Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

Throughout his young life, Pi has been guided by a strong set of morals and values. A strict pacifist and vegetarian, Pi never dreamed of killing an animal, especially for food. Pi states, “…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” (Martel 197). However, faced with starvation at sea, Pi must decide between adhering to his morals and satisfying his ravenous hunger when a school of flying fish descends upon the lifeboat. He chooses his own survival and decides he must butcher a fish to feed himself. Martel uses vivid details and language to convey Pi’s feelings about the necessity of violence and killing a living creature for survival. Martel conveys a sense of suspense to the reader as Pi raises his hatchet several times to

In Life of Pi, his long journey and ardent will to stay alive can alone discribe pi’s transformation from a confused and sheltered boy, into a young man who is now mentally broke but somehow uses his psychological experience to strengthen himself. Pi’s spirituality and religion pushes the reader to shift its perspective.

How would you feel being out at sea stuck on a lifeboat for 227 days with only zoo animals for company and then watching them all be killed and then spend the rest of your days at sea with a Royal Bengal tiger weighing 450 pounds and about nine feet long. Life of Pi by Yann Martel starts off in Pondicherry India with Pi Patel and his family, they then load some animals and themselves onto a cargo ship on its way to Canada. After they are on the ship there is a malfunction on the ship and it sinks. Pi becomes isolated on a lifeboat with only the company of a few zoo animals. After some time he is only left with Richard Parker the tiger and fighting to stay alive. On his journey through the sea he eventually finds an island to which he goes and

Religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods” (Dictionary). In society, many people follow the ethics of certain religions in order to make decisions about their life. The author Yann Martel uses Piscine Molitor Patel in the novel Life of Pi to send a message to readers about using ambiguity to create a theme about morality through the use of religion as spiritual beliefs can stabilize and nourish one in times of hardship. The use of religion, story-telling and science compared to religion resulted in ambiguity and therefore illustrated the theme of the importance of morality.

In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the island Pi finds near the end of his journey is allegoric of temptation, comfort and contentment. Many of its aspects including the algae, the fruit, and the fish showed this point.

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.

There are many conventional methods to coping with one’s fears but the most effective is by facing it. In the novel, Life of Pi, the main character, Pi, is one of astonishment; even through the darkest points in his life, he is still able to somehow remain both faithful and hopeful. Pi clings to his religious faith as a way of coping with his fears as opposed to acknowledging conventional methods. He is able to do so through praying, storytelling and various interpretations.

As depicted in Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi acts of courage not only affect, but develop and nurture personal integrity. Contradicting his beliefs, Pi required great mental strength to finally “bring the hatchet down [...] and complete the action”(Pg 230) beheading a fish. Driven by Pi’s hunger to survive when “life is threatened” he carryouts acts that blunt his “sense of empathy”(Pg 151). With his acceptance of the courageous acts committed, Pi eventually becomes the same boy he was in India with an amazing story that will “make you believe in god”(Pg ix). After a complete paradigm shift of the world he knew.

Yann Martel’s theme of truth being relative is again established when Pi experiences a shipwrecked. On the lifeboat, Pi continues to survive living with a bengal tiger, he survives after seeing the other animals on the boat kill each other, and he survives by eating fish even though he is a vegetarian. Inspite of all the suffering Pi is going through he still turns towards God. This is proved when Pi says, “I practised religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances – solitary Masses without priests or consecrated Communion Hosts, darshans without murtis, and pujas with turtle meat for prasad, acts of devotion to Allah not knowing where Mecca was and getting my Arabic wrong. They brought me comfort, that is certain. But it was hard, oh, it was hard. Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love – but sometimes it was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to lift it back up...The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining light in my heart. I would go on loving” (208-209). Through this quote, Yann Martel is showing how Pi continues to worship God even though he was suffering and struggling with his faith. Pi still believes that God is the most important to him inspite of what his is going through emotionally

