Persuasive Essay On Life Of Pi

1555 Words4 Pages

What does it mean to be human? I undoubtedly believe there is no true verbal or written answer to this question. That there is not enough words in the human language that covers the brutality, compassion, greed, love, and other aspects of simply being human. Nevertheless, the answer lies in the feeling in the pit of your stomach as you ask yourself. In the way those thoughts feels to be the constructing of the equation to the universe as you stumble over all the potential good you can do, all the grotesque things you are capable of or have done, and the control, or lack thereof, in our life. In the fictional book, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi, a young indian boy immigrating to Canada gets stranded in the ocean with a tiger for 227 days after …show more content…

Pi must overcome the physical and mental consequences of starvation, dehydration, and isolation, but Pi proves “Life will defend itself no matter how small it is.”(41). Yann Martel gives two very different, yet similar accounts of what took place when Piscine was stranded at sea. The story Yann Martel retells with the older Pi, recounts a boy on a boat trying to dominate a tiger, Richard Parker, to keep both him and the tiger alive while being stranded. The other version Yann reveals to the reader is one to satisfy the Japanese ministry of transport. He tells a tale of a cannibalistic french men, who dominates the three other survivors on the ship and eventually murders two of them, one of the victims being Pi’s mother. Connections between characters from both stories as being a metaphor …show more content…

They prove to be the most faithful to them...” (39). I found this interesting when looking at Pi’s relationship between him and Richard Parker. Who was truly inferior to the other? Yes, Pi held dominance over Richard Parker but he “gave me a life...at the expense of another” (225). Perhaps Pi is the only one who knows the truth. However, no matter which story is true, Pi’s experience affirms that Pi, down to his core is a storyteller. He is a man who loves and plays with reason, shown by his double major bachelor degrees, but is also, I believe, is a bit consumed with the need of ability to have faith, whether that be in stories, religion, or maybe even his own truth. Pi chose his “better story”, and I presuppose that he does actually believe his account with the animals and holds the other story in his mind more just to acknowledge it (352). If the second description is true Pi wouldn’t forget that knowledge, while he has an idolatry for imagination he has too much respect for facts. Thus, is the justification in both stories he does an act of some type of cannibalism. It is one of the truths that must not be

Open Document