It was dark still, but there was enough light to see by. Light on pandemonium it was.
Nature can put on a thrilling
show. The stage is vast, the lighting is dramatic, the extras are innumerable, and the budget for special effects
is absolutely unlimited. What I had before me was a spectacle of wind and water, an earthquake of the senses,
that even Hollywood couldn't orchestrate. But the earthquake stopped at the ground beneath my feet. The
ground beneath my feet was solid. I was a spectator safely ensconced in his seat.
It was when I looked up at a lifeboat on the bridge castle that I started to worry. The lifeboat wasn't
hanging straight down. It was leaning in from its davits. I turned and looked at my hands. My knuckles.
were white. The thing was, I wasn't holding on so tightly because of the weather, but because otherwise
I would fall in towards the ship. The ship was listing to port, to the other side. It wasn't a severe list, but
enough to surprise me. When I looked overboard the drop wasn't sheer any more. I could see the ship’s
great black side.
A shiver of cold went through me. I decided it was a storm after all. Time to return to safety. I let
go, hotfooted it to the wall, moved over and pulled open the door.
Inside the ship, there were noises. Deep structural groans. I stumbled and fell.
No harm done. I got up. With the help of the handrails I went down the stairwell four steps at a time. I
had gone down just one level when I saw water Lots of water It was blocking my way. It was surging from
below like a riotous crowd, raging, frothing and boiling. Stairs vanished into watery darkness. I couldn't
believe my eyes. What was this water doing here? Where had it come from? I stood nailed to the spot,
frightened and incredulous and ignorant of what I should do next. Down there was where my family was.
I ran up the stairs. I got to the main deck. The weather wasn't entertaining any more. I was very afraid.
Now it was plain and obvious: the ship was listing badly. And it wasn't level the other way either. There
was a noticeable incline going from bow to stern. I looked overboard. The water didn't look to be eighty
feet away. The ship was sinking. My mind could hardly conceive it. It was as unbelievable as the moon
catching fire.
Where were the officers and the crew? What were they doing? Towards the bow I saw some men
running in the gloom. I thought I saw some animals too, but I dismissed the sight as illusion crafted
by rain and shadow. We had the hatch covers over their bay pulled open when the weather was
good, but at all times the animals were kept confined to their cages. These were dangerous wild
animals we were transporting, not farm livestock. Above me, on the bridge, I thought I heard some
men shouting.
The ship shook and there was that sound, the monstrous metallic burp. What was it? Was it the collective
scream of humans and animals protesting their oncoming death? Was it the ship itself giving up the ghost?
I fell oven I got to my feet. I looked overboard again. The sea was rising. The waves were getting closer.
We were sinking fast.
I clearly heard monkeys shrieking. Something was shaking the deck. A gaur — an Indian wild ox -
exploded out of the rain and thundered by me, terrified out of control berserk. I looked at it,
dumbstruck and amazed. Who in God's name had let it out?
From Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
In groups of three, discuss and make comments for class discussion on:
a the underlined phrases
b the italicised phrases
c the words in bold
d how the description changes during the course of the passage
e how an atmosphere of fear is created.
In the same style (short sentences and questions for dramatic effect) and using a range of powerful
adjectives and verbs, write approximately another 150 words to continue the description of the sinking of
the ship and the 'pandemonium' on board. Read it to the class.