Life of Pi by Yann Martel is a fictional account of a boy, Pi Patel, and his travels throughout the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a tiger after the boat he was taking to Canada sunk. The setting, the Pacific Ocean, has a great effect on the characters and the storyline.
The setting greatly influences character by affecting his state of mind, and how he feels. For example, the author wrote that Pi thought "Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation, and weariness..." This shows he was in a bad state of mind. The author shows the Setting's effect on his state of mind when he writes about Pi's hope for finding a ship to save him: "Always the bitter emotion of hope raised and dashed... What chance was there that a ship crossing the whole great big Pacific would cut into such a tiny circle [The horizon he could see]?... No, humanity and its unreliable ways could not be counted upon." This shows that he lost hope in finding any ships because of the sheer size of the ocean, one way the setting affected him. Another, more benificial, way the setting influenced him is when Pi says "I looked around at the horizon. Didn't I have here a perfect circus ring, inescapeably round, without a single corner for him [the tiger] to hide in? I looked down at the sea. Wasn't this an ideal source of treats with which to condition him to obey? ... My panic was gone. My fear was dominated. Survival was at hand." This shows how the setting made him more hopeful and makes him feel a lot better. The setting influences the character in both negative and positive ways, but always makes him feel a certain way.
The setting influences the plot of the story, by creating the overall plot and how the characters learn in the story. For instance, when the boat sank, the author has Pi think "We left Manila and entered the Pacific. On our fourth day out, midway to Midway, we sank. The ship vanished into a pinprick hole on my map." This shows the setting influencing the plot, because obviously, without the ship sinking, the whole middle of the story would be non-existant. The setting influences how characters learn, for example when Pi thinks "At first, looking out for a ship was somethig I did all the time... but after a few weeks, five or six, I stopped doing it nearly entirely. I did not count the days or the weeks or the months. Time is an illusion which only makes us pant. I survived because I forgot even the very notion of time. What I remember are events and encounters and routines... My memories come in a jumble". This shows that Pi learned a lesson, at least for himeslf and how he was going to survive, becuase of the setting and its effect. Overall, the setting made him learn things for himself and affected the plot of the story.
All in all, the setting had a huge effect on Pi, the lessons he learned, and the story itself. It greatly influences the character, which influences you. The Setting is more than just why Pi is trapped, it's also why he is saved. In this way, the setting is very important to the story.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Critical Analysis for "Crimes Against Humanity", Upfront article by Patricia Smith
"Crimes Against Humanity", an Upfront article by Patricia Smith, is about a new U.N. report showing that North Korean leader Jim Jong Un is responsible for many more horrible things than previously known in his country. The main idea of the article is that the world hasn't been looking deep enough into what North Korea has been doing, and North Korea was able to do many bad things to its people without anyone knowing.
One example in the text that supports this idea is when the author says "kinappings, public executions, starvation, thought-control, religious persecution... A new United Nation report reveals in grim detail how the North Korean government terrorizes its people". This quote shows some of the horrible things done by the North Korean government, and backs it up by explaining the source and what it means. Another example is when the author says many more examples, such as "Kim ordered the execution of his uncle... for allegedy plotting a coup.", "Ordinary citizens have no internet access and TVs and radios receive only government channels...". All of these examples show the horrible things done by the North Korean government, which supports the main idea of the text because it supports that North Korea has been doing terrible things.
When people read the article, I think the author wanted readers to think about the comparison between North Korea and other countries that are better off, and the author wants you to feel bad for the people who have to deal with this every day. To support this, the author uses several techniques. For example, the author uses a table to compare North Korea with its neighbor, but amazingly different country of South Korea. The table shows differences in things such as population, per capita GDP, and miles of paved roads. This table shows readers how underdeveloped and unfair North Korea is compared to its sister country. For example, the miles of paved roads in South Korea is 52,000, compared to North Korea's 453 miles. The amount of money per person (Per Capita GDP) is $33,200 in South Korea, compared to $1,800 in North Korea, a startaling difference. This table, which has bars to compare each thing, shows a reader how bad North Korea is, and makes the reader think about the comparisons between the two countries. Another technique used by the author is inserting a political cartoon. In said cartoon, people are depicted being served the "Pigeon Torture", in which the punished are hung by their hands, which are tied behind their back (imagine THAT position). The caption, which is in part a quote for a former prisoner who endured the punishment, and said it would be "better to die" rather than endure the punsihment. The caption also says the prisoners would be hung like that for days, so they could not sleep or sit at all. I think putting this political cartoon and caption really makes readers aware of how bad it could be in North Korea, and makes people feel bad for people who have to endure the terrible horrors inflicted upon them.
After I read this article, I felt that people have to do things to stop this from happening. The U.N. report said Kim was also guilty of crimes against humanity. Tens of millions of people have to endure this, but others who live in much better situations do nothing, and that seems unacceptable.
One example in the text that supports this idea is when the author says "kinappings, public executions, starvation, thought-control, religious persecution... A new United Nation report reveals in grim detail how the North Korean government terrorizes its people". This quote shows some of the horrible things done by the North Korean government, and backs it up by explaining the source and what it means. Another example is when the author says many more examples, such as "Kim ordered the execution of his uncle... for allegedy plotting a coup.", "Ordinary citizens have no internet access and TVs and radios receive only government channels...". All of these examples show the horrible things done by the North Korean government, which supports the main idea of the text because it supports that North Korea has been doing terrible things.
When people read the article, I think the author wanted readers to think about the comparison between North Korea and other countries that are better off, and the author wants you to feel bad for the people who have to deal with this every day. To support this, the author uses several techniques. For example, the author uses a table to compare North Korea with its neighbor, but amazingly different country of South Korea. The table shows differences in things such as population, per capita GDP, and miles of paved roads. This table shows readers how underdeveloped and unfair North Korea is compared to its sister country. For example, the miles of paved roads in South Korea is 52,000, compared to North Korea's 453 miles. The amount of money per person (Per Capita GDP) is $33,200 in South Korea, compared to $1,800 in North Korea, a startaling difference. This table, which has bars to compare each thing, shows a reader how bad North Korea is, and makes the reader think about the comparisons between the two countries. Another technique used by the author is inserting a political cartoon. In said cartoon, people are depicted being served the "Pigeon Torture", in which the punished are hung by their hands, which are tied behind their back (imagine THAT position). The caption, which is in part a quote for a former prisoner who endured the punishment, and said it would be "better to die" rather than endure the punsihment. The caption also says the prisoners would be hung like that for days, so they could not sleep or sit at all. I think putting this political cartoon and caption really makes readers aware of how bad it could be in North Korea, and makes people feel bad for people who have to endure the terrible horrors inflicted upon them.
After I read this article, I felt that people have to do things to stop this from happening. The U.N. report said Kim was also guilty of crimes against humanity. Tens of millions of people have to endure this, but others who live in much better situations do nothing, and that seems unacceptable.
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