Symbolism and Survival in Life of Pi, Yann Martel

940 Words2 Pages

Imagine being stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat, not alone but with some carnivorous animals, as company. The chances of survival do not seem so high, but when one has the will to survive, they can do anything to attain it. Pi Patel and his family are on their way to Canada from Pondicherry, India, when their cargo ship the Tsimtsum sinks. Pi is not the only survivor of the ship, along with him is a hyena, an injured zebra, an orangutan and a 450-pound orange Bengal tiger. Pi travels across the Pacific Ocean in only a lifeboat, with food dwindling quickly, he needs to find land and most of all survive the voyage. In Life of Pi; Yann Martel develops the idea that having the will to survive is a crucial key to survival; this is demonstrated through symbolism of the colour orange, having religion on the protagonist’s side and the thirst and hunger experienced by the protagonist. The colour orange can symbolize many things such as happiness, success, determination but in Life of Pi, it represents the survival. Pi has to suffer through many things such as living in the ocean, finding food, making sure he is protected from the sun, and most of all living with a Bengal tiger, all of this to make it through until he finds land. Firstly, there are many things inside the boat that are orange that represent survival: “It seems orange- such a nice Hindu colour- is the colour of survival because the whole inside of the boat and the tarpaulin and the life jackets and the lifebuoy and the oars and most every other significant object aboard was orange. Even the plastic, beadless whistles were orange” (Martel 153). All of these orange obje...

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...he will to survive the voyage. In conclusion, the main idea in Life of Pi is that having the will to survive is a key component to survival. The three ways this is shown is through symbolism of the colour orange, having religion on the protagonist’s side and the thirst and hunger experienced by the protagonist. Things do not always happen the way one would want them to happen: “Things didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it” (101) Faith determines ones destiny and nothing can be changed about that, one can live their life to the fullest and enjoy every moment and not regret it. No matter what faith throws at one, as long as they have the will to survive they can pull through anything.

Works Cited

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Canada: Random House of Canada, 2001.

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