Life Of Pi And Religion

In the article “Redefining Myth and Religion: Introduction to a Conversation,” Dr. Loyal D. Rue discusses how science, religion, and myth are related and how they coexist. Some people may argue that science and religion should not coincide and that they are opposites. However, Rue argues, “…In an ideal world, the vocabulary of science would inform the myth that binds together the culture.” In this statement, Rue claims that science can be used to help explain the supernatural phenomena that religion and myths describe. Science is not anti-religion; it helps us to explain religion in ways that humans can understand.

In Life of Pi, his long journey and ardent will to stay alive can alone discribe pi’s transformation from a confused and sheltered boy, into a young man who is now mentally broke but somehow uses his psychological experience to strengthen himself. Pi’s spirituality and religion pushes the reader to shift its perspective.

The belief in a higher power is one of the key components in the Life of Pi and in the lives of people all over the world. This belief in a higher power or God contributes to strife including conflict between different religions, religious extremists, and the relationship between government and religion.

“The Real Story in Life of Pi
The difference between fiction and reality is not always evident to those who are unable or unwilling to recognize the difference.”

Claim: In the book the author takes time to describe details. He thoroughly explains the coming of Pi, his childhood, his journey, and his experience.

-The author meets Pi’s two children and declares Pi’s story has a happy ending. Part 2: - Pi finds himself on the lifeboat, and tries to rescue Richard Parker before he realizes the danger of having a tiger on board. HE doesn’t realize that despite the danger, Parker saves him from the other animals. - The narrator returns to the night of the official sinking and tells the story of how Pi was able to escape the boat alive.

When writing, authors focus on what they wish for their audience to gain from the story, what they want the readers to learn from the actions and thoughts of the narrator. In The Life of Pi Yann Martel uses Pi and his experiences whether the audience believes Pi’s grand story of his survival or not, to impart upon them the relativity of truth. In the beginning this is shown threw Pi’s explorations with different religions already guiding the reader to consider what truth means with his thoughts on the different religions. It is later explored in Pi’s telling of what occurred to him while shipwrecked to the officials and their reactions to his tale. Especially once it becomes clear that the few differences between the stories were the lack of animals in one. Pi asks the officials which story they prefer; the officials can choose to believe whichever story they prefer, and that version becomes the truth to them.

Pi knows that science and research cannot fully explain the spiritual beauties he discovers throughout his life. He also knows that religion cannot substantiate scientific truth. Pi must understand the two subjects together in order to comprehend the complexity of the world.

Pi (and by extension, the author, Yann Martel) seems to think that what should compel one to believe a story is whether the story is a good one – whether it helps readers “see higher or further or differently”. Story and narrative automatically cause viewpoint, or perspective. Perspective as a literary device is a result of stories with framed narration. Is this narrator trustworthy, asks the reader in that ageless dilemma, can I believe what is written? As a form of narration, it both enriches and challenges perspectives on truth. Truth, it seems to say, can also be multi-faceted, appearing in many viewpoints.

On its surface, Martel’s Life of Pi proceeds as a far-fetched yet not completely unbelievable tale about a young Indian boy named Pi who survives after two hundred twenty-seven days on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. It is an uplifting and entertaining story, with a few themes about companionship and survival sprinkled throughout. The ending, however, reveals a second story – a more realistic and dark account replacing the animals from the beginning with crude human counterparts. Suddenly, Life of Pi becomes more than an inspiring tale and transforms into a point to be made about rationality, faith, and how storytelling correlates the two. The point of the book is not for the reader to decide which

Mackenzie Skidmore Ms. Sproul 9/2/14 Adv. English 10 Life of Pi: Essay In the book , Life of Pi: A Novel, Pi grows as a result of many factors. The three main elements of Pi’s transformation are religion, fear, and coming of age.

In chapter one, two themes stand out as ones that seem to be included throughout the novel; fighting to live and religion. Towards the end of the chapter, the narrator speaks of extensive injuries, including anemia, dark urine, and leg swelling. These, along with the others mentioned seem to be a sign that Pi had to survive a very difficult situation. He would have had to fight hard to live through that situation, so he must have a strong will to live. Religion seems to play a large role in the Pi’s life, based on the first chapter. He studied religion in post-secondary, and mentions that he has odd religious practices. For someone to study religion, it must be a large part of their life. Also, if he has been through a life-threatening situation,

Throughout his life, the protagonist in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi had the privilege to explore and practice multiple religions. Pi was first introduced to religion as a baby, when his Auntie Rohini brought him to visit a Hindu temple, an act he described as a Hindu rite of passage. Entranced by the colours and scents the temple had to offer, Pi describes the experience as “A germ of religious exaltation, no bigger than a mustard seed, was sown in me and left germinate. It has never stopped growing since that day” (52). Through this statement, Pi reflects his growing love and interest in Hinduism claiming that the universe makes sense to him through Hindu eyes, “…I have been a Hindu all my life. With its notions in mind I see my place in the universe” (54). Pi’s religious interest does not stop at Hinduism as he continues to explore

Pi uses his profound faith in God to obtain the necessary strength and willpower to survive independently in the vast Pacific Ocean for 227 days in a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger. When he is stranded he still continues to believe in god, it helps to survive the multiple obstacles that he encounters over the course of his journey. His studies in religions serve as a defensive safeguard against the harsh situation that he has been thrown into. In his long, dangerous, and lonely exploration he never once questions his faith. Pi astonishingly continues all his religious beliefs he does his daily prayers, which help to sustain his sanity and hope. He is constantly faced with difficulties ranging from salt-water boils, death by a tiger, cold,

Throughout time, humans have written books based on various genres in an effort to tell a story, whether it is fact or fiction. Storytelling is one of the most beautiful ways to express ideas, and creative thoughts, involving characters, settings, to create a plot. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, cleverly incorporates ambiguity from the omission of information, and lack of resolution. These aspects in turn, create the ambiguity, which leaves the reader to interpret the text in anyway. The ambiguity formed develops the significance of Pi’s storytelling, to the author and the readers. The post-modern aspects in Life of Pi, leave many things open to interpretation based on Pi’s storytelling ability.