Life Of Pi Nature Vs Nurture Analysis

The question of "nurture or nature?" is a frequent visitor in the thoughts of parents, philosophers, and scientists alike. What is it that shapes the human brain? Is each child molded by the culture of their family and the surrounding area (nurture) or are they simply born with a set of beliefs and values firmly established in their minds (nature)? For Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) in Yann Martel's Life of Pi, it is a little bit of both nurture and nature that shapes him. Some of the beliefs Pi holds dear are so different from those of his family that the only logical conclusion I can draw is that he was born with them. On the other hand, Pi's childhood in Pondicherry, India also left him with a few lasting ideas that he later made his own. Pi’s

belief in the wild, inhuman nature of animals led, ultimately, to his survival, his belief in the ability of religion to help a person find peace led him to have hope, and his belief that all animals are worthy of love and respect led him to find a companion in a tiger.
As Mr. Santosh Patel, Pi’s father, was the founder and owner of the Pondicherry Zoo, Pi spent much of his childhood in India around animals of all different kinds. He grew to know and love the colorful orang-utans and the zebras with perfect stripes, along with the hundreds of other species that resided there. But there was one animal colored a fiery orange that instilled a sense of fear inside of him, all because of a gruesome experience orchestrated by his father and patronizingly dubbed “a lesson.” It was a Sunday morning, and Pi was only eight years old. He and his brother, Ravi, were called to the zoo and subsequently taken to the home of a tiger. They were forced to watch (though Pi hid his face away) as a goat was placed into the cage and attacked with incredible ferocity by the hungry animal, all so that Mr. Patel could make the point that tigers were formidable creatures and should be avoided at all costs. Mr. Patel said in explanation, “Every animal is ferocious and dangerous” (38). On a larger scale, he was essentially ingraining in Pi the belief that animals should not be personified or mistakenly thought to be cuddly or harmless because they, put simply, are not. Pi noted, “Father believed there was another animal even more dangerous than us…the redoubtable species Animalus anthropomorphicus, the animal as seen through human eyes” (31). The people who visit the Pondicherry Zoo are a reinforcement of Pi’s father’s lesson and further push this belief upon Pi: when they transform the animal they see in front of them into something human, something with a name and a collection of complex feelings and thoughts (the concept of Animalus anthropomorphicus) they are often obviously penalized in one way or another by the animal they once thought was cute.
As a result of the lesson his father fixed in his mind, Pi was quite afraid of Richard Parker, the tiger, at the beginning of his time on the lifeboat. Any of us would be, of course, but Pi’s natural, relaxed attitude toward animals was canceled out by this by this belief. Pi even admitted, “With a tiger aboard, my life was over” (135). As time moved on, Pi realized that he must conquer the problem of Richard Parker, because, as he stated, “If he died I would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger. If I had the will to live, it was thanks to Richard Parker” (164). But even though Pi called the tiger by a human name and actually began to see him as a companion, he never made the mistake of thinking Richard Parker was harmless, or had thoughts beyond thirst and hunger. He knew that the tiger was an animal, and must be treated as one--which meant indicating himself to be as the leader, the one not to be questioned or messed with. So, just as he had firmly established himself as “Pi” and not “Pissing” in his secondary-school years, Pi established himself as the alpha tiger. After his first attempt at taming the tiger, Pi noted about Richard Parker: “He backed off and dropped to the bottom of the boat… It was a resounding success” (166). The fact that Pi can so expertly take off the rose-colored glasses most people put on when looking at animals proves his discipline and true interest in animals--had I not known of his belief, I may have assumed he was heartless based upon his actions toward Richard Parker.
Despite the fact that animals are obviously not humans and should never be personified, Pi strongly believes that they are worthy of love and respect. The atmosphere Pi grew up in is the main reason behind this uncommon belief: not only was Pi born to the owner of a zoo, but he was also born in a country where the majority of the population sees cows (along with other animals) as sacred, as this is part of the Hindu religion. This belief is obvious not only from the display of vigor and extensive knowledge with which Pi argues that animals are better off in zoos than in the wild, but also from the almost reverent way he refers to animals. He commented: “I spent more hours than I can count a quiet witness to the highly mannered, manifold expressions of life that grace our planet. It is something so bright, loud, weird, and delicate as to stupefy the senses” (15). Pi is also a vegetarian--from this I can conclude that he has enough respect for animals that he chooses to avoid the temptation of plump, juicy steak or pork ribs drenched in sweet barbecue sauce.
Pi may have managed to continue being a vegetarian for sixteen years in Pondicherry, India, but on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he barely managed a couple of weeks before he was forced to give in to eating fish, despite his belief that all animals are worthy of love and respect. What made his belief apparent was the way he went about killing his first fish. Pi described, “The idea of beating a soft, living head with a hammer was simply too much… I was appalled. I gave up a number of times… Tears flowing down my cheeks, I egged myself on until I heard a cracking sound… I wept heartily over this poor little deceased soul… I never forget to include this fish in my prayers” (183). Pi also frequently fed Richard Parker on the lifeboat, and even expressed his love for the tiger long after the ordeal was over. Overall, it seems that Richard Parker became more of a companion than a threat to Pi. Anyone who did not know Pi held this belief would think he was overly sensitive for crying about a dead fish, or perhaps even suicidal for feeding a tiger. But because I knew of Pi’s belief that all animals are worthy of love and respect, I understood Pi’s personality a bit better--he simply cared about animals a lot.
Over the course of the sixteen years he spent in Pondicherry, India, Pi was fortunate to meet three mentor-like individuals, each so infatuated with his own belief system that he was willing to share it with whoever would listen. There was Father Martin, a Christian, Mr. Kumar the baker, a Muslim, and Mr. Kumar, the science teacher. Each taught Pi of the ability about the ways belief systems help people find peace, refuge, and most importantly, hope, even in the face of great adversity. Father Martin, an acquaintance Pi made when visiting a hill station in Munnar, India, told him the Story of Jesus, and taught Pi to have faith in God--God may make decisions you do not understand at first (such as allowing Jesus to die on the cross) but, Father Martin repeats, everything He does, He does out of love. And, simply by introducing Pi to the ways of Islam, Mr. Kumar the baker taught Pi the peace in prayer and showed him the spiritual rewards it brings. Pi said, “I sometimes came out of that bakery feeling heavy with glory… The presence of God is the finest of rewards” (62-63). Lastly, Mr. Kumar the teacher may have been an avowed atheist, but his belief system was just as well-formed as any of the other religions: it was science. He taught Pi that knowledge is light, and light, logically and metaphorically speaking, will always guide you through even the darkest of times. Mr. Kumar explained, “Everything is here and clear, if only we look carefully… Reason is my prophet” (27-28).
The teachings of each of these individuals may not seem important in Pi’s story--Pi’s main concern is surviving, not pledging his dedication to a belief system in a church, a mosque, or a laboratory.

