Student Essay on Understanding Reinvention

Understanding Reinvention

Summary:   Reinventing oneself is a complex process that takes place naturally through personal development. The following close analysis of different types of sources -- the book Life of Pi, the short story "The Prince and the Magician" by John Fowles, the song "Something Was Missing" in the musical "Annie," and the Boaz Yakin film "Remember the Titans" -- shows reinvention in this context includes the reinventing of perspectives, identity, and narratives, and all sources effectively communicate their viewpoints on the subject.

Reinvention is a change people make, mostly in the hope of a positive result that takes them to a better place than before. It is a complex process which takes place naturally through personal development. Reinvention can also be seen as defining yourself - not to be like your parents, and not to be like your friends, but to be yourself. We all must at one point reinvent some aspect of our lives, building on from the circumstance that we are put in to begin with. The text 'Life of Pi' has shaped my understanding of reinventions and it has come to include the reinventing of perspectives, identity and narratives. The concept of reinventing narratives is again explored through the short story "The Prince and the Magician" by John Fowles, and the notion of reinventing a new identity is demonstrated in the song "Something was missing" from the well-known American musical 'Annie'. Boaz Yakin's "remember the Titans" released in 2000 analyse the notion of reinventing perspectives through retelling a significant change that occurred in a town in America due to this form of reinvention. The composers of all these texts use a wide range of techniques which communicates each individual valid points of reinvention.

Through the complex processes of reinventions we are able to change life stories and narratives to sit our own needs. The concept of reinvention allows us to manipulate and distort the narrative we are presenting. In Life of Pi, Pi leaves us with two different stories, and the one we choose to believe reflects the way in which we view reality. We create stories to accept reality or disguise it. Pi has to change his story to suit his environment on the lifeboat, and then has to change it again to satisfy the Japanese investigators, by substituting people instead of animals. In doing so Pi shows how life is a story, and every time we retell the story, we reinvent it. "Doesn't the telling of something always become a story...doesn't that make life a story?" Martel questions the audience and asks why we are so eager to accept the second story on the sole basis that it fits into our limits of reality. Martel does this through post-modern techniques. He breaks the conventions of the traditional story telling style and uses techniques such as authorial intrusions to evoke a response, and encourage the responder to rethink and reflect, as well as reminding the reader of the author's role in storytelling. Other techniques such as instructions to the responder, show how he himself reinvents the way he tells the story.

The notion of reinvention is explored in the short story "The Prince and the Magician." This story deals with the way we view reality and aims to deliver a message to the reader. The simple, colloquial language and the simple sentence structure and dialogues keep the story moving and show the self-growth of the prince. The personification of death "he stood at the door and beckoned" is used to enhance the frighteningly real concept of reality and the choice. The prince is then able to reinvent his world to suit his own needs like his father had done before him. In the same way Pi explains how we are able to reinvent our world through the choices we make when we tell our stories, "the world isn't just the way it is, it is how we understand it..."

Our perspectives and society's perspective can be reinvented sometimes. When new information comes to life we are forces to reinvent our perspectives on the issue it concerns. In Life of Pi, Pi reinvents a new perspective on sharks. The sharks were first seen as a threat that he wished wasn't there - "the sharks are makos-swift, pointy-snouted predators '. However, near the end of the story, Pi doesn't see the sharks as fears, but as friend and food "They were like curmudgeonly old friends." Reinventions of perspectives can also occur naturally while growing up. Through the increase in knowledge, the same thing can be seen as very different things as you become older. At the beginning of the story, Pi reinvents his perspective on his zoo. At first he saw the zoo as a large place that was full of many wonders and fascinating things "It was a huge zoo." However as he grew older and became more familiar to the place, he finally saw the zoo as a small place "Now it's so small it fits in my head." The contrast emphasises how largely perspectives can change within just a few years.

In the same way Pi reinvents a significant perspective, as that of a tiger, Boaz Yakin's "Remember the Titans" shows the reinvention of a significant perspective of two opposite races. Based on a true story, this movie is set in 1971 Virginia in America, when a court orders a few high schools to integrate their students and facilities for the first time. A black coach is brought into replace a well-respected white high school football coach, and through his teaching of the importance of racial equality which involved many arguments and distress, the team members finally reinvent a new perspective of each other's races. This perspective is gradually passed on from people to people, resulting as a change of a town, which later then led to a reinvention of a whole entire country. There are many camera techniques used in this film. One of the techniques is seen at the end of the movie, in a scene which shows a flashback of the past that shows the separation of the races in the park. This shot then zooms out, panning to a wide-shot of the whole park, which then dissolves to the present where the races are mixed. This technique emphasises the significance of the change through juxtaposition.

Though seemingly simple a reinvention is rather a complex process an individual might undertake. This reinvention allows the person to 'reborn' as a completely different person, which helps the person to forget their miserable or dissatisfying past. The reinvention of identities can be seen in the set text Life of Pi, when Pi moves to a new school, he decides to change his name from 'Piscine' to 'Pi' in the hope of preventing ridicule from his fellow classmates. Changing his name created Pi a 'new beginning', giving him a positive outlook of change to his unhappy past. The post-modern techniques of italics and bold fonts to reinforce the actions are used. The reinvention of identity is also seen in Pi's portrayal of Richard Parker. The personification and dialogue used shows Pi's reinvention of Richard Parker's identity - "How good to see you Richard Parker." Pi's continuing reinvention is seen, as he becomes a non-vegetarian "Lord, to think I'm a strict vegetarian..." This also explains how our identities constantly change under the different circumstance we are in. As the novel progresses, the reader sees the decreasing dependence Pi has to his family.

The idea of reinventing identities is also seen in the song "Something was missing" from the musical 'Annie'. This song is about Mr. Warbux's attempt to reinvent himself by identifying the source of his dissatisfaction with his earlier life, and his effort of making a new beginning. The song begins with the man talking about the bright aspects of his life, which is contrasted by the rhetorical questions used to emphasise the dark side of his life. The phrase 'something was missing' is repeated in the chorus to emphasise the absence of his satisfaction with life. The metaphor "the world was my oyster" is used to show his perception of life. Mr. Warbux reinvents new aspects of himself, and discovers a new kind of happiness from adopting a girl. In a similar way, Pi reinvents a new kind of happiness through religion. This tells us that certain reinventions can bring eternal happiness to a person's life, and that they take a very long time to be accomplished. It also suggests that these important changes can result from unexpected things such as a little girl. Despite Mr. Warbux's great achievements that came through great effort and enormous struggle, his life-changing event came to him naturally and spontaneously without effort. This also implies the idea that happiness comes naturally, and cannot be forced to come to you through your own struggles.

In conclusion, reinventions are far from simple experiences endured by individuals. My understanding of reinventing have lead me to believe that it is a rather complex process with o guaranteed result and thus must be carefully thought through. The term reinvention has come to include the reinventing of perspectives, identity and narratives. The set text 'Life of Pi', and a variety of other texts including 'The Prince and the Magician' by John Fowles, Boaz Yakin's 'Remember the Titans' have shaped m understanding. All composers however have their own distinct view on the topic and are able to effectively communicate their opinions through the variety of texts.