Week 5 Post A

It is a lot harder now to blog about a cultural aspect of Pi's life because his ship has just sunk and now he is drifting on his life raft alone with just a few animals. Pi describes each animal with human characteristics calling the hyena a coward and tricking the reader into thinking Richard Parker is really a human. "I creid, Richard Parker, is that you? It's so hard to see. Oh, that this rain would stop! Richard Parker Yes it is you! I could see his head. He was struggling to stay at the surface of the water." At this point Martel had me completely confused because I had never previously heard of this character. Later, after pie throws the life buoy to him, the reader learns that pie is actually describing a giant bangle tiger. The animals that survived and are remaining on the life raft are already competing for survival. The tiger has claimed its territory leaving the rest to fend for themselves and Pi wonders which of the animals will be first in the pecking order. At this point, Pi is still afraid of the tiger and sees him as his main conflict an enemy rather than surviving in the unforgiving environment he is put in.