What is the meaning of Freedom? Can one ever be completely free? The true definition of freedom becomes a question early in the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, when Pi argues and refutes the claims relating to the cruelty and restrictiveness of a zoo enclosure. Pi claims that an animal is no more confined in its mobility by a physical cage, than, by its survival instincts in which profoundly restrict an animal’s freedom. According to Dictionary.com, freedom is “the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint” (dictionary.com) In Life of Pi, the arisal of questions of freedom and the deprivation of Pi’s freedom are demonstrated in three distinct forms, animal freedom, physical freedom and spiritual
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Throughout Pi’s journey, Pi is subject to harsh settings and traumatic experiences that challenges and puts his religious beliefs to the test. The quote, “I will further confess that, driven by the extremity of my need and the madness to which it pushed me, I ate some of his flesh. I mean small pieces, little strips that I meant for the gaff 's hook that, when dried by the sun, looked like ordinary animal flesh. They slipped into my mouth nearly unnoticed. You must understand, my suffering was unremitting and he was already dead” (Martel, 91), represents the nadir of Pi’s existence. Pi’s suffering compels him to do inconceivable things after his encounter with the French castaway, a human who unexpectedly boards his lifeboat. While being severely malnourished, Pi’s once strong religious beliefs are overcome by his instincts to survive. This primal urge for food, shelter and water control him and don’t allow him to be free or enjoy the freedom that was essentially given to him. Before the shipwreck, Pi was an innocent, religious young boy who was in fact a vegetarian. In order to survive, his freedom of choice, along with his innocence, was stripped from him. Pi was no longer able to eat the food he was accustomed to and instead feasted on human remains. In Life of Pi, two different stories are told, a fantastical story about animals and a …show more content…
Pi’s suffering and survival instincts mentally dissipate Pi’s enjoyment of freedom that is essentially given to him through the vast setting of the Pacific Ocean. During the novel, readers become disconcerted with what the definition of freedom truly entails. It becomes more transparent that the definition of freedom is not a concrete idea, the idea of freedom is instead created from our own personal
Throughout Pi’s journey, Pi is subject to harsh settings and traumatic experiences that challenges and puts his religious beliefs to the test. The quote, “I will further confess that, driven by the extremity of my need and the madness to which it pushed me, I ate some of his flesh. I mean small pieces, little strips that I meant for the gaff 's hook that, when dried by the sun, looked like ordinary animal flesh. They slipped into my mouth nearly unnoticed. You must understand, my suffering was unremitting and he was already dead” (Martel, 91), represents the nadir of Pi’s existence. Pi’s suffering compels him to do inconceivable things after his encounter with the French castaway, a human who unexpectedly boards his lifeboat. While being severely malnourished, Pi’s once strong religious beliefs are overcome by his instincts to survive. This primal urge for food, shelter and water control him and don’t allow him to be free or enjoy the freedom that was essentially given to him. Before the shipwreck, Pi was an innocent, religious young boy who was in fact a vegetarian. In order to survive, his freedom of choice, along with his innocence, was stripped from him. Pi was no longer able to eat the food he was accustomed to and instead feasted on human remains. In Life of Pi, two different stories are told, a fantastical story about animals and a …show more content…
Pi’s suffering and survival instincts mentally dissipate Pi’s enjoyment of freedom that is essentially given to him through the vast setting of the Pacific Ocean. During the novel, readers become disconcerted with what the definition of freedom truly entails. It becomes more transparent that the definition of freedom is not a concrete idea, the idea of freedom is instead created from our own personal