How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. (2.56.1)
We don't know about you, but we always thought death was life's true opponent. Not so (see 1.1.11). Perhaps Pi sees fear as a more formidable adversary since "[i]t begins in your mind, always." To Pi, our minds and hearts are the true battlegrounds. Real life is kid's stuff.
Quote #8
The worst pair of opposites is boredom and terror. [...]. The sea is without a wrinkle. There is not a whisper in the wind. The hours last forever. You are so bored you sink into a state of apathy close to a coma. [...]. In your boredom there are elements of terror: you break down into tears; you are filled with dread; you scream; you deliberately hurt yourself. And in the grip of terror – the worst storm – you yet feel boredom, a deep weariness with it all. (2.78.7)
Pi ruminates on the life of the castaway. These psychological end points – boredom and terror – sound truly awful to hold in one mind. Even in his boredom Pi feels terror. In his terror, boredom. Perhaps Pi's boredom becomes terror: the way loneliness progresses to isolation and isolation to emptiness and emptiness to a sense of the world's nothingness. And that's pretty terrifying.
Quote #9
I have read that there are two fears that cannot be trained out of us: the startle reaction upon hearing a unexpected noise, and vertigo. I would like to add a third, to wit, the rapid and direct approach of a known killer. (2.92.37)
The "known killer" is Richard Parker. In a dark and irresponsible way, we think this is funny. How can the fear of a rapidly approaching tiger be an essential fear? Who else comes across tigers on a daily basis? Oh Pi, you're so funny.