Martel uses religion, such as Catholicism, to give Pi a reason and ability to survive in Life of Pi, shown in Christian symbolism, Pi’s introduction and reliance on religion, and his persistence in keeping his faith throughout his ordeal. Martel used substantial amounts of symbolism in his book to prove a point about how life relates to faith and religion. There are several ways Pi relied on his faith throughout the book. There are also several reasons why Pi stayed faithful during his ordeal in the Pacific.
Catholicism has many symbols, with a deeper meaning usually found in the Bible. One such symbol is the Virgin Mary. As the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary represents purity and freedom from sin, because she was born free of sin (Carnagie et al). The cross is also the most famous symbol of Christianity, and represents the belief that Jesus was crucified for the sin of man (Carnagie et al). Two other symbols are the fish, which was a simple way for Christians to identify themselves in the early days of Christianity, and the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit (Carnagie et al). These are used several times throughout Life of Pi. For instance, just after the Tsimtsum wrecks, Pi observes an
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Martel demonstrated this well with Christian symbolism throughout the novel. Without religion, it is safe to say Pi couldn’t have survived. It gave Pi another way of rationalizing his story and helped him to explain it to others, such as the Japanese men. Faith was Pi’s guiding light through the Pacific Ocean, giving him the tools to survive. One could learn a lesson about faith from Pi - even in what appears to be the worst possible scenario, where no one else is around to offer support or assistance, religious belief will always be with someone, and may even be the reason they are able to
In the book Life of Pi the author Yann Martel wrote about a young boy named Pi Patel surviving on a lifeboat by himself. Throughout the entire book Pi was very close to religion and in the end his religions were the main reason he had survived. At the start of the book Yann Martel introduces three religions, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. There are three main points that aided in Pi’s survival. One being that Pi was open to religions and started to follow the Islamic faith. The second reason is that Islam believed that one should pray five times a day, and Pi did exactly this. The last reason is that the religion
Throughout the novel, Pi’s thoughts reveal and internal struggle between his desire to live and his own beliefs to what is morally right. Pi grows up on varying religious viewpoints because he studies different religions. His religious diversity forms a moral standard of “dignity not …depravity” (Martel 71). He values dignity and character over corruption of morals initially because he sees
In the novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, the theme of truth is seen most prominently in the last part of the book when main character, Piscine Patel is being interviewed by two Japanese men. Pi defines truth as being relative and an invention of man, when the believability of his story is questioned. He argues that even stories, such as his, can still be true to some no matter how difficult to believe they are.
The way Pi acts throughout his journey suggests that having faith is one of the most important practises to learn as it can give an individual hope. Pi has a strong connection to all his practising faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Society is set to have many unspoken rules that we must abide by to
In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, religion relates to his ability to survive, as Pi struggles through many different challenges that are thrown in his direction. Pi goes through daily battles while stuck on the boat that seem to last forever. In the story, Pi has to learn to adapt and overcome this war he's stuck in. During the crusades, religions get pushed around and forced into dire situations leaving them with only the hope that they will survive.
“I have a story to make you believe in God” (Martel ix). However, the interpretation of “God” is very fluid. There are hundreds of religions throughout the world, each of which has thousands of followers. The four main ones however, are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. All but one, Buddhism, focus on one or more God(s). In Yann Martel’s book, Life of Pi, Pi breaks the social norm and follows all four religions as opposed to one. Throughout the novel, Pi follows Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, while subconsciously practicing Buddhism.
Bengali polymath, Rabindranath Tagore, once said “you can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the protagonist, Pi, faces many challenges at sea while being accompanied by a tiger by the name of Richard Parker. This tiger, though a nuisance, proves to be essential in the role of Pi’s survival. Throughout the story, Richard Parker symbolizes survival, a reflection of Pi, and a being of God.
The Life of Pi is a book filled with many fantasy adventures that will have an excellent impact on what you may or not believe in. This novel was published in 2001 by author Yann Martel. Yann Martel is a writer who is trying to make sense of life, just like any other human being trying to deal with everyday obstacles. In this book we see that the protagonist, Piscine Molitor also known as Pi takes us through an adventure that will question our faith in religion. Pi is not pleased by only following his ancestors’ beliefs; he believes that there is much more to religion. In The life of Pi we see that Pi argues amongst his family in what he wants to believe in. His father is not at all religious and Pi has taken up religion as a hobby. Now Pi is a Hindu, Muslim and a Christian and he undergoes a tragedy, a shipwreck with his family on voyage to Canada from India. As he goes through this process it puts his faith to the test. At the time of this voyage he is a teenager exploring different beliefs and he sees nothing wrong with believing in three different religions. We can argue that there is a war between religion and science. Pi on the other hand does not argue with those of other beliefs, he calls the atheists his brethrens as well. “It was my first clue that atheist are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks of faith. Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry
Pi’s belief system was an anchor for his thoughts and experiences and his faith in God prepared him for the Initiation stage of the Hero’s Journey.
At the beginning of the novel, Pi’s story is described as “a story that will make you believe in God.” Writer himself Yann Martel was going thru his writers crisis, traveling world looking for a good story to write something about. Martel found a man who told his story. His man named Piscine Molitor Patel who is a practicing follower of three religions: Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. For this reason, extremely mature boy must constantly fight the lack of tolerance and understanding in his surroundings. While in the case of adult people the lack of a specific decision on the faith can be perceived as humiliating, but Pi is fully justified because of his young age. His desire is to find the road to the creator will be seriously tested during
In the beginning of the Life of Pi, Yann Martel establishes his theme of truth being relative through the main character, Pi. When Pi was confronted about worshiping three different religions, he says,
Due to Pi’s devotion to all of his faiths, particularly Hinduism, not only changed how he thought about his current situation, but also changed how he would think about every single situation after in Martel’s Life of Pi.
It is difficult to talk about the Life of Pi text without making a reference to faith, and the same goes with explaining Pi’s survival. Pi’s belief in pluralism and acceptance of the three religions, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam aid his future and is a crucial part of his survival at sea. His faith in knowing “so long as god is with me, I will not die” gives him the mental strength and will power to survive his ordeal. Even in the middle of the ocean, Pi practices all his religious rituals such as ‘‘solitary masses without consecrated Communion Hosts’’
Martel (2002:19) “I know zoos are no longer in people good graces and religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both”. Through this quote the reader notice that there are aspects related between zoology and religion in Life of Pi. In the beginning of the novel we are introduced to zoology and religion. The author make it clear to the reader that Pi had majors in both subjects zoology and religion and later use that knowledge to help him do things one can say is impossible.
The evident motif of religion plays a major factor in Pi’s life; however the author chooses not to focus on one religion specifically but instead enforces a glorification of more religions. Martel creates a main character who is a curious young boy who decides to learn about Christianity, Hinduism and Islam all at once. Even though Pi is primarily