Life Of Pi Superego

477 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Life of Pi summary essay

In one person’s life, the psychoanalytical theory has three major parts that represent who each individual is and how they represent themselves to the rest of world. The first part is the ID, which is the only component that is supposedly present since birth. The second is the Ego, which is responsible for dealing with what is real and what is fake. The Superego is the third component; it holds all of our morals and beliefs that we pick up from our family and the rest of the world. The Superego helps us distinguish what is right from what is wrong. In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi’s ability to be accepting of new beliefs and ideals during his childhood aided him in survival on the lifeboat by making him adaptable to his situation, giving him someone to turn to …show more content…

As a young boy, Pi is nondiscriminatory when it came to different religions. However, he was not educated about these beliefs by his parents, but rather by his own experiences. Pi is born into a family that believes in Hinduistic ways of life and “feels at home in a Hindu temple” (Martel 48). Pi is raised within the culture and of Hinduism, such as being vegetarian. Eventually, at the age of fourteen, he comes to know Jesus. When Pi began to discuss the Christian religion with the priest of the church, Pi wrestles with understanding God’s compassion because he could not comprehend the idea that someone would suffer and die for all of his sins. He would ask the priest questions such as, “Why would God wish that upon Himself? Why not leave death to the mortals? Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect?” (Martel 54). This puzzled Pi even further, but the answer to each question he asked was the

Show More
Related

  • Life Of Pi Idealism And Truth Essay

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Pi is an active disciple of three separate religions, one would assume he has a shifting opinion on reality and it’s roots. Despite seeing himself as a practicing Hindu, Christian, and Muslim, he believes that there is a unity of all things. This contradicts

    Read More

  • The Role of Richard Parker in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    In drastic situations, human psychology uses coping mechanisms to help them through it. In the novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi’s coping mechanism is his religions and his projection of Richard Parker. Martel’s Life of Pi shows how the projection of Richard Parker played a greater role in keeping Pi alive in comparison to his beliefs in his religions. During the period in which Pi was stranded on the lifeboat, Richard Parker kept Pi aware, helped Pi make the right decisions, and was Pi’s sub-consciousness.

    Read More

  • Coping With Fear in Life of Pi

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fear takes a lot out of an individual as it can be the very substance that destroys them. As the Japanese proverb goes, “fear is only as deep as the mind allows.” That being said, fear is not as easy to let go of, as with anything else produced by the mind, it takes psychological stamina to get rid of. Whereas faith on the other hand, is the utmost hardest thing to possess in this world yet it is the most important thing. Faith is “the human capacity to believe what is unbelievable” (Cockeram, 4). Without faith life would have so many limitations that creativity and imagination would be merely seen as phantoms. Pi realizes that fear is “life’s only opponent” (Cockeram, 4), and so he manages to desist his fears through his faith in religion and god.

    Read More

  • Using Imagination to Cope with Suffering in Life of Pi

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Pi Patel is a sixteen year old boy whose imagination can be described to such an extent that one may actually believe it. Imagination is of great important and a prime and positive quality that Pi possessed. Religiously speaking, Pi is a very proud Hindu and although he lacks nothing, he wants more. When introduced to one religion after another he learns the importance of storytelling while also becoming aware of wording things differently even though the moral of the story is the same throughout. Being born a Hindu, Pi once heard the story of Christianity and gained the desire to become one. In response to Pi’s request, the Priest says, “You already are, Piscine-in your heart. Whoever meets Christ in good faith is a Christian. Here in Munnar you met Christ.” (Page 63) Pi began to think that he himself is Christian and will practice the faith. When b...

