Life of Pi discussion

...or read Edgar Allen Poe's novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket".

Andrea wrote: "... I could have just googled the name Richard Parker, but I was kind of busy reading the book at the time ..."

Thanks a lot Andrea, this is real insightful. I read both novels and I completely forgot about the Richard Parker character by the time I was reading the Life of Pi. But apparently it's even more bizarre then that:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_...

I guess if your name is Richard Parker you really shouldn't travel by sea.

Thanks for the info Andrea! I had no idea!

Pear Tree Church is about a mile from where I used to live and has a memorial to Richard Parker and the "Mignonette" in the churchyard, so I was aware of two Richard Parkers when I read "Life of Pi".
I don't think E A Poe could foretell the future. I do think he is worth reading. Over-achievers could find something much more challenging and less enjoyable.

I love EAP, mostly read his poems. Thanks for the info. will have to look up the story.

This is mentioned in the Harvard "Justice" lectures available for free online. I think they were actually rescued very shortly after, if I remember rightly one of the men wrote "As we were having our breakfast we saw the boat" or something along those lines.

You can guess what he meant by "breakfast".

Thank you Andrea! I didn't know this.

Interesting! I read the book months ago and really enjoyed it. I only read a little EAP in high school many years ago, so would never have picked up on the connection. Thanks for sharing!

Great insight. Thank you!!

Afraid I always assumed Richard Parker was named after the 1884 incident as I remembered R v Dudley and Stephens from law school.

I realize I'm about 10 years late, but I thought it was worth a mention that in addition to EAP writing about a Richard Parker, cannibalism, stranded at sea, etc. the main character, Arthur Gordon Pym also has a dog named "Tiger."