Life of Pi Blog 2

So here’s my interpretation. Keep in mind that I never claimed to be the brightest, so this may be completely off. Since the book is formed around religion and this metaphor that links animals to religion, I’m assuming the animals that Pi is stuck on the boat with are representative of different religions. When Pi says that leaving the boat means certain death yet he asks what the point in staying is, I think the theme of the book is kind of revealed. It makes you look at your own believes and question whether or not you would survive on a life boat with them. However, I completely accept that this may be the most far-fetched, idiotic interpretation ever. It is late. Also, the description of the poor little zebra’s death, while I’m sure it’s crucial to the book, is disgusting. I could certainly do without it. Yuck.

Life of Pi (1-29)

I put off reading Life of Pi because I was really afraid that the entire concept of the book would go right over my head-- I’m not the deepest thinker. However, I was pleasantly surprised with my ability to pick up on the religious analogies between Pi’s family zoo and religion. While those were probably painfully simple analogies, I wasn’t expecting to understand them. I tend to simply ignore the thought of religion because I haven’t quite decided where I stand, so the part about agnostics really hit home for me simply because I agree that staying undecided forever is stupid. You have to pick a side. So this book has made me think, and those are the best books in my opinion. I regret waiting to start it, but now I can’t put it down.

This is the part where I show my stupidity. I don’t understand the relationship between the italicized chapters and the actual story. I know I’m going to feel like a complete idiot when I learn.

Current Event #1

The beer "Dirty Bastard" is banned in Alabama while the state still allows alcoholic products such as Fat Bastard and Raging Bitch to be sold. The ban is said to be in order to protect children since the beverage would be sold in grocery stores as well as liquor stores.

I completely disagree with this decision. I understand that we should take certain precautions to protect children, which AL also did when they banned a beer with a nude nymph on the bottle, but if you’re going to ban one, ban them all. The board is CONSIDERING holding a meeting to ban the other products, but nothing has been decided. However, I personally see no point in banning them all. If a child is old enough to read the word, he or she has probably heard the word before. And if your main focus is to shield a child, what about the trashy tabloids at the check-out lines? Some of those are inappropriate. Do we ban those as well? If you don’t want your kid seeing profanity on an alcohol label, don’t buy it and don’t let them walk down the alcohol aisle.

Associated Press."Alabama bans beer over dirty name". foxnews.com. 19 April 2012. Web. 19 April 2012.

F451 #2

                My favorite quality of Dover Beach is its idea that religion destroys us. Not because I agree with it, but because that’s the idea of the government in Fahrenheit 451. Personally, I think that, while religion can destroy us, it is the only thing that can truly save us. In Fahrenheit 451, it is believed that “sugar coating” religion so that it offends no one will created peace. Well, that worked out well, didn’t it? Religion is more or less the basis of human existence. When religion is manipulated, human beings become manipulate. An example is the “Jesus” figure that is fed to the people to sell them things. Manipulate their religion, and you can manipulate their purchases. One message I took from the book (and I may have taken the message the complete wrong way) is that we need to spend more time thinking instead of speaking and fighting. We need to cherish our thoughts and our culture because the world as we know it now is a privilege that we take for granted on a daily basis. If we remain so focused on becoming a utopia, we will spiral into a dystopian society.  Sometimes it’s okay to unplug your iPhone and sit down with your family just to talk or curl up in bed and read a book.  If we as a race don’t defy technology to continue intellectual growth, who will? And if not now, when?