Life Of Pi And Hamlet Comparison Essay

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Tragedy is an inevitable part of life. Everyone encounters it at some point in life. It is a darkness that befalls even the best of people and can present itself in many different ways. Yann Martel's Life of Pi and Shakespeare’s Hamlet both deal with the ultimate tragedy of death. Both Hamlet and Pi undergo the loss of loved ones; however, they handle these tragic events differently. Pi overcomes his losses by remaining positive and treasuring the gift of life, whereas Hamlet lets sadness consume him and makes death the centerpiece of his character. In this way, both Shakespeare and Martel make firm statements, suggesting that a positive outlook on life will afford one the greatest possibility to overcome even the most traumatic of events. Pi grieves for the loss of his family but eventually decides that he is alive and will live on for them and for himself. It is this hope that guides Pi's journey and allows him to overcome his loss. In the first chapter of the novel, which outlines Pi's life after the events of his journey, Pi says “Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly,
Kurn 2 losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud...” (Martel 1.6) Pi understands the beauty of life. He mocks …show more content…

At first, he believes that his death will end his suffering as he contemplates suicide multiple times. After deciding against this, Hamlet takes another course of action, revolving around the death of his uncle Claudius. It is due to Hamlets negative view on his situation and the way he deals with his loss that he loses everything he holds dear to him. His friends, his sanity, his lover and most notably, his life. There is not a person on earth that tragedy will not eventually strike. It is the ones who remain positive in the face of tragedy that are able to overcome it and be

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