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Essay life of pi
Essay on religion in life of pi
Life of pi thematic essay
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The philosophy that Pi portrays in this book is to live life with faith. Pi was a very religion man; religion played a big role in his life. Pi was a well-educated man who had lots of education; throughout Pi’s life, he had both formal and informal education, which came in very handy on his journey. Pi’s father played a major role in the personal experiences Pi had. His dad tried to prepare him for the real world. Lastly, Yann Martel stressed the importance of cognitive dissonance on Pi as a way to cope with the death of his family, and the savagery of the chef on the lifeboat.
Religion was one of the key concepts in Pi’s philosophy; he believed in more than one religion all throughout the book. The first religion that he came upon was Hindu, which was preferred by his parents even though they were not religious people. Pi was fourteen when he was introduced to Christianity, he was on a vacation in Munnar, which consisted of many hills; and was home to a Hindu temple, a mosque, and a Christian church. Pi’s Christian leader was Father Martin who was very important to Pi. Pi’s introduction to the Muslim religion was quite interesting; it happened when a man asked, “Would you like one?” “I nearly jumped out of my skin. It’s happened to all of us: there’s sunlight and shade, spots and patterns of colour, your mind is elsewhere-so you don’t make out what is right in front of you”(Martel 59). Even though the man startled Pi at first, he ended up teaching Pi a lot about being a Muslim. Pi’s religion had a lot to do with his philosophy about faith, because with religion he always had someone to believe in and someone to call on in his time of need. With all of the religious experiences and knowledge Pi had, it helped him to ...
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..., that is what Pi does. Moreover, this goes back to show that the story with the animals is the better story, which is a life, lived with faith.
Pi was very involved with religion, and he tried to portray religion in every part of his life. Pi also had lots of education; even though he had a rough couple of years in school, he turned out to be a very smart and productive member of society. Pi’s father played a major role in Pi’s life; he prepared him for the real world and gave him important lessons that were crucial to Pi’s survival on the lifeboat. Lastly, Yann Martel stressed the importance of cognitive dissonance on Pi as a way to cope with the death of his family and all of the bad memories he had with the chef on the lifeboat. In conclusion, this shows how all parts of this book tie together to build the philosophy, that you should live a life with faith.
Despite not agreeing with his biology teacher, Mr. Kumar’s beliefs, as he stated “There are no grounds for going beyond a scientific explanation of reality and no sound reason for believing anything but our sense experience.” (Life or Pi, p.34.), and “religion is darkness” (Life of Pi, pg.34.), Pi stated that Mr. Kumar went on to become his favorite teacher and the reason he studied zoology. Kumar was a critical person in his life that enabled Pi to see life through a different lense. He impacted Pi in a another, more abstract way. Mr. Kumar represents Pi’s logical aspect, which in the end impacts Pi in life saving way. Adding logic and reason to Pi’s spiritual wheel empowered him to solve problems that came his way on the lifeboat, and also taught him to develop a relationship with someone who thinks noticeably different than him. Pi’s view on truth and belief is consummated as Pi tells the story in the concluding portion of the novel. Each version contains a different genus of truth. As one story is supported by facts, and the other has an emotional truth that cannot be proven right nor wrong. This moment culminates Pi’s outlook on the concept of truth and the way he relates it to his spiritual aspect of his
Religion is always known as a source of hope, but in the novel, Pi must choose between keeping true to his religious faith or survival. During Pi’s drift in the Pacific Ocean, he faced the situation where he had to kill a life to feed Richard Parker: “I wept heartily over
In the book the Life of Pi by Yann Martel, religion plays an important role in Pi’s life. When on the lifeboat, Pi used his faith as a way to motivate himself to live. Without his religious beliefs, there is no way to guarantee he would have made it off the lifeboat.
Religion is and always has been a sensitive topic. Some choose to acknowledge that there is a God and some choose to deny this fact to the death. For those who deny the presence of a higher being, “Life of Pi” will most likely change your thought process concerning this issue. Yann Martel’s, “Life of Pi”, is a compelling story that shows the importance of obtaining religion and faith. Piscine (Pi) Patel is both the protagonist and the narrator of Martell’s religious eye-opener who undergoes a chain effect of unbelievable catastrophes. Each of these catastrophic events leaving him religiously stronger because he knows that in order to endure what he has endured, there has got to be a God somewhere.
Pi maintains his religious beliefs while on the life boat through his daily prayers. He takes time aside each day to say the prayers that he always would say. In one instance, he turns where he believes Mecca is located, and prays his traditional prayers towards Mecca. Pi also often states that he will include specific animals in his prayers, such as the zebra aboard his lifeboat, and the first fish that he ever killed. With Pi keeping his ritual prayers going, it helped him to survive.
“The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi 63) In Yann Martel’s riveting novel “Life of Pi” The basic plot of survival unfolds, however, this essay will show how the hidden yet the dominant theme of religion throughout the story is what helped the main character Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) survive.
