...Discovery is the key to human progress but it always comes at a cost. In Ang Lee’s film, Life of Pi, the protagonist embarks on a journey of self discovery that results in great personal growth. Tim Winton’s short story Big World is also a story of a boy’s rite of passage. Both texts explore the personal cost of their protagonists’ discoveries as they must endure great suffering, isolation and the loss of innocence in order to discover themselves and their place in the big picture of life. Lee’s film is structured to portray an ordeal that fluctuates between great suffering and great joy. Pi cannot be free to discover himself while he exists within the comfort zone of his family. The sinking of the Tsimtsum casts him into the ‘ocean of life’ where he must fend for himself. The aerial shot of his head, dwarfed by the vast, dark ocean emphasises his vulnerability as he is cast adrift. His intense suffering is revealed most powerfully in the storm scene where wide shots again portray his vulnerability in the wild sea and Christ-like imagery shows him screaming at his ‘God’, arms spread in supplication: “Why are you scaring him? I’ve lost my family. I’ve lost everything. I surrender. What more do you want?” Pi’s life raft is swept away, symbolising the loss of his haven and material possessions and a high angle shot of Richard Parker shows that even the tiger – a symbol of Pi’s braver and more primitive self – is afraid. A sustained scene that cuts between shots...
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