Life Of Pi Argumentative Essay

What happens when an Individual seeks union with divinity Where the protagonist Piscine Molitor Patel “Pi” is visited by the most extraordinary dreams, trances, visions, thoughts, sensations, and remembrances. In this 2012 American survival drama film Life Of Pi written by David Magee and directed by Ang Lee, Pi is

When Yann Martel tells of Pi Patel’s life story after the shipwreck, he presents it in two distinctive ways: one being with animals, and one without. As a young boy, Pi began to develop a love of animals as a result of growing up on the lands of Pondicherry Zoo, his family zoo in India. He also finds that he has a deep passion for religion. Supposedly, Life of Pi will make one believe in God, as it did to Pi in these two stories.

Embellished storytelling has remained an art form among human civilizations since the dawn of humanity. Stories were passed down through generations with each version obtaining new elements thrown in by the next storyteller. The modifications made to each story added specific fictional elements to better convey the meaning and emotions of the story. Many of these stories attempt to explain unexplainable phenomenon through stories of Gods like in Greek mythology. Yann Martel, in his famed work Life of Pi, depicts a story with a structure manipulated to create a fictional representation of the truth. The main character, Pi, who tells this story asks the narrator, “Which story do you prefer? Which is the better story?” (Martel 178). Martel explains the fictional twist of the story as a way to bring out the true essence of it. This fictional variation can be observed as a representation of Pi’s faith and it greater captivates the listener than in what is likely the truthful version.

Discoveries may alter our appreciation of what it means to be human. Often, the world we live in will be transformed, leading to a broader understanding of the human disposition. In ‘Life of Pi’, the viewer is shown Pi’s journey of religion and faith, and how this leads to a spiritual discovery. In ‘The curious incident of the dog in the night-time’, the disorder of life is revealed the protagonist, Christopher. Pi’s exploration of his primal instincts is similar to Christopher’s discovery of identity.

Isaiah Oliver Professor Hanson English 1510-090 2 February 2017 Music, Religion, and wildlife in the Life of Pi    Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi is a novel set in the realm of magical realism, published in September 2001. The film was produced by Ang Lee and tells the story of a boy of Indian descent named Pi Patel, who is the son of a Zookeeper and loses his family when the Japanese ship carrying the zoo animals and his family to North America sinks to the bottom of the pacific ocean in a tragic accident. Stranded on a lifeboat with a zebra, orangutan, and a tiger, Pi does the unthinkable to survive. The Life of Pie incorporates much of India’s culture, including music, religion and wildlife.

In Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, two narratives are presented to describe how Pi survived his journey on a life boat to Mexico. The difference between the truths of both stories is the difference between faith and reason. Both the author and Pi recognize the importance of trust and nature of truth in this novel has to do with a form of blind faith instead of doubt. “To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transport” (Yann Martel, 28). The early religious influences from Pi’s childhood contribute to the formation of his story involving Richard Parker.

Life of Pi was introduced to movie goers November 23rd, 2012 with the bold claim that once one hears protagonist Pi Patel’s story that one would believe in God. Audiences around the world were captivated by the visual eye-candy and an unbelievable story, directed by Oscar winning director Ang Lee. Dazzling the senses, Life of Pi won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Best Achievement in Music and Best Achievement in Visual Effects. The film adaptation of Yann Martel’s 2001 novel went on to win 46 awards and collect 73 nominations in the film industry. Grossing nearly $23 Million dollars opening weekend, Life of Pi went on to gross nearly $125 Million in the United States alone as of late April 2013

A person’s life is an accumulation of experiences; however these experiences solely do not define life without specific meanings behind them. In Yann Martel’s 2001 novel Life of Pi, the author chooses to reveal an alternative story at the end of the novel. This alternative option allows the readers to choose which story to believe. Thus, Martel effectively uses the better story as; a metaphor for religion, to expand the readers’ imagination, and to imply its significant effects. Through these concepts he demonstrates the true meaning behind dry yeastless facts, which requires a leap of faith from the reader.

Before psychoanalysing anything, terms need to be defined. First, ID. ID is the homeplace to all unconscious desires, like the unconscious desire to fit in a community, or be accepted. It also houses unconscious fears, such as the fear of being rejected. The Ego is the part of mind in which is mostly conscious, and processes experiences.

To discover is to progress, experience and to transform. As one encounters discovery, an individual may encounter a transformative experience that most certainly can lead to new perceptions of others and ourselves. These ideas portrayed about how discoveries are transformative, is effectively exemplified in the poem “ The Road not taken” by Robert Frost. Which conveys how discoveries can push one into a wider world full of possibilities, which may transform one immensely introducing new perceptions of them selves and others. This concept is also shown in Ang lee’s film ‘Life of Pi’. Through the main protagonist of Pi Patel and the experiences he is faced with which transformed him significantly in a way that brought about new perceptions of

Being placed in a crisis moment is difficult, it may in fact cause a person to challenge their own morals, allow a person to see how far they will go. In September 1942, one particular Jewish med student gave deadly doses of morphine to many Jewish patients to spare them the inhumane death that the Nazis were going to deliver upon them (Nevins). This medical student decided to fight back against what the Nazi Party had in store for them. He killed many people to protect them, regardles of the consequences that would later be in store. This was an ethical dilemma with a difficult decision to make, let the Jews be tortured, starved, or shot by the Nazis or end their suffering and risk ones own death. It was a

Role of religion Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness.” Piscine, a boy with a faithful heart who worships the powerful immortals sincerely, experiences a threatening journey and overcomes all the difficulties under the spiritual support of Gods. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, religion plays an essential role in Pi’s survival at sea, because it shows three stages of Pi’s attitudes toward faith and hope which are reliance, doubt, and conviction.

Imagine being on a lifeboat in the middle of the sea, tired and hungry- and with a 450 pound tiger onboard. For Piscine Patel, the main character of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, it’s not just about survival. It’s about the will to survive. I read this book because I enjoy reading adventure books. I feel like I take things for granted, whereas other people around the world struggle much more than I know.

Both story and religion share the common thread of giving life purpose and meaning. I formed this critique about how story and religion intertwine after reading the novel Life of Pi written by Yann Martel. Story and religion can also make life easier to get through by helping people to escape their reality. This common thread that story and religion share is not only found in Life of Pi. I can relate the close connection between story and religion in several other works we read this semester, including John D. Caputo’s On Religion, Leanne Simpson’s Dancing On Our Turtles Back, Craig Martin’s A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion, and William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience, Chapter 2 - Circumscription of the Topic. Ultimately, when story and religion are used in conjunction with one another, the impact on the reader is much more profound than it would be if only one or the other was used.

The difference between living and surviving is the will to live and the will to not let death grasp you. In the story Life of Pi, Piscine Patel was striving for survival while stuck in a boat with a Bengal tiger in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Yet in my case I was reaching for the championships in an extremely close soccer game. Both Piscine and I did things that we would not have normally done in regular circumstances. We both had very different situations but we both wanted to end up in a better position than what we were in.