Piscine Patel was born and raised in an Indian town, this is where he began his own hero’s journey. Pi’s journey started out in his own ordinary world where he studied zoology and religion studies at the University of Toronto. Pi then went on to St. Michael’s College and graduated at the top of his class with awards from the Zoology Department (Martel 6). Pi was also very interested in his father’s zoo animals (Riley). In the ordinary world, Pi came across many circumstances that would later trouble him. While in India he began to practice four different religions. Pi spent a great deal of time in prayer and in the temples. Once all the priests found out about his multiple religious practices he was told not to take part in all religions and that he had to make a choice between them (Martel 85). Pi chose to still take part in all practices, but he tended to stay in the back of the temples. One day Pi’s father announced that they were moving to Canada, this is when Pi heard the call to adventure. He …show more content…
These One of these problems is a lightning storm occurs during the night, the waves throw Richard Parker and Pi around the boat. Pi also witnessed a lightning strike near the boat. The storm resulted in the loss of food and Pi received many wounds that caused him severe pain. Another one of these problem Pi came across was when Pi need to find food because he was turning into a state of starvation and he also had to feed Richard Parker to keep control of him. One day a school of flying fish jump out of the water, many then fell into the boat. Pi realized that if he wanted to survive, he knew that he had to kill the fish. This was a major problem for Pi because he had been a vegetarian before that sinking of the ship. Now he was taking a step in a different direction and consequently he had to kill this fish if he wanted to survive. Furthermore, Pi to test his
By using the survival manual, Pi attempts to navigate his way, but he his unsuccessful. He decides to merely float.
Piscine Molitor Patel, also known to Pi Patel, was the main character in the story. Pi had lived a life of faith. Nevertheless, the boy had never stopped loving God. Mr. Francis Adirubasamy had once mentioned the toy train in the botanical garden, “A train still runs on Sundays for the amusement of the children. But it used to run twice an hour everyday…The toy train had two stops: Roseville and Zootown. Once upon a time there was a zoo in the Pondicherry Botanical Garden (Martel XI)”. Pi’s faith in God is like the toy train. It is a cycle that must be tested over and over again. No matter how busy Pi’s life was, he never forgets to slip in a prayer during his days. No matter what changes will be made in his life, Pi will always return to God. No matter how many times the train stopped, it will always continue to be on its track. No matter whether the train was broken or stop functioning, it could always be fixed and continue to toot its way around the track.
His experience of being stranded on a life boat in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean with the sole company of a 300 pound Bengali tiger was unimaginably difficult however he built character by observing his situations and finding solutions to overcome them. Pi learnt numerous advanced survival skills and developed a lot of quick thinking abilities to successfully survive for 225 days. Completing the hero’s journey is important in everyone’s lives, not just fictional characters as it allows opportunities for learning new skills and overcoming your biggest fears. Through the hardest stage of tests / allies / enemies Pi developed these skills by using the limited resources available to him and created life-saving equipment such as the raft to aid in his survival. Pi shows his extensive knowledge about animals as he manages to manipulate Richard Parker into allowing them to have equal territories on the lifeboat. His personal development is seen through his unshakable faith in his three Gods and his devotion to his religions. Throughout his struggles Pi does not once blame his God for the situation he is put in; rather, he thanks Him whenever he feels a sign has been given such as the storm or the two
The story follows a strange timeline. Pi, currently in the present, is telling the book writer his past story. Though in the end, the narrator switches to the fictional writer’s perspective and the book ends with a recording of an interview. The exposition and rising action are told in the first part of the three parts of the book. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor Patel, is a teenage boy who was born and raised in India. His family owns the Pondicherry zoo. Growing up with a peculiar name finally hit its breaking point, when a bully in his school, named “My Roman Soldier…” by Pi in the book, made fun of his name and started a trend that infected the teachers too. Another incident happened when Pi’s curiosity towards God encouraged him to pursue three different religions. Islam, Hindu, and Christianity. When the three followers that taught Pi their individual religion got into an argument on which
All of these events actually happened and stimulated the writer to make a grand story and it was so excellent the writer even won 5 awards. The war in India and all of the wars in India during the early to mid 1970s contributed to the writing of the story. With the corrupted government and Indira Gandhi in 1970 and it being overthrown in 1976 was the final push for Pi’s dad and made them take their family and move to Canada. Religion was also an issue for the family and Pi’s whole family was Hindu and changing religions ever week made Pi’s dad mad and inspired them to move to Canada also. When Pi lost his family in the ship wreck he started praying to any god he could. He felt the animals on the boat represented something in his life and that it was a test from god to be courageous and persevere.
