Life In Yann Martel's The Life Of Pi

Our everyday life seems boring and slow-paced, but to a person who has been at sea, our life is a paradise. In Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi, the main character, Piscine Patel, survives at sea in a lifeboat for a record of 227 days. While this story is fictitious, the ocean is a harsh environment for any human, regardless of experience. A lack of natural fresh water, limited food, as well as the constant danger of too much sun exposure make a formidable environment for even the most seasoned travelers. Contending against nature can make a person resort to depths of savagery even they could not imagine: there are records of people turning to cannibalism to satisfy their needs or people turning away from a lifestyle of eating, such as vegetarianism, to survive. The longest anyone has survived in a condition similar to that of what is described in The Life of Pi is 133 days on a lifeboat. There are records of sailors surviving in larger boats for several weeks or months, the longest period being 13 months. To survive at sea, you need protection from the environment, fresh …show more content…
After about 3 days without water, the body begins to shut down. While a person could survive for longer than that without water, they would be in immense pain as their body began to deteriorate. To obtain water at sea, there are few methods that work well. One is to wait until it rains and gather all the water that you can, but this method requires rain, which may fall only once a week or longer. The second method is to use condensation to create fresh water, which is slower albeit more reliable in most cases. Salt water is extremely unhealthy for the human body, as it causes dehydration. Dehydration results in failure of vital organs, nausea, weakness, and can cause hallucinations. No human being could survive by drinking only salt water, because of the effects it has on the body. Acquiring fresh water is one of the most important early objectives when lost at