Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

Response: “...the effects of some actions on their happiness; and the beliefs which have thus came down are the rules of morality.”

Mankind must by this time have acquired positive beliefs as to the effects of some actions on their happiness; and the beliefs which have thus come down are the rules of morality for the multitude, and for the philosopher until he has succeeded in finding better. That philosophers might easily do this, even now, on many subjects; that the received code of ethics is by no means of divine right;

On its surface, Martel’s Life of Pi proceeds as a far-fetched yet not completely unbelievable tale about a young Indian boy named Pi who survives after two hundred twenty-seven days on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. It is an uplifting and entertaining story, with a few themes about companionship and survival sprinkled throughout. The ending, however, reveals a second story – a more realistic and dark account replacing the animals from the beginning with crude human counterparts. Suddenly, Life of Pi becomes more than an inspiring tale and transforms into a point to be made about rationality, faith, and how storytelling correlates the two. The point of the book is not for the reader to decide which

When writing, authors need to think of their audience and involve an element of surprise. Authors use plot twists in their writing to help them accomplish surprising the audience, allowing them to keep their audience’s interest. Not only do plot twists help keep the audience’s attention, they also make the audience question their beliefs about what they think of the story. Authors can use this tool to advance their themes. Yann Martel uses a crazy plot twist in his book, the Life of Pi, to suggest to readers that truth is relative.

There was once a man who was driving around in the winter, he lost control of his car and went into a ditch. He awoke to find himself alone in the car with no gas station for miles. He made the decision to start walking, he walked for 2 miles when he came up on a truck. He assumed the owner was hunting as they were in a prime hunting spot. The man peeked inside the truck to find lots of food and warm clothes. If the man broke into the truck and ate the food and put the clothes on should he could get in trouble. He was in a very dangerous life or death situation. This is the question: Should he get in trouble for trying to save his own life? If humans are in life or death situations, they should be able to do whatever is needed to keep themselves alive.

What was the name of the sound Richard Parker made? What does it mean? What did Pi then decide to do, and how was he going to do it?

In the book, Life of Pi, Pi suffers the loss of his father and brother in the sinking of the Tsimtsum, and surviving the majority of 227 days. During his time on the lifeboat, Pi created the better story to dissociate from the trauma he experienced, the immediate loss of his mother, and the effects of solitude on his mind. While in the lifeboat with the others, a dynamic was formed. The chef was the Expert, the one who knew how to cook, fish, and survive on the boat. The sailor with his broken leg became the most dependant on the boat.

He has reached an island! Made entirely of algae, freshwater ponds, and all the meerkats Richard Parker could ever eat. No more killing helpless animals, settling for rainwater, and keeping Richard Parker fed. However, the island hides a dark secret. “The island was carnivorous.”(355). When Pi is introduced to the fact that the island is carnivorous all the happy thoughts of this perfect island are gone. He could not remain on this island any longer. Pi states, “By the time morning came, my grim decision was taken.” (357). His mind was made, he must leave the island to survive. If he stays, he will be eaten alive. Pi prepares for the departure,“I filled my stores with fresh water and I drank like a camel… I ate algae throughout the day until my stomach could take no more...I killed and skinned as many meerkats as would fit… I could not leave Richard Parker… When he was aboard, I pushed off.” (357). Pi gathered as much as he possibly could and set out to sea, unknowing of whether or not he would be rescued. All he knew was that he would not be eaten by that island. This in fact would prove his determination to survive, as he sacrifices the comfort he received from the island for his chances on his raft out at

It is helpful when someone has an object, person or belief that provides them with a source of joy and comfort when times are tough. For some people, this may be a photograph, for others, a dog, and for many more, God. However, if someone relies on only this specific item for their happiness and hope, there can be consequences. What if they discover a disturbing fact about the item? What if the item gets lost? In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, a deeply religious sixteen year old named Pi becomes lost in the Pacific. His health dwindles as he struggles through the ordeal, until he miraculously stumbles upon a floating algae island. Unusual characteristics of the island, both lifesaving and dangerous, mirror Pi’s religious beliefs. In the novel,

“The universal creative Law of Mind, of which you are a part, creates for you according to your choice. Too often that choice is determined by emotional attitudes, without due regard to thoughtful decision. Too often it is a negative emotional

Vampires are attractive and strong yet evil and selfish due to their bloodlust. Many believe that vampires greatly differ from mortal humans, but Yann Martel uses the vast differences between Richard Parker and Pi Patel to reveal how even humans can have two different sides to themselves.

In Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, a young boy named Pi decides to differ from the religious path he is intended for. Instead he decides to embrace three religions even though he is ridiculed by his parents and religious leaders. The three religions he decides to put his faith in are Christianity, Hindu, and Islam. When his family decides to board a ship to Canada, the trip seems to be going well until the storm. The ship sinks leaving Pi as the only survivor, or so he thinks.

A person needs many things to survive; like food, water and shelter. People also need to be mentally stable to make good decisions when necessary. In the novel, The Life of Pi, the author, Yann Martel, puts the main character, Pi Patel, in a survival situation where he needed to acquire all these things to survive. Pi Patel’s mental needs are the most important part to his survival because once his mental needs are met he makes smart decisions and then can proceed to fulfill his other needs. Pi’s mental needs are more important than his physical needs when he invites Richard Parker onto his lifeboat.

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe are both novels about hard work and determination paying off. In both novels, they both start off with saying how the main characters have struggled throughout their lives, up to the point where they decide to make a change. The authors both offer the reader a different point of view on this topic, however they can relate.

In Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, our main character is faced with a devastating situation where he struggles with faith and what it feels like to lose part of yourself to our instinctual nature. This story holds many metaphorical meanings about faith and what it means to be human. At the end when it is revealed that there is an alternate story to what happened we can see that they both represent two ways of life. In the original we are introduced to an island that represents Pi’s struggle with his face. We are also given two sets of characters; some human and other animals. With this we can compare how they each reflect each other.