One of, if not the, biggest overarching themes of Life of Pi by Yann Martel is religion. Being Hindu, Muslim and Christian Pi is very religious and even scorned atheism a few times in the book. So one would think that Life of Pi is a book that advocates for religion. Pi’s story is even described as being one that will “make you believe in God”. My interpretation of the novel, however, was the opposite. At times Life of Pi seemed like it was advocating for atheism more so than for religion.
One of the interesting things about Pi is that he follows three religions: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. At first this is perplexing. How can one follow three very different religions that contradict each other? But as the story progresses, the importance …show more content…
island was commentary on Pi's religious zeal.
-Pi comes to the island in a time of extreme need. Many people find religion this way.
-*The island is beautiful, perfect and peaceful except for at night when it kills. *Many people see religion as a basis for doing good things, like missionary work in Africa or building homeless shelters, things like that. But people also use religion as a defense for bad things, like genocide, the crusades, homophobia.
-The island seems to float over the ocean. Religion isn't "anchored" to most people. Each person really has their own interpretation of religion.
-The algae's "fruits" contain human teeth. Religion offers the promise of great rewards in this life(certainty about the world, psychological comfort, community),but sometimes when people spend too much effort trying to get at thesefruits it will consume their lives, where they are wholly driven by religion.
-Pi uses the island to train the tiger.Many people think that religion stops people from doing bad things, but it doesn't repress the urge to do so. I would think that "training" your "sin nature" is a good metaphor for what religion does to
One of the interesting things about Pi is that he follows three religions: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. At first this is perplexing. How can one follow three very different religions that contradict each other? But as the story progresses, the importance …show more content…
island was commentary on Pi's religious zeal.
-Pi comes to the island in a time of extreme need. Many people find religion this way.
-*The island is beautiful, perfect and peaceful except for at night when it kills. *Many people see religion as a basis for doing good things, like missionary work in Africa or building homeless shelters, things like that. But people also use religion as a defense for bad things, like genocide, the crusades, homophobia.
-The island seems to float over the ocean. Religion isn't "anchored" to most people. Each person really has their own interpretation of religion.
-The algae's "fruits" contain human teeth. Religion offers the promise of great rewards in this life(certainty about the world, psychological comfort, community),but sometimes when people spend too much effort trying to get at thesefruits it will consume their lives, where they are wholly driven by religion.
-Pi uses the island to train the tiger.Many people think that religion stops people from doing bad things, but it doesn't repress the urge to do so. I would think that "training" your "sin nature" is a good metaphor for what religion does to