The Themes Of Religion In Life Of Pi By Yann Martel

Beliefs aren’t ideas one comes up with and sticks by, but are rather more meaningful as they take the roles of morals, ethics, and religion. To different people, beliefs such as religion can represent many different things, and these representations change as a person progresses through the journey of life. One believes in such ideologies for a single reason: it enhances life. In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the motif of religion conveys the author’s message that with religion one can overcome any challenge.

One way the motif of religion is developed is through the element of detail in the novel. When speaking to the atheist, Mr. Kumar Pi states, “Religion is light” (Martel 27). Here, the specific description of religion as light, conveys

When describing how Mrs. Patel felt about leaving on the Tsimtsum for Canada, Martel writes, “She looked...sad” as she was leaving the “India so familiar to her and loved by her” (Martel 90). The boat the Patel family uses to leave India, the Tsimtsum, alludes to the Tzimtzum from the Old Testament. This was the story in which God gives his followers freedom to choose whether or not to believe in him. The situation Pi is presented with is similar to this, as he has the freedom to choose to not believe in any God, yet chooses to believe, developing the motif of religion to symbolize freedom. Another setting of religious influence is the floating poisonous island Pi comes upon. When Pi first finds the island he exclaims, “My God! My God!...We are saved!” (Martel 258). However, this reprieve from the harsh journey Pi is on is short-lived, as, after he finds human teeth in a tree on the island, he “left the island” (Martel 278). The setting of the island alludes to the Garden of Eden from the Bible. The island had all that Pi could ever need, just as it did with Adam in the Bible, yet Pi chooses to leave, placing all of his faith in God. Therefore, the settings of Life of Pi are influenced by religion, developing the motif of religion to symbolize

The tone of despair often appears right before the motif of religion, for it is in times of despair Pi leans on his religion the most. When Richard Parker first kills, the unknowing of what will occur next leads Pi to exclaim, “Jesus, Mary, Muhammad, and Vishnu!” (Martel 150). Here, Pi is leaning on all of his religious beliefs to be able to deal with the events unfolding before his eyes. Whenever this exclamation is uttered by Pi, there is a very serious event taking place on the lifeboat. Whether it’s Richard Parker killing or Richard Parker climbing on the boat during the storm, showing how Pi leans on his religion for comfort during times of desperation. Later on when explaining how the rest of his story will play out, Pi comments, “the rest of this story is nothing but grief, ache, and endurance” (Martel 283). It is in times such as these, in times of intense grief, in times where Pi has no options, that he recognizes he “should turn to God” (Martel 284). Here, the tone of pure desperation and intense gloom communicated by Martel is resolved simply with religion. The turning to and leaning on religion shown here conveys the author’s message as well as develops the motif of religion to symbolize the comfort Pi finds as a result of it. All in all, the tone of despair Yann Martel establishes develops the motif of religion to mean comfort as that is what it represents to