A Hero’s Journey
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”(Christopher Reeve). This captures the essence of Pi who is stranded at sea by himself after a shipwreck that killed his family and everyone on board. Pi finds the strength to fight for his life, his family legacy and the Bengal Tiger. When Pi, just like most people is caught in a situation that he could not possibly ever prepare for, it brings a special fight out in him. In the Story, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Martel displays the four stages of a hero’s journey, innocence, initiation, chaos and resolution that Pi uses to save himself from the tragic repercussions of the sinking ship. Pi goes through these stages …show more content…
Pi gains an exorbitant amount of insight into the world because of the three religions he is studying. As a youth Pi has many typical experiences. Pi is an innocent child who does not want to hurt a soul and listens to everything his parents say to do. When Pi is a young teen he starts to discover who he is, which includes what he wants to believe in. “ But he can’t be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose” (76). This occurs when Pi and what he calls the three wise men meet up with him and his parents to talk about his fascination with practicing all three religions. Everyone except for Pi believes it is strange and definitely not necessary. Little do they know at this time, but his knowledge of all three religions will help him to survive in the near future. Pi’s fascination with practicing more than one religion comes from the fact that he is quite innocent and is unaware that those things do not usually happen. This is the innocent stage in Pi’s life and it is the first step in becoming a hero. “You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it” (91). This is the …show more content…
Resolution is the final step that Pi goes through in his journey. “I felt gratitude and relief welling up in me. I said, “Thank God I’ve found you” (230). Pi is starting to come to terms with what has happened. This whole time while he is on the boat he did not receive any indications that god is with him. One day he does and he is extremely at piece with himself. Resolution comes from within and one has to accept the situation first to move on. “The elements allowed me to go on living” (134). Pi realizes that he still has a whole life to live and can continue the family legacy in their honour. Pi is feeling like there are many contributing factors to how he is feeling such as the island in Mexico, Richard Parker being there with him and the hope that he can and will be rescued. “I practiced religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances” (263). Pi is reflecting on how his religious values have helped him to be at where he is now. Pi believes that god made this happen for a reason and intended for Pi to keep striving to stay alive, so that is what he does. Pi overcomes such a tragic experience in his life when he is quite young. Resolution is the final stage in becoming a hero because it shows how one is able to move on the best they can in certain circumstances and share their experiences with others to help them. One might think it is how someone views their situation, but it
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”(Christopher Reeve). This captures the essence of Pi who is stranded at sea by himself after a shipwreck that killed his family and everyone on board. Pi finds the strength to fight for his life, his family legacy and the Bengal Tiger. When Pi, just like most people is caught in a situation that he could not possibly ever prepare for, it brings a special fight out in him. In the Story, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Martel displays the four stages of a hero’s journey, innocence, initiation, chaos and resolution that Pi uses to save himself from the tragic repercussions of the sinking ship. Pi goes through these stages …show more content…
Pi gains an exorbitant amount of insight into the world because of the three religions he is studying. As a youth Pi has many typical experiences. Pi is an innocent child who does not want to hurt a soul and listens to everything his parents say to do. When Pi is a young teen he starts to discover who he is, which includes what he wants to believe in. “ But he can’t be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose” (76). This occurs when Pi and what he calls the three wise men meet up with him and his parents to talk about his fascination with practicing all three religions. Everyone except for Pi believes it is strange and definitely not necessary. Little do they know at this time, but his knowledge of all three religions will help him to survive in the near future. Pi’s fascination with practicing more than one religion comes from the fact that he is quite innocent and is unaware that those things do not usually happen. This is the innocent stage in Pi’s life and it is the first step in becoming a hero. “You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it” (91). This is the …show more content…
Resolution is the final step that Pi goes through in his journey. “I felt gratitude and relief welling up in me. I said, “Thank God I’ve found you” (230). Pi is starting to come to terms with what has happened. This whole time while he is on the boat he did not receive any indications that god is with him. One day he does and he is extremely at piece with himself. Resolution comes from within and one has to accept the situation first to move on. “The elements allowed me to go on living” (134). Pi realizes that he still has a whole life to live and can continue the family legacy in their honour. Pi is feeling like there are many contributing factors to how he is feeling such as the island in Mexico, Richard Parker being there with him and the hope that he can and will be rescued. “I practiced religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances” (263). Pi is reflecting on how his religious values have helped him to be at where he is now. Pi believes that god made this happen for a reason and intended for Pi to keep striving to stay alive, so that is what he does. Pi overcomes such a tragic experience in his life when he is quite young. Resolution is the final stage in becoming a hero because it shows how one is able to move on the best they can in certain circumstances and share their experiences with others to help them. One might think it is how someone views their situation, but it