Yann Martel's Life of Pi as a reflection of the True Self

Název: Yann Martel's Life of Pi as a reflection of the True Self
Variantní název:
  • La vie de Pi de Yann Martel comme le reflet du Vrai soi
Zdrojový dokument: The Central European journal of Canadian studies. 2016, roč. 10-11, č. [1], s. 91-106
Rozsah
91-106
  • ISSN
    1213-7715 (print)
    2336-4556 (online)
Type: Článek
Jazyk
Licence: Neurčená licence
 

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Abstrakt(y)
Works of Canadian animal literature educate us about animals, nature and, most importantly, ourselves. Life of Pi is such a work. To read Yann Martel's novel means to be confronted with a reflection of one's true self. The article investigates this phenomenon of literary self-confrontation by closely analysing three persistent themes in Life of Pi: anthropomorphism, religion and science, and self-perception. The analysis is broadened by introducing philosophical concepts of Giorgio Agamben, Helmuth Plessner and Jacques Derrida. The final step of the article is a revisiting of the themes in the light of philosophical background examined. What Life of Pi teaches us is that throughout our lives we adopt multiple interpretations of our self. It also teaches us that in order to have a chance to define our true self, we must first reconcile all the different interpretations we have of our self. The novel's proposed way to do that is through the rehabilitation of spirituality.
Dans la littérature canadienne, il y a des oeuvres qui nous informent sur les animaux, la nature et, surtout, sur nous-mêmes. Life of Pi de Yann Martel est une telle oeuvre, car elle nous confronte à notre être véritable. Cet article examine ce phénomène en analysant trois thèmes dans Life of Pi (l'anthropomorphisme, la religion et la science) mis en parallèle avec le thème de la perception de soi. L'analyse repose sur les concepts philosophiques de Giorgio Agamben, Helmuth Plessner et Jacques Derrida. La dernière section de l'article envisage ces thèmes à la lumière des fondements philosophiques plus récents. Ce que Life of Pi nous enseigne, c'est que, tout au long de notre vie, nous adoptons de multiples interprétations de nous-mêmes. La spiritualité joue un rôle majeur dans ces interprétations.
Reference
[1] Agamben, Giorgio. The Open: Man and Animal. Trans. Kevin Attell. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. Print.

[2] Aristoteles. Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. Robert C Bartlett and Susan D Collins. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. Print.

[3] Bruns, Gerald L. "Derrida's Cat (Who Am I?)" Research in Phenomenology 38.3 (2008): 404–423. Print. | DOI 10.1163/156916408X336765

[4] Derrida, Jacques. The Animal That Therefore I Am. Trans. David Wills. New York: Fordham University Press, 2008.

[5] Descartes, René. Meditations on First Philosophy. Trans. Donald A. Crees. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1960.

[6] Ghosh, Shubhobroto. "Nature in a Box: Representations of Zoo Animals in Canadian Literature." Montreal Serai, December 28, 2011. Web. April 25. http://montrealserai.com/2011/12/28/nature-in-a-box-representations-of-zoo-animals-in-canadian-literature/

[7] Jordan, Justine. "Animal Magnetism." Review of Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. The Guardian, May 25, 2002. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/may/25/fiction.reviews1. Accessed April 23, 2017.

[8] Kidd, Paul T. 2013. "Interpreting the Meaning of Richard Parker and the Life of Pi." Paul T Kidd's Blog. September 8, 2013. http://paultkidd.blogspot.com/2013/09/interpretingmeaning-of-richard-parker.html. Accessed April 23, 2017.

[9] Krist, Gary. 2002. "Taming the Tiger." Review of Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. The New York Times, July 7, 2002. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/books/taming-the-tiger.html. Accessed April 23, 2017.

[10] Martel, Yann. (2001). Life of Pi. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd., 2012. Print.

[11] Plessner, Helmuth. Die Stufen des Organischen und der Mensch: Einleitung in die philosophische Anthropologie. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1975. Print.

[12] Plessner, Helmuth. 1994. Conditio humana: Filozofijske rasprave o antropologiji. Zagreb: Nakladni zavod Globus: Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, humanistične i društvene znanosti – Zavod za filozofiju.

[13] "Helmuth Plessner." Last Modified February 2. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Helmuth-Plessner

[14] Sandlos, John. "From Within Fur and Feathers: Animals in Canadian Literature." TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies 4 (2000): 73–91. http://topia.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/topia/article/view/87/81 | DOI 10.3138/topia.4.73

[15] "The Anthropological Machine." Thrown into the World. August 4, 2013. https://thrownintotheworld.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/the-anthropological -machine/. Accessed April 23, 2017.