Comparing Pi And Keesh's Character Analysis

How can two people in different excerpts, survive in harsh weather, bad conditions, or hunger? Well these two people used their bravery, patience, and most important for all human beings is intelligence. Anyone can survive on extreme environments especially Pi and Keesh who can believe they can survive and think what they’re about to do.

Keesh survived, and helped others in his community to survive the cold and harsh weather in his village by killing bears for food, although not with his weapons, but with his brains. “The next day he went forth along the shoreline where the ice and land met together. Those who saw go noted that he carried his bow, with a goodly supply of bone barbed arrows, and that across his shoulders was his father’s big hunting spear.” This explains that Keesh was going outside his village with his father’s weapons so that everyone that can see him knows that he is going hunting and not coming back. He needed his father spear so that he can kill the bear when it goes all to plan.

When Keesh got back to his village, he came back with a bear and his plan was going to the

right direction to becoming chief of the village. “Nonetheless, his success continues, and the less skillful hunters were often kept busy hauling in his meat. And in the division of it he was just. As his father had done before him, he saw to it that the least old woman and the last old man received a fair portion, keeping no more for himself than his needs required.” This explains why Keesh got to hunt. The less skillful hunters were kept busy hauling in Keesh’s meat. When his father was done hunting he gave the meat to everyone in his village and Keesh wants to do the same thing as he did. In the text it mentioned, “‘Hear me, ye men?’ he cried. ‘Never shall I speak in the council again, never again till the men come to me and say. ‘It is well, Keesh, that thou shouldst speak, it is well and it is our wish.’ Take this now, ye men, for my last word, Boc, my father was a great hunter. I, too, his son shall be fair. And no widow nor weak one shall cry in the night because there is no meat, when the strong men are groaning in great pain for that they have eaten overmuch.”
Bim and Bawn spied on Keesh on how he kills bears. Things were unexpected when Keesh fed the bear a ball on was saying mean things to the bear when he was walking back. For a few days, the bear was weakened and Keesh killed it with a spear. Bim and Bawn told that story to the council so that the council know how he killed it. Keesh explains it was headcraft and he told everyone how to do it. “He pick up a thin strip of whalebone and showed it to them. The ends were sharp as needlepoints. The strip he coiled carefully, till it disappeared in his hand. Then, suddenly releasing it, it sprang straight again. He picked up a piece of blubber. ‘So’ he said, ‘one takes a small chunk of blubber, thus and thus makes it hollow. Then into the hollow goes the whalebone, so tightly coiled, and another piece of blubber is fitted over the whalebone. After that it is put outside where it freezes into a little round ball. The bear swallows the little round ball, the blubber melts, the whalebone with its sharp ends stands out straight, the bear gets sick, and when the bear is very sick, why, you kill him with a spear. It is quite simple.’” This explains that Keesh doesn’t kill the bears immediately with his weapons, but he used his head. Not literally, although he uses headcraft to stun the bear and killed the bear with the spear. This technique can be taught to the whole village and Keesh can be the leader of the village.
Pi on the other hand was simply using his head so that he doesn’t immediately get killed by the tiger and also he is in a very bad situation that he realized he is on a boat, very thirsty, starving, in the middle of the Pacific “And so I pushed aside all thoughts of Richard Parker and fearlessly went exploring for fresh water.” This explains that his thirst was more important than the tiger, and that he simply walked past to find water. This shows that he is brave.
“I believe it was this that saved my life that morning, that I was quite literally dying of thirst. Now that the word had popped into my head I couldn’t think of anything else, as if the word itself were salty and the more I thought of it, the worse the effect.” This environment can literally can kill a person if they don’t find food or water fast, but it depends on if they are simply thirst or dying of thirst. Also he used his brain to find the water into unexpected places. I know this because in the text it mentioned,““According to the instructions, each 500-gram carton was supposed to last me - 31 x 3 - 93 days! The instructions also suggested survivors restrict themselves to half a liter of water every twenty-four hours. I counted the cans of water. There were 124. Each contained half a liter. So I had water rations to last me 124 days.” This shows that Pi is a survival strategist.
Pi found the water cans for his thirst, but he can’t find a can opener.

The only thing he can use is the tarpaulin hooks. “The tarpaulin hooks. Short, blunt, solid. I kneeled on the bench and leaned over. Holding the can with both my hands, I sharply brought it up against a hook. A good dint. I did it again. Another dint next to the first. By dint of dinting, I managed the trick. A pearl of water appeared. I licked it off. I turned the can and banged the opposite side of the top against the hook to make another hole. I worked like a fiend. I made a larger hole. I sat back on the gunnel. I held the can up to my face. I opened my mouth. I tilted the can.” He found the can, but can’t find the can opener, so he uses a tarpaulin hook to open it. This explains how thirsty Pi is and was going to die if he didn’t open the can. He was desperate so he licked a pearl of water on the

can.
Now that they survived their situations, they just need to rely their brains to do the job. Anyone can survive on an extreme environment. If you have of what it takes to survive, you definitely need intelligence, patience, and bravery. Pi and Keesh both used their brains so that they could survive. Intelligence matters because you can’t rely on strength every time. Both characters are on a tough situation surviving harsh weather and also on a boat in the middle of the Pacific. So whatever they need to do is to rely on their brains instead of their strength. Anyone can survive on extreme environments especially Pi and Keesh who can believe they can survive and think what they’re about to do.