Don't Overlook 3.14

When reading Chapter 30, I really liked meeting Mrs. Patel and being introduced to Pi’s home. The quote “This house is more than a box full of icons. I start noticing small signs of conjugal existence” is interesting to me (80). For one reason, Pi is introduced as a heavily spiritual and worldly person, but he is easily passed over for something or someone that is superficially more exciting or materialistically enticing. On the outside of Pi’s home and Pi himself, the reader views him as an ordinary man. However, when the reader dives deeper to find out more about him, he or she is in for a surprise due to his unique interests and ideas. I like Mrs. Patel, because on the outside she is a mother, a pharmacist, a wife, etc. However, like Pi, when she is more deeply analyzed, Mrs. Patel symbolizes the rich culture and experiences that are often surpassed by materialistic and superficial items. The sentence, “They were there all along, but I hadn’t seen them because I wasn’t looking for them,” clearly illustrates this point (80). Also, this powerful quote is rather thematic; it shows that when you are looking for something, you may overlook important vitalities that will make you live and thrive as a person. I feel like this quote works well in life. Sometimes, you meet people or you participate in studies, exercises, experiments, activities, games, etc that you initially did for fun or just because and you find that that one person or activity made you look at life differently or in a new perspective. I believe that is precisely what is happening to the narrator. He met Pi and has discovered what a rich and well-rounded individual the former zookeeper’s son is. However, if he had never met Pi, he would have truly missed out on interesting stories and ideas.