Life of Pi is a fictional novel written by Yann Martel. The main character of this book is Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as Pi Patel. He’s a sixteen year old gentle vegetarian who holds religion very dear to his heart. Overall he was stranded in the Pacific ocean for 227 days with a tiger named Richard Parker. The book is divided into 3 parts, Toronto and Pondicherry, The Pacific Ocean, and Benito Juarez Infirmary, Tomatlan, Mexico. Firstly, in part one we learn that Pi lives in Pondicherry, India at the zoo his family owns around the 1960’s. At an early age, Pi begins to learn about religion and becomes a Hindu, a Christian, and a Muslim, after falling in love with their respected spiritual cultures. Faith in the Life of Pi
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The situation Pi had to undergo had forced him into adulthood and has shaped him to become mature. Having a more adult like mentality, Pi knows the difference between spiritual and scientific, he is able look at things both ways. By the end of the book Pi understands how important it is to be able to coexist with others and to be able to adapt and change depending on the situation. Him being able to eat fish and bird meat shows just how much Pi understood that he had to change his ways in order to survive, even if it meant becoming less humane for a while. Life of Pi contains much symbolism, the most major one being that the animals in Pi’s story are actually humans, however I wish to talk mainly about Richard Parker and the symbolism the author designed for him. Yann Martel’s way of showing us the difficulty of Pi’s story is through portraying Pi as a savage tiger. This is because starvation can bring out the animal side out of anyone and most definitely alter our usual selves into becoming less civilized due to isolation and nothingness. Even through everything, Pi “tames” Richard Parker possibly meaning that he manages to overcome losing himself and keeping his mental state sane. I also believe that Richard Parker could symbolize Pi’s will to live and also his survival instincts. It can be said that Life of Pi has many possible themes, but I believe the author wanted to tell his readers the importance of being able to tell a story and to have faith. Pi chooses to make his unfortunate experience into a story because it helps him to better cope with his situation. Religion is mentioned heavily in the book and is often brought up when Pi is near his end or when he needs some motivation. The author wants to tell us the importance of literature and the aid it can give someone. After reading Life of Pi, I learned about sometimes having to change for the better
The situation Pi had to undergo had forced him into adulthood and has shaped him to become mature. Having a more adult like mentality, Pi knows the difference between spiritual and scientific, he is able look at things both ways. By the end of the book Pi understands how important it is to be able to coexist with others and to be able to adapt and change depending on the situation. Him being able to eat fish and bird meat shows just how much Pi understood that he had to change his ways in order to survive, even if it meant becoming less humane for a while. Life of Pi contains much symbolism, the most major one being that the animals in Pi’s story are actually humans, however I wish to talk mainly about Richard Parker and the symbolism the author designed for him. Yann Martel’s way of showing us the difficulty of Pi’s story is through portraying Pi as a savage tiger. This is because starvation can bring out the animal side out of anyone and most definitely alter our usual selves into becoming less civilized due to isolation and nothingness. Even through everything, Pi “tames” Richard Parker possibly meaning that he manages to overcome losing himself and keeping his mental state sane. I also believe that Richard Parker could symbolize Pi’s will to live and also his survival instincts. It can be said that Life of Pi has many possible themes, but I believe the author wanted to tell his readers the importance of being able to tell a story and to have faith. Pi chooses to make his unfortunate experience into a story because it helps him to better cope with his situation. Religion is mentioned heavily in the book and is often brought up when Pi is near his end or when he needs some motivation. The author wants to tell us the importance of literature and the aid it can give someone. After reading Life of Pi, I learned about sometimes having to change for the better