Using Imagination to Cope with Suffering in Life of Pi Essay

The theme of empathy manifests both in Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and in Yan Martel’s Life of Pi, lending animals a central role within the narratives that raise metaphysical issues and questions of what is human. Despite belonging to different genres, they touch upon similar issues, and both encompass the process their main character experiences in which its viewpoint alters as its sense of empathy changes. In Life of Pi, Pi begins as a vegetarian who holds strong beliefs on compassion towards animals and all creatures on earth, but is forced by necessities to forsake this lifestyle while living 227 days at sea in a boat populated by other beings (animals, or humans in each version). Rick Deckard, too, begins as presumably possessing empathy towards animals, though not towards the other entities within his world – androids. Although at the novel’s outset Deckard’s vocation is to exterminate androids, and he advances his quest to earn enough money to fulfill the social expectations on which his world rests, celebrating empathy towards animals by owning them, as the narrative unfolds his

In Pi's 227 days of being stranded in the sea, he has had many problems that have

As explained in the book, Pi follows three different religions; Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Pi is extremely interested in all three religions and tries to find himself through religion. Although, he does not understand why he can’t follow all three religions. “But he can’t be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose.” (76) This thread represents that he dedicates himself to the things he believes in and will fight for what he believes in. Even when his family disagreed with his decision of following all three religions, he still fought for what he believed.

Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is a novel about a young boy, Pi, trapped with a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker who survive together in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days. The central theme of the novel is Pi’s faith in God, which proves to be a crucial part of his survival during the extreme situation. In the book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster, the author talks about the importance of literary elements such as symbols, geography, and stories to a literary piece. These elements are used in Life of Pi to develop its compelling story about growing up.

In the beginning, God created the Earth. He created the land, the sea, the sky, and all that live among them. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi a young boy named Pi Patel encounters the Earth in its rawest form when he is stranded at sea with only a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker and a handful of other animals as shipmates. Through the use of biblical allusion, the significance of water, and symbolism, Life of Pi shows readers that God is present in all things and through faith, one can overcome all trials.

The will to live is a strong urge of survival that occurs when one’s life is threatened. The novel and film Life of Pi is about a boy named Piscine Molitor Patel who is lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean due to a shipwreck with a 450 pound Bengal Tiger. The theme that fits the novel and film the best is the will to live. The novel and film effectively prove the theme by using symbols to portray how badly Pi wants to live. Characterization also plays an important role in proving the theme as the novel and book show how Pi and his tiger have to change themselves to live. Cinematic techniques such as different types of camera angles are used as well to prove that the will to live is the essential theme in the film. In the novel, Yann Martel shows how the camera angles prove what they prove. The film and novel Life of Pi effectively capture the theme of the will to live by the effective use of symbolism, characterization, and cinematic techniques.

Life of Pi shows that humans and animals should do anything necessary to survive whatever challenges they face to live instead of just accepting death. Whatever ways that help one to survive are necessary, even if they compromise personal values, are vicious, or are wicked. Pi, a human; a hyena, and a blind man all fight to survive in a variety of ways that are examples of this thesis.

The Intelligent use of Animals in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi On the Pacific Ocean, stranded, with only a tiger and a few other animals as company, is how Pi Patel spent 227 days. Life of Pi is written as a fable which M. H. Abrams defines as, “a short narrative, in prose or verse, that exemplifies an abstract moral thesis or principle of human behaviour”. Its association with animals makes it a beast fable, “In which animals talk and act like the human types they represent” (Abrams). In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the function of the zebra, orangutang, hyena and tiger are to help associate what Pi goes through to survive the harsh, isolated, and terrifying events he faces during his extensively long period on the Pacific Ocean.

Religion was a very important aspect in Piscine Molitor Patel’s (Pi) life. When the story begins, Yann Martel (The Author) meets a man that says he will tell him a story that will make him believe in God (“Martel”). This started off the story by establishing that religion was going to be a major theme in the book. Pi followed three different religions, Hinduism, Christianity, and Muslim.

And the religion of India,would be the explanation to his path.Hinduism, has shown an extraordinary tolerance to other faiths.This is how pi has been challenged to explain each of the religions he has chosen from his parents he has known to compete with culture standards. It is the atmosphere of tolerance that probably gives Pi the freedom to explore other religions. Pi talks about his belief in Hinduism and the belief in rituals and in the Hindu world view. "Religion is more than rite and ritual. There is what the rite and ritual stand for.The way Pi shows him self to the people is how he has manners comming from a hudism culture from his parents.The second religion that Pi Patel embraces is Christianity. "I was fourteen years old and a well content Hindu, when I met Jesus Christ on holiday.Christ on holiday Although Hinduism seems more splendid to Pi, "he comes to embrace Christianity's message of

Since Pi continues to be a man of many religions, he cannot truly follow each of the religions individually, he must worship them in singularity, especially when it comes to his own survival, the last thing he thinks of is his religion. Aside from his little worshipping, he still uses his religion as a spiritual shield. He trusts his Gods to protect him and gets tested by his powerful and horrible experiences. Pi had to gain a testimony of each God he trusted or he would not have the confidence or mental drive to continue. This helps Pi to prevail; throughout Pi's life Pi had to worship one Providence but he grew to appreciate the help of more than just one Maker.

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.

Yann Martel’s novel life of Pi is a survival story about a boy named Pi. Pi was turned by his family, forced to stayed with the animals and build relations with then in 277 days, especially Richard Parker, in order to survive. Pi uses animal imagery to show he is closely related to animals, animalistic and ultimately believes humans equal to animals. One of the reasons why Pi uses animal imagery is because he is most familiar with animals.

“All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways.” ‘Life of Pi’ written by Yann Martel, is a figurative novel that tells the story of struggling to survive through seemingly insurmountable circumstances. Within ‘Life of Pi’, there are many key elements of symbolism and motifs that are repeatedly explored throughout, that reflect the struggle of survival when it is threatened. These elements are explored as the protaganist, Pi Patel, faces the obstacle of loss, the significance in establishing territorial dominance, and the importance of storytelling through the epitomy of survival expressed through the character of Richard Parker. Consequently so, Martel is able to convey his ultimate message of the need for belief and faith in something in order to survive with the aid of these symbolic elements.

The saying “desperate times call for desperate measures” holds truth to an extent. In the award winning novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, drastic measures are taken by characters in order to survive while stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. Through his journey, main character, Pi Patel, endures many hardships and witnesses several deaths. Significantly, the death of the zebra accompanying Pi and the other animals establishes a generalization of human nature being sophisticated yet inherently vicious according to methods of survival.