Life Of Pi And Unbroken Essay

The demand to survive in an extreme environment encourages certain individuals to proceed to live their life despite the hardships they may face. In the novels, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the individuals must discover what it takes to obtain the will to survive in these extreme environments they are presented with. Thus, resulting in comparisons between their mental states (internal challenges), and contrasts between their physical states (external challenges) by Louie Zamperini and Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi).
To inaugurate, it is lucid that Louie from Unbroken and Pi from Life of Pi share reflecting qualities in their mental state. For example, in the text Unbroken, it states,”His vibrant body had shrunken until only the bones remained, draped in yellow skin, crawling with parasites. All I see, he thought, is a dead body breathing.” This shows that even though Louie is in a very unfortunate situation and tends to lose hope and confidence, that very element of his mental state is what pushes him to strive to live and continue with his life. Likewise, in Life of Pi, it similarly states, “ You might think I lost all hope at that point. I did. And as a result, I perked up and felt much better.”. This coherently indicates how along

with Louie, Pi as well is at one of his lowest points. However, it doesn't diminish his will to survive, it only aids him to excel in his mission to live. Furthermore, the two individual’s mental state are also akin because in Unbroken, its states that, “ He remembered a college instructor telling him to think of the brain as a muscle, needing exercise to stay in shape. Louie was determined to keep himself and the other lucid.” This demonstrates how Louie still never gives up and he reminds himself of past experiences to keep his will to survive going. He knows that staying sane is a key factor to access that will to survive. Comparably, in Life of Pi, it states, “It might be weeks before a ship sighted me. I had all the time in the world. Resolve? There’s nothing like extreme need to give you resolve. Knowledge? Was I not a Zookeeper’s son? Reward? Was there any reward greater in life? Any punishment worse than death? I looked at Richard Parker. My panic was gone. My fear was dominated (exercised control over). Survival was at hand.” This exhibits how Pi isn't lost in his thoughts. He knows how valuable his sanity is just like Louie and he is attempting to help Richard Parker and himself since he knows instead of shying away from Richard Parker he will use his presence to his advantage. This relates to the article “127 hours” in the same manner because when he had low hopes and thought that he wasn't going to get out of being crushed by an 800 pound boulder, it didn't make him give up, it only inspired and motivated him to have even more strength and will power to rescue himself. It helps him clear his mind and organize his thoughts only to later escape from that boulder Hence, showcasing how the significance of each situation both connects and results in the same outcome of overcoming these internal challenges.
Although there are mirrored qualities in the individual’s mental state, each of their physical states majorly differs from one another. For instance, in Life of Pi, it states,” The divining rod (a tool used to find underground water sources) in my mind dipped sharply and a spring gushed water when I remembered that I was on a genuine, regulation lifeboat and that such a lifeboat was surely outfitted with supplies. That seemed like a perfectly reasonable proposition.“ This reveals that he had a somewhat reliable supply of resources because there is only one person to feed, and that’s what the lifeboat was meant for. This majorly impacts the will to survive because if you have these resources, it will boost your confidence level and help convince yourself that you are going to live while simultaneously obtaining the will to survive. However, according to Unbroken, it states “Whatever was in the raft pockets was all they'd have…That was all there was. No knife, nothing for shelter, no fishnet, no radio” This establishes the minimal resources Louie and his crew had had while trying to live. Since there are three people aboard, it was difficult to live with these limited resources. Unlike Pi who only had to feed one person and had more supplies. Moreover, another contradicting element between the two individual’s situation is their living conditions. In Life of Pi, it states, “It was three and a half feet deep, eight feet wide and twenty-six feet long, exactly. I know because it was printed on one side of the benches in black letters. It also said that the lifeboat was designed to accommodate a maximum of thirty-two people.” This displays how the lifeboat the Pi is on is pretty spacious. It proves how he can live somewhat comfortably since it is meant for 30 more individuals other than Pi and Richard Parker. Conflictingly, in Unbroken, that is not at all the case for it is stated,”Phil’s raft was slashed in two. Shrunken and formless, it lapped on the ocean surface. The men were sardined on mac and Louie’s rafts, its canvas speckles with dozens of tiny bullet holes. Both of its air chambers were punctured. Each time someone moved, air sighed out and the raft sat lowed in the water.” Now, unlike Pi, these when had no personal space whatsoever. These rafts that were meant for only one person each now had three people on them. The author uses descriptive words such as ‘sardined’ in order to dramatize the severity of how crammed and packed the crew was in these small inflated rafts that were practically deflating overtime they took a breath. This connects to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games because the main character, Katniss Everdeen must find other alternatives to support herself in the arena and survive, and in doing this it only skyrockets her will to survive to be higher than ever. Therefore, portraying how each distinctive physical circumstance faced by the individuals each affect them asymmetrically but both push them to reach and capture the essence of the will to survive.
As you can see, it is evident that there are a quite a few comparisons and contrasts presented between the individuals mental and physical state.

Louie from Unbroken and Pi from Life of Pi both undergo specific challenges that help their well-being flourish and advance in order to help them achieve the common goal of grasping the essence of the will to survive in an extreme environment like the ones these characters faced. Thus, it is clearly shown throughout each text that the internal obstacles of Louie and Pi share common qualities, however, the two both differ when it comes to their physical state in which Pi has much more supplies and resources for himself the Louie does for the three people

aboard.