The Importance Of Part One In Life Of Pi

The Importance of Part One in the Book, "Life of Pi" This Canadian fantasy adventure novel is authored about an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores religion from an early age

. The events that took place demonstrate: shows Pi 's younger self living in India, his devotion to God , why the Patels leave India. Part one is an interesting 103 pages of a man reflecting on his younger self, and portraying a story through his eyes.

Part one of the book is not being told by Pi as a child, however it is being told as Pi 's older self. "Richard Parker has stayed with me. I 've never forgotten him. Dare I say I miss him? I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love."(Martel 7). This

The Pi that the reader readers about in part one is drastically different from the Pi the readers reads about in part two, and the Pi the reader reads about in part two is different than the Pi in part three, and so forth. The reader also learns Pi got his unusual name from his uncle, 'Francis Adirubasamy ', who loved swimming, and named Pi after his favourite pool. "I was named after a swimming pool."(Martel 8). Names can have multiple meanings; Piscine, Thirsty, Orange Juice, all of these names are linked to liquid, a major setting in the book. Pi explains how he got his nickname, which represents the mathematical figure 3.14. The number represents 'alpha ' and 'omega ' which in the Greek alphabet mean the beginning, and the end. The number also represents a circle, a circle has beginning, and end as well. Pi 's name can be interpreted in many different ways, however they all come down to his name have a beginning and end which relates to religious beliefs. While Pi was brought up as a Hindu, he later on discovers Christianity, and Islam, going against what his parents he decides to practice all three religions. Pi also talks about his father, the

Pi was born a Hindu, he then becomes Christian, and later on he becomes Muslim. Pi believes that no one single religion is complete in itself, but all religions are combined lead the path towards interest/belief in higher power. "I know a woman here in Toronto who is very dear to my heart. [...].Though she lived in Toronto for over thirty years, her French-speaking mind still slips on occasion on the understanding of English sounds. And so, when she first heard of Hare Krishnas, she didn 't hear right. She heard "Hairless Christians", and that is what they were to her for many years. When I corrected her, I told her that in fact she was not so wrong; that Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are breaded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims."(Martel 54). Pi utilizes this mistake to expound that he believes that these three religions have little to no difference in their practices. While on the life raft Pi still keeps fate in God which helps him with his survival.