All in His Head
2019253--4th Hour
Life of Pi--Final Research Essay
Screams wrack a soldier’s body as he witnesses another brother fall to the ground, the body limp and cold. The piercing, repetitive sound of gunfire rings throughout the closed, cramped confinements. Home, a reoccurring thought embedded in every soldier’s mind, appears centuries away. With heavy hearts and fatigued minds, they trudge onto the next battle. Trauma, particularly stemming from war, affects soldiers differently, but nevertheless everyone who suffers from trauma remains a victim. Following numerous soldiers home, trauma leaves veterans permanently marked by the nightmares of the battlefield (Maguen), a situation not unlike that situation emerges in the novel Life …show more content…
Varying conditions and elements cause Pi’s olfactory hallucinations. As Pi remembers the smell of the spent hand-flare shells which smell like cumin, he considers this experience intoxicating and nearly a hallucination (Martel 199-200). Similarly, people suffering from phantosmia “develop psychiatric disorders as a result of their condition[s]” (Mapes). Pi endures conditions that affect his mental health and judgment. In the same way Pi’s phantom smells cause mental issues, trauma and fatigue trigger auditory hallucinations. Limited to few hours of sleep, Pi’s “state of semi-consciousness” made his “daydreams and reality nearly indistinguishable” (Martel 239). When he imagines talking to the other cast away, Pi’s “difficult emotions and memories may be isolated from [his] usual consciousness” which demonstrates why the voice began speaking after the emotionally traumatic or stressful event (Ritsher). Situational stress and sleep withdrawals simultaneously produce the illusion of the French castaway. Along with his hearing, Pi’s eyesight--once returned--displays a distorted view of his surroundings. Later in his journey, Pi stumbles upon an island that “[appears as] intricate, tightly webbed mass of tube-shaped seaweed” (Martel 257). Pi, in order to make the illusion last, did not move when he reached the island, but …show more content…
Feelings of hopelessness, constant fatigue or loss of energy, and reoccurring thoughts of death all heighten the dangers of depression. Frequently seen as a cause of depression, a relative’s death affects one’s emotions, routines, and physical state. Less than two weeks after a death, a medical expert possesses the power to “characterize bereavement as a severe psychological stressor”, which classifies as a developing depression (Deardorff) . Likewise, Pi’s “disbelief gave way to pain and grief” once “[he] could no longer deny [his family’s death]” (Martel 127). When Pi succombs to the grief brought upon by his parents’ and brother’s deaths, his feelings exceed mourning and transform into a major depressive order. In addition to grief and sorrow, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness overshadow a person’s courage. When someone copes with feelings of hopelessness, he or she observes the world in long term patterns due to the effects of traumatic situations (Lubow). Similarly, while on the lifeboat Pi “[struggles] with fear, rage, madness, hopelessness, [and] apathy” which stem from the stressful conditions he withstands (Martel 216). While mental symptoms vary by severity and from person to person, behavioral changes remain the same for everyone. A few behavioral symptoms, in particular, include “changes in sleeping habits...and body aches or headaches”
2019253--4th Hour
Life of Pi--Final Research Essay
Screams wrack a soldier’s body as he witnesses another brother fall to the ground, the body limp and cold. The piercing, repetitive sound of gunfire rings throughout the closed, cramped confinements. Home, a reoccurring thought embedded in every soldier’s mind, appears centuries away. With heavy hearts and fatigued minds, they trudge onto the next battle. Trauma, particularly stemming from war, affects soldiers differently, but nevertheless everyone who suffers from trauma remains a victim. Following numerous soldiers home, trauma leaves veterans permanently marked by the nightmares of the battlefield (Maguen), a situation not unlike that situation emerges in the novel Life …show more content…
Varying conditions and elements cause Pi’s olfactory hallucinations. As Pi remembers the smell of the spent hand-flare shells which smell like cumin, he considers this experience intoxicating and nearly a hallucination (Martel 199-200). Similarly, people suffering from phantosmia “develop psychiatric disorders as a result of their condition[s]” (Mapes). Pi endures conditions that affect his mental health and judgment. In the same way Pi’s phantom smells cause mental issues, trauma and fatigue trigger auditory hallucinations. Limited to few hours of sleep, Pi’s “state of semi-consciousness” made his “daydreams and reality nearly indistinguishable” (Martel 239). When he imagines talking to the other cast away, Pi’s “difficult emotions and memories may be isolated from [his] usual consciousness” which demonstrates why the voice began speaking after the emotionally traumatic or stressful event (Ritsher). Situational stress and sleep withdrawals simultaneously produce the illusion of the French castaway. Along with his hearing, Pi’s eyesight--once returned--displays a distorted view of his surroundings. Later in his journey, Pi stumbles upon an island that “[appears as] intricate, tightly webbed mass of tube-shaped seaweed” (Martel 257). Pi, in order to make the illusion last, did not move when he reached the island, but …show more content…
Feelings of hopelessness, constant fatigue or loss of energy, and reoccurring thoughts of death all heighten the dangers of depression. Frequently seen as a cause of depression, a relative’s death affects one’s emotions, routines, and physical state. Less than two weeks after a death, a medical expert possesses the power to “characterize bereavement as a severe psychological stressor”, which classifies as a developing depression (Deardorff) . Likewise, Pi’s “disbelief gave way to pain and grief” once “[he] could no longer deny [his family’s death]” (Martel 127). When Pi succombs to the grief brought upon by his parents’ and brother’s deaths, his feelings exceed mourning and transform into a major depressive order. In addition to grief and sorrow, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness overshadow a person’s courage. When someone copes with feelings of hopelessness, he or she observes the world in long term patterns due to the effects of traumatic situations (Lubow). Similarly, while on the lifeboat Pi “[struggles] with fear, rage, madness, hopelessness, [and] apathy” which stem from the stressful conditions he withstands (Martel 216). While mental symptoms vary by severity and from person to person, behavioral changes remain the same for everyone. A few behavioral symptoms, in particular, include “changes in sleeping habits...and body aches or headaches”