Preview

Journey - Life of Pi, Journey to the Interior, the Red Tree

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1491 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Journey - Life of Pi, Journey to the Interior, the Red Tree
PRACTICE ESSAY

How has your understanding of The Journey been shaped by your study of the set text, ONE text from the Stimulus Booklet and at least ONE text of your own choosing?

My understanding of The Journey is that journeys are essentially the only way to find what one is searching for and this will eventually lead to self discovery. Journeys allow individuals to extend themselves physically, mentally or emotionally as they face challenges. This understanding of mine has been shaped by the novel Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, ‘Journey to the Interior’, a poem by Margaret Atwood and The Red Tree, a picture book by Shaun Tan. Yann Martel, Margaret Atwood and Shaun Tan use various techniques such as extended metaphors, symbolism, imagery and figurative language to show how journeys lead to self discovery and they are the only way one will find what they are searching for and also allow travellers to extend themselves in different aspects.

One must go on a journey in order to way to find what one is looking for and achieve self discovery. Journeys lead to the discovery of knowledge about the world around oneself and discover answers to questions about life. In Life of Pi, Pi learns to understand that reality is merely an interpretation of our faith. Pi’s journey of finding his faith was, in the most part, conducted whilst at sea with Richard Parker. This can be seen in Part 3 of the novel, where Pi is interviewed by officials from the Japanese ship company. “The world isn’t just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no… which is the better story?” His tone of voice conveys maturity and general understanding of life, unlike the rest of the novel. The change in the type of language used implies that Pi has gained knowledge about his faith and how he’d rather believe his story about Richard Parker than what may be the actual truth of his physical journey at sea.
My understanding of The Journey has also been shaped by the poem, ‘Journey to the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Journeys- Bruce Dawe

    • 379 Words
    • 1 Page

    As a teenager living in an ever-changing society, a journey is bound to happen either emotionally, physically or mentally. At any point in a persons lifetime, one may go through a journey- whether that journey takes place at a certain time or place, stemmed from a decision or the journey of ones existing lifetime. No matter what or whom, journeys are bound to change us and are inevitable. They offer us development and growth as individuals as well as altering the way we think, act or talk. This can be obtained through overcoming obstacles, achieving goals, anything really that ee encounter during a journey.We often register change as something dangerous, yet we still try our futile attempts at resisting change but at the end of it all, you yourself as a human being would have changed in either a positive or negative way. Bruce Dawe's poems, "drifters" and "migrants" emphasis on the emotional aspect of physical journeys where it is tied to the attitudes towards journey (s), the compassion in the journey, overcoming obstacles and fulfilling the desire of destination. Bruce Dawe uses language techniques such as imagery, colloquialism, tone and repetition to convey and highlight some specific aspects of physical journey(s).…

    • 379 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of Pi ESSAY

    • 702 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ramifications create portholes to discovery. Such portholes transfer individuals to new and differing worlds. When Ang Lee’s 2012 feature film Life of Pi is compared with Maurice Sendak’s 1963 children’s book Where the Wild Things Are we visualise the strong links both texts have with one another. Both texts represent how composers create portholes for people to new places, which represent emotional and spiritual discoveries.…

    • 702 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of Pi write-up

    • 601 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Life of Pi shows that we are entering a virtual age as Pi, a selfish murderer, is portrayed as a hero throughout the movie. In the beginning of the movie, Pi is portrayed as a smart, virtuous man – there is an emphasis on his strong faith in God, his love for his family and his knowledge of animals. However, later in the movie, Pi brutally murders a hyena after his family’s ship sank and manipulates the tiger that he was left with to do whatever he pleases. Although Pi faced anxiety because he was alone on a lifeboat with a tiger and with despair from thinking that he would die, these circumstances are not to blame for Pi’s awful behavior. Pi has the freedom to make his own decisions and is able to express his emotions in whichever way he wants, making him fully responsible for the course of his actions. Once Pi is rescued, the whole world starts to see him as a hero for his survival, however they do not process all of his wrongdoings. To make matters worse, the journalists that Pi spoke with after he was rescued do not even use the first story that he shares with them – the one involving human beings – because they claimed it was too gruesome, bringing Pi to replace human beings with animals in his second story. This also represents a virtual age because it sends the idea that wrongful actions are okay when they are presented using animals rather than human beings – truly showing the selfishness and carelessness of society. In conclusion, Pi’s inhumane actions are not acknowledged by the public, and furthermore Pi is being rewarded for his wrongdoings.…

