Life of Pi Part 1, Chapter 8 Quotes
Life of Pi Part 1, Chapter 8 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
Just beyond the ticket booth Father had painted on a wall in bright red letters the question: DO YOU KNOW WHICH IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE ZOO? An arrow pointed to a small curtain. There were so many eager, curious hands that pulled at the curtain that we had to replace it regularly. Behind it was a mirror. (1.8.4)
Obviously, the most dangerous animal in the zoo is the human being who's gawking at the animals. Very cute. Think ahead, though, to later events in the book, especially to the savage cannibalism recounted in the final chapter. Does danger have anything to do with unpredictable evil?
Quote 2
We commonly say in the trade that the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man. In a general way we mean how our species' excessive predatoriness has made the entire planet our prey. More specifically, we have in mind the people who feed fishhooks to the otters, razors to the bears, apples with small nails in them to the elephants [...]. And there are indecencies even more bizarre: onanists breaking a sweat on monkeys, ponies, birds; a religious freak who cut a snake's head off; a deranged man who took to urinating in an elk's mouth. (1.8.1-2)
Don't hate us, but we're going to use the literary term foreshadowing here. The zoo atrocities mentioned by Pi foreshadow the later atrocities committed by himself and others on the lifeboat. Of course, Pi and his lifeboat companions will have more of an excuse: they just survived a shipwreck and will most likely starve to death. But notice how Pi equates madness and predatory behavior. And isn't it beautiful – and sane – how Richard Parker and Pi suspend the laws of predator-prey relationship? Isn't that a great and beautiful thing?