ALTER EGOS

alter ego (n.)

1. Another side of oneself; a second self.

Why Alter Egos?

• Trauma
• Feeling the need to protect or hide a part of oneself
• "For Fun"
• To accompany onesellf if they feel lonely
• To do things they can't see "themselves" doing

PI'S CIRCUMSTANCES

• Alone
• No one but him
• He's the only person to turn to when in need
• He's in need
• Voila

RICHARD PARKER

• TIgers are known to be fighters, survivors
• I would quote "Eye of the Tiger" here, but there would be 20+ lines
• Richard Parker was Pi's only sanctuary from despair
• As Pi says himself, R.P. Is the REASON Pi is alive
• Why?

Because Richard Parker is Pi.

R.P.

• Richard Parker is Pi's will to survive
• Richard Parker is his hope
• Richard Parker is the part of Pi that is keeping him alive
• Richard Parker is Pi

"This was the terrible cost of Richard Parker. He gave me a life, my own, but at the expense of taking one."

THE OTHER BLIND MAN

• Pi is about to die, hungry and thirsty
• He meets the blind man
• The blind man sufferers his fate
• "Something in me died then that has never come back to life"
• Pi survives

Coincidence? I think not.

PI WHEN HE IS LOST AT SEA

PI ALSO WHEN HE IS LOST AT SEA

Orange Juice = Pi's mother
Hyena = Cook
Zebra = Sailor

What is the real Story?

• "I told you two stories that account for the 227 days."
• "Neither of them make any factual difference to you."
• "You can't prove which story is true and which is not. You must take my word for it."
• "In both stories the ship sinks, my entire family dies, and I suffer."
• So why does it matter which one is true?

It doesn't

"And so it goes with God"

fin.

I lied.

PI CHARTS ARE COOL