Life of Pi and The Five People You Meet in Heaven

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Relationships are a fundamental part of life. By connecting to other living beings in different situations, people are able to put their lives into perspective. The novels The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom and Life of Pi by Yann Martel both highlight the impact of chance encounters in people's lives. In the former, main character Eddie changes greatly after meeting five people in what he believes is heaven and in the latter, the titular protagonist Pi must create a new lifestyle for himself when stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a tiger named Richard Parker. These relationships mark a new beginning in Eddie and Pi’s lives and offer both characters a sense of wisdom, truth and an accurate insight into life.

Relationships tend to be fragile, but from that same fragility one can procure a sharp sense of wisdom when making decisions. Pi realizes that Richard Parker brings structure to his otherwise hopeless and bleak circumstances. The creature’s mere existence on the lifeboat occupies Pi with a quest for survival while motivating him to stay one step ahead of the tiger. Pi affirms this in Chapter 57:

It was Richard Parker who calmed me down. It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I dare say even wholeness (Martel 162).

Richard Parker forces Pi to learn how to survive on his own. As the story progresses, Pi begins to value his life more and more, even discarding personal beliefs for the sake of his well-being. At the same time, Pi does his best to placate Richard Parker by satisfying the tiger’s needs for food and water, fearing the repercussions of a hungry carnivore. In this quotation, Pi becom...

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...etter or for worse. Pi and Eddie’s relationships are applicable to this because the two protagonists are thrust into situations where they must create new relationships in order to survive. Out of necessity, Pi makes sure that Richard Parker is in good health. The Blue Man and the Captain die to save Eddie, even though he does not value their relationships as much. Eddie and Pi slowly begin piecing their lives together and recognize that even seemingly unimportant chance encounters and relationships play a huge role in one’s future. In conclusion, Eddie and Pi gain a sense of wisdom, truth and a new approach to life from their relationships, which serve as the basis behind the remainder of their lives.

Works Cited

Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. New York: Hyperion Books, 2003.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Toronto: Random House of Canada, 2001.

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