I Am Canadian

We talked in class today about Canadian patriotism and how it is beginning to get out of hand. What does everyone think about the direction Canadians are going with being patriotic? Do you think people's views on Canada are changing around the world? Why do you think Canadians have become like that?

Ballads

We discussed Ballads in class today, as well as looked at a couple of examples. Can anyone name any well known ballads, whether they be songs, children's literature, etc.
What do you think is so appealing about ballads in general?

Essay's

So does anyone want to predict the day we will get our essay's back? Also how does everyone feel about their work?

Falling Words

Okay, so we discused this in class today, that words are being over used and changed because of the text we (students) use them in, like the words "Awsome, Gay, and Epic." I just wanted to know why we use these words this way, instead of saying them for what they really mean? And what do you guys all think about our society today.

Poetry

So poetry...That subject that everyone loves, or rather dislikes. I just wanted to know peoples' opinions on poetry. I personally dislike the various rules and regulations that comes with the whole writing them thing. Also, i have no idea what most poets are talking about. I find this rather frustrating to be truly honest. Anyways what do you guys think?

Religion or the idea of religion?

After spending the past two classes defending our theses, I started thinking more about faith in Pi's life. It seems more like he's just in love with the idea of religion rather than the purpose of religion. When defending his animal story he says something along the lines of "it's the more interesting one", which comes off to me as ridiculously naive because, even though we'd rather hear a better story, it being a fabrication doesn't make it more useful. Moreover, when talking about his religions, Pi never mentions anything in particular about why he follows them, other than that they make him feel good or feel safe. It never really seems like Pi is that connected to any of the central messages in his religions (though they do share love and devotion as a common motif), especially seeing as they often contradict each other. His favourite parts of religion often seem to be how the stories are interesting. Furthermore, Pi abandons some of his major beliefs when stranded in his lifeboat, such as being a vegetarian. If he's really as "devoted" as he claims to be, wouldn't he rather put his beliefs before his life? While Martel makes a good point about faith and the proof (or lack thereof) behind it, I can't help but be annoyed with Pi's naivety.

In your opinion, do you think Pi is truly devoted? Do you think that it's healthy to believe in something just because it offers a sense of security?

zeros and ones

I was looking for page numbers for the quotes in my essay and noticed something about the page numbers:
all of the 1's are upper case I's and the 0's are lower case o's.
It's the same with the chapters.
Googling it, I didn't really have any results come up.
Anyone care to share some light on this? Or did anyone else notice this?

"My Brother"

After reading to the end, I began to wonder what - if any - the significance of the "blind man" Pi met out at sea was, as well as why the term "brother" was used. I also began to wonder if there was any significance to Pi's blindness throughout this portion of the story. Did it have any significance other than to make the story a bit more interesting?

Life of Pi Movie

Just a few minutes ago, I saw a Life of Pi movie mentioned, schedualed for 2009.

What do you guys think?
Is this a book that could make a good movie?

(it's still in preproduction (whatever that means) but here's a tiny bit of info http://www.hollywood.com/movie/Life_of_Pi/3464088).

Life of Piety?

After writing the mid-novel test, one of the vocab words really stood out to me...


pi·e·ty (pī'ĭ-tē)
n., pl. -ties.

1. The state or quality of being pious, especially:
   1. Religious devotion and reverence to God.
      

Life of Pi(ety)? I'm guessing this was intentional. What do you guys think?

Couldn't resist adding this picture of the so described Meerkats.

Creepy little fellas aren't they?

The island.

The significance of the island is one of the only things left unexplained. What do you think it represents?

The End

For all the people who have finished the book. What are your feelings about the ending? Which of the two tales Pi tells do you think is the truth?

Pi's Supply List

I'm not really sure if this means anything, or if it's a big deal at all, but I wanted to discuss it. When Pi is listing supplies on the boat, he ends with "1 God", on p. 162. I thought this was interesting because Pi believes in three religions, one being Hinduism. Hindus believe in a number of gods, but he only lists one. What are your feelings on this, if any?

Is ignorance bliss?

We talked about this before the weekend briefly in class, and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Do you prefer to live in a happy, carefree bubble? Rr would you prefer to be aware of the suffering around the rest of the world, a world where we actually need organizations like Amnesty International to protect human rights, where 1.1 billion people don't have access to safe water, children are forced into armies (plus, do you remember this picture? http://www.gallerym.com/images/work/big/pulitzer_nick_ut_vietnam_napalm_kim_phuc_6872_L.jpg )

Be honest.

Like or Dislike?

What do you think of the book so far? Good? Bad? I know we discussed it in class but we didn't get to everybody and I was just curious to know what people thought.

Personally I don't find the book that entertaining but I am interested to see what happens.

Pi's religions

Does Pi's multi-religion lifestyle appeal to any of you? Are any of you very opposed to it, o the tune of "someone should only worship one god"? Does the idea of many religions seem like it would get a little confusing as it does to me?

quote.

Yet he was intrigued by some of the extraordinary interpretations of his contradictory lines by these connoisseurs. Sometimes, after reading them, he would say: "Yes, that is a most ingenious idea. Maybe I did really mean that. Wish I had thought of it!" He was fascinated also by their imputations of the influence on his work of certain ancient classics which sometimes he had not even read. But rather than admit his ignorance, he would immediately remedy the deficiency, get hold of the boring book and plough or skip through it.

Caitlin Thomas: "My Life with Dylan Thomas; A Double Drink Story"

An authors perspective on symbolism...