Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

The Will to Live

The true meaning of life is heavily debated to this day, and no one truly has an answer. Various religions and philosophies have spawned since the dawn of man in an attempt to answer this question, but from a philosophical standpoint, the question is mostly unanswerable. From a more rational standpoint, however, life only has one goal: to continue living. Natural selection dictates those more capable of living are more likely to grow up and spread their genes to a new generation, and thus, those with a stronger will to live out-breed those who are not as strong. As such, the will to live is perhaps the most important aspect of life to all beings. Such is the theme in Life of Pi by Yann Martel, as it shows the will to survive

This is first seen where Pi witnesses the zebra being attacked by the hyena, but his fear of the beast kept him from helping the injured animal, which he otherwise would have. He says, “I didn't have pity to spare for long for the zebra. When your own life is threatened, your sense of empathy is blunted by a terrible, selfish hunger for survival,” (67). Pi’s change in morals is further shown when he kills a flying fish to feed to Richard Parker. At first he cannot complete the task, saying “A lifetime of peaceful vegetarianism stood between me and the willful beheading of a fish,” (98), and promises to keep it in his prayers. However, he later claims to warm up to the idea of killing and eating fish, as “the flying fish looked like fish [he] had seen in the markets of Pondicherry,” (98). Perhaps the largest shift in morals expressed in Life of Pi is what the characters are willing to eat in order to avoid going hungry. While the hyena and tiger eat the other animals on the boat, it is not unnatural, since these animals are not moral. However, the immortality is truly expressed when the reader discovers the hyena represents a French chef from the ship, and how he turns to cannibalism and prepares and eats the injured sailor. The immoral act stuns Pi and his mother, but he does not stop, and says “I feel stronger already,” (171). Furthermore, Pi and his mother turn from their lives as vegetarians to eat fish and turtle, and Pi records her troubles, as “She had a very hard time of it. She never got over her revulsion. It came easier to me. I found hunger improved the taste of everything,” (172). Their hunger and sheer need to survive betrays their morals and forces them to act in ways that allows their survival, which proves the characters’ will to stay