Life Of Pi Rhetorical Analysis

Faith will be a big part of Pi’syour survival. No matter what you believe in, you are going to be hoping and praying that you are watched over and protected. With faith even in the worst situations you will have something to turn to. Believing in your faith can keep you sane, which in any situation is a good thing. Martel writes from the now much older Pi’s perspective when he says, “I HAVE A STORY THAT WILL MAKE YOU BELIEVE IN GOD” (AUTHORS NOTE, VIII). This is important to my argument in which faith is going to be such a detrimental part of surviving because it shows that along his journey, Pi realized that God was guiding him on his way to

As a child Pi hears the story of “The Fig Tree” and he says “I ask you, is it the fig tree’s fault that it's not the season for figs?” Consequently, his state of questioning the Christian faith can also be used to describe him in his later life (Martel 72). Just as the fig tree was not able to produce fruit because it was not the season for figs, Pi has acquired various things that are strange to most people and there was nothing he could have done about it (Martel 72). As Pi grew up he was never able to forget the people and animals he met while on the lifeboat and believed they were the reason he survived and constantly thanked them. Christians also pray to certain people whom they call Saints because they have done some deed for the church (“Roman Catholicism”). This is how the reader can tell that as Pi aged he remained deeply rooted in the faith and it was a prominent part of his life.

In this article the meaning of Existentialism is explained as the author, Randall Niles, describes how existentialism is a 20th century philosophy that centers itself on the analysis of human existence. He explains the popular slogan “existence precedes essence” by the very first founders of Existentialism, Jean Paul Sartre. The notion of the slogan is described by explaining how humans come into existence when they are first born, and spend their lifetime changing their essence and nature so it satisfies them. The philosophy of Existentialism is further analysed by explaining how humans find themselves and the ultimate meaning of their life by acknowledging their responsibility and making decisions accordingly. Moreover, it also explains

Though Richard Parker proves vital for survival, he also reflects Pi’s character and helps further develop it throughout the novel. When first introduced, Pi was a teenaged boy curious in many different belief systems and also vegetarian. However, his experience with this tiger aboard a lifeboat after a shipwreck leads to necessary changes in Pi’s lifestyle and these dramatic changes in way of life are characterized through the tiger itself. For example, Richard Parker instinctively tears at animals and eats them in a barbaric manner in means of survival. Though Pi is disgusted by his animal-like behavior, he later resorts to the same methods of eating, “noisy, frantic, unchewing wolfing-down…exactly the way Richard Parker ate” for his own survival (Martel 225). As a previous vegetarian, Pi is not comfortable with the idea of killing animals to eat them but realizes “it is simple and brutal: a person can get used to anything, even to killing” (Martel 185). He even, later, uses human flesh from a passenger that Richard Parker killed for means of survival and food. He also kills birds by “[breaking] its neck [and] leveraging [their] heads backwards”, a harsh and violent murder (Martel 231). Pi’s ability to adapt to a more vicious yet necessary way of life reveals his inner animal

Being an epitome of The Hero’s Journey, Life of Pi displays the first stage, the Call to Adventure, when the Tsimtsum (ship) sinks and Pi is ultimately left with only a Bengal Tiger and his wits to survive. Due to the rich and diverse experiences he had with his family and friends, he is well prepared to take this journey.

In the first chapter of part two, Pi describes the horrifying task of pulling Richard Parker into the lifeboat with a lifebuoy. Now, Pi is describing the cook hauling him in. Orange Juice floats to the lifeboat on a bed of bananas, as does Pi’s mother. The zebra and the sailor both have attained a broken leg from jumping into the lifeboat, and finally, the hyena and the cook are both described as maniacal, and both eat the mass of flies.

As Pi has to fight through adversity when he is stranded in a the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he has to adjust his eating habits. When one is in a situation where there is not much to eat, any little thing must be consumed. As a very famous proverb says, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” This was Pi’s most difficult challenge when he was on the boat. As a child, Pi grew up to be a vegetarian. The idea of killing and then consuming an animal really freaked out Pi. He remembered from his childhood, “To think that when I was a child I always shuddered when I snapped open a banana because it sounded to me like the breaking of an animal's neck” (197). Even when Pi was eating something like a banana that is not related at all to an animal, he

Freedom: the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint. This is the most common definition of freedom which accentuates that freedom is solely based on boundaries. However, throughout the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, this definition is constantly being changed and revised by the main character, Pi. Throughout the book, this theme of freedom occurs often in different shapes and forms. At first, Pi emphasizes that freedom for animals is not always defined by barriers and that there are many other restrictions even when an animal is in the wild. However, as the novel advances, he unknowingly has to alter his definition to accommodate himself as well.

