Yann Martel's Unconscious Mind

This book presents the relationship between human and animal behaviors and the behavior that is now created by our modern day society. The mind has two main parts. There is the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the better half, yet it is potentially threatening; therefore, the conscious mind is aware at all times. The unconscious mind influences your behavior in many ways. Pi experiences both of these minds. Pi is consciously planning his survival and how he was going to spend his food, so he didn’t run out. His conscious mind contributed to Pi surviving at sea. Consequently, when Pi`s father fed a goat to a tiger to prove a point, he was unaware that this event changed his personality brutally. He became more

The mind is divided into three parts, the id, the ego, and the superego. The part of the mind which is visible for all to see is the superego and the ego. Both the ego and the superego are rational parts of the mind. The id is said to be the only part of the mind that we are born with. Martel used the iceberg theory to depict the real survival struggle Pi had to go through. “Tears flowing down my cheeks, I egged myself on until I heard a cracking sound and I no longer felt any life fighting in my hands. I pulled back the folds of the blanket. The flying fish was dead. It was split open and bloody on one side of its head, at the level of the gills.” (231) In this moment it is Pi’s superego, his conscience fighting his id. His superego is wanting so badly not to kill an innocent animal, but his id is saying you need to do this to survive. This is the point where Pi’s superego is being used less and less until it is not used whatsoever. Pi’s ego is reality, it is rational thinking and his true personality. “I had to stop hoping so much that a ship would rescue me. I should not count on outside help. Survival had to start with me. In my experience, a castaway’s worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little. Survival starts by paying attention to what is close at hand and immediate. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one’s life away.” (212) The last part of

Abraham Maslow proposed this theory with its own hierarchy. The hierarchy has a pyramid made of five levels. The five levels are physiological needs, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. Once you have satisfied the physiological needs you move on to safety. Pi was motivated to stay alive by fear of dying or being killed. Richard Parker had a big impact on this. “I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life.” (203) Pi did not want to give up on his life so easily. He wanted to survive this painful