Life of Pi

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Pi describes freedom within the confines of the zoo, religion, and lack of chaos.

• How does Pi define freedom? (topic sentence)
• Explain how Pi defines freedom in relation to the zoo and in relation to religion. Then explain how Pi justifies his assertion when animals choose to escape the confines of the zoo—and presumably, when people escape the confines of religion.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain whether you agree with Pi’s definition of what it means to be free.

2. Ritual is an important aspect of Pi’s life as it manifests itself in multiple ways throughout his narrative.

• How does ritual pervade the narrative of Life of Pi? (topic sentence)
• Explain the religious rituals that are performed by Pi, how those rituals change after Pi is stranded, and the meaning Pi derives from the rituals he participates in.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain the impact of Pi’s journey across the ocean on his Religious Beliefs and Practice.

3. So much of Life of Pi is about failed communication.

• What does Pi identify as the problem with communication? (topic sentence)
• Explain what Pi identifies as the problem with communication, why he believes communication is rarely objective, and how it is connected to Pi’s philosophy of life.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain whether you believe Pi makes a valid point about the failings of communication.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The novel consistently addresses the blurring of fact and fiction in Pi’s narrative. What is the significance of believability in the novel? How is Pi’s method of storytelling connected to his father’s dreaming and Mamaji’s remembering? How might Pi’s narrative be impacted by Pi’s assertion that language is unable to capture beauty?

2. Pi’s early life is spent primarily dealing with animals in his father’s zoo where his father repeatedly reminds Pi not to anthropomorphize the animals. Pi, however, makes several connections between animals and humans in Life of Pi. What are the strongest comparisons made between humans and animals in the novel? Why does Pi use zoo animals as a metaphor for his journey? What does each of the animals have in common, symbolically speaking, with the humans they represent, and how can these be evidenced in the novel? How does Pi himself emulate animalistic behavior?

3. Pi identifies a connection between his two majors at the University of Toronto, Zoology and Religious Studies. What connection is made by Pi between his two majors? How does animal hierarchy contribute to the blending of the two studies? How does Pi use religion to understand the natural world? How does Pi feel about people who lend too much credence to factual evidence?