But survival is not simply oriented around physically continuing to live: it is also about staying mentally sane. Physical survival depends on mental survival--how can you possibly make good decisions about rationing supplies or even remember to feed yourself if you don’t have your wits about you? And mental survival, in turn, depends on faith of some sort. As a result of the teachings of Father Martin and the two Mr. Kumars, Pi had faith in religion and in science. As for religion, Pi demonstrated this belief quite obviously when he said, “So long as God is with me, I will not die” (148). Pi also demonstrated his belief in religion when he described his daily schedule, which involved prayer five times a day. And, as for science, Pi essentially put his life into the hands of science when he relied on the knowledge he had of animal behavior to tame Richard Parker, a large, extremely dangerous tiger. Faith in multiple belief systems gave Pi hope that someday he would be saved, and this shaped him into a fighter, into someone determined to live no matter his situation. Pi remarks, “I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live… Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still others--and I am one of those--never give up” (148). Overall, it would be difficult to understand how exactly Pi survived 277 days on a lifeboat with a tiger without knowing Pi’s strong belief in religion and its power to help him find hope in the face of adversity--it may even deter you from believing in Pi’s story in the first

place.
The statement “Geography is destiny!” frequently flows from the mouth of social studies teachers, and is quickly followed by a flood of passion in the form of words. This statement is a river, and the expectation is that anyone who hears the reasons behind it will be swept into the current. I must admit: it sounds childish at first, perhaps even silly. But I, too, have been pulled into the current. Take the case of Pi Patel, for example. Pi believes in the naturally inhuman nature of animals, and so he treats them accordingly, all because he essentially grew up in a zoo. He believes in the power of religion to illuminate a path to peace, and so he finds hope in even the darkest of times, all because he grew up in a town with many mentor-like, religious individuals. And he believes that all animals are worthy of love and respect, so he becomes friends with a tiger, all because he grew up in India, where he was surrounded by a Hinduism-oriented culture. And who determines our geography, or where we spend our lives? Some may say, God does. Maybe, as Francis Adirubasamy so eloquently stated, Life of Pi truly is a story to make you believe in God.