Tigers, Humans and Animots

Abstract

This article tracks the spoor of the tiger within recent literary imagination before turning to the narrative coils in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (2003), where a young boy, Pi, is stranded on a lifeboat with Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. A tiger, as Margaret Attwood notes, “that burns bright … that glows with life-force, that roars and rips things apart”, “[a] tiger, that disappears without a trace into a jungle once land is reached leaving only a penned template behind”. In the course of this discussion I will examine Jacques Derrida’s notion of “absolute hospitality” toward the other as well as the idea of animot as a benign form of othering. Coupled to Derrida’s ideas will be those of René Girard’s exposition of mimetic rivalry, the sacrificial victim, and scapegoating.

Opsomming
Hierdie artikel sny die spoor van die tier in resente literêre verbeelding voor dit ’n draai maak by die narratiewe kinkels in Yann Martel se Life of Pi (2003), waar ‘n jong seun, Pi, vasgekeer is in ’n reddingsbootjie saam met Richard Parker, ‘n 450-pond Bengaalse tier. ‘n Tier wat, in Margaret Attwood se woorde, “burns bright … that glows with life-force, that roars and rips things apart”. ’n Tier wat, sodra hulle voet aan wal sit, spoorloos in ’n oerwoud in verdwyn en net ’n neergepende sjabloon agterlaat. In die loop van hierdie bespreking ondersoek ek Jacques Derrida se opvatting van “absolute gasvryheid” teenoor die ander asook die begrip animot as goedaardige vorm van ver-andering. Begrippe vervat in René Girard se eksposisie van mimetiese wedywering, die slagoffer, en versondebokking word met dié van Derrida in verband gebring.