    • 601 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A journey will always consist of travelling from one place to another, whether it be physical, where you actually embark over a distance or inner, where you learn something new from your campaign. Throughout my speech I will be talking about 2 texts that resemble a journey in different ways and text types. My prescribed text is Touching the void. Touching the void is a docudrama composed by director Kevin McDonald. And my chosen text is the book Lord of the rings by author J.R.R Tolkien. The book of lord of the rings, consists of many mini journey. Both these texts outline the main points of the concept journey.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel suggests how an individual seeks truth and meaning from challenging decisions made in their past allowing them to live with their own reality. More specifically, the meaning of Pi and Richard Parker’s conversation on the brink of death, or the significance of the investigation, or the fact that Richard Parker abandoned him and is “hiding somewhere (that no one will ever) find him.” (pg 352)…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The author of Life of Pi, Yann Martel, uses a lucid and vibrant language to tell his gripping tale of the survival of a young, shipwrecked boy. This allegoric story is split up into three distinct parts, each with its own purpose. At first, these parts just seem to be a way to spilt up the book: The first tells of Pi’s background, the second tells the story of his survival, and the last explains Pi’s rescue and includes a recount of interviews with Pi on the cause of the shipwreck. It is not until the very end that the reader finally notices how the parts interrelate and tie the whole book together. Once the reader is aware of the book’s delicate balance the true meaning of the work is revealed: is there such thing as truth? Does our unique way of viewing the world affect what we…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pi could be considered a dynamic character because he evolves from an innocent vegetarian to a violent carnivore. Before he is lost at sea, Pi believes he can worship multiple religions and claims that “All religions are true. I just want to love God” (Martel 69), initially, showing his innocence. In Pi’s life, all he wants is acceptance and love; he thinks loving God(s) will do this for him. He is an innocent little boy trying to find his place in the world. After the shipwreck, Pi shows his love of life while struggling to kill a flying fish for survival. He eventually convinces himself to “break [the flying fish’s] neck” as “tears [flow] down [his] cheeks…[and] no longer [feels] any life [in his hands]” (Martel 183). Pi feels terrible about the crime he has commited, but does not regret it, and “[is] now a killer” (Martel 183). He cannot stand killing another defenseless creature for his own personal gain. Afterwards he “[weeps] heartily” and “never [forgets] to include [the] fish in [his] prayers” (Martel 183). This is only the beginning; soon, if any living creature comes into Pi’s sights, it will be his dinner. Eventually, he is even willing to cannibalize a lost, starving man because “[Richard Parker] [rips] the flesh off the man’s frame” and then, in desperation, Pi “[eats] some of his flesh” (Martel 255 and 256). Pi does not directly cause the man to die, but he takes advantage of the situation in a sickening way. He is going insane and will even sink as low as eating another human being to suffice his needs. Pi may have began his journey as an innocent, lost soul trying to find his way home, but as the days and months go by, he evolves into something he never wishes to be – a violent carnivore, desperate to survive.…

