What is it about religion that can bring people to do unimaginable feats, good or bad? In the ability to practice openly and freely, the simple belief can bring people together or tear them apart. Amazing things have been accomplished in the name of God. In the Life of Pi, sixteen-year old Pi survived seven months on a lifeboat with only his faith in God to guide him. Pi had always been a big believer in God. In fact, he practiced three religions, claiming that, “All religions are true.” (ch.23 pg.69). Even while stranded on a lifeboat, Pi found a way to believe and pray. This unwavering devotion was what led Pi to land and civilization after seven long months at sea.
Pi was born a Hindu, baptized a Christian, and he prays like a Muslim. It
Pi is raised as a Hindu, which is the majority religion of India. Hinduism is the oldest religion, and is often referred to as a way of life or a family of religions. Hindus believe in a constant cycle of birth, death and rebirth, which is governed by Karma, stating that good actions will prove beneficial for an individual and vice versa (BBC Hinduism). In the novel, Pi is born in India as a Hindu, and he practices this religion throughout his journey. “But religion is more than rite and ritual. There is what the rite and ritual stand for” (Martel 48). From a Hindu point of view, this quote exemplifies the main beliefs of
Late afternoons to early evenings: Prayers. Sunset: prayers. Night: Prayers.” (211). While on the raft Pi praying as often as he did helped him keep faith in his survival and his life. If he was not constantly thinking of God and keeping God close to him, Richard Parker would have replaced God and Pi most likely would have ended up committing suicide. In him having faith in God and his survival, it gave him an extra push and more determination to survive for 227 days alone in the pacific on a life boat.
In the novel, The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, the lifeboat is a transformative image that alters and somewhat controls which path Pi goes down. Throughout the novel, the meaning of the lifeboat transforms. At first, the lifeboat acts as a zoo/ prison. It is the vessel from which Pi cannot escape, the object that he cannot run from. He has no freedom on this boat, and if he leaves, certain death is inevitable. However, as the storyline progresses, the boat becomes more of a saving grace. In the end, when Pi arrives on land, it is the boat that carried him for 227 days and the only reason he lived to tell the tale. Without the lifeboat, he would have died on the Tsimtsum with the rest of his family on the day of the shipwreck. The symbolic meaning
The way Pi acts throughout his journey suggests that having faith is one of the most important practises to learn as it can give an individual hope. Pi has a strong connection to all his practising faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Society is set to have many unspoken rules that we must abide by to
A great author, Norman Vincent Peale, (n.d) had once said, “I believe there are two sides to the phenomenon known as death, this side where we live, and the other side where we shall continue to live. Eternity does not start with death. We are in eternity now”. That was the only thought buzzing my mind when I got out of my client, Jenny’s house. Jenny recently lost her husband but in his funeral she looked calm, happy and acted like she was not grieving at all. Her families were concerned and had asked me to take care of her as they thought she has some psychological issue or was just at great denial. Since, Jenny and I knew each other for long, we established good therapeutic relationship instantly. According to her mother, she always talked to herself, laughs loudly at the middle of the night and at times refers to her husband, as he is still alive. I felt that she is in grieving process and needs some time to recover. However, when I asked her how she was feeling about her loss, she looked at me like she did not understand what I was talking about. Later, she said that her husband is still there with her and he is not lost. She can feel him and talk to him. Furthermore, she express that she realizes her behavior might seem weird to others but for her that is real and it was happening to her. She shares with me stories about her connectedness with her husband in a spiritual way. It is just his body have left the world but his soul was still there with her. Moreover she
His entire family is Hindu and he goes to a Hindu place of worship with them. Fourteen year old Pi went to a Christian church and found Christianity. He started to practice both religions as a young boy. This affected his entire outlook on life. “She was not so wrong; that Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims.” (54-55). This shows that he believed and studied all three religions, but he knew that they just used different ways to pray to the same
I think the most important tip for Pi was "don’t let your morale flag. Be daunted, but not defeated. Remember: the spirit above all else, counts. If you have the will to live, you will.” Pi has nothing except Richard Parker and his thoughts.
Lastly, Pi’s state of mental malnourishment assisted him into his new life by his faith and still praying to god even though he was put in such an unimaginable situation. From connecting the storm to god trying to intimidate Richard Parker and the fish that came to Pi in his time of need to a gift from god, Pi kept his faith when most would think that their god has forsaken them. In conclusion, Pi’s mental cravings to exist once again in the real world help him actually fulfil this
Pi practices three religions: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. “But he can’t be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose” (Martel 90). Pi follows
Pi is a boy who was born and raised in India. He was born to a Hindu mother who taught him Hindu beliefs throughout his life. As he got older he also came to be a christian and a muslim. Pi lived
Propelled to take in more, Pi begins honing Christianity and Islam, understanding these religions all have the same establishment: faith in an adoring higher force. His thriving requirement for profound association develops while adrift. In his first days on the raft, he practically surrenders, not able to hold up under the loss of his family and unwilling to face the troubles that still anticipate him. By then, in any case, he understands that the certainty he is still alive implies that God is with him; he has been given a marvel. This thought provides for him quality, and he chooses to battle to stay alive. All through his experience, he begs customarily, which gives him comfort, a feeling of association with something more noteworthy, and an approach to relax.
It is difficult to talk about the Life of Pi text without making a reference to faith, and the same goes with explaining Pi’s survival. Pi’s belief in pluralism and acceptance of the three religions, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam aid his future and is a crucial part of his survival at sea. His faith in knowing “so long as god is with me, I will not die” gives him the mental strength and will power to survive his ordeal. Even in the middle of the ocean, Pi practices all his religious rituals such as ‘‘solitary masses without consecrated Communion Hosts’’
In the book Life of Pi, Pi is a young man who is stranded in the ocean, in a 26-foot long boat, with a tiger. He must survive not only the ocean, the sun, and Richard Parker, but he must stay sane, only having himself and God to rely on. Pi, very religious as a child, continues to believe in God after and during this ordeal. This is why Pi’s faith and his imagination may have helped him survive.
As Pi fights for his life on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, his spirituality is the most responsible for his survival. He finds out that gathering food, and drinkable water takes a lot of work, but Pi does not give up. Instead Pi “will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen” (Martel 148). Pi believes that “so long as God is with” him, he will survive. Pi meets his spiritual needs by believing in God and trusting that his faith in him will help him find the food and water he needs to meeting his physical needs. Each day that Pi stays alive is a wonder, but as long as he is able to meet his spiritual needs he
In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, a boy named Pi undergoes a series of unfortunate events that ultimately lead to him being trapped on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific with a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. As the story develops, so does Pi’s fear and feelings of inferiority to Richard Parker. Until Chapter 80 of the novel, Richard Parker is sedate, allowing Pi to survive. However, the upcoming switch of roles on the lifeboat will strongly impact the rest of Pi’s journey. In chapter 80, Pi becomes the alpha animal on the lifeboat after catching a dorado fish and refusing to feed it to Richard Parker.