Life of Pi

What did Pi think about the animals in the zoo?

• They would like to return to the wild.

• They were not happy living in the zoo.

• They were fearful of the other animals in the zoo.

• They were happy living in the zoo.

Pi’s thesis for his zoology major concerned...

• aspects of the cosmogony theory of Isaac Luria

• an analysis of the thyroid gland of the three-toed sloth

• the sleeping habits of the two-toed sloth

• the principles of animal training

“His construction was geometric: he looked like two triangles …”

The above description refers to Pi’s...

• father, Mr Santosh Patel

• biology teacher, Mr Satish Kumar

• uncle, Mamaji

• Father Martin, a catholic priest

He's an excellent cook. His overheated house is always smelling of something delicious. His spice rack looks like an apothecary's shop. When he opens his refrigerator or his cupboards, there are many brand names I don't recognize; in fact, I can't even tell what language they're in. We are in India.

Who is the speaker of the above lines and what is he describing?

• The speaker is Yann Martel and he is describing Pi's house.

• The speaker is the fictional author and he is describing Pi's house.

• The speaker is the fictional author and he is describing Pi's kitchen.

• The speaker is Yann Martel and he is describing Pi's kitchen.

I notice something else: his cupboards are jam-packed. Behind every door, on every shelf, stand mountains of neatly stacked cans and packages. A reserve of food to last the siege of Leningrad.

The above lines is a description of Pi's kitchen cupboards. What does this detail tell you about Pi? Choose the most appropriate response in line with the text.

• It informs the reader that Pi is a hoarder. He likes to stack food.

• It informs the reader that Pi was inspired by the siege of Leningrad.

• It informs the reader that Pi may have been through a time of food shortage and so he is preparing himself for any such calamity again.

• It informs the reader about Pi's love for canned food.

It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names. Witness Simon who is called Peter, Matthew also known as Levi, Nathaniel who is also Bartholomew, Judas, not Iscariot, who took the name Thaddeus, Simeon who went by Niger, Saul who became Paul.

Name the literary device that has been used in the lines above?

• parable

• anthropomorphism

• allusion

• proverb

I remained faithful to my aquatic guru. Under his watchful eye I lay on the beach and fluttered my legs and scratched away at the sand with my hands, turning my head at every stroke to breathe. I must have looked like a child throwing a peculiar, slow-motion tantrum.

Who is the 'aquatic guru' referred to here?

• Mr. Satish Kumar

• Mr. Santosh Patel

• Pi Patel

• Mr. Francis Adirubasamy

My life is like a memento mori painting from European art: there is always a grinning skull at my side to remind me of the folly of human ambition.

Why does Pi compare his life to the memento mori painting?

• because he has faced situations where he thought he would have died, but he survived through them, so he does not fear death any longer

• because he reminisces over the time when he was rescued from the shores of Mexico - a time when he had turned into a skeleton with only flesh and bones.

• because he enjoys European art that is gloomy and sad, and because it reminds him of his sadness

• because he fantasises death and is waiting for it.

I repeated the stunt with every teacher. Repetition is important in the training not only of animals but also of humans. Between one commonly named boy and the next, I rushed forward and emblazoned, sometimes with a terrible screech, the details of my rebirth.

What is the stunt that Pi is referring to here?

• The petting of the Royal Bengal tiger.

• The math sum that only he was able to solve

• The pronunciation of his first name by writing it on the board.

• The butterfly stroke that his mamaji had recently taught him.

What lesson does Pi's father teach him and Ravi by feeding a goat to a tiger?

• He teaches them about how animals hunt in the wild.

• He teaches them the difference between predators and their prey.

• He teaches them how to offer food to a wild animal. in case they have to help out with the chores.

• He teaches them that wild animals are not to be treated the same way as domestic animals.