| Cliffs Notes - MONDAY, MARCH 6th (375 POINTS)
Pretend you are writing the actual Cliffs Notes for this book. You must
include:
Key Facts – 50 POINTS
Author: short synopsis of life and background
Full title
Character list with short description
Type of work
Genre
Language
Time and place written
Date of first publication
+ Plot summaries and commentaries - 200 POINTS TOTAL
Divide the book into 4 main sections:
Section 1: Chapters _____ - _____ or Pages _______ - _______
Section 2: Chapters _____ - _____ or Pages _______ - _______
Section 3: Chapters _____ - _____ or Pages _______ - _______
Section 4: Chapters _____ - _____ or Pages _______ - _______
Write a summary for each section (paragraph).
Include: Summary and analysis of each section with regards to plot structure
(exposition, rising action, etc.), important event(s)/action(s), and major
literary techniques used: symbols, foreshadowing, etc.
+ Character analysis - Choose one character and analyze physical
description, personality, role in the novel, effects of being static/dynamic.
+ Symbol - Choose a recurring object from the story that signifies something
greater than itself. Describe what the object symbolizes and its role in the
story. Provide examples from the novel.
+ Theme - Choose a controlling idea or a subject for philosophical
reflection: mythical and archetypal (e.g., the fall of man, symbolic death
and rebirth, a quest for knowledge) or moral and psychological (passion vs.
reason, the futility of anger, the vanity of selfishness, the need for love,
etc.). Provide 2-3 examples from the novel.
+Evaluation - 75 POINTS
Your opinion on the book – (Is it "good"? What makes
it "good?") (*****Short******)
+ Review questions - 50 POINTS
Write one question for each level of Bloom's Taxonomy that
would be appropriate to test a student about your book.
• Knowledge - recognize or recall information (identify, define, who,
what, when)
• Comprehension - describe, rephrase, compare/contrast, explain, find
main idea
• Application - classify, select, choose, apply, solve (previously
learned information)
• Analysis - why, analyze, conclude, distinguish, detect, determine a
conclusion
• Synthesis - construct, produce, plan, design, predict, create, change
• Evaluation - judge, argue, appraise
NOTE: Intentionally plagiarizing an actual Cliff's Notes will
result in a zero for this project.
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Study Questions
Chapters 71-75
1. How does Pi set about training Richard Parker?
2. How does Pi manage to keep his faith in God despite unremitting hardships?
3. Chapter 75 is one sentence only: "On the day when I estimated it was
Mother's birthday, I sang 'Happy Birthday' to her out loud." What effect does
this have on the reader?
Chapters 76-84
1. What are some signs of Pi's physical and spiritual deterioration?
2. The storm in chapter 83 causes much loss. What remains to keep Pi from
certain death?
3. How does Pi regard birds and mammals that are not prey?
Chapters 85-86
1. "I remember that close encounter with electrocution and third-degree burns
as one of the few times during my ordeal when I felt genuine happiness" (ch.
85, p. 233). How can this be?
2. "At moments of wonder, it is easy to avoid small thinking, to entertain
thoughts that span the universe, that capture both thunder and tinkle, thick
and thin, the near and the far" (ch. 85, p. 233). Comment on Pi's use of
opposites here. Have you ever felt similarly?
3. In chapter 86, Pi's hopes are dashed when a massive ship bears down on
them without ever seeing them. How does he recover from such a crushing blow?
Chapters 87-91
1. These chapters represent extreme anguish for Pi. Describe some of the
worst things to befall Pi during this section.
2. In chapter 90, Pi has a hallucinatory conversation between a carnivorous
sailor who tries to strangle him, and himself, a peace-loving vegetarian.
What is the purpose of this chapter?
2. The island seems to be entirely vegetarian. Why?
3. Like most things too good to be true, the island is, too. How does it show
its true colors?
4. What might the island and its true nature symbolize?
6. "Nothing distracted the meerkats from their little lives of pond staring
and algae nibbling" (ch. 92, p 269). Is Pi talking about meerkats or human
nature in this passage?
7. As Pi begins to rejuvenate on the island, so, too, does Richard Parker.
Why?
Chapter 94
1. After more than seven months, Pi reaches land. Richard Parker disappears
into the forest immediately. Why no good byes?
1. We know from the outset that the island is empirically impossible. Why
then do we believe it as readers?
Chapter 92-93
2. Pi says, "It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then
can you let go" (p. 285). Discuss the truth of these words.
Chapters 95-100
1. How is the trip of Mr. Tomohiro Okamoto and Mr. Atsuro Chiba of the
Japanese Ministry of Transport to visit Pi in the hospital a "comedy of
errors"?
2. In many ways, these chapters are the most humorous part of the novel. On
what premise does this humor rely?
3. Why is chapter 97 only two words?
Chapters 99-100
1. What do the floating bananas and the cultivated bonsai trees illustrate?
2. How does the bonsai tree story remind the reader of the two Mr. Kumars?
3. What is the significance of Mr. Okamoto saying, "'The cook on the Tsimtsum
was a Frenchman'" (ch. 99, p. 299)?
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