Life Of Pi And Invictus Visual Analysis

Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is a novel about a young boy, Pi, trapped with a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker who survive together in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days. The central theme of the novel is Pi’s faith in God, which proves to be a crucial part of his survival during the extreme situation. In the book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster, the author talks about the importance of literary elements such as symbols, geography, and stories to a literary piece. These elements are used in Life of Pi to develop its compelling story about growing up.

In the documentary “Evolution of a Criminal” by Darius Clark Monroe, the main character defies all odds and in the lyrical poem entitled “Invictus” written by William Ernest Henley, the narrator uses internal strength and courage to survive. While the main characters endured different paths in life, the authors illustrate similar themes. Their themes portray the significance of never giving up to overcome adversity.

In the beginning, God created the Earth. He created the land, the sea, the sky, and all that live among them. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi a young boy named Pi Patel encounters the Earth in its rawest form when he is stranded at sea with only a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker and a handful of other animals as shipmates. Through the use of biblical allusion, the significance of water, and symbolism, Life of Pi shows readers that God is present in all things and through faith, one can overcome all trials.

The 1998 film Pi, written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, is full of contradicting themes, such as religion, mathematics, mysticism and their relationship to the universe. The main character, Max Cohen, is a genius-level number theorist, out of work and living in a rundown apartment in Chinatown of New York City. Obsessed with his passion, he firmly believes that all things in the natural world are created through various numerical patterns, and if their codes can be cracked, they can be truly understood. This is the first and most predominant theme introduced in the story: the complex dynamic between the rigorous structure of mathematics and the mystical and undefined makeup of the known universe (Smalley). In the words of Max himself,

A time of difficulties always comes and goes and it has always been known to stay strong during those times. This, in many ways, connects to countless people, including great writers who often describe their difficult times through acting or other forms of writing. William Ernest Henley was an author who used his challenges to write a poem. This was a dramatic but motivational poem that heavily used rhetorical devices to describe how he managed through his darkest times. William Ernest Henley took use of personification, connotation, and alliteration in the poem “Invictus” to prove that anyone can overcome obstacles by staying strong and believing in themselves.

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

Humans generally face struggles in their lifetime. Such struggles could be within themselves or with someone or something else but commonly stem from some sort of opposition in lifestyle. In Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, Pi’s passion for personal survival conflicts with his moral obligations to himself internally, morphing his external character.

“It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names.” This mighty quote, plummets out of the novel Life of Pi. Its idea of the story that Yann Martel tells in this novel is of a journey that makes the story sound realistic. It’s undoubtful that only a master storyteller, like Yann Martel himself, could write such dominant and lifting quotes. Martel gives us the novel Life of Pi, which is a coming of age story about a young boy who reaches maturity through tragic, but uplifting loss and miraculous survival. The story, Life of Pi, is reflected apron on a wild journey that comes with many adventures, tragics, some laughs, and also survival.

“The Classical Hollywood Style Combined with the Taoist Philosophy in Ang Lee’s film, Life of Pi (2012) Gained Favorable International Attention” “The Life of Pi” released on November 12th, 2012 has beautifully orchestrated spiritual themes and impressive visual effects of cinematography about a young boys struggle to stay alive while stranded out at sea. This archetypal journey resonated themes that illustrate the power of life’s force, the human desire for companionship, and storytelling as a strategy for self-preservation. Based upon a national best-selling book by Yann Martel in 2001, this novel was considered un-filmable amongst film experts (Ashdown, 2013). However, Ang Lee thought differently.

In Life of Pi, Yann Martel weaving a wondrous tale of God, a shipwreck, and the nature of storytelling, but the film version, marvelously made by Ang Lee, contains several significant inconsistencies with the book. Although the general structure of the story is the same in both versions, the limitations of film-making and the realities of what makes a film entertaining create the few changes between the two versions.

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.

Pi’s use of metaphorical language to describe his faith as a ‘house, which has many rooms.’ establishes how the protagonist’s experience to new beliefs and new perspectives has greatly influenced his interpretation of religion. This lets adherents understand that both the perspectives of Pi’s mother and father, combined with his own values and experiences of new belief systems have influenced his altered outlook. Equally the Poem ‘Invictus’ composed by William Ernst hill explores acceptance, spiritual dominance and the physical and emotional trauma endured by the composer Hill.

Humanity tends to praise an individual for their exceptional perseverance, but instead, society should begin acknowledging the real culprits: the mind and resilience of those who survive the extraordinary. Hidden within the allegory, Life of Pi, is an ode to the mind and human resilience, and in order for one to unearth this buried treasure, they must dig a little deeper. Yann Martel’s, the author, protagonist holds onto life with the support of his mind and body. Life of Pi is an ode to the human mind and resilience by depicting Pi’s manipulation of Richard Parker, Pi’s ability to use his mind to stay sane within the harsh conditions accompanying life at sea, and portraying the human body’s ability to bounce back from the point of death.

In Shakespeare’s, “The Tragedy of Hamlet”, the protagonist, Hamlet, is a highly intelligent and perceptive man. His life turns awry after the death of his father and Hamlet faces his greatest moral dilemma. Likewise, Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” chronicles the life of a young Indian boy stranded on a boat with a Bengal tiger for 227 days with only his faith to keep him going. Both Piscine Patel and Prince Hamlet were deeply religious, however, their outlooks and philosophies on life were vastly different. Hamlet struggled to trust others, having only a true confidant in Horatio. Whilst Pi on the other hand, befriends everyone, even those who have opposing beliefs to him.

Karanvir Dhami Ms. Yu ENG3U March 7, 2011 Symbolism in Life of Pi In Life of Pi there are many literary devices used to present the different themes in the novel. The main literary device used in Life of Pi is symbolism. Symbolism is often used to represent an object to something else, either by association or by resemblance. Most of the names of animals, objects and even humans in this novel have a symbolic meaning. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, symbolism such as pi’s name, the colour orange and the algae island, are used throughout the novel to provide Pi with protection to help him either survive or overcome his emotional pain. The mathematical pi is undefined, infinite and unable to be understood, just like Piscine Patel.