Today I had grilled cheese and avocado and tomato soup for lunch. I accidentally dipped some of my hair in the soup, which then landed on my t-shirt, like a brush dipped in paint. I am awesome.
I finished “Life of Pi” on Saturday. It’s a very quick read, but not light and fluffy at all. If that makes sense. The way the author described his protagonist’s suffering was remarkable. The way he didn’t ONCE waver from the real behavior of tigers was admirable. The tiger doesn’t turn into a pet or a friend, as he would have in a Disney movie. It’s a tiger, a killer, with a tiger’s mind.
Tonight after work I am sharing a car for a few hours, then I will be washing my hair and painting toenails. Ah.
Piscine Patel
Life of Pi is a fantastic novel. You’re dead right about how Martel treated the tiger as a living, breathing creature who was 100% predator. I think perhaps my favorite scenes are from the homicidal island.
Also of note is the tiger’s name, Richard Parker. There is a fairly famous case (at least to those of us who travel in criminal law circles), Regina v. Dudley and Stephens, from the British courts in the 1800s involving Richard Parker. Parker was one of four survivors of a shipwreck, the other three being Dudley, Stephens, and another man who was not arrested. After many days at sea, bereft of food, Dudley and Stephens decided to cannibalize Parker in the interest of saving their own lives. This was apparently not only a common nautical practice back then, but also regarded by most people as heroic, especially on the part of the deceased. In fact, upon the survivors’ safe return to England, the family of Richard Parker welcomed them with open arms and gratitude that their loved one was able to provide such a noble service.
The epilogue? Dudley and Stephens were arrested, tried, and convicted of first-degree murder. The magistrate used this court to establish that there is no justification for the willful killing of another human being. Fortunately, the Queen commuted the defendants’ sentences to one year of hard labor.
Re: Piscine Patel
Wow that’s really interesting. Especially given the alternative story Pi tells at the end.