I wasn't able to read much of my book throughout this week because of the multiple assignments and events. However, I managed to get through 4 chapters during my rare, spare time, and it was quite interesting.
One topic I want to bring up is about animals. The narrator of the novel, Pi, knows much about zoos and animals since he does have a zoology major, but also because his father was an owner of a zoo. Since he was young, Pi played around in his father's zoo and knew what was going on. This gave Pi much knowledge about animals and their lives in zoos.
Pi talks about how many people often think animals live miserable lives in zoos. People tend to think that animals want freedom in the wilderness rather than being taken care of by humans. However, Pi states how this thought is completely wrong. He insists that animals like living in zoos under the hands of humans where life is stable with no dangerous opponents or natural hazards occur. It is more difficult to survive in the wild than living in zoos, according to Pi. Zoos provide shelter, food, and medical services for animals. Everything animals need is available in zoos.
In Chapter 4, there is a section where Pi says, "If you went to a home, kicked down the front door, chased the people who lived there out in the street and said, "Go! You are free! Free as a bird! Go! Go!" - do you think they would shout and dance for joy? They wouldn't. Birds are not free. The people you've just evicted would sputter, "With what right do you throw us out? This is our home. We own it. We have lived here for years. We're calling the police, you scroundel.""
Pi uses this comparison to describe how animals in zoos would be upset if they were simply told to leave the zoo and go to the wild. I've never thought of it this way before. The only idea I ever caught about zoos was that animals were simply kidnapped from the wild to be brought into completely different environments, used to earn money through tourism. According to Pi, animals could possibly be more comfortable and happy in zoos. But could people actually ever tell? Maybe it's just me, but the zoos I went to had unlively, tired animals that seemed like they were miserable.
Overall, I think this section of the book will mean a lot in later parts because Pi is left on a boat with animals. Maybe I could find out what the animals' real thoughts are, rather then trusting Pi. There might be a twist, who knows?
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