Midterm Essay

Title Due to the common notion that mathematics and English are an unlikely combination, the connections between them are either overlooked or disregarded. However, the existing parallels between the diverse fields may be significant in order to develop a deeper understanding of a literary work’s context. An exploration of these parallels aims to analyze the significance that mathematics plays within literature. In addition, this exploration aims to bridge the gap between the fields’ perceived differences through the genre known as mathematical fiction. In particular, Parrot’s Theorem by Denis Guedj utilizes the components of the mathematical fiction genre in order to articulate the story behind mathematics. Mathematical fiction can be

Pierre Ruche and Elgar Grosrouvre. During the arrival of Grosrouvre’s first letter, Mr. Ruche is puzzled because he “didn’t know anyone in Brazil, let alone in Manaus, … [but] it was certainly addressed to him, but there was no street number and the name of the shop was strange: ‘1001’ instead of ‘A Thousand and One’” (Guedj 2). While “1001” and “a thousand and one” indicate the same number, Guedj’s word play hints that Mr. Ruche prefers words over numbers and Grosrouvre prefers numbers over words. Similar to how light and dark are binary opposites, words and numbers (or literature and mathematics) can be described as binary opposites as

Ruche’s first name (Pierre) as a delightful mathematical-linguistic pun, πr, pronounced “pee-air” (in French)” (AMS REVIEW). While Grosouvre uses the number ‘1001’ for Mr. Ruche’s bookstore and calls him πr, Guedj uses Grosouvre to symbolize the mathematical side of the coin. In contrast, as Grosouvre claims “And knowing how little maths interests you, I imagine you will never read one of these books” (Guedj 3) in his letter, it becomes evident that Mr. Ruche symbolizes the literary side of the coin. Even though it is evident that Mr. Ruche and Grosourvre have opposing views and preferences, their binary opposition enables “the relation to one another and … function within a larger system of the overall environment” (BINARY) to be explored throughout the