He barely had anything to help him survive. There was even a point where Pi was fed up with his life and lost the will to live, which later changes in the novel. Eventually, he finds land called Algae Island after days on the lifeboat. Religion is a worship or belief of a superhuman controlling power, like God. Algae Island symbolizes religion. In the beginning, when Pi was on the lifeboat he did not have the will to survive and wanted to do find land with fresh food and drinks. He was calling all his gods for help. Before finding Algae Island, he says, “It's no use. Today I die. I will die today. ”(Martel 126). But as soon as he sees land, he says “I saw trees. I did not react. I was certain it was an illusion. … They grew to be a forest... a low-lying island. I pushed myself up. I continued to disbelieve my eyes ... The trees were beautiful.”(Martel 140). Pi was hoping to find land and finally did. He felt safe at the Algae Island. People turn to religion for safety and for a normal life, Pi felt safe and normal when he was in Algae Island. People hope to get guidance and help during their toughest time and for Pi, he comes across this land in the most time of need. It provided him with everything he needed to survive. It seemed like a paradise for him after the horror in the lifeboat. This is important because the island was one of the reasons why he is still alive. He was able to nourish

Reflecting on Christianity Pi knows his faith in God would save him from damnation if he were to die, offering him some sense of comfort. “Pi's understanding of "God" is fundamentally altered by having to live so perilously close to the overwhelming forces of nature— including the sea and the tiger. His understanding of nature is likewise inevitably shaped by his practice of three religions” (Stephens 14). Reflecting back on atheism he knows he has to come up with a plan to survive and that he can’t just rely on God for his physical needs. Going back to Islam, which values animals as much as any other creature, Pi does some serious thinking about Richard Parker and figures out that his only way of not getting eaten by him is to take care of him. Lastly, Hinduism,“It seems orange—such a nice Hindu colour—is the colour of survival because the whole inside of the boat and the tarpaulin and the life jackets and the lifebuoy and the oars and most every other significant object aboard was orange. Even the plastic, beadless whistles were orange.” (Martel

Regarding the novel “Life of Pi” written by Yann Martel, there is a definite balance between the need for survival and belief of God. In my opinion, the primacy for survival is the most obvious theme in the novel. Although we know that Pi will survive his ordeal because of his story told as an adult, we witness Pi’s constant struggle against seemingly impossible odds. This is exemplified when Pi sacrifices his vegetarianism in order to have a source of food. He also commits gruesome deeds such as slaughtering aquatic animals to keep Richard Parker and himself alive. Throughout these events, one will see the extreme measures Pi experiences to survive, which evidently shows the theme of “will to survive”. On the other hand, belief in God is yet

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.

As both characters face the biggest hurdle of their journey, a miracle occurs and their faith is revived and stronger than ever for the remainder of their journey back to land. For Pi Patel, he finds a floating paradise called Algae Island with unlimited amounts of vegetation, fresh water, and meerkats. In a sense, it is as if God gives him a quick break by satisfying him with an endless supply of food and water. One way to perceive the island is that it symbolizes religion in an organized manner. For example, Pi states that the island has “evenly scattered, identically sized ponds with trees sparsely distributed in a uniform way between them, the whole arrangement giving the unmistakable impression of following a design” (Martel 334). Like the island, religion is an

From Pi’s agony trying to survive on the Pacific Ocean, the discovery of the Algae Island provided him a sense of relief to his suffering. Having suffered with thirst and hunger on the open sea, discovering the island rejuvenated his spirit to once again live. Thrilled to finally find a land saying “Richard Parker! Land! Land! We are saved” (Martel 258). He describes the Island as “Gandhia: it resisted by not resisting” (Martel 270). The Island gave him satisfaction because of its green features describing as “chlorophyll heaven” (Martel 258). He would spend his days on the Island “eating, drinking and bathing” (Martel 269). Pi’s hunger and thirst no longer appears subside in his mind, therefore, his physical well being is satisfied to the