Socratic Seminar Prompt Questions
1. Pi’s tale of survival really made me think about my own spirituality. Being a practicing Jew, I already have a belief in God and religion but reading this book made me really think about how I show my spirituality. Pi’s devotion to not one, but three different religions shows that being religious can be life changing and people can really find themselves when they find a religion they connect with. For example, in Ch. 20 he states, “The presence of God is the finest of rewards” (Martel, 63). If Pi had not found a deeper connection with God there is no doubt in my mind that he would not have survived his ordeal.
2. Although chapters 21 and 22 are quite short, they really encompass all that Pi and the author are trying to convey. One quote that really stuck out to me was in Ch. 21 and says, “An intellect confounded yet a trusting sense of presence and of ultimate purpose” (63). The author was questioning God’s…show more content… It took me a while to figure out who Richard Parker was. Even after Pi told the second story I still believed that the animal one was the correct version of his tale. That is until I read Ch. 99 when Pi, prompted by the investigators saying, “We’ll be careful when we drive away. We don’t want to run into Richard Parker” (317), says, “Don’t worry you won’t. He’s hiding somewhere you’ll never find him” (317). What I think Pi means is that he hid that animalistic part of him deep down so it never comes out again like it did on the boat. I think it took me this long because I wasn’t thinking hard enough about the characters and how they acted. I never associated his mother with Orange Juice or him with Richard Parker even though there were many signs hinting to it. Symbolism is such a complex way to really get your readers to think and is often overlooked because it is not as obvious as say metaphors or similes. In future reading I will look beyond what is written and hope to find much more meaning in the words