    Read More

  • The Power Of Religion In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    After Pi had left an island, he expressed his loyalty towards God: “I tell you, if you were in such dire straits as I was, you too would elevate your thoughts. The lower you are, the higher your mind will want to soar. It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, in the throes of unremitting suffering, I should turn to God”(Martel 358) In the previous chapter, Pi had encountered a strange island in the Pacific Ocean. There were eatable algae and fresh water to keep Pi from starvation and dehydration. There were also overcrowded meerkats to feed Richard Parker. Pi was thinking about stopping his voyage and staying on the island for the rest of his life, until he discovered some human tooth inside the leaves of a tree, and that made Pi leave the island. If it was God’s will to force Pi off the ease and secure island and continue his voyage filled with hardships and danger, it might seem that God was cruel to Pi. However, what lied beyond this risk, is a path that would lead Pi towards Mexico shore, and return back to civilization. With the hope given from despair from God, Pi finally burst out the word “I should turn to God”. Therefore, the despair, hope and guidance made Pi deepen his belief in

    Read More

  • Zoomorphism In Life Of Pi

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the start of novel, and when Pi is a child, he is extremely religious. He devotes his life to loving God, and even practices three religions to do so. He practices Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. His explanation for practicing all three is that according to Bapu Gandhi, “‘All religions are true’”(69). Pi explains that he practices all three religions because, “[he] just wants to love God”(69). Pi’s major religious values and faith in God continue to shape his life daily, until the shipwreck leaves him stranded on the Pacific, with a tiger for 227 days. Although Pi still remains religious and continues to praise God most days, the shipwreck does change Pi’s religious morals. Richard Parker is the factor that begins this change in Pi, because Pi knows that in order to survive he will have to fish to provide for Richard Parker if he wants to avoid being eaten himself. Fishing, however goes against the religious practice of Hinduism, which requires vegetarianism. Also, killing animals goes against Pi’s whole religious morals to not hurt another living being. Pi says the idea of killing a fish, and of “beating a soft living head with a hammer [is] simply too much”(183). It goes against everything he believes in. So, he decides to instead cover to fish’s head and break its neck (183). He explains that, “he [gives] up a number of times.

    Read More

  • Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    Piscine Molitor Patel is the main character of the story Life of Pi, known to as the nickname Pi. Mathematically, Pi is also a term referring to the series of endless numbers that is used to measure the circumference of a circle. People commonly used the number “3.14…” or the fraction “22/7” as Pi. Yann Martel had cleverly woven these numbers in between the stories. Throughout the novel, Pi had stated: “I survived 227 days. That’s how long my trial lasted, over seven months” (Martel 189). The 227 days that Pi Patel had survived symbolize the fraction “22/7” from the number Pi. This is an example of Martel implying geometric figures throughout the novel. In between the 227 days, a story had tested Pi in the knowledge and faith in God. Before the shipwreck happened, Pi Patel was introduced to three main religions: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islāmic. Hinduism was familiarized to Pi through his aunt since a very young age. Christianity though was introduced to Pi when he was fourteen years old and followed by a year later was Islāmic. Although these are three different religions, Pi believed that they all shared the same one God. Due to an argument with his mum, Pi stated: “I don’t see why I can’t be all three. Mamaji has two passports. He’s Indian and Fr...

    Read More

  • Yann Martel's Life of Pi

    357 Words  | 1 Pages

    Religion is and always has been a sensitive topic. Some choose to acknowledge that there is a God and some choose to deny this fact to the death. For those who deny the presence of a higher being, “Life of Pi” will most likely change your thought process concerning this issue. Yann Martel’s, “Life of Pi”, is a compelling story that shows the importance of obtaining religion and faith. Piscine (Pi) Patel is both the protagonist and the narrator of Martell’s religious eye-opener who undergoes a chain effect of unbelievable catastrophes. Each of these catastrophic events leaving him religiously stronger because he knows that in order to endure what he has endured, there has got to be a God somewhere.

