other survivors after the ship sank. There was also a zebra and hyena on Pi’s lifeboat. I cannot imagine what I would do if I were in Pi’s position. First, he was thrust into a lifeboat by crewmembers. I would have started freaking out and not been able to stay calm as he seemed to do. I would have been too worried about what was going to happen to me and where my family was to be able to function. When Pi first got on the lifeboat he saw a tiger in the water, struggling to stay afloat. He helped the tiger swim to the lifeboat, but then realized he didn’t want a tiger on his lifeboat. I wouldn’t have tried to help the tiger in the first place because I would have been too shocked to do anything. I think Pi only helped to tiger because he was so accustomed to animals that they were like family to him. Also, Pi was afraid of the hyena onboard his lifeboat. I would be very frightened too since hyenas are very dangerous animals. I don’t think I would have stayed as levelheaded as Pi. He thought to stay away from the hyena and not to make sudden movements. I probably would have tried to run away or jumped off the lifeboat if I saw a hyena. Overall, Pi’s actions were admirably thoughtful in the chaos of the sinking ship, despite his fear. He acted much more rationally than I would have.