Life of Pi and Bildungsroman

Life of Pi is not necessarily a bildungsroman, but more along the lines of the “journey novel” or travel genre. Although as in any good bildungsroman deep thoughts are considered and analyzed (for example, religion, faith, trust, cooperation, nature vs. knowledge, morals vs. traditions in the types of foods eaten or abstained from, etc.) and the protagonist Pi gains experience concerning survival on the ocean with a Bengal tiger, it can be argued that Life of Pi is not a bildungsroman because Pi really does not come to some great realization or paradigm shift; he merely examines, re-examines and goes deeper with thoughts that have already occurred to him. Because these are old thoughts and not new ones, Pi is not really “growing” or “coming of age” as much as is commonly done in bildungsroman literature. The closest experience to "coming of age" would probably be his realization that the only way to survive on the sea is to help Richard Parker to survive as well, and the loss and continued attachment that Pi feels after Richard Parker slinks off into the Mexican jungle without any sort of “goodbye” or acknowledgement of their relationship.

The Tiger or the Lady

The tie between this explanation of the deathbed reaction of an atheist versus an agnostic and the events at the end of the novel are evident in the phrases, “beholden to dry, yeastless factuality” and “lack imagination and miss the better story.” Essentially, these expressions capture the tension that the Japanese interviewers face when being forced to choose between the Pi’s narrative involving the tiger and other improbabilities or his narrative about the cook who murders Pi's mother, which is unfortunately, more probable in the eyes of society. Even so, the Japanese men’s choice to record the tiger story in their log as if it were fact redeems them from their time of doubt, just as the theoretical atheist is redeemed in his “deathbed leap of faith,” where he acknowledges what he sees as “L-L-Love” and God instead of “f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain.” Essentially, Pi challenges readers to seek truth instead of merely collecting and accepting facts.

The Problem With Cohabitation

It is interesting that despite all of the conflict concerning the danger of traveling with a tiger, Pi in convinced that he would not have survived without the company of Richard Parker. While readers can be sure that Richard Parker would not have survived without Pi to provide and plan ahead for him, what did Pi really gain from Richard Parker, other than companionship? If there had been no tiger in the boat, Pi could have drunken more than twice as much water, as well as eaten more than twice as much food. He could have focused more easily on the tasks at hand, protected himself with the tarp instead of sacrificing it as Richard Parker’s territory, and he could have had a greatly diminished feeling of stress, not worrying about both survival and a tiger, but merely focused on survival while sleeping comfortably in the boat. Perhaps Pi’s point is that without Richard Parker there would be nothing to hope or trust in (not that Richard Parker was really trustworthy). At any rate, it is interesting to think about why Pi felt he needed R.P.

Dr. O'Brien's Talk Time

Dr. O’Brien’s talk time today was my favorite class we have had so far. Not only did I greatly delight in his use of fun lingo such as “chug-a-lug” and “pocket-rocket,” I am a very story-oriented person and loved hearing tales from the war that did not include killing people with shoelaces, skinning and gutting people and displaying them, or eating dead horses (like my uncle’s stories). It was very encouraging to me personally to see someone that has gone through the military and come out for the better, because I really haven’t seen that before. My personal experience hasn’t been the best in that area, and I’m afraid I don’t have as much faith in the institution of the military as I probably should... anyway, it just did something good and healing for my heart to see someone that had endured the military and still seemed like a whole, loving person.

GAC as a Bildungsroman...or not

Honestly, I do not see how this is considered a bildungsroman. Neither the main character, Paul Berlin, nor his friends, nor Cacciato, has “come of age” or stepped from childhood into maturity. Cacciato stays the same silly guy throughout the book, with his most dramatic change being the change of living to dead. Oscar becomes more violent and psychotic as the story progresses. Paul Berlin doesn’t really change that much either, except that he gains exposure to the war, gains a better realization of how awful it is, breaks down multiple times in multiple ways, and failing to overcome his fear complex, machine-guns his friend Cacciato to death out of spastic anxiety. Yes, Paul does a lot of thinking and analysis throughout the book, but these segments of the book almost seem forced to me, not like successfully placed drama. For example, the segment of the chapter made up like an imaginary radio show in which Sarkin and Paul discuss indecision, or the segment where Paul asks about fifteen (or more) questions in a row as he thinks of a young Vietnamese girl whom they have administered iodine to, are two of such false-feeling “thought-provoking” parts. There isn’t substantial transformation.

Problem in Going After Cacciato

A problem that is prevalent all throughout Going After Cacciato is the idea of hopelessness, purposelessness, and especially confusion, all contributing to the war that is so horrible, it is unbelievable. Not only are these issues exhibited through the choppy structuring of the novel and much of the characters’ actions and descriptions (specifically, descriptions in which it is difficult to distinguish reality from imagination, drug-induced hallucination or mental illness), these issues are especially evident in Paul Berlin’s internal processing, which includes entire sections of chapters composed wholly of questions. Indeed, the book does a good job at sharing the emotional chaos tied to the war, as readers surely feel the lack of hope and the confusion very strongly, as well as the disillusionment and thoughts on the war’s lack of purpose.

TVBIA- a bildungsroman

If a bildungsroman is technically a “Coming of Age” story, then it can be argued that The Violent Bear It Away is a coming of age story, despite the repulsive nature of Frank’s developments. Although the level of “maturity” to which Frank ascends is disturbing to readers, it still is a “coming into one’s own” in the context of Old Tarwater’s aspirations for Frank, his raising Frank as a to-be prophet, and his putting the responsibility of Bishop’s baptism on Frank’s shoulders. Frank struggles against each of these throughout the novel, but in the end, accepts them, including the duty and message that he believes God has chosen and asked him to share. In addition, Frank certainly passes from childhood innocence and confusion into full-fledged dementia and degradation as he murders Bishop with the approval of Rayber, and is homosexually assaulted by “the lilac traveler.” He also acquires the insatiable hunger that Old Tarwater had before him (perhaps it is linked to the mental illness), and manages to fight off his spiritual doubts. Even though readers would hope that he might somehow escape, Frank “successfully” grows into his destiny as an insane, self-proclaimed prophet.