Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

Throughout the entire novel the author gives us characteristics about Pi, he is the protagonist and, for most of the novel the narrator. In the chapters that frame the story and tell us everything that has happened they portray Pi as a shy, graying, middle-aged boy, whom tells the author about his early childhood and the shipwreck that changed his life, and gave him a new friendship with someone whom you would never believe a human could become friends with. This novel makes everyone question the truth which makes us wonder if Pi’s story is accurate and makes us wonder what pieces we should believe. Pi emphasizes the importance of choosing the better story which makes

Pi’s life before the boat crashing was full of hope and wonder. His presence was ethereal, making a purpose out of everything around him. His family ran a zoo, which gave him a tight-knit relationship with animals. Pi loved to try new things. He met new people which led to his exploration

(213). The narrator once again speaks of the sea as if it were human. Stating the “waves paced to and fro” and “the great sea’s voice”, he gives the sea life and a voice. Having figures of speech such as these gives the story life and a vivid

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

He received his unusual name from their family friend’s favorite swimming pool, Piscine Molitar, in Paris. This name is significant to the story since it shows a correlation between the boy and the water from birth. Piscine was constantly teased in school so he shortened his name to Pi to better fit into Indian society. In Thomas Foster’s book, he says, “Actions can also be symbolic" (p 112). Through this symbolism, the reader comes to better understand Pi through his actions, shortening his name that connects him to the water to be better able to be accepted by others. His actions to survive in the Pacific, then, can be considered the symbolic fulfilment of his destiny received from his name. Another example of the strong symbolism used in the book can be seen when Pi is on a trip to Munnar in India. There, he sees three mountains and imagines them as representing the three different religions of India. He is not able to understand the fundamentals of each religion and, thus, these mountains portrayed his struggle to come to terms

After being rescued Pi’s tells his and Richard Parker’s amazing survival story, but no one believes it. Pi then begins to tell a different version of events without animals. While similar to the original story the survival of a young boy lost at sea the new story depicts

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’”. Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, chronicles the life of Pi Patel, a young boy who lives in Pondicherry, India. During his childhood he discovers his growing ambition towards practicing three religions, and develops a curiosity for zoology.

Lastly, Richard Parker isn’t the only force of nature that Pi deals with. Both characters experienced the Pacific Ocean’s waves and thunderstorms with only little shelter. Weeks of water, sun, and salt exposure ruin Pi’s clothes and the lifeboat’s condition and lead to thirst and fatigue. Yet Pi also finds moments where he appreciates the nature’s glories. He stares at whales, dolphins, and other marine life that swim by.

“I have a story that will make you believe in God.” The novel, Life of Pi by author Yann Martel is a compelling story that follows a young sixteen year old boy, Piscine (Pi) Molitor Patel, after the cargo ship transporting them to Canada, the Tsimtsum, sinks without warning, leaving Pi stuck at sea with only an adult Bengal tiger for company. Martel develops the notion that behavior and being able to read the body language of others may be the difference between life and death through direct characterization and allegory. Pi’s responses to the behaviors of Richard Parker signify the

Life of Pi is an allegorical novel written by Yann Martel. It tells the story of young Piscine Molitor Patel and his treacherous journey across the Pacific with Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger. Pi begins his adventure in Pondicherry, India. He and his family board a ship called the Tsimtsum. The ship, however, sinks before reaching land and leaves Piscine stranded in the ocean with Richard Parker, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan in a small lifeboat.

Surviving a tragic situation is a true test of external strengths and, more importantly, internal strength. The use of mental strength allows for many people to conquer various obstacles throughout a journey. The novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel allows readers to imagine a young boy named Piscine Patel trying to survive a shipwreck using everything that he learns and experiences. Piscine Patel survives many things such as dehydration, starvation, living on a lifeboat with animals, drowning, and crashing on a foreign island. The personality traits of Piscine Patel are what enable him to survive and the three most important character traits that he possesses are optimism, intelligence and perseverance.

Pi’s story is told through his memories, which teaches us his struggles, who he is, his place in the world, and his need to change his beliefs in order to live. Despite being surrounded by an abundance of water and fish, Pi struggles to survive due to the irony of being unable to drink the seawater, and difficulty being a vegetarian, catching and eating fish in The Life of Pi. “I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only

In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Piscine “Pi” Patel goes on a journey that tests him in unimaginable ways. As Pi tells the story of his life, the reader is shown the battle that Pi faces and the settings they take place in. Martel specifically uses the setting of the lifeboat, island and Pi’s home to reflect Pi’s inner self.

6 I thing Longfellow’s outlook on life and death is a beautiful thing by comparing the beached its waves to death. Line 8 “The little waves, with their soft, white hands” with he illustrates with the word. and something that is going to be constant and continuing like a pattern or rhythm when he wrote this

the usage of nature’s forces throughout the entire work. The writer describes the island in