Life of Pi | Part 1, Chapters 4–6 : Toronto and Pondicherry | Summary

Summary

Part 1, Chapter 4

In 1954 Pondicherry enters the Union of India. A portion of the Pondicherry Botanical Garden is set aside for a zoo, which Pi's father runs. Flowers and wildlife fill the grounds, and the zoo is "paradise on earth." Living in a zoo shows Pi the diversity and beauty of animals. But for Mr. Patel, a former hotel manager, dealing with his new and unreasonable animal "guests" provides a daily challenge.

Pi refutes the common notion of zoos as prisons. Animals in the wild, he says, are unhappy because they live lives dominated by "compulsion and necessity," not real freedom. Animals are territorial and stick to patterns. A zoo environment provides animals with food, shelter, routine, and protection from enemies. Animals often stay in zoo enclosures even if they can escape. Pi says he doesn't mean to defend zoos. But he's noticed "certain illusions about freedom" affect popular notions of both zoos and religion.

Part 1, Chapter 5

Pi's unusual name, Piscine Molitor Patel, has always affected him. Fellow schoolchildren mockingly call him "Pissing" instead of Piscine. The nickname sticks with him until he moves from primary to secondary school. On the first day there the students each say their names. Pi goes to the board and writes, "My name is Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as ... Pi Patel." He then writes the mathematical symbol for pi and the number 3.14 used to calculate the circumference of a circle in geometry. Soon his classmates all call him Pi or Three Point One Four. Pi feels relieved and reborn.

Pi begins to use overt religious allusions, referring to Jesus's crown of thorns and the prophet Muhammed. When he gives his name as "I am who I am" to the pizza place, it's another reference to God. These references clearly frame his life and the way he sees himself: as a character in an unfolding story.

Part 1, Chapter 6

The writer joins the adult Pi for a meal, which Pi prepares. The writer praises Pi's vegetarian cooking and notices Pi's cupboards are packed with huge reserves of food.

Analysis

The novel emphasizes the juxtaposition (contrast) and the tension between old and new. Chapter 4 shows Pondicherry joining the "New India." The zoo is built with "modern, biologically sound principles." But animal behavior is as old as time. Pi builds the reader's knowledge of animals slowly, though its real importance won't be revealed until Part 2. The descriptions of the zoo animals are colorful and thorough—and, since the zoo no longer exists, they are made magical by memory. "Language founders in such seas" is an invitation for the reader to rely on the picture in their own mind and is an additional reference to water as an uncontrollable force.

Pi brings up ideas of freedom, enclosure, and escape as well. What's the nature of freedom? What's the importance of territory? What's the importance of the places humans call home? Pi will lose his home permanently, build a new one, and feel trapped in the emptiness of the Pacific Ocean. His family will uproot everything and leave, like the example he gives of humans being "freed" from their homes. He has ample opportunity to challenge "illusions about freedom."

Pi's naming ceremony in Part 1, Chapter 5 occurs within the ceremonial and ritualistic recitation of names in his classroom. It's an empowering enough event for him to describe the renaming as a rebirth. The power of naming will recur in the book—Pi conquers his fears by naming them and relates to Richard Parker through the tiger's human name.

The concept of the circle recurs in this chapter. Pi frequently feels himself to be at the center of a circle—whether through Hindu concepts of reincarnation or through the "harrowing ballet of circles" he's caught in as a castaway. Like a scientist he's trying to understand the universe through "elusive, irrational" concepts, not simply accepting what's in front of him. He always wants to know more.

Food means many things to Pi—comfort, home, hospitality, and territory. In Part 1, Chapter 6 his ability to create dishes from around the world reflects an interest in and desire to understand the entire world. As an immigrant Pi is used to breaking cultural barriers.

Even many years after his ordeal, he still hoards food and supplies. He is, like animals and other humans, a creature of habit. This note from the visiting writer is the first clear indication of Pi's former deprivation.