Reinvention

“How has your understanding of Reinventions 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 concept of reinvention before starting any project on it was quite limited. This was based on the fact that prior to studying any text, I had never really needed to consider what it was and its implications. One of the main concepts of reinvention is that reinvention is a reaction to a change in circumstance. The set text, “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel and the stimulus booklet’s text, “Madonna’s Reinventions” explore this concept. The novel, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, also expresses this notion of reinvention. The study of these three texts has helped shape and broadens understanding of the concept of Reinvention and its affects on the day to day lives of everyone.

Pi reinvents his eating habits as a reaction to his circumstances where he must eat fish and other sea life to survive. He increasingly becomes blood thirsty as his dire situation and insatiable hunger lead him to kill and eat all parts of fish and turtles, “…To think that when I was a child I always shuddered when I snapped a banana because it sounded to me like the breaking of an animals neck. I descended to a level of savagery I never imagined possible (pg 197)…I took a sip [of blood]…I drank the blood till the last drop. (pg 202)” The use of simile allows the reader to see how much Pi reinvents himself in order to adapt to his situation by showing his previous perception of sounds and relating them to animals. The references to Pi’s reactions, and the comparison to the breaking of animals’ necks, conveys to the reader the degree to which an individual can change in the reinvention of himself in reacting, and adapting to circumstances.

Similarly, “Madonna’s Reinventions” lets the viewer gain insights as to how changes in circumstances and society’s expectations have led her to reinvent herself physically and visually. This is contrasted when the picture of Madonna on the front of �Max’ magazine is compared to her on the cover of “Interview” and “Good Housekeeping.” On the cover of “Max” she has dyed her hair a fluorescent yellow, is wearing bright red lipstick and is donned in a off-the-shoulder top in order to convey a message of youth, extremity and sensuality. However, on the cover of “Interview” Madonna is wearing conservative clothing and smiling towards the viewer, rather than pouting. The image from �Good Housekeeping’ gives her a natural hair colour, a mature look and has the title “Madonna Grows Up” to accentuate this reinvention of her, from teen star to mature mother. This also highlights that celebrities, such as Madonna, are forced to reinvent themselves constantly due to the public nature of their professions and the expectations society places upon them. These two texts have deepened my understanding of Reinventions by teaching me that people must reinvent themselves as a reaction to change and expectations.

My understanding of reinvention has been broaden by the notion that reinvention of relationships is a reaction of a change in circumstance. This concept is identifiable in the set text, and “The Kite Runner.” In “Life of Pi”, Pi’s fear of tigers is shown when his father shows him the goat being eaten by the tiger, “ �[Pi’s Father] Tigers are very dangerous…you are never- under any circumstances- to touch a tiger…Is that clear?...Piscine?’ I nodded even more vigorously.” As the novel progresses and Pi is living on a lifeboat with Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger, Pi is forced to make contact with him and change his relationship with the animal. Pi is afraid of Parker at first, but he then realises that he must reinvent his relationship with him in order to survive his ordeal. After Pi hears the tiger’s “prusten”, a sound indicating harmless intentions, he decides that he must take responsibility of his situation and his life by training Richard Parker, “Was I not the zookeeper’s son?...Any reward greater than life? Any punishment worse than death? ... Let the trumpets blare. Let the drums roll, let the show begin. (pg 165)” The use of rhetorical questions and anaphora indicate Pi’s confidence and determination in order to reinvent his relationship with the tiger in order to survive. Pi’s relationship with Richard Parker is taken to the next level of mateship when, after both are blinded, Richard Parker kills the French chef who comes on board with cannibalistic intentions, “[French cook] “…your heart is with me…and your liver and you flesh. (pg 255)” Pi’s