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.”
Life of Pi begins with an author’s note in which Martel describes being told by the character Mamaji that Pi has “‘a story that will make you believe in God’” (ix). This essentially sets up the basis for the entire theme of the novel. The main character, Pi, claims to practice three religions simultaneously: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam (Martel 81). Much of Pi’s explanation of his own childhood consists of his own religious journeys. He begins with an explanation of how his aunt introduced him to Hinduism upon ...
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...h up their session, Pi asks them, “‘So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the question either way, which story do you prefer?’” The factual or provable existence of God is not necessarily relevant to whether someone should believe in Him. This requirement of proof for belief is typical of the agnostic, whose sole belief is that he or she cannot believe either way because there is no proof either way. However, life is a story, and in real life, there must be a story to tell. When it comes to Life of Pi, there is hardly any difference between life and story, so how could the novel not mimic life, being the story of a life itself? A life perhaps embellished to become better, just as readers must embellish their own lives in favor of the better story.
Works Cited
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. New York: Harcourt, 2001. Print.
Faith is defined by acquiring substantial confidence in something that cannot be explained using definite material proof. Although faith is often mentioned when speaking of religion, one can have faith in anything. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, both authors acknowledge the importance of faith in family, friends, and oneself; however, the main focus of faith in both novels is centered on religion. Both novels emphasize that a strong faith is fundamental in overcoming both emotional and physical obstacles. In the novels Life of Pi and A Prayer for Owen Meany, this is expressed through symbolism, characterization, and plot.
Aesthetically, the fiction which reveals a truth by explicit sermonising rather than as a natural conclusion drawn from the relationships and events it presents, is displeasing, even "immoral." Indeed, Martel's statement is likely to have the opposite effect on his reader, provoking a determined counter-reaction not to succumb to a didactic religious agenda. Surely enough, Life of Pi fails to meet its ambition. As he travels through its pages, apparently on the Damascun road to enlightenment, the reader will not, atheist or already committed follower, experience some major revelation to the spirit, coming to, or restoring, a belief in God.
One of life’s many unanswered questions is life after the end of mortality. The only plausible way humans are able to conjure up an answer is through religion. Since the forbidden fruit was picked of the calamitous tree, millions of religions have brewed and been thrown into the everlasting pot of humanity. This quest for answers of the unknown and the unique struggle of finding oneself within faith is lucidly mirrored in Life of Pi. This inimitable and emotionally exhausting novel is set in the 1970’s, when the ghastlier side of Gandhi began to emerge, and religious freedom was limited. Although our world has changed quite a bit from those drastic times, people in our world today still struggle with the stereotypical notions that are etched onto all, if not most of our world’s pieties. In Life of Pi, a young boy with a mind of a magnet explores the meaning of life, and through out his saddening, valiant journey, he realizes that although different hands crafted our world’s religions, these hands were created by one universal force. Yann Martel expresses his personnel motif through symbolism, ideology, and characterization so boldly; it was as if Agni claimed he was our mortal savoir.
From the beginning of the novel it is pretty clear that religion is a major issue in the life of Pi Patel. “I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices”(3). However, when the Christian and Islamic faiths are presented to him, he can’t decide which practice he wants to call his own. In fact, he wants to know why can’t he be all three of them. The reason Pi can’t decide on which religious practice he will be ultimately faithful to is because he notice so man similarities in the three of them. Mainly the Christian and Islamic practices. When asked why doesn’t he choose between the three he replies, “I just want to love God” (69). Be that as it may, his faith(s) are soon put to the ultimate test.
In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the sinking of a ship begins Pi’s journey through the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat. Yann Martel writes through the eyes of Pi as he experiences an epic 227 day journey with a Bengal tiger as his companion. The novel, however, is known for its double-story ending. When Pi is finally safe on land and getting interviewed about his adventure, he reveals an alternative story about what happened, one that involves humans. The human story is an incredibly harrowing tale of how Pi survived under terrible conditions. In Pi’s case, the embellishing of the human story to turn it into the animal story is a coping mechanism. This novel shows that as long as the
In the book the Life of Pi by Yann Martel, religion plays an important role in Pi’s life. When on the lifeboat, Pi used his faith as a way to motivate himself to live. Without his religious beliefs, there is no way to guarantee he would have made it off the lifeboat.
