A Piece of Pi

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Magic?

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or reality?

M A G I C R E A L I S M

We recognize the world, not because we have emerged from a dream, but because

we look at it with new eyes.

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Magic Realism is a type of artistic genre, wherein we find the transformation of the common and the everyday into the illogical and the unreal. It is predominantly an art of surprises, where the unreal happens as part of reality.The principle thing is not the creation of imaginary beings or worlds but the discovery of the mysterious relationship between man and his circumstances. In magical realism, key events have no logical or psychological explanation.

It offers a new style to the world:

an oxymoron that celebrates

both the unreal and mundane.

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Magic Realism made authors

create works like One Hundred Years of Solitude,

Snow in August, Like Water for

Chocolate, and The Life of Pi.

But what made

Magic Realism?

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Magic Realism would be meaningless without recognizing the past literature and work of the Greeks and Romans. This concept is seen subtly in these works wherein it is used to give meaning to the unfathomable. The possibility of conversing with gods, the sacrifices made to appease nature, the challenge in undertaking a ten-year journey, the mystery behind the reasoning of characters: these are all early manifestations of this dimension of writing - a writing evolved from works of Greek literature, a literature which mirrors everything we have today.

In the story of the Life of Pi, it is not hard to see how Greek literature and Magic Realism are present in this work of art. Where Pi Patel, an Indian boy who gets shipwrecked and stranded in the Pacific, is left stuck in a boat with a zebra, hyena, orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger, one cannot resist but question the possibility of his survival. Moreover, how the instincts of a wild tiger can be suppressed, and how sickness and circumstance failed to kill this young boy who knows absolutely nothing about survival.

Given the improbable scenarios the character experienced, for example, avoiding all kinds of dangers of the sea, meeting another shipwrecked survivor after a long period of time, or landing on a dangerous island filled with meerkats, and even semi-taming a hungry tiger, the question once again is, how could he have done and survived all these?

The answer is God.

The life of Pi involves and maintains a deep relationship and devotion to God, seen in three religions: Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Magic realism comes here to explain the unexplainable - the source of Pi's strength as a reflection of his belief in these three different religions, which he is able to unite.His belief in God was the driving force which pushed him to continue. It is this thing that is common all throughout the story, which I believe answers the mystery to his survival.

God plays a big part in Pi's Life. Aside from those mentioned above, it is important to mention how these things show a parallelism with Greek culture - the gods being involved in the character's journey.

The Greek concept of the Hero Cycle and Monomyth is also present in Pi's journey. The Monomyth involves the epic hero following a cycle of events throughout his journey. There is the call to adventure, first helpers, the crossing, group of helpers, supreme ordeal, flight, return, and finally the boon.

Pi, the epic hero in the Life of Pi, experiences the same cycle.

P I' S J O U R N E Y

Pi begins his call to adventure as a young Indian boy belonging to a family owning a zoo. Early in his life, he is exposed to many things through his experiences in the zoo, in school, and in church.

His family plays the role of the first helper, who serves as the medium in which he is exposed to life's realities. They are responsible for his early development into the outside world.

The crossing takes place as their family boards the Tsimtsum, hoping to move countries for a better life. The ship however, sinks and as a result, Pi is thrown into an unusual circumstance. He begins his adventure, stuck on a boat on a journey that would last 227 days.

As he undergoes his journey, the group of helpers come in the form of two things: one tangible, the other abstract. Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger plays to be one of these as he protects Pi in some instances, and at the same time, becomes a reason why Pi continues to try to survive. The other helper is God, or Pi's religions. Many a times, he never fails to mention that God is his source of strength, and asks this omnipotent being for guidance.

After going through so many days of hardship, Pi finally lands on an island filled with meerkats, an island full of algae. His battle against the supreme ordeal takes place here, in which I believe is actually himself. He experiences an internal struggle to decide whether or not to stay on the island and live paradise, or give it up and risk to search for a better one.

Once again, Pi finds himself on the sea with Richard Parker. He stays on the boat and endures more days of hardship, but it pays off as he is able to land in Mexico.

All throughout his journey, Pi was able to grow in so many ways. Though no material boon was obtained, I believe the best thing he could have gotten was the experience and everything in it. The courage he built, the skills he learned, and most importantly, the faith he possessed.

After a whole quarter spent on Mythology, my views about this type of literature changed. I am not a fan of books, poems, and the like, but honestly, I did enjoy reading Mythology. For me, it served as a stepping stone for my new found love and respect for literature. Before, it would only take around 15 pages for me to read a book and then feel uninterested, but in my case with Mythology, I did not stop until I finished a story.

M Y t h o l o g y

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While on a deeper note, I believe mythology has taught me to be more open-minded, and to see things in a bigger perspective. It allowed me to accept different ideas, no matter how out of this world they are. With mythology, things just happen to make more sense. Mythology opens eyes to view in new perspectives.