The state of well-being is an arbitrary condition. Though society has and continues to wrap a thin security blanket around citizens’ shoulders, it disguises the fact that welfare can easily be swept away in the span of a second by numerous culprits. Therefore, the inner compass to seek survival is not optional, but rather essential to every self-reliant man’s survival. Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi, stresses this notion through the account of Pi Patel and his brutally desperate survival tactics to survive while lost at sea. Fighting for solace alongside his tiger companion, the main character Pi embraces the innate instinct to be selfish and manipulative. Through raw struggles and dim hope, Martel’s tale illustrates the concept that man’s
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When the manipulation of others does not sufficiently secure survival, Pi completely alters his circumstances to accommodate survival. For example, when Pi is ostracized for his full name, he plans a systematic approach to rid his identify of “Piscine” Patel. He does so effectively, narrating, “I got up from my desk and hurried to the blackboard. Before the teacher could say a word, I picked up a piece of chalk and said as I wrote: My name is Piscine Molitor Patel known to all as -- I doubled underlined the first two letters of my given name -- Pi Patel. For good measure I added π = 3.14” (Martel 28). Pi’s persistent approach towards social survival endures countless obstacles: “I repeated the stunt with every teacher. Repetition is important in the training not only of animals but also of humans” (Martel 29). To prevent himself from a social disadvantage, Pi’s action clearly illustrates that one can effectively advocate for himself by the alteration of a situation. (-) Correspondingly, in the middle of Pi’s shipwrecked journey in sea, Pi frees himself from the dangers of the Carnivorous Island. He chooses to leave the carnivorous island, despite its innumerable benefits. Pi ultimately decided that he’d rather fight to live than die in comfort, for he favors survival first. “By the time morning came, my grim decision was taken. I preferred to set off and perish in search of my own kind than to live a lonely …show more content…
When circumstances do not apply Pi to physically alter them, Pi acts to control a situation mentally. For example, Pi turns to God, in order to relieve himself of worries. Immediately following Pi’s leave from the Carnivorous Island, he thinks of God numerous times to reassure himself. For instance, right as he is suffering from the melancholy of the situation, Pi states, “It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, in the throes of unremitting suffering, I should turn to God.” (Martel 358). It is evident that physical manipulation is not the only type of action that a man commit; emotions and morals are also sometimes compromised or accentuated when man is struggling to survive. Pi’s solace in God and religion is his unique way of relieving himself from the harsh reality. Furthermore, Pi finds comfort once again in mentally manipulating situations when he builds an alternative story to the horrific one. Life of Pi is split into two stories -- a lengthy tale about Pi, Richard Parker, and other animals, and a short narrative where Pi brings up a similar story with human characters. The human story is significantly more horrific, with Pi witnessing his mother’s murder and the cook’s evil intentions. However, it is implied that Pi chooses to tell the tiger tale to break away from the terrible truth. He
When the manipulation of others does not sufficiently secure survival, Pi completely alters his circumstances to accommodate survival. For example, when Pi is ostracized for his full name, he plans a systematic approach to rid his identify of “Piscine” Patel. He does so effectively, narrating, “I got up from my desk and hurried to the blackboard. Before the teacher could say a word, I picked up a piece of chalk and said as I wrote: My name is Piscine Molitor Patel known to all as -- I doubled underlined the first two letters of my given name -- Pi Patel. For good measure I added π = 3.14” (Martel 28). Pi’s persistent approach towards social survival endures countless obstacles: “I repeated the stunt with every teacher. Repetition is important in the training not only of animals but also of humans” (Martel 29). To prevent himself from a social disadvantage, Pi’s action clearly illustrates that one can effectively advocate for himself by the alteration of a situation. (-) Correspondingly, in the middle of Pi’s shipwrecked journey in sea, Pi frees himself from the dangers of the Carnivorous Island. He chooses to leave the carnivorous island, despite its innumerable benefits. Pi ultimately decided that he’d rather fight to live than die in comfort, for he favors survival first. “By the time morning came, my grim decision was taken. I preferred to set off and perish in search of my own kind than to live a lonely …show more content…
When circumstances do not apply Pi to physically alter them, Pi acts to control a situation mentally. For example, Pi turns to God, in order to relieve himself of worries. Immediately following Pi’s leave from the Carnivorous Island, he thinks of God numerous times to reassure himself. For instance, right as he is suffering from the melancholy of the situation, Pi states, “It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, in the throes of unremitting suffering, I should turn to God.” (Martel 358). It is evident that physical manipulation is not the only type of action that a man commit; emotions and morals are also sometimes compromised or accentuated when man is struggling to survive. Pi’s solace in God and religion is his unique way of relieving himself from the harsh reality. Furthermore, Pi finds comfort once again in mentally manipulating situations when he builds an alternative story to the horrific one. Life of Pi is split into two stories -- a lengthy tale about Pi, Richard Parker, and other animals, and a short narrative where Pi brings up a similar story with human characters. The human story is significantly more horrific, with Pi witnessing his mother’s murder and the cook’s evil intentions. However, it is implied that Pi chooses to tell the tiger tale to break away from the terrible truth. He