Religion is a universal way of explaining the unexplained; there are many variations, but each shares a common theme of connecting people to a higher power and explaining man’s purpose and place in the world. Religion is a significant reoccurring theme in Life of Pi by Yann Martel: the story of a boy named Pi who embarks on a spiritual adventure alone in the Pacific with his only company being a large Bengal tiger. Before this journey, Pi lived a simple life in India as the son of a zookeeper, and during his childhood he found comfort and knowledge in the religions of Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. This prior knowledge of multiple religions greatly comes in handy while Pi is stranded on the lifeboat, and it ends up being the factor that
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The abundant religious knowledge that Pi learned as a child gives him a basic understanding of the world that enables him to think about a world larger than himself. After struggling in the lifeboat for days, Pi comes to a wise realization and says, “I saw my suffering for what it was, finite and insignificant, and I was still”(Martel 177). Pi’s religious background allowed him to stay calm, even in these dire times, because he was able to look at the world through a wider lens. During his time on the boat, Pi performed certain religious rituals that reminded him of his faith, and he even reminded himself of religious beliefs by pointing at the objects around him and claiming them to be “God’s.” After doing this, Pi said, “In this way I would remind myself of creation and my place in it”(209). Pi knows that he is only a small part of the world, and he believes that God has a larger plan for him, so he doesn’t need to dwell on the uncomfortable things in the present; he should stay positive and look to the future. The religious broader world keeps Pi humane during his harsh times on the lifeboat because he has fundamental values and beliefs that prevent him from completely giving up. These values grant him the wisdom and ability to focus on the world as a whole rather than his miniscule scope of
The abundant religious knowledge that Pi learned as a child gives him a basic understanding of the world that enables him to think about a world larger than himself. After struggling in the lifeboat for days, Pi comes to a wise realization and says, “I saw my suffering for what it was, finite and insignificant, and I was still”(Martel 177). Pi’s religious background allowed him to stay calm, even in these dire times, because he was able to look at the world through a wider lens. During his time on the boat, Pi performed certain religious rituals that reminded him of his faith, and he even reminded himself of religious beliefs by pointing at the objects around him and claiming them to be “God’s.” After doing this, Pi said, “In this way I would remind myself of creation and my place in it”(209). Pi knows that he is only a small part of the world, and he believes that God has a larger plan for him, so he doesn’t need to dwell on the uncomfortable things in the present; he should stay positive and look to the future. The religious broader world keeps Pi humane during his harsh times on the lifeboat because he has fundamental values and beliefs that prevent him from completely giving up. These values grant him the wisdom and ability to focus on the world as a whole rather than his miniscule scope of