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Anthropomorphism
Chapter 31
Explanation and Analysis—Atheist and Religious:
To somewhat comedic effect, Life of Pi emphasizes the different language used by those who are religious and those who are atheists in the encounter in Chapter 31 between Pi and the two Mr. Kumars:
“The Rolls-Royce of equids,” said Mr. Kumar.
“What a wondrous creature,” said Mr. Kumar.
“This one’s a Grant’s zebra,” I said.
Mr. Kumar said, “Equus burchelli boehmi.”
Mr. Kumar said, “Allahu akbar.”
I said, “It’s very pretty.”
We looked on.
Related Themes:
Chapter 90
Explanation and Analysis—Indian and French Accents:
In Chapter 90, when Pi speaks with the blind man, who is likely a version of the French cook, he emphasizes the Frenchness of the man’s speech in contrast to Pi’s Indian accent:
“I don’t. It is you who has an accent.”
“No, I don’t. You pronounce the ‘ze’.”
“I pronounce ze ‘ze’, as it should be. You speak with warm marbles in your mouth. You have an Indian accent.”
“You speak as if your tongue were a saw and English words were made of wood. You have a French accent.”
This description depicts Indian accents as warm, while the French accent cuts, or perhaps butchers. As such, the book subtly aligns the French (and, thus, the French cook) with brutality, in contrast to Pi's naturally gentle disposition and aversion to harming other beings. This different characterization of the two accents and cultures is enhanced by their discussion of food:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“May I make a suggestion?”
“What?”
“Instead of coconut yam kootu, why not boiled beef tongue with a mustard sauce?”
“That sounds non-veg.”
“It is. And then tripe.”
“Tripe? You’ve eaten the poor animal’s tongue and now you want to eat its stomach?”
“Yes! I dream of tripes à la moe de Caen—warm—with sweetbread.”
“Sweetbread? That sounds better. What is sweetbread?” “Sweetbread is made from the pancreas of a calf.”
“The pancreas!”
“Braised and with a mushroom sauce, it’s simply delicious.”
Related Themes:
