Life of Pi Part 1, Chapter 7 Quotes
Life of Pi Part 1, Chapter 7 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 4
[Mr. Kumar to Pi:] "There are no grounds for going beyond a scientific explanation of reality and no sound reason for believing anything but our sense experience. A clear intellect, close attention to detail and a little scientific knowledge will expose religion as superstitious bosh. God does not exist." (1.7.12)
Pi's biology teacher, Mr. Kumar, rails against religion. Pi doesn't know what to say. We know Pi admires Mr. Kumar quite a lot, but we also know Pi has a deep belief in God. When Pi takes stock of his supplies on the lifeboat, he organizes and lists with a scientific fervor. We might even say with "[a] clear intellect, close attention to detail and a little scientific knowledge" (1.7.12). For Pi, these tools don't necessarily mean that God doesn't exist. All harmonize in his democratic little noggin.
Quote 5
[Mr. Kumar to Pi:] "When I was your age, I lived in bed, racked with polio. I asked myself every day, 'Where is God? Where is God? Where is God?' God never came. It wasn't God who saved me – it was medicine. Reason is my prophet and it tells me that as a watch stops, so we die. It's the end. If the watch doesn't work properly, it must be fixed here and now by us. One day we will take hold of the means of production and there will be justice on earth." (1.7.16)
Mr. Kumar shares – quite openly – his personal story. The story perhaps helps Pi to see why Mr. Kumar attaches himself so fiercely to science. Science saved him from polio, not God. If we want to improve our lot on earth, we need to use tools of this earth: science and reason, not divine revelation. Even though Pi must disagree with Mr. Kumar, he still takes some of it to heart. During his ordeal on the ocean Pi says, "Survival had to start with me. In my experience, a castaway's worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little. [...]. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one's life away." (see Themes: Spirituality 2.58.9)