Crossing Boundaries - Life of Pi and Adventure Story

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“How has your understanding of Crossing Boundaries been shaped by your study of the set text, ONE text from the stimulus booklet and at least ONE text of your own choosing?” When constricted, oppressed or put into unusual circumstances, a person or animal will cross physical, emotional, psychological, social or moral boundaries in order to gain endless possibilities of freedom and self-enlightenment. Boundaries in human and animal experiences are explored through many forms such as religion, class, culture, relationships and personal identity. These concepts are demonstrated in the novel, Life of Pi, short film RGB (Red Green Blue), and short story, Adventure Story by Margaret Wood. It is common in human experience to cross many boundaries in order to satisfy one’s urges to seek freedom and self-enlightenment. It is most pleasurable to have all the things you want in the world with you, but without them, life had lost their meaning. This notion is clearly established early on in Life of Pi, as the author describes his reaction to the failure to produce successful book, “The fiasco did not affect me too much”, which is later reinforced when the reader meets an older Pi, “My suffering left me sad and gloomy.” In order to get to this point, however, it is necessary to consider the boundaries which the author himself has encountered. As a reader, we are set up to believe everything that the author has to say; letting the author lead us in a prescribed direction. We are given the choice by the author to choose “the better story” in order to decide whether we believe Pi’s story. Pi’s story intends to “surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won’t make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality”. This challenges traditional conventions about textual forms and features, offering

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