Life Of Pi Moral Analysis

Pi Patel is a morally complex individual, whose sense of humanity was established due to his spirituality. Pi is a very spiritual young man, he follows three religions very strictly: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Each religion has its own set of rules that lay out the humanity of someone following each faith, this is how Pi’s unique sense of humanity comes to be. Pi believes that love is the most important thing, and everyone and thing should be loved and cared for. His love for God pushes Pi through is life, in fact Pi had such a strong love and need for God he used each of his religions as a way to connect with God more deeply. One of Pi’s most prominent morals is that animals are meant to be loved and cared for and not eaten, this …show more content…
When the boat sinks Pi must say goodbye to his family, his safety, and is thrust into a state of unknowingness and survival with a ferocious companion, Richard Parker. The confusion and terror that Pi feels as a result of the boat sinking proves that it is an uncontrollable and devastating circumstance that was affecting Pi’s humanity. Pi is forced by his want to survive into doing things he would normally find morally reprehensible. At the time when the boat is sinking Pi has thoughts that it would be easier if his life were to end right there, this signifies the first change in Pi’s morals. Pi being an individual who values love, compassion, and life would never disvalue his own life, that is until he was stricken by a devastating circumstance. As the novel continues changes in Pi’s morality become more evident; while he used to be a devout vegetarian he is now slaying and eating fish, turtles and other human beings as a means for survival. As a coping mechanism for his drastic change in morals, Pi creates the story of Richard Parker. It was alluded to later in the novel that Richard Parker and Pi were one of the same. Richard Parker was Pi’s way of coping with his own savageness and brutality. In the story Pi tells of Richard Parker, Richard Parker shows up whenever Pi needs him most. For example when Pi must deal with the …show more content…
After the devastating uncontrollable circumstance that Pi was confronted with, Pi keeps his sense of humanity in terms of his religion. The aspect of Pi’s humanity that changes is his interpretation of his morals, he now sees that under some circumstances things that he previously viewed as wrong would be justified. Pi maintains his humanity in the only way he knew how, through removing himself from the situation. Pi knows that one must separate animals from humans because animals have natural instincts and don't have a sense of morality that stops them from killing. Pi uses this knowledge to replace himself with Richard Parker, an animal accustomed to killing, in order prove that the heinous acts he committed were purely for survival purposes. Pi’s knowledge subsequently lead to his ability to be comfortable with himself and allow himself to overcome the circumstance he was caught in. Richard Parker never hurt Pi because in all of Pi’s troubles he still believed in one aspect of humanity, being worthy of life. That is one thing that never wavered in Pi’s mind, even when Pi wanted to die he still believed that everything should be allowed to live which is why Pi was able to keep pushing till he found his salvation. Pi displays that when an individual removes themselves from an uncontrollable circumstance they are able to maintain their