life of pi an introduction. biography yann martel was born in spain in 1963. parents were canadian...
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Life of PiLife of PiAn IntroductionAn Introduction
BIOGRAPHYBIOGRAPHY Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963.
Parents were Canadian and travelled around the world.
Yann travelled a great deal internationally while he was growing up, because his parents worked for the Canadian Foreign Service.
His father was a diplomat as well as a recognized Quebecois poet.
As a result of his father's job, Martel grew up in Alaska, British Columbia, Costa Rica, France, Ontario and Mexico.
He has continued traveling as an adult, spending time in Iran, Turkey and India.
After studying philosophy at Trent University and while doing various odd jobs—tree planting, dishwashing, working as a security guard—he began to write.
Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963.
Parents were Canadian and travelled around the world.
Yann travelled a great deal internationally while he was growing up, because his parents worked for the Canadian Foreign Service.
His father was a diplomat as well as a recognized Quebecois poet.
As a result of his father's job, Martel grew up in Alaska, British Columbia, Costa Rica, France, Ontario and Mexico.
He has continued traveling as an adult, spending time in Iran, Turkey and India.
After studying philosophy at Trent University and while doing various odd jobs—tree planting, dishwashing, working as a security guard—he began to write.
Biography Continued…Biography Continued… He is the prize-winning author of The Facts Behind the
Helsinki Roccamatios, a collection of short stories, and Self, a novel, both published internationally.
He has been living off his writing since the age of 27.
He divides his time between yoga, writing and volunteering in a palliative care unit.
Yann Martel lives in Montreal.
He was a writer in residence in Saskatoon for the fall of 2003. (A writer holding a temporary residential post in an academic establishment, in order to share his or her professional insights.)
Life of Pi started with six months in India visiting mosques, temples, churches and zoos, before Martel took a year to read religious texts and castaway stories.
Martel then got down to writing - which took another two years.
He is the prize-winning author of The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, a collection of short stories, and Self, a novel, both published internationally.
He has been living off his writing since the age of 27.
He divides his time between yoga, writing and volunteering in a palliative care unit.
Yann Martel lives in Montreal.
He was a writer in residence in Saskatoon for the fall of 2003. (A writer holding a temporary residential post in an academic establishment, in order to share his or her professional insights.)
Life of Pi started with six months in India visiting mosques, temples, churches and zoos, before Martel took a year to read religious texts and castaway stories.
Martel then got down to writing - which took another two years.
On FaithOn Faith "Fanatics do not have faith -
they have belief. With faith you let go. You trust. Whereas with belief you cling." Then the novelist comes through. "One of the things I discovered, reading the founding texts of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism - a good religion works like a good novel: it makes you suspend your disbelief."
Martel during an interview with The Guardian
"Fanatics do not have faith - they have belief. With faith you let go. You trust. Whereas with belief you cling." Then the novelist comes through. "One of the things I discovered, reading the founding texts of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism - a good religion works like a good novel: it makes you suspend your disbelief."
Martel during an interview with The Guardian
Interview With Yann MartelInterview With Yann Martel Take notes on Martel’s
thoughts on Religious Extremism, Faith, Fear and Hope.
He also speaks of his novel’s comparison with “Max and the Cats”.
What are his thoughts on that?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=878087
Take notes on Martel’s thoughts on Religious Extremism, Faith, Fear and Hope.
He also speaks of his novel’s comparison with “Max and the Cats”.
What are his thoughts on that?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=878087
Consider…Consider…
Yann Martel said in an interview, “The theme of this novel can be summarized in three lines. Life is a story. You can choose your story. And a story with an imaginative overlay is the better story.”
To help us understand what Martel’s statement means we must first decide what a story is. Are some stories more believable than others? Does this matter? When a story is told what makes it entertaining?
Yann Martel said in an interview, “The theme of this novel can be summarized in three lines. Life is a story. You can choose your story. And a story with an imaginative overlay is the better story.”
To help us understand what Martel’s statement means we must first decide what a story is. Are some stories more believable than others? Does this matter? When a story is told what makes it entertaining?
About the Novel About the Novel
Martel tells a story both striking and unique, the life story of Piscine Patel. In forming the story of his protagonist Martel relies on the following ideas:Religious notionsImaginative Fact/FictionThe Better Story
Martel tells a story both striking and unique, the life story of Piscine Patel. In forming the story of his protagonist Martel relies on the following ideas:Religious notionsImaginative Fact/FictionThe Better Story
ThemeTheme
“I have a story that will make you believe in God”
This is a powerful statement. What/Who is God? What does it mean to believe? What clues might this statement provide about the novel?
“I have a story that will make you believe in God”
This is a powerful statement. What/Who is God? What does it mean to believe? What clues might this statement provide about the novel?
