For this assignment you will be creating a Digital Essay addressing one of the writing prompts below. Instead of writing the essay, you will be creating a 5-minute Google Docs Presentation that you will present to the class.

Learning Target

Requirements

1. At least 10 slides + a title slide (includes proper MLA heading + title of your essay).

2. Each slide must have notes attached that include a thesis (what you are trying to prove with your essay) andsupport from the novel. These notes must be elaborated on during the presentation. Proper MLAformatting must be used when citing quotes.

3. You must turn in a printed copy of all slides, with the attached notes printed on them.

4. Each slideshow page must be visually stimulating with clear graphic pictures (see attached example).Remember to simplify your pages for the best visual impact.

5. Text included on slides must be purposeful. Do not overwhelm your audience with too many words onone page. Specifically choose words that you want to impress upon your listeners and attach those words topictures. Remember, you are not killing trees by adding more slides to your presentation!

6. At least 3 of your slides must include quotes from the text that support your thesis. Font size shouldbe as large as possible so that we can read each quote.

7. 5 minute oral presentation (I will cut you off at 5 minutes). You will be required to dress up for thispresentation – skirts, dresses, or nice dress slacks for the ladies and collared shirts (ties optional) and slacksfor the gentlemen.

8. Your presentation must be well rehearsed and fluid…Come with a plan!

Name:

Teacher:

Class:

Date:

I will be able to _________________ the ______________________________ of a ______________________ _________________________in Life of Pi and be able to ____________________________________________ ___________________________ to ________________ my _______________________ in the form of a Digital Essay created using Google Presentation.

Topic Choices 1. Faith is an important concept for Pi.

What is faith? How did Pi demonstrate faith throughout the novel? Give specific examples and cite evidence (quotes)from the novel to support your examples. How did Pi’s faith help him to survive?

2. In Part 1, Pi explains “all living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways.This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive.”

Find evidence in Part 2 that this “measure of madness” did, indeed, kick in to ensure the survival of both man andbeast: both Pi and Richard Parker. Give specific examples.

3. The first part of the novel starts twenty years after Pi’s ordeal at sea and ends with the words, “This story has a happyending.”

After reading Pi’s survival story, do you agree with this statement? Explain. Give specific examples and cite evidence(quotes) from the novel to support your examples.

4. “We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fightto the very end.”

How does this idea of survival play out in this text? Using the Survival Pattern the class established, givespecific examples on how Pi’s journey corresponds with each step of the pattern.

5. From his early years in Pondicherry and visits to various religious teachers, to his journey after the ship sank, Pi examines thenature of belief in the face of stark realities.

Carefully examine the text and discuss this theme of belief as it is displayed in the novel. Give specific examples andcite evidence (quotes) from the novel to support your examples.

6. Yann Martel said in an interview, “The theme of this novel can be summarized in three lines. Life is a story. You canchoose your story. And a story with an imaginative overlay is the better story.”

Explain how this quote relates to Pi’s story of survival. Why does Pi give two accounts of his ordeal? Which isthe true story? Give specific examples and cite evidence (quotes) from the novel to support your examples.

7. “When you’ve suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling.”

Besides the loss of his family and possessions, what else did Pi lose when the Tsimtsum sank? What did he gain? Give specific examples and cite evidence (quotes) from the novel to support your examples.

8. “It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards.”

What characters/animals in the novel affected Pi profoundly? How did they change Pi for the better? For the worse? Give specific examples and cite evidence (quotes) from the novel to support your examples.

Total: _________/40

Example Slides - Essay Prompt: In chapter eight, Pi describes the idea of Anthropomorphism. He says that humanbeings look at an animal and see a mirror. Pi looks very carefully at each of the animals in their constructed habitats and assigns human characteristics to each of the animals.

Analyze the use of Anthropomorphism in the novel. How do Pi’s experiences looking at animals as a window to human behavior give him the tools to survive on the lifeboat? Give specific examples and cite evidence (quotes) from the novel to support your examples.

8 Stellar

7 Good

6 Adequate

5 Inadequate

Slide Appearance: At least 10 slides + a title slide.Visually appealing and include large readable text. Slide Content: Includes a thesis and offers supportfrom the novel. Proper MLA formatting. Text on slidesis purposeful. Quotes: At least 3 quotes from the novel that supportyour thesis. Notes: Each slide has notes that discuss what you areplanning on presenting to the class Presentation Delivery: 5 minutes in length. Wellrehearsed and fluid. Clear, audible voice. Eye contact. Notes are elaborated on. Formal attire.