Survival In Life Of Pi

1892 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: My survival narrative

Pi’s Fight for Survival: Dynamic or Static?
“A survival tale peels away the niceties and comforts of civilization. Suddenly, all the technology and education in the world means nothing. I think all of us wonder while reading a survival tale, 'What would I have done in this situation? Would I have made it?’” (Nathaniel Philbrick). Intermittently life unexpectedly thrusts unforeseen obstacles in ones way in which one does not foresee. Nonetheless, it is not the obstacle in which determines ones ultimate success, but the way in which they manage their desire and determination to overcome adversity. In the novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel the author exhibits how Pi’s dynamic charisma alleviates his fight for survival, while bring stranded with a Bengal Tiger in the Pacific. At the beginning of Life of Pi, Martel portrays Pi as a naive, virtuously youthful boy who soon becomes a very courageous, confident young man from the occurrence of unfortunate circumstances he encounters, in order to help him in his journey of survival. Pi is …show more content…

The audience witnesses as Pi transforms from a naïve and thoughtful child into a prideful young man, which aids him in his fight for survival. Pi’s boost of self confidence made a great impact, but his passion and love for religion and science made a great impact also; as he uses his knowledge and belief in both to abet him to survival. But most importantly, Pi goes against his morals and beliefs in order to assist him and insure success on his journey. In life, one is often in faced with adverse situations and obstacles that are unexpected and foreseen. As Pi has proven with his very dynamic personality and charisma, it is how one chooses to tackle these difficult obstacles in life that will insure their success at the end of their

Show More
Related

  • Use of Literary Devices in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stranded for 227 days at sea in a lifeboat, with no one else except an adult Bengal tiger. This is exactly what the main character Pi, in "The Life of Pi" went through. "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel is a story about a boy named Piscine Molitor Patel, an Indian boy who survives more than seven months floating on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean, with no one else but a 450-pound tiger (Cooper). Yann Martel was born on June 25, 1963, in Salamanca, Spain. His parents, Emile Martel and Nicole Perron, were both born in Canada. He spent his childhood in several different countries, including France, Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica. As an adult, he lived in many other places but one of them was India, which may be where he got inspiration for writing “Life of Pi”. Yann Martel uses the literary elements similes and foreshadowing, to express the theme that believing in religion can give you the faith to want to survive.

    Read More

  • Sin and Survival in 'The Life of Pi'

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the author expresses a potent message, being that God pardons us if we have to sin in order to survive desperate circumstances. Pi Patel obtains a very conservative definition of the word “sin.” While living in India Pi was a child who possessed strong morals, believing that a sin is an evil act like killing a living thing and eating it. However, while on the lifeboat Pi cannot survive on his vegetarian diet and must therefore resort to killing and eating meat to sustain himself. Since starting to kill food, Pi woefully states, “Lord to think that I’m a strict vegetarian. To think that when I was a child I shuddered when I snapped open a banana because it sounded to me like the breaking of an animals neck. I descended to a level of savagery that I never imagined possible,” it is then obvious that Pi is disappointed in his new

    Read More

  • Life Of Pi Idealism And Truth Essay

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Adaptation In Life Of Pi

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    “You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” Adapting to a new situation or experience like violent crashing waves can be difficult. Nevertheless, a person needs to learn how to surf in order to outlast the pounding waves. In a similar fashion, individuals need to learn how to adapt to a challenging situation in order to survive. This idea of the significance of adapting to new situations is often explored in literature. In the novel, Life of Pi, Yann Martel makes powerful use of character development to suggest that individuals may be able to adapt to situations in life through a sense of determination, or through denying reality and using their imagination instead.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Survival In Life Of Pi

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, is a fictional novel written in 2001 that explores the primacy of survival by employing symbolism, foreshadowing and motifs. This story follows the life of the protagonist, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, as he embarks on his journey as a castaway. After boarding the Tsimtsum which carries Pi and his family along with a menagerie of animals, an abysmal storm capsizes the ship leaving Pi as the only survivor, though he is not alone. The great Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, also survives the shipwreck and during the 227 days that Pi and Richard Parker are stranded at sea together, the two must learn to coexist and trust one another for survival. Through Pi and Richard Parker’s struggles to remain alive, Martel explores the primal idea of survival by employing literary techniques.

    Read More

  • Religion In Yann Martel's The Life Of Pi

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pi is a very religious person who had many beliefs, which causes some issues with his family. At one point, all of his religious teachers were in an argument over Pi’s beliefs, in which he replies “Bapu Gandhi said ‘all religions are true’ I just want to love God.” (Martel, 69). This furthered Pi’s bravery when he was able to stick up for himself in

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Religion In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • The Better Story in Life of Pi by Yann Martel

    1775 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 story he or she thinks is true, but rather what story he or she thinks is the better story. In real life, this applies in a very similar way to common belief systems and religion. Whether or not God is real or a religion is true is not exactly the point, but rather whether someone chooses to believe so because it adds meaning and fulfillment to his or her life. Life of Pi is relevant to life in its demonstration of storytelling as a means of experiencing life through “the better story.”

    Read More

  • Theme Of Dualism In Life Of Pi

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Freudian Examination of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

    2074 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Spiritual Discovery In Life Of Pi

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Religion And Religion In Life Of Pi By Yann Martel

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author left the reader thinking about how religion and faith can have an impact in our lives positively. Religion can affect our choices in life, and faith In the novel, Pi grows up to be a religious man, growing up in a place with diverse culture. He believes that “religion is about choosing the better story”. Therefore, he learns to worship three religion - Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.

    Read More

  • The Role of Richard Parker in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Symbolism and Survival in Life of Pi, Yann Martel

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine being stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat, not alone but with some carnivorous animals, as company. The chances of survival do not seem so high, but when one has the will to survive, they can do anything to attain it. Pi Patel and his family are on their way to Canada from Pondicherry, India, when their cargo ship the Tsimtsum sinks. Pi is not the only survivor of the ship, along with him is a hyena, an injured zebra, an orangutan and a 450-pound orange Bengal tiger. Pi travels across the Pacific Ocean in only a lifeboat, with food dwindling quickly, he needs to find land and most of all survive the voyage. In Life of Pi; Yann Martel develops the idea that having the will to survive is a crucial key to survival; this is demonstrated through symbolism of the colour orange, having religion on the protagonist’s side and the thirst and hunger experienced by the protagonist.

    Read More

  • Story Of Keesh

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    The authors of “The Story of Keesh” and Life of Pi adequately and efficiently convey the challenges of the two extreme environments through the details of the characters’ reactions. Keesh and Pi’s bravery and intelligence helped both individuals to survive. Bravery and intelligence are powerful tools to survive any

    Read More

More about Survival In Life Of Pi

Open Document