Firstly, there is both a protagonist vs. nature and a protagonist vs. environment conflict when Pi was torn between the choice of death by water or death by animal. "I was shocked and chilled and scared witless. I barely managed to hold on. The boat was swamped. I heard Richard Parker roar. I felt death was upon us. The only choice left to me was death by water or death by animal. I chose death by animal." (Page 285-286). As conditions turn hostile out at sea, Pi is forced to put one issue at his priority at a time. When he is in such a desperate and near death situation, Pi cannot deal with two problems at a time. This is another example of death chasing Pi at any chance it gets. This, time Pi is being attacked from death at more than one direction. However, his choice of death by animal was an unbelievable odd, considering his strong ambition to survive. This has led him to evolve and get closer to Richard Parker. Secondly, there is another protagonist vs. environment conflict between Pi, and the rough weather and lack of food. "When rough weather abates, and it becomes clear that you have survived the sky 's attack and the sea 's treachery, your jubilation is tempered by the rage that so much fresh water should fall directly into the sea and by the worry that it is the last rain you will ever see, that you
...knowledge his shadow self. He was able to survive his plight on the lifeboat because of the characteristics of his shadow self, Richard Parker. Even at the loss of his shadow self, Pi remains connected and constantly misses this part of his persona. After his ordeal on the lifeboat, Pi becomes rational and humane; however his experiences has scarred him, and will forever remain with him. Readers can definitely learn from Pi’s experience with his shadow self. The more we refute our shadow, the more it weighs us down. However, if we are willing to come to terms with the reality of our shadow, learn how it works, “tame” it so that it does not control us, we would be more literate and enlightened.
Pi had most likely made up the first version in order to deal with the trauma from the events he had suffered. Pi may have felt guilt for not trying harder to wake up his brother Ravi. When Pi had woken up from the ship making weird noises he stated, “He looked at me sleepily. He shook his head and turned over, pulling the sheet up to his cheek. Oh, Ravi!” (127). This may have caused Pi to blame himself for his brother not making it. In one instance, Pi admits that the events were taking a toll on him mentally. He stated, “I was getting used to the mental delusion. To make it last I refrained from putting a strain on it; when the lifeboat nudged the island, I did not move, only continued to dream.” (324). Version one is very similar to version two in a way. Pi used it as a coping skill so he doesn’t have to deal with how it affected him mentally and emotionally. In version one, each animal represents one of the people aboard. Richard Parker represents the more animalistic side of Pi. He uses Richard to make himself more heroic and seem stronger. In the beginning of the book when Pi states, “In the present circumstances, where Richard Parker would be under tremendous mental strain, fear should have brought out an exceptional level of aggression.” (137), it foreshadows that Pi will be under a great deal of stress. Another way that version one was a coping skill is the cannibalism is that Pi may have used it to dehumanize the cannibalism. Instead of recognizing that he had eaten another human, turning it into an animal made it less
Living in a zoo, he is not responsible for finding food. This dulls his animalistic character significantly. When Richard Parker found himself on the lifeboat, he needed to find food as Pi was not willing to provide for him. One way he did this was by killing fish. “Richard Parker was not familiar with sharks...turned and started clawing the shark’s head with his free front paw and biting it with his jaws, while his rear legs began tearing at its stomach and back...Richard Parker’s snarling was simply terrifying” (219-220). During his encounter with a shark caught by Pi, Richard Parker is using his animalistic abilities for what may be the first time in his life. We see that he initially struggles with the sharks because he is not familiar with prey. Admittedly, Richard Parker is an amateur when it comes to living on his own. Nevertheless, his animalistic instincts kick in and he begins viciously “tearing” at the sharks. Described as “simply terrifying,” Richard Parker has now fulfilled the character of the most feared animal on Earth. In just a few lines, Richard Parker has gone from a weak hunter to a menacing predator because he has changed to meet his new requirement for food. Richard
The novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, is about a young boy, Pi, and his survival on a lifeboat drifting in the Pacific Ocean. It is written in three sections, the second part, spanning from chapters 37 to 94, concerns the events on the lifeboat and what Pi experiences. This part contrasts part 1 as Pi is not alone, the only human, left to dwell in his own thoughts and be self-sufficient. Whereas in part 1, Pi is living in India, surrounded by his family and friends, not alone in the slightest.