    Read More

  • The Better Story in Life of Pi by Yann Martel

    1775 Words  | 4 Pages

    On its surface, Martel’s Life of Pi proceeds as a far-fetched yet not completely unbelievable tale about a young Indian boy named Pi who survives after two hundred twenty-seven days on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. It is an uplifting and entertaining story, with a few themes about companionship and survival sprinkled throughout. The ending, however, reveals a second story – a more realistic and dark account replacing the animals from the beginning with crude human counterparts. Suddenly, Life of Pi becomes more than an inspiring tale and transforms into a point to be made about rationality, faith, and how storytelling correlates the two. The point of the book is not for the reader to decide which story he or she thinks is true, but rather what story he or she thinks is the better story. In real life, this applies in a very similar way to common belief systems and religion. Whether or not God is real or a religion is true is not exactly the point, but rather whether someone chooses to believe so because it adds meaning and fulfillment to his or her life. Life of Pi is relevant to life in its demonstration of storytelling as a means of experiencing life through “the better story.”

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Religion In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi 63) In Yann Martel’s riveting novel “Life of Pi” The basic plot of survival unfolds, however, this essay will show how the hidden yet the dominant theme of religion throughout the story is what helped the main character Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) survive.

    Read More

  • Religion In Yann Martel's The Life Of Pi

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pi turns to God and says aloud, “‘Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die.’” (Martel, 148). Instead of giving up, he used a miracle that God gives him and turns it into a routine. His belief of God watching over him gave him a lot of motivation Pi explains his struggles when he says “You might think I lost all hope at one point. I did. And as a result, I perked up and felt much better. We see it in sports all the time don’t we?” (Martel 134). At this moment, Pi decides to disregard Richard Parker and focus on his thirst. He thinks back to how when Jesus was crucified, that his only complaint was thirst. This gave Pi a reason to help himself by letting go of his worrying. As he slowly becomes more depressed, Pi comes to the realization that “God’s hat was always unraveling. God’s pants were falling apart. God’s cat was a constant danger. God’s ark was a jail. God’s wide acres were slowly killing me. God’s ear didn’t seem to be listening.” (Martel, 209). Whenever Pi starts to upset about his situation, he yells about how everything symbolizes God. Although sometimes it did not help, Pi says that he will continue to hope and love

    Read More

  • Sigmund Freud and Everyday Use

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sigmund Freud is best known for his development and use of psychoanalysis. The theory of psychoanalysis focuses on the concept of how our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and emotions play an active role in our daily lives. The id, ego, and superego are the three mental zones that encompass our psyche. Each zone has a specific function: The id functions on the pleasure principle; the ego on the protection of the individual; and the superego on protection of society. The degree of which each zone has been developed can be broken down and then analyzed. These three zones can be visualized by imagining a pie cut into three slices.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Dualism In Life Of Pi

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pi, short for Piscine, meaning a rational source of water, is a rational man living in the irrational world, who believes in not one, but three religions, which some may say is irrational. Pi, whose family owned a zoo, faced many hardships

    Read More

  • The Key Roles Of Religion In Pi's Hope For Survival

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Once, Pi almost gives up on the sea, but prayers let him take heart of grace again: “I was giving up. I would have given up-if a voice hadn’t made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, ‘I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, as long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.’” (Martel p.186). When Pi stays on the lifeboat and hopes for being rescued, he keeps busy with daily rituals. Pi prays more than he does anything else on the raft. He considers prayers just as important as any other physical preparation. Religion is Pi’s emotional anchor, it gives him the sense of belief and hope for survival. Therefore, religion is significant in Pi’s

    Read More

  • The Ego and the Id

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    The ego struggle to keep the id happy. The ego meets with obstacles in the world. It occasionally with objects that actually assists it in attaining it goals. The ego keeps a record of the obstacles and aides. It also keeps a record of punishments and rewards administered out by the two must influential objects in the world of a child, its mom and dad. This record of things to avoid and strategies to take becomes the superego. As stated earlier the primary function of the id is to satisfy its immediate instincts, drive and urges it superego that links the mind to society and reality. As Freud (1960) states \"superego is however, not simply a residue of the earliest choices of the id; it also represents an energetic reaction formation against those choices\" (p.24).

    Read More

More about Life Of Pi Superego

Open Document