The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation, but more importantly, the will to survive. It is the will to survive that establishes a sense of hope and that same hope develops a coping mechanism called faith. Faith can save one in many situations and it can make one’s appalling experiences bitterly satisfying. In Yann Martel’s Life Of Pi, the protagonist, Pi Patel, loses his family and homeland making him more faithful, which ultimately allows him to conquer his fears in the middle of the ocean, thus increasing his devotion towards his faith. Throughout his life, Pi struggles to survive yet manages to overcome many traumatic situations by using faith as a coping mechanism, which later allows him to heal from his losses. Pi loses his family and homeland, but he is able to find a deeper understanding of his values by being marooned in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Pi has lost everything thus he is able to better understand himself and his faith, because that makes his life more meaningful. When …show more content…
His faith in God proves to be a crucial part of his survival as it guides him through his traumatic experiences therefore, Pi utilizes his faith in God to obtain the required strength to survive independently in the Pacific Ocean. For example, when Pi is stranded alone in the ocean without any family or friends, he turns to God in order to cope with dreadful situations. Pi creates a list of the things which he can utilize for survival purposes, he includes “1 God” (146), into his survival manual. By adding God into a list of survival needs, Pi illustrates that he finds his faith to be an essential part of his survival and that his faith in God helps him conquer many hurdles in his way. Although his faith in God helps him survive during his time in the ocean, that same faith helps him assimilate back into
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 the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel, we see Pi’s character develop both emotionally and spiritually through the process described in Joseph Campbell’s the Hero’s Journey. Throughout the journey, we see Pi find his faith in his Ordinary Life, lose it during his Ordeal, and rediscover it when he has his Return with the Elixir.
There are many conventional methods to coping with one’s fears but the most effective is by facing it. In the novel, Life of Pi, the main character, Pi, is one of astonishment; even through the darkest points in his life, he is still able to somehow remain both faithful and hopeful. Pi clings to his religious faith as a way of coping with his fears as opposed to acknowledging conventional methods. He is able to do so through praying, storytelling and various interpretations.
In his novel, Life of Pi, Yann Martel (2001) conveys a complex story of religious encounters that takes place within Pi’s unconscious mind. Faith is especially vital to Pi during the worst of times, as the three religions he has learned, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, give Pi guidance during his traumatic journey. Throughout the course of the narrative, Pi is stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. An essential portion of the novel is revealed to us when Pi finds himself yelling at the ocean, which represents God. This passage is significant because Pi begins to lose hope in surviving until he comes upon a free-floating island the next day.
The effect of religion on Pi is very significant throughout his journey. Pi overcomes depression, hunger, thirst, and fear, on the boat with the unique help of Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Pi is nourished during his journey when he encounters the algae island, a symbol of faith. Pi encounters the algae island after traveling long and far. At this point, Pi is feeling desperate
Life is defined by adversity. One never truly comprehends the beauty of life until one comes close to losing it. We are put through many hardships in life, whether we are prepared or not, and we learn to understand and deal with those issues along the way; adapting to these situations could include learning how to swim or what animals eat. In Yann Martel’s novel Life Of Pi, Pi Patel is contrasted with the experienced sailor Deborah Kiley by entrusting faith, the use of his knowledge, and adaptation to the situation to overcome obstacles beyond his control.
Although he is suffering at the sea, he never doubts his gods’ power. He believes his gods will eventually save him from the pain. That’s why he never stops praying, worshiping his gods. Therefore, it is an important spirit that helps Pi to survive at the
With these religions, Pi decides that he believes in God, not in a specific version of God. This belief in God carries him throughout his journey on the lifeboat. On the lifeboat, Pi struggles to force himself to work and improve his situation on the boat. However, eventually through God, Pi forces himself to begin to actually try to survive. In one of his nights of terror, Pi realizes and states “No!
Pi’s faith keeps him alive and sane. His prayers grounded him from slipping into madness during his suffering on the lifeboat. It keeps him from giving into his vivid hallucinations. Religion is Piscine’s
In the book Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, the protagonist becomes marooned in a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with only several zoo animals and his analytical mind to keep him company. Piscine Molitor Patel or otherwise known as Pi Patel, uses religion as he escape route and his knowledge of animal behavior to turn a horrendous ordeal into something survivable. Yann Martel states that out of all 100 chapters of his novel, that chapters 21 and 22 are the core of his book. These two philosophical chapters alone help define Pi’s story and how everyone should believe ‘the better story’. Even those these two chapters are very short, they are the heart of the novel because it highlights religion in general, the qualities of an agnostic or atheist individual and how everyone should choose to believe in what Martel calls “the better story” (Martel 63).
This novel is about faith and the fact that Pi had strong faith was very valuable because it helped him being stranded at sea. Faith helped him form a routine to keep him busy and also his prayers gave him hope. Pi’s religion provided a way of escape from the brutal reality that he was eventually going to die.
Him saying that he cannot bear it paints a picture in the readers mind that Pi is casting all of his fear and worries on his gods with the knowledge that they will protect him. Here, religion represents a support system that is necessary for survival. When Pi made an inventory list of what was on the boat, his inclusion of “1 God” (146) demonstrates that Pi believes that his gods are always with him. When Pi details his daily routine, he includes activities like prayers at multiple points of the day and relaxation (190-191). This is critical because it entails his consistent inclusion of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity and the practices thereof; in addition to this, his creation of a daily ritual illustrates his implementation of a system that incorporates elements of his religions as it relates to his
Could you imagine being stranded in a lifeboat for over 200 days with no human company and nothing but faith in God to guide you? This was a reality for Piscine Pi Patel in the novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. In the novel, Pi and his family are traveling overseas when their ship mysteriously sinks. After the sinking of the massive boat, Pi is stranded in a small lifeboat for over 200 days with no one but a bengal tiger for company. In order to represent the extreme situation Pi was in, I created an image called Necessary Faith.
Throughout the novel, Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel it introduces the characters Pi a human boy who is stranded at sea and Richard Parker the tiger, who accompanies him on his journey. The story is centered upon Pi and how he was able to heroically survive 227 days at sea and the struggles he had to overcome. In the story, faith plays a significant role in Pi’s personality and demonstrates how he was able to overcome his hardships through faith. From this, reader’s can evaluate their own faith based on the significance of Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. The point i’m trying to prove is how throughout the story you can see how faith plays a significant role in shaping Pi’s personality.
“Survival is the ability to swim in strange water” (Frank Herbert). Pi demonstrated life on the Pacific as a test of all aspects. Life on the Pacific tested his physical endurance, he was lost for two-hundred and seventy seven days. In that time, Pi demonstrates his faith towards God, himself, and Richard Parker. Pi develops a robust bond with Richard Parker, then connecting spiritually. Survival in the novel Life of Pi is etched in the deepest parts of the story. These aspects of the novel are depicted through personal and self-reflection within himself. Pi survives because of his strength, faith and a close relationship with Richard Parker.