Richard Parker, the tiger, is a symbol of Pi himself. Pi directly correlates himself with Richard Parker. If Richard Parker “give[s] up” (121) then Pi is giving up. When swimming toward the life boat Richard Parker “look[s] small and helpless” (121) much like Pi actually is. Next to the tiger, zebra, and hyena Pi is small and feeble; he has no way to defend himself against the other animals. Pi egging Richard Parker on, toward the boat; “keep[ing him] swimming” (122) shows Pi’s resilience for survival; determined for Richard Parker to survive, which is actually his determination to survive. It is often mistaken in the novel as to whether Pi is speaking of himself or of Richard Parker because they could be the same being.

B) Pi is a very brave and religious character. Pi being brave kept him alive throughout the story. He lasted 7 months stranded on a boat with just himself and a Bengal tiger! Even though in the beginning of the story, when he was young, he kept to himself; in the second half of the book he became extremely powerful. His three-way religion comes into the story for more hope he’ll live. Religion kept him sane; it gave him something

Pi’s understanding of faith is further developed in the face of adversity during his time stranded in the pacific. This is conveyed through Lee’s use of magic realism in the daybreak scene, where through Lee use of the wide shot of the horizon meeting the ocean, emphasising the hue colours of orange which contrast’s to Pi’s message about God and placing his faith in him, “God I give myself to you. I am your vessel. Whatever comes I want to know. Show me”. Through Pi’s actions of losing hope in the message in the bottle, emphasised in Lee’s close up camera work and stagnated water, but also in the rational world, he demonstrates his discovery of religion and faith being tested, linking back to the quote of the older Pi. Pi’s ultimate test of faith is demonstrated through the Storm and the “Carnivorous” Island both considered forces of nature where Pi’s faith and submission to his faith are tested through both situations appearing to be less violent and dangerous in nature than they truly are. Lee demonstrates this new understanding by again using the experienced older Pi narrating the lessons learned in adversity, “If I hadn’t discovered the tooth, I would have been lost, alone forever. Even when God seemed to abandon me he was watching…”. This final step ultimately displays how Pi found new understanding to his faith through the experiences on his journey. Therefore, through Pi’s journey leads him to the discovery of the new understanding

Life of Pi is full of religious commentary. The book begins with a man who tells the narrator he has a story that will make him believe in God. () The story the man describes, is Pi’s, meaning Pi’s story of survival will make the reader believe in God. Throughout the book, Pi explores Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, and discusses the importance of each of these to him. He mentions that he likes to hear the stories found in religion, which connects to the theme of storytelling found in this novel. Later in the novel, his faith in these stories is tested. When Pi is on the lifeboat, he describes his situation as a “test from God” (), to see how faithful he truly is. This is further reinstated when he finally asks what more the gods want from him

Pi strives to maintain his fragile hope, the hope of survival. Although he is exhausted of struggling to live, and waiting for an uncertain day of relief to arrive, he hasn’t surrounded to death. Through religion, Pi’s misery and disappointment toward God are

Pi’s story is not only about the beauty of religion and how everyone need to be religious to survive but, how all people are entitled to love the world how they see it. During his religious exploration as an adolescent he discovers atheism through his science teacher, Mr. Kumar. Pi holds Mr. Kumar in very high esteem, calling him his favorite teacher, however Pi is uncomfortable exploring the concept of atheism, its beliefs, and or how science can hold such beauty without the need of a god. He came to terms with the fact that atheists are his "brothers and sisters of a different faith", however he choose not to explore it in his studies. The concept frightens him so much that Pi, who is usually full of questions, is scilent when Mr.Kumar speaks

At the end of the story he ask “Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?” These two men respond and admits that the animal story is the better one and through this readers can get a major theme of the book, faith. Through the whole story Pi’s survival is mainly because of faith in his religion. Although religion can not be proven he has faith that it is real. Likewise the realness of Pi’s story is the same as religion and readers will have to have faith in Pi’s journey of faith that the story is