Life Of Pi By Yann Martel

Firstly, Pi’s devotion for God was clear and he often seeks clarity from god. Throughout the novel, Pi’s love for God caused him to practice three major religion at the same time; breaking any barriers between Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Pi believes all three religions are equally true and interconnective as “[Islam and Christianity] both claim Abraham as theirs. Muslims say the God of the Hebrews and Christians is the same as the God of the Muslims. They recognize David, Moses, and Jesus as prophets” (80, Martel). Pi was morally ambiguous, he did not know if one religion would bring him closer to God than another causing him to follow all three. When Pi was stuck on the life boat, he often called out for help from god as he feared death. As he was giving up, a voice inside of him spoke from his heart and said “I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen” (164). Pi was uncertain whether or not he was going to survive however, he hoped through praying, he would as his faith in God brought him comfort.

Piscine Montair Patel was a firm believer in God through Hinduism beliefs. As he begins to grow up and experience new things, Pi stumbles upon Christianity when visiting a church at age fourteen. The Father there explains to Pi about the story of Christ to which he listens in with horror. Despite his negative reaction to the story, Pi grows fascinated with the religion and asks to be become a Christian. That wasn’t all though. At the age of fifteen, he happen to come across a Muslim bread baker, Mr. Kumar, who intrigued him when Pi saw him do his daily prayers in the midst of the conversation. This would then lead to his conversion of Islam, along with his Hindus and Christian beliefs. Even though Pi is satisfied

“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.

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 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.

Everyone must learn to overcome, or acclimate to fear. It is an unavoidable part of life. People do not usually address all of their fears at one time, but occasionally, unlikely situations occur. In Life Of Pi, by Yann Martel, Piscine (Pi) Patel overcomes many fears, in a slight 227 days aboard a lifeboat, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He and his family are in the process of moving, when the Tsimtsum, the boat they are boarding, mysteriously sinks. Pi is the only survivor, along with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger. Although many themes are present, the most prominent through the whole book is learning to live with and overcome the very thing that causes the most grief, the most anxiety, and a lot of reflection; Fear.

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

Yann Martel establishes in the beginning of Life of Pi in the author’s note that the claim to the heart of the novel in this story will “make you believe in God.” Since God is an identity that exists in a fiction or non-fiction realm, the audience is led to believe that the story to be told is true, opening the reader to the idea that belief in anything can be belief in God. Pi makes sense of his life through the expressions of Hinduism, Christianity and Muslim, “That which sustains the universe beyond thought and language, and that which is at the core of us and struggles for expression.” (Pg.68) This emphasizes Pi’s dedication and devotion to his religions and God. Martel is opening up to Pi’s story to convince the reader to find faith in Pi’s words.

Without morals civilization would crumble, but take away everyone and losing your morals might just save your life. In the book Life of Pi, Yann Martel creates a storyline that follows a boy’s life and the events that occur before, during and after being stranded on a life raft with a tiger. The main character, Pi, undergoes horrendous events that challenge him to change his ways to survive. In times of difficulty, man can lose his morals and values in exchange for survival. Martel exhibits this theme through Pi’s hunger, the cook in the human story, and the slaughtering of Pi’s fellow shipwrecked acquaintances.

In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, there is a strong theme of religion throughout the novel. Pi loves God and will do anything to grow closer to Him. He joins three other religions because he does not want to be limited to one faith and one way to praise God. After learning about the other faiths from their religious leaders, he decides to join them. He goes against his family’s wishes by joining these other faiths. During the novel, Pi’s faith in God is tested when he is lost at sea, but he uses his faith as comfort during those dark days. Pi uses his knowledge of prayer to help him. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Pi uses his knowledge of the Hindu faith, the Catholic faith, and Muslim faith to cope with the harsh reality of being lost at sea.

In this empathic response task, I assume the role of Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, the narrator and protagonist of Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, directly after his unexpected coincidental encounter with three religious leaders on a seaside esplanade in Chapter 23, which led to the astounding revelation that Pi was not only a Christian, Muslim, or Hindu, but all three at once. This revelation prompted a heated discussion between Pi’s priest, imam, and pandit, the religious leaders whom Pi had been practicing Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism with. The heated discussion was about which religion was the ‘true religion’. I attempt to share with readers Pi’s opinion of religion and faith after the encounter by writing a diary entry from Pi’s perspective that reflects the musings of Pi Patel after the three religious leaders confronted him and demanded that he choose between being a christian, a muslim and a hindu, his opinion of religion and faith, his experiences with different religions, and how he rationalizes his decision to believe in all three religions simultaneously. In this novel, imagination helps to present an alternative perspective of religion and faith.

To begin with, the religion of Hinduism had a powerful precept on Pi’s development as an individual through faith. Hinduism was the first religion that Pi was told of. The religion of faith is what ignited Pi’s true love for God and all religion. Pi describes Hinduism as “a germ of religious exaltation, no bigger than a mustard seed…sown in me and left to germinate” (52). From a young age while he was growing up in Pondicherry, Pi was affected by his Hindu faith and still is into his adult life giving him meaning.

Yann Martel shows that he believes that a person’s belief are sacred in his book Life Of Pi. He also shows a strong opinion that an individual’s belief direct the way in which that individual will behave through the characters he brings to life. Martel demonstrates multiple times that a belief can become a saving grace.

In literature, there are several examples of journeys that the character sets out on with a set purpose, yet ends up having an underlying reason or outcome to it. In Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi, Pi embarks on such a “quest” due to unforeseen circumstances beyond his control. Pi’s quest, on the literal level, was one purely of survival; his goal was to live just long enough to make it to land. Metaphorically, however, Pi’s quest serves to reaffirm his religious beliefs and his spirituality. Through his trials and challenges, it is his faith that keeps his spirits up and allows him to survive. Although he is forced to temporarily abandon some of his ideals and be faced with the possibility and acceptance of death, his religious faith

In Life of Pi there is one main character who stays with the reader throughout the whole novel, Pi Patel. Pi Patel was a boy who surrounded himself with religion, he believed in Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Believing in three religions proved to be unhelpful to Pi as people questioned his belief system. At one point three of Pi’s religious leaders meet up and argue over Pi’s beliefs, “The priest broke it when he said, with pride in his voice, ‘Piscine is a good Christian boy. I hope to see him join our choir soon.’ My parents, the pandit and the imam looked surprised. ‘You must be mistaken. He’s a good Muslim boy. He comes without fail to Friday prayer, and his knowledge of the Holy Qur’an is coming along nicely.’ So said the imam. My parents, the priest and the pandit looked incredulous. The pandit spoke. ‘You’re both wrong. He’s a good Hindu boy. I see him all the time at the temple coming for darshan and performing