Pi Lifeboat

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In the book Life of Pi, the main character Pi is the only human survivor of a shipwreck that leaves his family and most of their zoo animals dead. Pi is presumed to be the only human survivor, though some of the zoo animals survive. He is stranded on a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra and a bengal tiger. While on the lifeboat, Pi experiences extreme feelings of despair, anger and desolation, which forces him to confront his faith in God.

In the beginning of the book, Pi has a strong love and a deep belief in God. Later in the book, but in this chapter Pi begins to doubt God. After Pi has been floating in the lifeboat for about a week, he is experiencing extreme hunger, blisters, swollen ankles and great physical suffering. Then …show more content…

While Pi is on the lifeboat, he says, “Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love-but sometimes it was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to lift it back up.” (pg. 208-209). By saying this, Pi means that hard emotions like anger, desolation and weariness have the possibility to overpower love, and faith in God. This quote shows that Pi is losing faith in God because his religious beliefs are almost not strong enough to overpower his suffering. Eventually, Pi also says, “The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining point of light in my heart. I would go on loving.” (pg. 209). When Pi says this, he means that the despair that almost takes his belief in God away, can eventually life and shine through again. Pi is saying that his love of God is always in his heart, his hardships are almost strong enough to take over. This quote shows, that even though Pi’s religious beliefs are disintegrating, God always remains in his heart. During his painful time as a castaway, Pi must cope with despair, which challenges his former religious beliefs and allows him to find his true

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