Life of Pi Lesson Plan

Why do you think it is important that a zebra is in the lifeboat with Pi? What about the other animals?

Students may recall that a zebra was mentioned earlier in the novel, as cause for wonderment for Mr. Kumar and Mr. Kumar, Pi’s Muslim friend and his atheist schoolteacher. To the former, the zebra is a miracle of God’s creation; to the latter, it is an example of the amazing diversity that evolution can produce, but to both, it inspires an appreciation of beauty. Students should think about what the other animals on the life raft may represent, taking into account their behaviors and physical descriptions.

Does Pi obey his father’s lesson about anthropomorphizing...