Life of Pi Lesson Plan

As Pi settles into the life of a castaway, descriptions of brutality become increasingly commonplace in the narrative. Were you initially unsettled by some of the more graphic scenes? Have you grown used to them?

What some readers may find disturbing about the brutality in Life of Pi (for example, Pi’s pride in discovering that stabbing sharks through the eyes with a knife kills them more quickly than bludgeoning) is that it is in such sharp contrast to the book’s earlier portrayal of its hero. Pi is introduced as kind, mild-mannered, curious and eager-to-please, with a reverence for all living things. The fact that Pi can experience such a drastic ethical shift can be...