To Tell a Truth To Tell a Truth Which story is true?
I went to the grocery store on the weekend and purchased tomatoes, lettuce, frozen vegetables and chicken. While at the grocery store I bumped into my neighbour who was picking up groceries for her sons 2nd birthday party the next day. When I was done grabbing all the groceries I needed, I drove home and put them away.
Which story is true?
I went to the grocery store on the weekend and purchased tomatoes, lettuce, frozen vegetables and chicken. While at the grocery store I bumped into my neighbour who was picking up groceries for her sons 2nd birthday party the next day. When I was done grabbing all the groceries I needed, I drove home and put them away.
Which Story is True Which Story is True
I went to the grocery store on the weekend and purchased tomatoes, lettuce, frozen vegetables and chicken breast. While at the grocery store I bumped into my neighbour who told me something or someone had broken into her house and had stolen all the food out of her fridge and cabinets. There was a huge mess as the person or thing made itself at home while opening and eating yogurt, cans of sauce and juice as there was food everywhere. When she went outside to look for evidence of a robber all she found were huge paw tracks. I now lock all doors and windows and keep my food well hidden.
I went to the grocery store on the weekend and purchased tomatoes, lettuce, frozen vegetables and chicken breast. While at the grocery store I bumped into my neighbour who told me something or someone had broken into her house and had stolen all the food out of her fridge and cabinets. There was a huge mess as the person or thing made itself at home while opening and eating yogurt, cans of sauce and juice as there was food everywhere. When she went outside to look for evidence of a robber all she found were huge paw tracks. I now lock all doors and windows and keep my food well hidden.
Truth Truth
Which story is true? Which makes the better story?
Which story is true? Which makes the better story?
Suspension of DisbeliefSuspension of Disbelief“ Suspension of disbelief” is a literary term coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817 in his autobiography:
“In this idea originated the plan of the ‘Lyrical Ballads’; in which it was agreed, that my endeavors should be directed to persons and characters supernatural, or at least romantic, yet so as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and semblance of truth sufficient to the procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.”
In other words, we put aside out doubts and submerse ourselves in the fiction. We temporarily believe the events and characters that would otherwise seem incredible. This allows us to fully experience and appreciate what the author is attempting to convey.
“ Suspension of disbelief” is a literary term coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817 in his autobiography:
“In this idea originated the plan of the ‘Lyrical Ballads’; in which it was agreed, that my endeavors should be directed to persons and characters supernatural, or at least romantic, yet so as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and semblance of truth sufficient to the procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.”
In other words, we put aside out doubts and submerse ourselves in the fiction. We temporarily believe the events and characters that would otherwise seem incredible. This allows us to fully experience and appreciate what the author is attempting to convey.
Magical RealismMagical Realism Magical Realism is a genre of literature where what we would
consider to be extraordinary is presented as reality. It is serious fiction, which means it is not fantasy, nor is it escapist. It helps us to name our world and see our place in it. It conveys or explores truth.
Magical Realism tells stories from the perspective of people who live in our world, but experience a different reality from ours. For example, if there is a ghost in a story of Magical Realism, the ghost is not an element of fantasy, but a manifestation of the reality of people who believe in and have “real” experiences of ghosts.
When reading Magical Realism, you feel that the story is real, even though you know logically it cannot happen. The magical and the ordinary are on and the same.
Magical Realism is a genre of literature where what we would consider to be extraordinary is presented as reality. It is serious fiction, which means it is not fantasy, nor is it escapist. It helps us to name our world and see our place in it. It conveys or explores truth.
Magical Realism tells stories from the perspective of people who live in our world, but experience a different reality from ours. For example, if there is a ghost in a story of Magical Realism, the ghost is not an element of fantasy, but a manifestation of the reality of people who believe in and have “real” experiences of ghosts.
When reading Magical Realism, you feel that the story is real, even though you know logically it cannot happen. The magical and the ordinary are on and the same.
Motifs & Themes To Discover…
Motifs & Themes To Discover…
Survival Religion Faith vs. Belief Magic Realism Frame Narratives Ritual…
Survival Religion Faith vs. Belief Magic Realism Frame Narratives Ritual…
Things to Discover Cont’d…
Things to Discover Cont’d…
Territory Dominance Hunger and Thirst Life and Death Truth vs. Lies Fantasy vs. Reality Colour Motifs Pi
Territory Dominance Hunger and Thirst Life and Death Truth vs. Lies Fantasy vs. Reality Colour Motifs Pi
Critical Concepts:Critical Concepts: Freudian Theory:1) Conscious and Unconscious Mind2) Personality Theory Jungian Theory:1) Shadow Self and Individuation
Freudian Theory:1) Conscious and Unconscious Mind2) Personality Theory Jungian Theory:1) Shadow Self and Individuation