Chapters 24-33

Chapter 24

This chapter solely covers the mockery Pi received from his brother for his multiple religions. It seems like typical brotherly mocking. There's no indication Pi reacted poorly to the mocking.

Chapter 25

In this chapter, Pi discusses the shunning he received at all of his religious events. To me, this is surprising because religion is supposed to be about acceptance of one another. It seems odd that people would shun each other because they belong to their religion and another one. Pi didn't let this deter him though. He simply attended a different church, left Friday prayer quickly after it finished, and went to the temple when it was crowded. This speaks to how faithful Pi was. Even when he was being shunned for his beliefs, he continued following all three religions.

Chapter 26

In this chapter, Pi discusses his multiple religions with each of his parents. Neither of them seems to approve.

Chapter 27

In this chapter, Pi overhears his parents talking about him and his religions. It is interesting to note that his parents seem to take comfort in thinking that this is just a phase, but the reader knows from an earlier chapter that it will continue well into adulthood. Pi's father seems especially concerned with Pi become a Muslim because it's not a traditional Indian religion.

Chapter 28

This chapter discusses both Pi's prayer rug and his baptism. It is interesting that Pi seemed to deflect blame for losing it by saying it must've just liked it the patch of ground beneath it. It's interesting that he quickly glosses over that part, instead spending more time talking about the persecution he faced as a member of multiple religions. Even though his brother wasn't present at the baptism, he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity for more mockery. It seems Pi has almost grown used to it at this point.

Chapter 29

Chapter 29 covers the Patels' move to Canada. As Pi talks about how he was uninterested in the news, he likens it to how the animals were also uninterested, "It's not that I didn't understand the drift of what they said - it's that I wasn't interested. The orang-utans were as eager for chapattis as ever; the monkeys never asked for news from Dehli..." (Martel 86) This adds another piece of evidence to my theory that Pi uses the animals to relay his feelings to the reader.

Chapter 30

This chapter is from Yann Martel's narrative. He describes meeting Pi's wife, Meema. He assumes she's a second-generation Indian-Canadian.

Chapter 31

In this chapter, Mr. Kumar (the baker) visits the zoo for the first time. He also meets Mr. Kumar (the teacher) for the first time. The following quote does a great job of highlighting the differences between the two Mr. Kumars and Pi:

"Mr. Kumar said,'Equus burchelli boehmi.'
Mr. Kumar said, 'Allahu akbar'
I said, 'It's very pretty'" (Martel 93)

Teacher Kumar says the scientific name for the zebra, baker Kumar praises Allah, and Pi falls somewhere in the middle, commenting on its appearance rather than anything else. This section almost shows how Pi, while very religious, almost falls in the middle of science and religion.

Chapter 32

This chapter comments on zoomorphism,when one animal takes one from another species as its own kind. A passage of note is "The golden agouti, like the rhinoceros, was in need of companionship." (Martel 95) This is interesting when it's considered with the context that Pi uses animals to reveal his own feelings. Could this possibly be an explanation for his many religions? Pi wants companionship so he accepts these different religions. Interesting theory to keep in mind as I read through the novel.

Chapter 33

Chapter 33 is a return to the narrative of Yann Martel. This time he is looking through Pi's photo album with him. There are many photos beginning at university, but very few before that. Pi says that there were many, but they were all lost. This immediately puts the question in the reader's mind, "How were they lost?" I can only assume it's connected to the events that led up to Pi being stranded on a boat with a tiger.