Odysseus's Journey In Life Of Pi

It’s Not Where You Go, But How You Get There

“Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.”-Oliver Goldsmith, an Irish novelist. In the novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel spends two hundred twenty-seven consecutive days on a small lifeboat, braving the elements on the Pacific Ocean. Pi overcomes many challenges while at sea including hazardous weather, starvation, and a four hundred fifty pound Royal Bengal tiger. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, the mighty Greek warrior Odysseus spends ten years after the Trojan War trying to find his way home. Odysseus encounters many beasts and his own physiological defeat while trying to get to his beloved wife, Penelope and reclaim

Both Pi and Odysseus’ bond with God(s) was strengthen. First, in Life of Pi “I practiced religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances… They brought me comfort that is certain… God would remain, a shining point of light in my heart. I would go on loving” (Martel 208-209). Pi’s belief in God was reinforced while on the water and allowed Pi to believe in himself. The light in his heart represents the light at the end of the tunnel. Through God, Pi was able to find hope and if he was not stuck on the Pacific, he would have never discovered this new hope. A quote from The Odyssey states, “Then Zeus thundered overhead, one loud crack for a sign. And Odysseus laughed within him that the son of crooked-minded Cronus had flung that omen down.”(Homer 953-954, 208-210). Odysseus’s laugh showed his confidence in the gods that he will win by killing all of the suitors. The use of both sign and omen show that this thunder was not a coincidence that Odysseus shrugged off, but instead another example of hope and reassurance for Odysseus. Both characters used God or gods to finish their journeys and help them once they returned home. Faith taught Odysseus and Pi perseverance, a vital skill in 8th century B.C.E or in the

However, destinations bring happiness and happiness is the purpose any organism on Earth has. Cleverness increases your mental sharpness and overall intelligence. It allows you to make life-saving decisions. Faith is what keeps a person believing in success. In each text, the idea of a higher god allowed both characters to stay alive during their long and treacherous journeys. Although the journey is valuable, one could argue that the destination is more important because of the happiness, a little relaxation, and a sense of accomplishment that it brings. We as a society must value the journey because of the essential life skills and inspiration to move forward a journey teaches us. If not, society will lack motivation to