Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Symbolism in the life of pi
Symbolism in the life of pi
The life of pi symbolism psychology
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Symbolism in the life of pi
Life is a repeating cycle of endless trials and unexpected changes. Whether the changes were the test in faith, belief or courage, the trials never end. This is very similar to the endless series of numbers that make up Pi. Faith, on the other hand, is the circumference which guided Pi along the circle of trials. The story Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is a story about how the influence of geometry had helped a boy hold his faith in God and survive the incredible shipwreck that shaped his life forever.
Piscine Molitor Patel, also known to Pi Patel, was the main character in the story. Pi had lived a life of faith. Nevertheless, the boy had never stopped loving God. Mr. Francis Adirubasamy had once mentioned the toy train in the botanical garden, “A train still runs on Sundays for the amusement of the children. But it used to run twice an hour everyday…The toy train had two stops: Roseville and Zootown. Once upon a time there was a zoo in the Pondicherry Botanical Garden (Martel XI)”. Pi’s faith in God is like the toy train. It is a cycle that must be tested over and over again. No matter how busy Pi’s life was, he never forgets to slip in a prayer during his days. No matter what changes will be made in his life, Pi will always return to God. No matter how many times the train stopped, it will always continue to be on its track. No matter whether the train was broken or stop functioning, it could always be fixed and continue to toot its way around the track.
Pi had been trapped by the figures of geometry during his journey and throughout his faith. Pi had once noted: “To be a castaway is to be a point perpetually at the centre of a circle. However much things may appear to change...the geometry never changes. Your gaze is a...
... middle of paper ...
...I hate about my nick name, the way that number runs on forever. It’s important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go (Martel 285)”. The period in “3.14” had concluded Pi before a series of endless numbers let loose into an unexpected direction. This is the reason why the period is a very important component that made up Pi.
Geometry reference had played a major role in shaping Life of Pi. It had guided Pi Patel along his faith in God. It had also created a sense of harmony in orders of things and had makes Pi’s journey what it had become. The trials in the trapping of geometry had shaped Pi’s future tremendously. Life of Pi had taught a lesson of keeping an endless faith no matter what the unexpected turns had become in the endless series of number “3.14…”
Works Cited
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: A Novel. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2003. Print.
In conclusion, this is why I believe the book “Life of PI” is a story about a hero’s journey in the book. Pi is thrown into the situation without doing anything wrong. Pi doesn’t deserve this, infact he is a bright and smart kid as mentioned in earlier pages from the book. You want Pi to live, mainly because Pi doesn’t deserve to die. This, in the end, is why I believe Pi’s journey of survival in the harsh Pacific Ocean is a hero’s journey type of
Despite not agreeing with his biology teacher, Mr. Kumar’s beliefs, as he stated “There are no grounds for going beyond a scientific explanation of reality and no sound reason for believing anything but our sense experience.” (Life or Pi, p.34.), and “religion is darkness” (Life of Pi, pg.34.), Pi stated that Mr. Kumar went on to become his favorite teacher and the reason he studied zoology. Kumar was a critical person in his life that enabled Pi to see life through a different lense. He impacted Pi in a another, more abstract way. Mr. Kumar represents Pi’s logical aspect, which in the end impacts Pi in life saving way. Adding logic and reason to Pi’s spiritual wheel empowered him to solve problems that came his way on the lifeboat, and also taught him to develop a relationship with someone who thinks noticeably different than him. Pi’s view on truth and belief is consummated as Pi tells the story in the concluding portion of the novel. Each version contains a different genus of truth. As one story is supported by facts, and the other has an emotional truth that cannot be proven right nor wrong. This moment culminates Pi’s outlook on the concept of truth and the way he relates it to his spiritual aspect of his
In drastic situations, human psychology uses coping mechanisms to help them through it. In the novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi’s coping mechanism is his religions and his projection of Richard Parker. Martel’s Life of Pi shows how the projection of Richard Parker played a greater role in keeping Pi alive in comparison to his beliefs in his religions. During the period in which Pi was stranded on the lifeboat, Richard Parker kept Pi aware, helped Pi make the right decisions, and was Pi’s sub-consciousness.