It is said the a person’s process of discovery is shaped by their personality, culture, history and values, however the opposite is also true, someone’s personal, cultural, historical and social contexts and values, their personal aspects, can also be shaped by the discoveries they make, with discovery acting as the journey towards a change in one’s personal aspects. This is true of the film, “Life of Pi,” directed by Ang Lee and the illustration, “Self Help,” by Michael Leunig. The most striking features of the film is Pi’s faith to God and his connection with religion. His discovery and spirituality rely on each other, depicted as a gradual progression that spans his life, his childhood all the way to his time with Richard Parker on the life
The Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is the story of a young man, Piscine, or Pi for short, who experiences unbelievable and unrealistic events, which are so unrealistic ambiguity is aroused amongst the reader. Duality reoccurs over the course of the novel through every aspect of Pi’s world view and is particularly seen in the two contradictory stories, which displays the brutal nature of the world. Martel wonderfully crafts and image of duality and skepticism though each story incorporated in this novel.
Religion often enriches people’s lives and impacts their attitudes towards the world. Everyone in the world may believe in gods, and whether they believe or not, miracles do happen. In the book “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, multiple religions inspire the protagonist Pi as a child and ultimately save his life as a castaway after a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean. As Pi is introduced to Hinduism, Christianity, and Islamic in his early childhood, his mind becomes preoccupied with love, compassion, and gratitude. The elements of love, compassion, and gratitude support this spiritual young man to endure and triumph over the chaos left by the aftermath of the shipwreck. Overall, religion plays a significant role in Pi’s devastating journey by providing
Imagine losing all of your family without being to say goodbye, only to be stuck in the middle of the ocean, and no one coming to your help. The story “Life of Pi” is a story that makes people believe in miracles. The protagonist name is Piscine Molitor Patel, but he calls himself Pi to avoid people mispronouncing his name. The first half of the book Pi talks about his background and his religions. The main story talks place in the second half of the book. His family is moving their zoo to Canada, so they decide to go on the boat with the animals. A few days later the ship sinks and Pi is the only one human to survive. Pi is stuck on the life boat with hyena, tiger, orangutan, and a zebra. He is lost at sea for 227 days and only he and a tiger named Richard Parker are alive. When he tells people about his survivor story they don’t believe him. Pi then tells a story that makes the animal represent humans and people start to believe him more. Yann Martel in “Life of Pi” uses conflict, character growth, imagery, and epilogue to make the audience think the story is real.
Pi is an indian, but except Hinduism, he also believes in Christianity and Islam. It is pretty unusual. However, these three religions save his life when he meets storm on the sea. Religion is a key component in Pi’s survival because it lets him understand that he has to coexist with other creatures, it leads Pi to accept that even if he did not survive he would be redeemed, and it gives Pi the hope for survival.
Yann Martel’s trip to Portugal in 1939 inspired him to write Life of Pi. He never actually took into consideration about believing in God until this trip occurred. Telling his story made Martel believe that it can have a effect on other people's lives. This motivated Martel to write this novel, that opened his mind about believing in God and how believing in God can impact your life in many different ways. Like seeing things around the world differently, or making wise decisions in your life.
Pi enjoys different aspects of each religion which is: Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Despite the fact that these religions may contradict each other, Pi finds a way to love and accept each of them. Pi comes across a priest, and Imam, and a Pandit who change Pi 's life forever. These three encounters let Pi into the world of different belief systems, in which he become increasingly interested. Early on in the novel, Pi starts to discover different rituals, and rules of each religion. The reader also gets to see religious objects that have sentimental meaning to religious and faithful groups that allow for comfort. Through Pi 's discoveries of these things the theme of religion becomes more evident. People use religion, beliefs, rituals, and routine to simply make life more enjoyable, easier to live by, and less boring by giving someone something to believe
These lines detract from the credibility of the narrative voice because they prove that Pi knows how to craft an intriguing story. Pi’s childhood is filled with the imaginative works of Robinson Crusoe and Robert Louis Stevenson; therefore, Pi might have been inspired by these writers to twist the truth in his story. Pi could have decided to add life and inspiration to his story, in order to engage
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.