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Journey - Life of Pi, Journey to the Interior, the Red Tree

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Journey - Life of Pi, Journey to the Interior, the Red Tree
PRACTICE ESSAY

How has your understanding of The Journey been shaped by your study of the set text, ONE text from the Stimulus Booklet and at least ONE text of your own choosing?

My understanding of The Journey is that journeys are essentially the only way to find what one is searching for and this will eventually lead to self discovery. Journeys allow individuals to extend themselves physically, mentally or emotionally as they face challenges. This understanding of mine has been shaped by the novel Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, ‘Journey to the Interior’, a poem by Margaret Atwood and The Red Tree, a picture book by Shaun Tan. Yann Martel, Margaret Atwood and Shaun Tan use various techniques such as extended metaphors, symbolism, imagery and figurative language to show how journeys lead to self discovery and they are the only way one will find what they are searching for and also allow travellers to extend themselves in different aspects.

One must go on a journey in order to way to find what one is looking for and achieve self discovery. Journeys lead to the discovery of knowledge about the world around oneself and discover answers to questions about life. In Life of Pi, Pi learns to understand that reality is merely an interpretation of our faith. Pi’s journey of finding his faith was, in the most part, conducted whilst at sea with Richard Parker. This can be seen in Part 3 of the novel, where Pi is interviewed by officials from the Japanese ship company. “The world isn’t just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no… which is the better story?” His tone of voice conveys maturity and general understanding of life, unlike the rest of the novel. The change in the type of language used implies that Pi has gained knowledge about his faith and how he’d rather believe his story about Richard Parker than what may be the actual truth of his physical journey at sea.
My understanding of The Journey has also been shaped by the poem, ‘Journey to the

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