In the novel Life of Pi I found three significant quotes so far in my readings. These quotes are very important moments in Pi’s life and are all meaningful in different ways. I found I had a better understanding of Pi afterwards and a deeper meaning into his life.
The first quote I found in Life of Pi is:
“The water, having crossed all of Paris, came in foul enough. Then people at the pool made it utterly disgusting” (11).
This quote is Mamaji, Pi’s father’s good friend of the family, telling another story about the city’s oldest pool, Piscine Deligny. Not only did Mamaji have a passion for swimming pools and competitions but Pi loved listening to these stories. This quote shows Mamaji’s educated knowledge about another pool in India. It is very fascinating to hear about how the public pools there are cold and dirty and that the people only make it dirtier. This also shows that Pi’s memories left of Mamaji, who was someone very special to him, are these amazing stories he used to inform him with. Pi will always remember how he was named after Mamaji’s favourite pool, Piscine Molitor.
The second quote I found is:
“ It’s all right with me, brother. Anything’s better than ‘Pissing’. Even ‘Lemon Pie’.” As he sauntered away he smiled and said, “You look a bit red in the face” (26).
This is a significant quote because Pi talks a lot about how people would always mispronounce his name. Piscine Molitor Patel was the proper way of saying his name but no one was ever able to pronounce it properly. Therefore, people would result to calling him ‘Pissing’. This quote is Ravi, Pi’s brother, asking him about his new nickname. It shows that Pi would not only get angry but embarrassed as his face turned red when Ravi only asked him about it. Something as simple as a name being pronounced correctly seems like it shouldn’t take much effort but even his teachers would call him ‘Pissing’. His brother seems to be making fun in this quote as well because it’s a very silly nickname even though it is harmless but Pi seems to become very upset. Pi even writes his name on the blackboard one class because he is so fed up with people saying it wrong. Now I can tell that Pi can become very sensitive towards certain things.
The third quote I found is:
“I come here all the time. One might say it’s my temple. This is interesting...” He was indicating the pit. “If we had politicians like these goats and rhinos we’d have fewer problems in our country. Unfortunately we have a prime minister who has the armour plating of a rhinoceros without any of its good sense” (29).
This quote is Pi’s favourite teacher Mr.Kumar speaking. It is a very important quote because not only did Pi love his biology teacher but he never knew he could have so much in common with him before he spotted him in his father’s zoo. Mr.Kumar would come to the zoo not just to look at the animals but he would read every bit of information there and approve of every animal he saw. He would leave the zoo feeling scientifically refreshed. This quote is comparing the rhino and goats exhibit to the prime minister. Clearly Pi’s teacher has a strong compassion for animals and wishes that people could be as simple and smart as them. I believe that this teacher inspired Pi to love animals even more and have a deeper understanding of them.
In conclusion to these quotes, I believe they have shown that there are many things and people who make Pi’s life interesting and inspire him. I believe that all these moments in his life are setting him up for the start of something amazing.
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