To begin, the transformation of Pi’s behavior and actions play a big role throughout his survival out at sea. In the novel Life of Pi, one can see that Pi has altered himself in contrast to his more devoted and orthodox past in order to survive. For example, in the novel, whilst flying fish are flying over the boat, Pi sets out to catch one for him self and manages to catch a flying fish. Disgusted by the feeling of the fishes suffering, he hesitantly murders it. (Martel202-203). The act of murdering alone is despised by Pi and given his many religious views this must have been a very difficult task for him to accomplish since the animal did not do anything to harm him. This also conveys an immense importance to the development of not only Pi himself but the rest of the novel as well. Furthermore, this can also be a symbol of Pi having to adapt to be able to survive at sea. Pi, having been a vegetarian his whole life and very fond of religion, this indicates that he has an understanding of what he needs to be done in order to survives and that he is willing to go against all his beliefs to obtain his survival. To add to that point, after Pi had caught the Dorado, he states, “killing it was
Pi feels very insignificant throughout many parts in his life and realizes that he has to adapt to them to become more significant again. In the beginning of the book, we see how Pi has a pretty weird name. His name sounds a lot like “Pissing” and everyone at school and around his neighborhood make fun of him for having a strange name and only start calling him “Pissing”. Pi has started off his life by already feeling insignificant and weird because of him getting bullied about his name, something he is born with. In india he is discovering his spiritual side and learning about different religions. When his family find out that he is following three religions, he is harassed and told he can't do such a thing. Fearing the unknown and things
Life of Pi is a story about an adolescent Indian boy named Piscine, or Pi, who becomes stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean after a shipwreck. As he unbelievably manages to survive against unruly forces of nature and the loneliness he feels, Pi experiences growth as a person, from a child into a young adult. Besides exploring the true nature of man-kind, Life of Pi explores the deeper meanings of fiction and narratives as well as the conceptual components of truth within it. Religion and the act of storytelling both play a fundamental role in Life of Pi as they give the protagonist meaning, direction, purpose and other virtues which are essential in life. Storytelling essentially fulfills the same purpose in the novel as religion by giving these virtues.
In addition to Pi being stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Pi’s only companion is a 420-pound adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. However, in many situations, Pi heavily relies on his life experiences and skills that he develops in part one to help him survive in his journey in part two. To start off, Pi is a strong swimmer from his childhood, all thanks to Mamaji, who teaches him how to swim and also gives him his name; Piscine Molitor Patel, after a swimming pool in Paris. This gift from Mamaji helps save Pi since he constantly had to go back and forth from the lifeboat to his raft, to avoid Richard Parker, and get his supplies...
He practices and studies three religions, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. However, his main religion or original religion was Hinduism. Pi is strictly a vegetarian his whole life, this was mainly because the Hindu religion goes against violence (Caranige). They believe that killing animals is a violent act which would make them be vegetarians naturally. Hindus also believe in three main rules to life being righteous in your religion or personal life, achieving success in material affairs, and last achieving prosperity before the gods’ blessings of sensual and mental enjoyment are porposed to you (Caranige). Pi represent this to us because he always follows this house rules, graduating college and university. Also, Hinduism has ten amendments that they must follow that are having truth, nonviolence, not cheating, not stealing, or being corrupt, cleanliness, contentment, reading, or scripts or holy writings, austerity, perseverance, penance; and regular prayers (Caranige). This connects to Pi because he follows most of these rules through his journey. He never steals, reads his scripts and holy writings, and regular prays to his gods through his journey. Religion was important to Pi. He always kept his faith throughout the whole journey he took no matter what