This alternate ending plays a key role in understanding how to view the novel through Freudian lenses. Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis clarifies many troubling issues raised in the novel Life of Pi. Martel’s novel is about the journey of a young man being forced to test his limits in order to survive the unthinkable predicament of being lost at sea alongside an adult Bengal tiger. Life of Pi starts out by introducing an anonymous author on a quest to find his next big story and goes to a man by the name of Piscine Molitor Patel who supposedly has a story worth hearing. Patel begins his story talking about his childhood and the main events that shaped him such as his family’s zoo, the constant curiosity in religion he sought as a young boy and also how he got his nickname Pi.
The plot of Pi is an examination of genius and madness and how one can
Religion is and always has been a sensitive topic. Some choose to acknowledge that there is a God and some choose to deny this fact to the death. For those who deny the presence of a higher being, “Life of Pi” will most likely change your thought process concerning this issue. Yann Martel’s, “Life of Pi”, is a compelling story that shows the importance of obtaining religion and faith. Piscine (Pi) Patel is both the protagonist and the narrator of Martell’s religious eye-opener who undergoes a chain effect of unbelievable catastrophes. Each of these catastrophic events leaving him religiously stronger because he knows that in order to endure what he has endured, there has got to be a God somewhere.
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 ...
“The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi 63) In Yann Martel’s riveting novel “Life of Pi” The basic plot of survival unfolds, however, this essay will show how the hidden yet the dominant theme of religion throughout the story is what helped the main character Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) survive.
Ever wanted to try a marijuana cookie? Well, after reading this article you probably won’t want to anymore. In the article, Pot Death: Teen Leaps 4 Stories After Eating Marijuana Cookie the dangers of marijuana was revealed. A 19-year-old boy in Colorado recently died after he ate a whole marijuana cookie that contained 6 servings of marijuana's active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The boy got the cookie from his 23-year-old friend who brought it from the store. The sales clerk at the store informed his friend to divide the cookie into 6 pieces, with each piece containing about 10 mg of THC. 10 mg of THC the recommended serving size, which was established by Colorado authorities. The boy followed the instructions and ate only 1 piece
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.
The novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, talks about a sixteen-year old man named Pi Patel, who unbelievably survives a dreadful shipwreck after 227 days with the animals in a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean. Different ideas and themes in the book can be found in which the readers can gain an understanding about. The author communicated to the reader by using an ample amount of symbolisms to talk about the themes. The main themes of this novel are religion and faith. His religion and him being faithful have helped him throughout the journey, and this eventually led to an incredible precedent. The author left the reader thinking about how religion and faith can have an impact in our lives positively. Religion can affect our choices in life, and faith
Pi is a very popular number in the world of mathematics. We most often learn about Pi when we begin studying geometry, to be more specific, circles. The number is most commonly seen as the decimal, 3.14159 or the symbol, π. We define Pi as the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter. The circumference is the distance around the whole circle and the diameter is the distance from one edge of the circle to the other edge, right through the center.
In addition, when Pi is in university and is introducing himself to each of his classes he uses repetition to explain his name. He says his name, writes it on the board, and underlines it. Pi uses ritual to get people in the habit of calling him Pi. This has significance to his past zoo life. Zoo animals need lots of care, this includes feedings, cleanings, and training. Pi is used to ritual, he knows that animals learn/live off of routine, and repetition, and so he has applied these skills to his classmates indicating a similarity between animals, and humans. Animals learn off of repetition, and routine, as do humans. Pi 's name has a mathematical link which has major symbolism to the entire novel. We all know that Pi is a large, and complicated number. Pi says in the novel, "That 's one thing I hate about my nickname, the way that number runs on forever." (Martel 316). I feel like the author included this quote to signify that Pi has been on a long journey, just like Pi says the numbers continue on. This quote was said towards the ending of the novel, and could represent the