The Catholic College of Agusan del Sur

Mt. Carmel College of San Francisco, Inc.

San Francisco, Agusan del Sur

MCC M-LIT 109 CONTEMPORARY, POPULAR & EMERGENT

LITERATURE

Name: Raffy Jay A. Tamameo BSED 3

Instructor: Mr. Danilo Baradillo

Strategies for Reading Contemporary Literature

Examples (Life of Pi), (The Kite Runner)

Identify the emotions conveyed. Do the narrator express emotions, or does he seem
detached?
What I really sophisticatedly know about the story is that despite the fact that Pi
frequently expresses a range of emotions throughout the book, I think that desperation,
despair, and hopelessness are the true feelings that are being conveyed. I found that as Pi
becomes more in need of assistance, his challenging circumstances get worse. I think the
narrator is expressing his feelings through the narrative because the story's biographical
aspects are so startlingly comparable to the author's real life. Life of Pi's author and
fictitious narrator, Yann Martel, got the idea to write it while having a midlife crisis in
India. The main narrative-shaping concepts of hunger, perspective, faith, and truth are
introduced in the author's note.
Notice any humor in the irony
In the Life of Pi, Humor Mark Twain once said that, "Humor is mankind's greatest
blessing." This could not be more true in Yann Martel's novel, Life of Pi. In the novel, Pi,
a sixteen year old Indian boy is shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean. Pi is cast overboard
into a lifeboat along with a tiger, orangutan, hyena, and a zebra. Pi is left to survive for
two hundred and twenty seven days with his companion, a four hundred and fifty pound
Bengal tiger.

Humor is used throughout the whole novel to help Pi get through his ordeal. Humor
breaks up tension and gives the novel a less serious tone. There are many examples of
humor throughout the novel. One example is in towards the beginning of the novel when
Pi discusses his childhood. Pi's real name is Piscine Molitor Patel, but all the kids
pronounce his name "pissing." He finally gets rid of his horrible nickname by announcing
that his name is "Pi" during role call at school.
This example shows how the author uses humor to create a less serious tone. Also,
towards the middle of the novel, while Pi is stranded out in the Pacific, he attempts to
train Richard Parker. Pi humorously says, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, without
'further ado, it is my pleasure and honour to present to you: The Pi Patel, Indo-Canadian,
Trans-Pacific, Floating Circuuusss!. Humor is used in this example to show that Pi still
has hope and is trying to make the most out of his horrible situation.
Clarify what, if anything, is being criticized and what just needs to be understood
and accepted

Even though some reviews found aspects of the novel to criticize, most critics and
readers fell in love with Life of Pi when it was published in 2001. In this lesson, we'll
examine why through looking at its use of literary devices, reception, critical commentary
and inspiration.

The novel immediately struck readers with its spiritual journey that blends realism and
magic in a survival adventure lost at sea. Author Yann Martel's second novel has been
compared to the literary genius of Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood.

Principally, it's Martel's magical realist style that won over his critics. This genre of
literature reimagines how the world might be depicted through a subjective lens. Using
magical realism, authors depict the world with realistic detail and psychological
accuracy, while also integrating a poetic mastery using imagery, symbolism, and other
expressive elements. Even though Life of Pi initially sparked some controversy, it has
lately been universally accepted as an evocative story, resonating on philosophical,
religious, and psychological levels.