S Thoughts And Emotions In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

This empathic response task strives to explore Pi’s thoughts and emotions at a deeper and more intimate level as compared to what was presented in Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi. In a scene in chapter 61 of the story, Pi’s conscience and inhibitions had initially restrained him from slaughtering a flying fish for food. He was later reduced to tears when he finally forced himself to break the fish’s neck. Pi’s reactions to his own actions were certainly influenced by his religiosity and respect for the sanctity of life, but readers will feel that his feelings were never truly expressed as Pi had moved on quickly to the next incident in the story. A few pages later, Pi’s ruthless battering of a dorado would also cause readers to become curious as to how Pi had descended from pure humanity to unrestrained savagery within the span of three pages. In order to clearly depict Pi’s train of thought as well as how he manages his emotions during these incidents to readers, the empathic response task takes the form of a diary entry. Such a diary entry by Pi would detail his personal opinions and feelings about what happened on that day. In this task, the diary entry pays particular attention to the utilisation of short and simple sentences along with emotive language, both of which Pi constantly used throughout the entire story. As with many other fictional stories, this imaginary diary entry also seeks to show readers how imagination can be used to provide alternative perspectives