Circles unrounded sustainability, subject and necessity in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

• Published in: Literature and sustainability pp. 228 - 245
• Main Author: Squire, Louise
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Manchester Manchester University Press 24.03.2017
• Subjects: Animals; Anthropocentrism; Applied sciences; Arts; Biological sciences; Biology; Boats; Cats; Circles; Conic sections; Continental philosophy; Development studies; Development theory; Ecological economics; Ecological sustainability; Ellipses; Engineering; Environmental economics; Environmental ethics; Environmental philosophy; Environmental studies; Fiction; Geometric shapes; Geometry; Human geography; Land use; Lifeboats; Literary genres; Literature; Mammals; Mathematics; Metaphilosophy; Novels; Parks; Phenomenology; Philosophy; Public land; Public space; Pure mathematics; Realist phenomenology; Social sciences; Sustainable development; Tigers; Transportation; Vehicles; Watercraft; Western philosophy; Zoology; Zoos
• ISBN: 0719099676; 9780719099670
• DOI: 10.7765/9781526107633.00021

Yann Martel’s Man Booker Prize-winningLife of Pi(2002 [2001]) depicts the story of Pi, a boy who finds himself stranded on a lifeboat in the vast Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger. Having grown up in the setting of his family’s zoo in Pondicherry, Pi is faced with the loss of his family, who – on their way to a new start in Canada – go down with the ship, along with the remaining zoo animals. The central storyline, located in part 2 of the novel, is that of Pi’s lifeboat journey, his struggle for survival and his gradual