Is it possible to be 16 years old, stranded at sea for 227 days on the same boat as a tiger and come out alive? The answer to this question will most likely be "that's impossible". But Yann Martel wrote a book giving similar instructions on how to do just that. In Yann Martel's novel, Life of Pi, readers follow Pi, a 16-year-old boy, throughout his journey of being stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a tiger for 227 days. Throughout the book, the most definitive theme is survival. Pi is put through a lot of dangerous situations and the challenge of survival can be looked at, at many different levels. Not only does he learn to survive physically, but also learns to survives mentally and spiritually. Throughout Pi's journey, Martel
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Pi's determination, motivations and optimism helps him overcome his doubts and fears. At first, Pi doubts his chances at surviving at sea once he realizes that he must share the lifeboat with Richard Parker, the tiger, but his motivation and optimism help him survive throughout the story. As Pi is about to give up, he thinks to himself, "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are" (Martel 186). Pi shakes off his doubts and tries not to lose hope in himself. He motivates himself and is determined that he can overcome any challenge he faces, which helps him survive in the end. His new decision to live is the beginning of his loss of innocence. At this point, Pi knows that in order to survive, he will have to do things he never would have done in the past. He also starts preparing himself mentally for his journey ahead. Moreover, Pi survives mentally by conquering his fear for Richard Parker and using his knowledge of animals to tame and train Richard Parker mentally to show him who is the boss. When Pi and Richard Parker are alone on the boat, Pi remembers his father's words about tigers. "I looked at him, full of fearful wonder ... I had to tame him. It was at that moment that I realized that necessity. It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me" (Martel 206). Even though Pi is very scared of Richard Parker since he is a tiger, he …show more content…
To start with, Pi's faith and connection to the three religions help him survive his journey. Throughout the book, he continues to pray to God and connect to Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. When stuck on the boat with Richard Parker, he says, "Yes, so long as god is with me, I will not die. Amen" (Martel 186). At first, when he thinks about survival he thinks about giving up, but his faith in God keeps him going. This shows that Pi believes that when God is with him, he could survive anything. This brings together the themes of spirituality and survival. Pi relies on religion to survive. One of the main reason he has survived is because of his connection to God. This point of the novel is really important because it shows that even though Pi has lost his innocence at the end of the novel, he hasn't lost his connection to religion. He continues to stay connected like his old self, since it is the only thing he has left while stranded at sea. On the other hand, Pi also goes against his religion and beliefs in order to survive. As the days pass and Pi slowly runs out of biscuits to eat, he learns how to fish in order to help himself and Richard Parker. Instead of dying of starvation, he learns to accept the fact that he needs to eat the fish. "You may be astonished that in such a short period of time [Pi] could go from weeping over the muffled killing of a flying fish to gleefully
Pi's determination, motivations and optimism helps him overcome his doubts and fears. At first, Pi doubts his chances at surviving at sea once he realizes that he must share the lifeboat with Richard Parker, the tiger, but his motivation and optimism help him survive throughout the story. As Pi is about to give up, he thinks to himself, "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are" (Martel 186). Pi shakes off his doubts and tries not to lose hope in himself. He motivates himself and is determined that he can overcome any challenge he faces, which helps him survive in the end. His new decision to live is the beginning of his loss of innocence. At this point, Pi knows that in order to survive, he will have to do things he never would have done in the past. He also starts preparing himself mentally for his journey ahead. Moreover, Pi survives mentally by conquering his fear for Richard Parker and using his knowledge of animals to tame and train Richard Parker mentally to show him who is the boss. When Pi and Richard Parker are alone on the boat, Pi remembers his father's words about tigers. "I looked at him, full of fearful wonder ... I had to tame him. It was at that moment that I realized that necessity. It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me" (Martel 206). Even though Pi is very scared of Richard Parker since he is a tiger, he …show more content…
To start with, Pi's faith and connection to the three religions help him survive his journey. Throughout the book, he continues to pray to God and connect to Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. When stuck on the boat with Richard Parker, he says, "Yes, so long as god is with me, I will not die. Amen" (Martel 186). At first, when he thinks about survival he thinks about giving up, but his faith in God keeps him going. This shows that Pi believes that when God is with him, he could survive anything. This brings together the themes of spirituality and survival. Pi relies on religion to survive. One of the main reason he has survived is because of his connection to God. This point of the novel is really important because it shows that even though Pi has lost his innocence at the end of the novel, he hasn't lost his connection to religion. He continues to stay connected like his old self, since it is the only thing he has left while stranded at sea. On the other hand, Pi also goes against his religion and beliefs in order to survive. As the days pass and Pi slowly runs out of biscuits to eat, he learns how to fish in order to help himself and Richard Parker. Instead of dying of starvation, he learns to accept the fact that he needs to eat the fish. "You may be astonished that in such a short period of time [Pi] could go from weeping over the muffled killing of a flying fish to gleefully