    • 329 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of Pi

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Religion is a predominant aspect of Pi’s life throughout the book. At the beginning, Pi talks of how his two majors at university are religion and zoology. Pi says “many people seem to loose God along life’s way. That was not my case.” P 59. He refers to how he has always been interested in God and religion and how he has explored different religions. Throughout the book, Pi explores three different religions Hindu, Catholic and Islam. He was born into a Hindu family and has been a part of the faith ever since. He said “I felt at home in a Hindu temple” p 60. His faithfulness to Hinduism did not change his curiosity towards exploring other religions. When Pi is only 14 years old, he goes to a Catholic church where he meets the priest and learns about the Catholic faith. Then about a year later, Pi discovers Islam from a local who teaches him the ways of the Muslim faith. His passion for religion drives him to learn more about other faiths and gives him the courage to talk to total strangers. Pi shows a great deal of independence to learn as much as he can. This independence is present when Pi is on the boat and has to fend for himself. His enthusiasm towards religion doesn’t change while he is on the boat. By reciting his daily prayers, religion gives Pi a sense of hope that will help him to survive.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Life of Pi

    • 2148 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Hope. Never, ever, lose hope. Hope was the driving force in helping Pi as he was bearing through all the hardships and difficulties that were bought upon him. Even when his family was taken away from the ship wreck he never lost hope, even when he was above the jellyfish and a whale sends his supplies floating away, he never lost hope. If it wasn’t for the hope and faith that he had he would have never made it. To also help himself stay sane he never gave up hope that his family was still out there and also that people were looking for him. I am not sure if he knew that his family all actually drowned, and he is just trying to have faith, or if he truly believed it.…

    • 2148 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of PI

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages

    identify himself with. Pi as a person changes in various ways and with his journey of trying to…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of Pi

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Life of Pi explores human experience, society, religion and nature through the eyes of Pi Patel, an Indian boy growing up in an emerging global society. Thrown into chaos a tragic accident, Pi finds spirituality and the meaning of life through his quest for survival. Amongst extreme adversity, Pi keeps his sanity, refuses to dwell on the depravity of his situation, and looks within himself for guidance. Throughout the book we are reminded of our emerging global society, where religions, cultures and values simultaneously meld and conflict with one another. Raised in a secular household with modern values, Pi is still influenced by the Hindu society in which he lives. He faces conflicts regarding his spirituality and religious views, while in the midst of surviving in the ocean.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Journey

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Is it true that it is “The Journey, Not The Arrival That Matters” ?, In texts such as I Am David - directed by Paul Feig, The Road Not Taken - composed by Robert Frost, and The Ivory Trail – composed by Victor Kelleher. In each of the texts, the protagonist/persona learns a great deal about life throughout their respective journeys, more so than the eventual arrival.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Journey is a multilayered process, which is inevitable in ones lifetime. Whilst journeys can be inner or physical it is our imagination that enables us to escape into new worlds and visualize new possibilities. These imaginative journeys occur in the realm of the mind where fantasy is created and reality is considered. The human capacity to dream and transcend actual existence often opens amazing possibilities. It is through imagination, speculation and inspiration that the exploration of new worlds, possibilities and human potential is achieved. In their own ways imaginative journeys often have a connection with our lives and the practical world. In some cases journeys are even used as parallels to reality and to comment on social and human traits. However in all texts, one element prevails; that is that the journey is of greater significance than the arrival. Texts that help explore this and the poems ‘Frost at midnight' and ‘Kubla Khan' by Samuel T Coleridge, Imagine by John Lennon and ‘Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Life of Pi Essay

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “I'll believe it when I see it,” a wise man once said. Humans as a whole are eternally searching for truth, but in reality, truth is what you make it. Yann Martel allows us to further understand this concept through Life of Pi, which illustrates that truth can be fashioned through one's situation, one's perspective and one's desire for truth.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The End or The Journey

    • 541 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A journey, by definition, means a passage or progress from one stage to another. During journeys, there are obstacles that the journeyer has to overcome. The road towards my future goal would be able to modify my personality. The journey would allow myself to understand my personality even further. Also, the passage towards my future would grant myself the privilege of discovering who I am. I do not understand myself, but a part of the journey is discovering what your intentions, dreams, actions, paths are. The goal would still be at the end. However, the journey is a never-ending adventure. The initial goal would waiver with each action, decision, made.…

    • 541 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays