Humans are often considered as “higher” beings when compared to animals, but humans are ultimately animals with a set of instincts that can kick in at any given moment when put into tough situations. Yann Martel’s Life of Pi describes the life of a young Indian boy, Piscine (Pi) Molitor Patel. In his childhood, Pi’s family owns a zoo in Pondicherry, India which influences Pi to become interested in zoology, and practices multiple religions to show his devotion to his gods. In order to avoid imminent political disputes in India, Pi’s father decides to take the Patel family and their animals on the Tsimtsum to head for Canada. However, the boat never reaches its destination and sinks around Midway Island. Pi is the only human survivor and is
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After successfully catching a large dorado fish, Pi discovers that he acts similarly to Richard Parker as he eats it: “It came as an unmistakable indication to me of how low I had sunk the day I noticed...that I ate like an animal, that with this noisy, frantic, unchewing wolfing-down of mine was exactly the way Richard Parker ate” (284). Pi clearly exhibits animalistic behavior comparable to that of Richard Parker, implying a loss of humanity. Pressured by the impending threat of starvation, Pi forfeits respectable manners and ravenously shreds food like a large carnivorous predator. He notices this, saying, “I descended to a level of savagery I never thought possible” (197). In addition to acting exactly like Richard Parker, Pi’s gradual improvement in hunting skill and knowledge also contributes to his animal-like demeanor. Pi exhibits this accumulative increase in hunting knowledge when he learns how to hunt sharks. “...I went for smaller sharks...and I killed them myself. I found that stabbing them through the eyes with a knife was a faster, less tiresome way of killing them than hacking at the tops of their heads with the hatchet” (279). Pi’s skill development in shark hunting is clear in the passage. By learning how to use less energy and be more efficient in obtaining food, Pi …show more content…
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi clearly portrays this concept in the tumultuous story of Pi Patel who survives a trip across the Pacific in a lifeboat accompanied by an adult tiger. By giving up religious rules and societal norms, devolving to an animal-like state, and developing a more confident disposition, Pi’s behavioral modifications explicitly illustrate how much human beings will conform their behavior to
After successfully catching a large dorado fish, Pi discovers that he acts similarly to Richard Parker as he eats it: “It came as an unmistakable indication to me of how low I had sunk the day I noticed...that I ate like an animal, that with this noisy, frantic, unchewing wolfing-down of mine was exactly the way Richard Parker ate” (284). Pi clearly exhibits animalistic behavior comparable to that of Richard Parker, implying a loss of humanity. Pressured by the impending threat of starvation, Pi forfeits respectable manners and ravenously shreds food like a large carnivorous predator. He notices this, saying, “I descended to a level of savagery I never thought possible” (197). In addition to acting exactly like Richard Parker, Pi’s gradual improvement in hunting skill and knowledge also contributes to his animal-like demeanor. Pi exhibits this accumulative increase in hunting knowledge when he learns how to hunt sharks. “...I went for smaller sharks...and I killed them myself. I found that stabbing them through the eyes with a knife was a faster, less tiresome way of killing them than hacking at the tops of their heads with the hatchet” (279). Pi’s skill development in shark hunting is clear in the passage. By learning how to use less energy and be more efficient in obtaining food, Pi …show more content…
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi clearly portrays this concept in the tumultuous story of Pi Patel who survives a trip across the Pacific in a lifeboat accompanied by an adult tiger. By giving up religious rules and societal norms, devolving to an animal-like state, and developing a more confident disposition, Pi’s behavioral modifications explicitly illustrate how much human beings will conform their behavior to