An Analysis Of Pi's Ecological View In Life Of Pi

Life of Pi,written by Canadian writer Yann Martel was published in 2001 and won The Man Booker Prize in 2002.The novel tells a story about an Indian boy Pi's drifting life with an adult Bengali tiger on the Pacific Ocean.In 2012,Director Ang Lee adapted the story into a film with the same name and aroused a heated discussion,also he was awarded his second Oscar Award for Best Director.Since that time,many scholars at home and abroad have interpreted the original novel from different perspectives,which provides references for later studies.With the development of science and technology,people's life has changed a lot.But while they are enjoying a richer life,ecological crisis emerges fluently,causing disharmonious phenomena in society.To improve the situation and have a better environment,many scholars use their literary works to awaken people's ecological consciousness.In Life of Pi,Yann Martel shows readers Pi's extraordinary life which exactly reflects the distorted interrelationship in nature,bringing inspiration to modern society.This thesis intends to explore the novel from Pi's ecological view in his three life stages and tries to show the ecological thoughts in the novel,proposing that man's return to nature,society and himself is the way to resolve the ecological crisis.There are six parts in the thesis.The Introduction part includes the brief information of Life of Pi and the author Yann Martel as well as the significance of this thesis,so as to lead into the main part of the study.The first chapter is literature review which consists of domestic and foreign studies of Life of Pi.Some studies about the novel's multiple themes such as modern spirit,faith and the relationship between man and animals will be presented.The second chapter introduces ecocriticism and its application in the novel.Ecocriticism attempts to explore the relationship between literature and nature and advocate man's return to nature,which is meaningful to resolve the ecological crisis.The issue the novel focuses on is in accordance with ecocriticism's three aspects that are natural ecology,social ecology and spiritual ecology,which not only shows Yann Martel's attention to nature,but also embodies the feasibility of this study.The third chapter discusses the development of Pi's ecological view.It includes Pi's ecological view in his childhood,drifting life and adulthood.Pi grows up in a zoo,which influences him a lot.In his eyes,the zoo is a kingdom where he enjoys the days with animals.At that time,he faintly feels that there should be harmony between man and nature.When Tsimtsum sinks into the Pacific Ocean,Pi's families are wrecked,only leaving him and a tiger on a small lifeboat.To survive,Pi never gives up and finally gets saved.In the hard sea life,he realizes that nature has another side that is different from his former understanding.After being rescued,Pi begins his new life and forms a mature ecological view.In college,he majors in zoology and religious studies which stand for nature and human spirit respectively,expressing his focus on natural ecology and spiritual ecology.The forth chapter analyzes the ecological inspiration in Life of Pi.There are two parts in this chapter.The first part tells the reasons of ecological crisis in modern society.The second part explores the ecological inspiration in the novel and calls for man's return to nature and the establishment of harmonious living environment.For the whole ecosystem is made up of natural ecology,social ecology and spiritual ecology,man's return to nature is not only limited to man's return to the balance between man and nature,but also includes man's return to the balance between man and others as well as man and himself.The Conclusion part is the summary of the thesis' main idea.It reviews Pi's life and generalizes the way to resolve the ecological crisis.At the same time,it points out the necessity of man's return to nature,emphasizing that keeping the harmony between man and nature is man's pursuit in the modern life.