“We are all born as Catholics.” (Martel 47) This quote is important because Pi thinks that everyone is born as Catholic, without a religion, until you get introduced to god. Then he says once you meet up with God, people usually know their religion at that point but some will lose God on the way. Pi said he never lost God through all his journeys and God was always there for him. "I kept myself busy. That was the key to my survival.” (Martel 190) Pi’s faith to Christianity created a pathway and routine of praying five times each day. Sunrise, mid-morning, late afternoon, sunset, and night, Pi knew his whole entire schedule for when he would pray. Pi never would skip these prayers because it was a routine and if he messed it up, God would not be with him. “Solitude began. I turned to god. I survived.” (Martel 311) “Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.” (Martel 148) This quote is important because Pi is all alone and there is not much he can do. So, he puts his life in the hands of God and this is how he survived. Since Pi gave everything to God, in return God saves him and keeps him alive. The religion Christianity helped Pi get through his ordeal at the sea with God always by his
Life of Pi begins with an author’s note in which Martel describes being told by the character Mamaji that Pi has “‘a story that will make you believe in God’” (ix). This essentially sets up the basis for the entire theme of the novel. The main character, Pi, claims to practice three religions simultaneously: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam (Martel 81). Much of Pi’s explanation of his own childhood consists of his own religious journeys. He begins with an explanation of how his aunt introduced him to Hinduism upon ...
The Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is the story of a young man, Piscine, or Pi for short, who experiences unbelievable and unrealistic events, which are so unrealistic ambiguity is aroused amongst the reader. Duality reoccurs over the course of the novel through every aspect of Pi’s world view and is particularly seen in the two contradictory stories, which displays the brutal nature of the world. Martel wonderfully crafts and image of duality and skepticism though each story incorporated in this novel.
...knowledge his shadow self. He was able to survive his plight on the lifeboat because of the characteristics of his shadow self, Richard Parker. Even at the loss of his shadow self, Pi remains connected and constantly misses this part of his persona. After his ordeal on the lifeboat, Pi becomes rational and humane; however his experiences has scarred him, and will forever remain with him. Readers can definitely learn from Pi’s experience with his shadow self. The more we refute our shadow, the more it weighs us down. However, if we are willing to come to terms with the reality of our shadow, learn how it works, “tame” it so that it does not control us, we would be more literate and enlightened.
A quick glance at Life of Pi and a reader may take away the idea that it is an easy read and a novel full of imagination, but take a Freudian view of the work and it transforms into a representation of the human psyche. Martel’s novel takes the reader on a journey with Pi as he struggles for his own survival. Pi experiences a breakdown of each component that makes up one's personality, according to Freud throughout the novel. One by one, ego and super ego both express a huge factor in Pi’s choices and emotions throughout his story. Readers are also introduced to an alternate ending to choose from.
This trait of his is illustrated by a symbol of a candle in a box. Pi does his religions practice almost daily stated in the book, “Sunrise to mid morning: wake up, prayers/ Mid morning to late afternoon: prayers” (240). Even in a arduous situation, Pi shows his humaneness by staying faithful to his religious practices and consistently prays on the lifeboat. Even though he keeps his humaneness for a while, he loses it at a certain point of desperation as shown by an illustration of a cloudy sky. Pi’s faith and belief symbolized by a sun is covered up by the clouds that represent his decisions in this desperational situation of survival. Desperation pushes him to go against his religious beliefs and kills for survival, “Tears flowing down my cheeks, I egged myself on until I heard a cracking sound and I no longer felt any life fighting in my hand” (231). He realizes that his decision of killing a fish makes him unfaithful to his vegetarian belief, yet it is a decision that he must make in order to live. Moreover, this symbol also indicates his reasonable decision depending on his situation and being open- minded which helps him survive 227 days in the
It is said the a person’s process of discovery is shaped by their personality, culture, history and values, however the opposite is also true, someone’s personal, cultural, historical and social contexts and values, their personal aspects, can also be shaped by the discoveries they make, with discovery acting as the journey towards a change in one’s personal aspects. This is true of the film, “Life of Pi,” directed by Ang Lee and the illustration, “Self Help,” by Michael Leunig. The most striking features of the film is Pi’s faith to God and his connection with religion. His discovery and spirituality rely on each other, depicted as a gradual progression that spans his life, his childhood all the way to his time with Richard Parker on the life
In drastic situations, human psychology uses coping mechanisms to help them through it. In the novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi’s coping mechanism is his religions and his projection of Richard Parker. Martel’s Life of Pi shows how the projection of Richard Parker played a greater role in keeping Pi alive in comparison to his beliefs in his religions. During the period in which Pi was stranded on the lifeboat, Richard Parker kept Pi aware, helped Pi make the right decisions, and was Pi’s sub-consciousness.
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel was a fascinating and exciting narrative that described the journey of a young boys life starting with the formation of his beliefs moving all the way through an adventure that changed his life forever. I found it extremely engaging on both a philosophical level and a psychological level as I saw Pi, a young boy, curious about life, discover both religion and go through an extremely traumatic experience. I found Pi's devotion to God to be an uplifting example that many people throughout the world should see. Although I do believe that Pi was confused about how to best love God, I admire his efforts and believe that his dedication is sincere. I also found the psychological aspect of Pi to be almost as fascinating as religion. I could see from the beginning that Pi was quite thoughtful and always tried to think before he acted. However, what I found even more fascinating than his pre-planning cognitive abilities was how he thought when he was under great stress. Perhaps the best example of how he coped with stress was towards the end of the book when he tells what may be the true story, and we can see that he may have represented everyone as an animal in order to deal with the situation. This provides valuable insight into Pi's mind and opens a whole new area of possibilities when considering how Pi thinks. This ending leaves how Pi thinks open to interpreting which adds a intriguing aspect to the book. Beyond the religious and theoretical aspects of the book, the adventure seen kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Every time it seemed Pi was about to die or give up hope, an astounding miracle would suddenly save him. I found the effect of these suspenseful moments to cause me to want to...